Based on a true story, The Color Of Friendship centers on Piper Dellums, the daughter of Congressman Ron Dellums and her experience hosting a Caucasian South African girl in 1977. The film is unlike most children's TV movies (and most DCOMS of the decade) due to the high educational value. The film showcases the very real effects of South African apartheid and its influence on attitudes towards racism in South Africa in contrast to the relative freedoms of the US. Mari, through her worldviews, sees African Americans as second class, clashing with the Dellums, who no doubt still feel the emotional scars of racism. Tension eventually gives way to friendship and the realization that racism is not only useless but immoral. Overall,the movie succeeds in its goals to foster understanding and race relation in a way that is not heavy-handed or preachy.
Review of The Color of Friendship
