One black student explains directly in old terms of how he had white friends at one time in his life, but that changed in his new enlightening. The integration of a black high school doesn't go over very well, and for esteemed black teacher (Calvin Lockhart), beloved at the white school he taught at, it's a challenge to gain the respect of any student, black or white, when the race line is drawn and the black majority declare the white students second class.
A young Jeff Bridges really has to prove himself when he wants to join the basketball team, and it's going to be a difficult period for him. The established students are completely resentful, with female black students making a scene when a black male student pays more attention to a pretty white student than to them. Language of a racial divide is tough but necessary to express the anger, and the way Lockhart plays both sides to create a middle is quite intelligent, especially after he's accused of racism against his own people.
You get to see students of both races changing their ideas, but it's a slow progression. Familiar faces pop up in smaller parts like Rob Reiner and Ed Asner, with Reiner showing quite a different attitude than Mike from "All in the Family". This doesn't give easy answers to the problems of race at the time, and perhaps that's far more realistic than if everything became nice and sweet far too fast. Janet MacLachlan deserves mentioning for her idealistic young black teacher who sees the world through a larger angle than the one of hate and pushes for change even when it seems that is not possible. I wouldn't call this a social justice masterpiece, but it's definitely a conversation starter.
A young Jeff Bridges really has to prove himself when he wants to join the basketball team, and it's going to be a difficult period for him. The established students are completely resentful, with female black students making a scene when a black male student pays more attention to a pretty white student than to them. Language of a racial divide is tough but necessary to express the anger, and the way Lockhart plays both sides to create a middle is quite intelligent, especially after he's accused of racism against his own people.
You get to see students of both races changing their ideas, but it's a slow progression. Familiar faces pop up in smaller parts like Rob Reiner and Ed Asner, with Reiner showing quite a different attitude than Mike from "All in the Family". This doesn't give easy answers to the problems of race at the time, and perhaps that's far more realistic than if everything became nice and sweet far too fast. Janet MacLachlan deserves mentioning for her idealistic young black teacher who sees the world through a larger angle than the one of hate and pushes for change even when it seems that is not possible. I wouldn't call this a social justice masterpiece, but it's definitely a conversation starter.