Every now and then people have asked me what it feels like to be a Black Man in a White Man's World. The truth be told, I have never operated under any such delusion. The world is too big and wide to be the exclusive oyster of any one particular group, and I have always felt this to be so. That is why 'THE COLOR OF FRIENDSHIP' is such an interesting and enlightening film.
The Dali Lama has pointed out in an amazing anecdote about bees how spiritual poverty can run deeper than any material lack of means. It is one thing to be blind and poor, it is quite another not be aware that you are suffering from these conditions. Mauree Bok, as played by Lindsey Haun, arrives in the United States as an exchange student from South Africa; well scrubbed, well fed, a beautiful and neatly dressed representative of White Privilege. She even has a black maid named Flora, as played by Melanie Nicholls-King, who tells her stories about weaver birds. Really entertaining it is then to discover by degrees that she is as ignorant and poor and blind to her deprivation regarding the intellectual and spiritual riches of this world as would be any slumdog in Calcutta or Mumbai deprived of bread, clean clothes and adequate shelter.
When this young girl takes flight in a plane headed for Washington D.C. she is all interest and excitement about embarking upon this new adventure. She appears to be a properly maturing woman with a hint of that cool reserve and aloofness that can be noted so often framing the features of certain members of the White Race. This is to be her first foray into the world beyond her own country and all that she knows.
Piper Dellums, as played by Shadia Simmons, awaits the arrival of this exchange student, along with her mother, Roscoe Dellums, as played by Penny Johnson, expecting an African girl similar to them in hue. But, to paraphrase Flip Wilson, what they see is what they get; and what they get is a quantum leap in human understanding for all concerned. Here is a young girl from a racist nation in Africa, who is socially conditioned to see them as servants ready to take her bags, rather than as the 'Host Family' she is to stay with for the next few months. Even to the viewer the whole situation has the elements of a practical joke. However, in this case, the only person laughing is upstairs and most probably giving high fives all around.
This brings me back to my opening statement. The best way, as you know, to understand the condition of another is to put yourself in their position. There is a real fascination to seeing Mauree Bok suddenly thrust out of her comfort zone into a world beyond the immediate range of her understanding. She finds herself in a flash, faster than the speed of sound, living with a family of educated Black Folks who live in a neighborhood populated with other Black Folks assuming positions of status, power and responsibility.
That this is a culture and future shock that Alvin Toffler never wrote about is an understatement. The intriguing thing is to see how this young lady deals with this state of affairs. Even the most hard hearted person would sympathize that this is 'too much too soon' for a growing young person barely in her teens to tolerably experience. How she manages to assimilate this adventure becomes most of the fun.
Carl Lumbly portrays Ron Dellums as an admirable example of African American manhood. Sane and sensible, he is neither the personification of Black Rage burning towards martyrdom as was the late, lamented Stephen Biko, or bearing the cross as the paragon of all that is good and sterling about the Black Race, as did Sidney Poitier. He is simply an intelligent person, thoroughly grounded in his own cultural heritage, who is able to work the system to his advantage and wield power responsibly towards positive ends.
The real revelation is that Ms. Bok gets to put her hands on books that would otherwise be banned under the totalitarian regime of South Africa at that time. She gravitates over to Alex Haley 'ROOTS', and does a book report on Alan Patton's 'CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY', while going to school with Piper Dellums. This reminds me of a joke I once heard about how do you hide things from Black Folks, but I suppose I shouldn't go there. I'll just put it in a book one day.
Anyway, I would love to see a sequel where Mauree Bok reflects upon the things she read in 'ROOTS' and 'CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY', while aptly comparing the ideas from these books to her day to day life experience. Unfortunately, I understand the young woman upon whose real life this story was based vanished when she came home. Piper Dellums lost contact with her and no one knows exactly where she is to this day. This is a sobering thought that points out that many people coming from all walks of life have become involved in the struggle for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Evidently, this struggle will always be a cosmopolitan affair, requiring an intelligent approach to the subject of Racial Injustice and Unrest. It is not a subject for the unenlightened or faint of heart to rush blindly into, unless of course God requires that they should do so.
