Deacons for Defense (TV Movie 2003)

Deacons for Defense: Directed by Bill Duke. With Forest Whitaker, Chris Britton, Jonathan Silverman, Ossie Davis. The words “Black Power” bring back memories of names like Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, and Eldridge Cleaver, but in Bogalusa, LA a group of harassed Afro-Americans had decided they’d had enough and took up arms to defend themselves and force the white power structure to listen to them. This took place during “Freedom Summer

“This excellent made-for-cable movies tells the story of a group of blacks in a small mill town who form a defense group to protect themselves from the brutality of the Klan during the dawn of The 1964 Civil Rights Act. The fact-based story centers around the main character played by Forest Whitaker (who gives his best performance in years) who was arrested and beaten by racist cop for protecting his daughter from being beat during a peace demonstration that turned ugly. After that you see his character transform from a u0026quot;good niggeru0026quot; who thought he knew his place to a man who realized that his dignity and family were more important than u0026quot;yes sah-inu0026#39;u0026quot; and u0026quot;no sah-inu0026#39;u0026quot; to the racist white townfolks. Thereu0026#39;s also good turns from Ossie Davis (I donu0026#39;t think this man has ever given a bad performance) and Jonathan Silverman (quite surprising), but the film clearly belongs to Whitaker. A place in American history that has gotten forgotten and buried over the years. A must-see for history buffs.”