OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, THE: THE DREAM LIVES: A MLK DAY SPECIAL (TV)
Summary
One in this talk show series hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
This episode is dedicated to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how his work and legacy continues to shape modern-day people in the United States. In the tiny peninsula of Gee’s Bend Alabama, whites and African-Americans have lived in communities separated by a river for centuries; the African-Americans living there are the descendants of enslaved cotton pickers. Many of the houses there were constructed during the Great Depression, and had to travel across the river to the white-inhabited town of Camden for education, employment, and supplies. During the Civil Rights Movement, citizens of Gee’s Bend marched in Camden for the right to vote, which quickly proved to be a dangerous endeavor as whites in Camden resisted change and used police force to contain protests, even suspending ferry service between the two towns, thus cutting off Gee’s Bend from its ability to support itself. On April 19th, 1965, Dr. King visited Gee’s Bend personally, giving an impassioned speech at the local church. However, the situation becomes increasingly desperate: without access to the ferry, vital emergency services are cut off from Gee’s Bend, resulting in the loss of life. Protests continue, but police employ tear gas and local officials arrest hundreds in an attempt to curb them. The judge who imprisoned many protestors, Hollis Curl, retires and by the year 1990 feels intense remorse for his complicity in perpetuating segregation. When he learns about the lack of vital services in Gee’s Bend, he writes front-page editorials in his local newspaper urging for the community to construct a new ferry. Eventually community leaders respond and a new ferry is launched in 2006, offering newfound hope to residents of Gee’s Bend.
Television producer and founder of the Mama Foundation for the Arts in Harlem Vy Higginsen specializes in music education for teenagers, hoping to teach African-American history through music. She travels to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, hoping to track down her personal family history. Her grandmother’s funeral inspires her to take a DNA test, and she discovers that a substantial percentage of her DNA is European in origin. Further investigation results in her discovering that she is related to Marion West, a retired cattle rancher in Missouri. West traces his family history back to England, and discovered his connection to Higginsen when he submitted his DNA for an unrelated genetic survey; his grandfather and Higginsen’s grandmother shared the same surname, and so he reached out to Higginsen. In January 2007, Higginsen goes down to meet West in person, and the two of them greet each other warmly. It is likely that Higginsen’s ancestors worked in fields owned by the West family. Despite their wildly different backgrounds they share a common bond, and West shows her around his cattle ranch, including a tree of special significance to him.
In 1964, Jacksonville, Florida is in the midst of an infamously violent race riot. During this riot, four young white men shoot and kill Johnnie Mae Chappell, a 35 year-old African-American housekeeper. She leaves behind her husband Willie and their ten young children, but he is deemed an unfit parent by the state after working constantly to support them. They are separated and placed in various foster homes. At the time, the county sheriff’s department is indifferent towards Mrs. Chappell’s death and assigns no one to investigate it, but one young detective, C. Lee Cody Jr., feels compelled to investigate himself. They find and arrest the suspects, discovering a great deal of evidence of their wrongdoing, but most of the charges against them are dropped. He is fired for complaining to the sheriff’s department about the miscarriage of justice, and his personal life unravels from there. However, in 1996, Cody sees a newspaper article about the upcoming anniversary of Chappell’s death and the reunion of her children to plan a proper memorial for her. He attends the memorial service and tells her son Shelton about his experiences with his mother’s case. Together they go about trying to move on from the injustice of the time; they get the stretch of road where Mrs. Chappell was murdered named after her, and her name is memorialized in the Southern Public Law Center. They also become friends, viewing each other as a sort of father-son relationship. They hope that one day Chappell’s case will be reopened and charges will be brought against her murderers.
Another example of Dr. King’s views in action is the famous case of Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial married couple who defied miscegenation laws in their home state of Virginia in order to carry on their relationship. They were dragged from their bedroom and arrested in 1958, resulting in them being essentially banished from Virginia for the next 25 years. However, they protested this decision and managed to take their case, Loving vs. Virginia, to the Supreme Court, which they eventually win in 1967, legalizing interracial marriage nationwide. Their story proves to be inspirational to Bryan and Deneta, a modern-day interracial couple, the former a civil rights lawyer and the latter a doctor. They recount how they were friends for many years before Deneta visited Bryan in Montgomery and they started a romance with each other. They visit many important civil rights sites, including the Rosa Parks Museum, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and the route of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Now married, they reflect on the words of Dr. King which reflect upon the notions of equality among all people; it is estimated that there have been over four million interracial marriage in the United States since 1967.
Another person inspired by Dr. King’s example is Tanya Walters, a bus driver in an inner-city neighborhood in Los Angeles. She discusses how she learned to treat the children on her bus with kindness, respect, and attention despite their reputation for delinquency. Upon learning about their poor academic performance, she challenges them to improve their grades and they do so successfully. To reward them, she takes them on a marine biology cruise and some students thank her for showing them a “life outside [their] community,” giving Walters a newfound purpose in life; she purchases a bus and travels across the country to provide assistance to impoverished schoolchildren, allowing them to visit educational facilities and exposing them to life outside of their difficult surroundings. In 2006 she helps to create the God Parents Youth Organization, a “traveling mentoring” program to provide mobile educational assistance to children nationwide. One student, Shamika, is inspired by Walters’ efforts and by Dr. King’s example to pursue a better life for herself, and many others echo her thoughts. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Syndicated
- DATE: November 30, 1999 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:43:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122067
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - News/Talk; TV - Talk/Interviews
- SERIES RUN: Syndicated - TV series, 1986-2011
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Oprah Winfrey … Host
- Lucy Mingo … Interviewee
- Nettie Young … Interviewee
- Mary Lee Bendolph … Interviewee
- Hollis Curl … Interviewee
- Vy Higginsen … Interviewee
- Marion West … Interviewee
- Shelton Chappell (audio id only) … Interviewee
- C. Lee Cody Jr. (audio id only) … Interviewee
- Tanya Walters … Interviewee
- Johnnie Mae Chappell
- Willie Chappell (audio id only)
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Mildred Loving
- Richard Loving