Kevin Hooks produced and directed this film with intelligence and reserve, and Stanley Clarke produces a winning score for a film that really is about something in the end.
The Dali Lama has pointed out in an amazing anecdote about bees how spiritual poverty can run deeper than any material lack of means. It is one thing to be blind and poor, it is quite another not be aware that you are suffering from these conditions. Mauree Bok, as played by Lindsey Haun, arrives in the United States as an exchange student from South Africa; well scrubbed, well fed, a beautiful and neatly dressed representative of White Privilege. She even has a black maid named Flora, as played by Melanie Nicholls-King, who tells her stories about weaver birds. Really entertaining it is then to discover by degrees that she is as ignorant and poor and blind to her deprivation regarding the intellectual and spiritual riches of this world as would be any slumdog in Calcutta or Mumbai deprived of bread, clean clothes and adequate shelter.
When this young girl takes flight in a plane headed for Washington D.C. she is all interest and excitement about embarking upon this new adventure. She appears to be a properly maturing woman with a hint of that cool reserve and aloofness that can be noted so often framing the features of certain members of the White Race. This is to be her first foray into the world beyond her own country and all that she knows.
Piper Dellums, as played by Shadia Simmons, awaits the arrival of this exchange student, along with her mother, Roscoe Dellums, as played by Penny Johnson, expecting an African girl similar to them in hue. But, to paraphrase Flip Wilson, what they see is what they get; and what they get is a quantum leap in human understanding for all concerned. Here is a young girl from a racist nation in Africa, who is socially conditioned to see them as servants ready to take her bags, rather than as the 'Host Family' she is to stay with for the next few months. Even to the viewer the whole situation has the elements of a practical joke. However, in this case, the only person laughing is upstairs and most probably giving high fives all around.
This brings me back to my opening statement. The best way, as you know, to understand the condition of another is to put yourself in their position. There is a real fascination to seeing Mauree Bok suddenly thrust out of her comfort zone into a world beyond the immediate range of her understanding. She finds herself in a flash, faster than the speed of sound, living with a family of educated Black Folks who live in a neighborhood populated with other Black Folks assuming positions of status, power and responsibility.
That this is a culture and future shock that Alvin Toffler never wrote about is an understatement. The intriguing thing is to see how this young lady deals with this state of affairs. Even the most hard hearted person would sympathize that this is 'too much too soon' for a growing young person barely in her teens to tolerably experience. How she manages to assimilate this adventure becomes most of the fun.
Carl Lumbly portrays Ron Dellums as an admirable example of African American manhood. Sane and sensible, he is neither the personification of Black Rage burning towards martyrdom as was the late, lamented Stephen Biko, or bearing the cross as the paragon of all that is good and sterling about the Black Race, as did Sidney Poitier. He is simply an intelligent person, thoroughly grounded in his own cultural heritage, who is able to work the system to his advantage and wield power responsibly towards positive ends.
The real revelation is that Ms. Bok gets to put her hands on books that would otherwise be banned under the totalitarian regime of South Africa at that time. She gravitates over to Alex Haley 'ROOTS', and does a book report on Alan Patton's 'CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY', while going to school with Piper Dellums. This reminds me of a joke I once heard about how do you hide things from Black Folks, but I suppose I shouldn't go there. I'll just put it in a book one day.
Anyway, I would love to see a sequel where Mauree Bok reflects upon the things she read in 'ROOTS' and 'CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY', while aptly comparing the ideas from these books to her day to day life experience. Unfortunately, I understand the young woman upon whose real life this story was based vanished when she came home. Piper Dellums lost contact with her and no one knows exactly where she is to this day. This is a sobering thought that points out that many people coming from all walks of life have become involved in the struggle for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Evidently, this struggle will always be a cosmopolitan affair, requiring an intelligent approach to the subject of Racial Injustice and Unrest. It is not a subject for the unenlightened or faint of heart to rush blindly into, unless of course God requires that they should do so.
Kevin Hooks produced and directed this film with intelligence and reserve, and Stanley Clarke produces a winning score for a film that really is about something in the end.