Deacons for Defense is a fantastic and quiet possibly the best TV-film I've seen. Every person in the US nows the story of the Civil Rights era, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and there opposition, the Ku Klux Klan. As the peace movement spreads across the south, Bogalusa , La., the movement is lost in the Klan controlled town.
As the main site for jobs, the local factory is segregated and no high positioned jobs are permitted to blacks, unless the want to die over it. Marcus Clay (Forest Whitaker) is the head of the black workers and after a close friend of his is brutally beaten by white workers competing for a job, Clay decides he has had enough. With a small band of men, Clay is able to form a small, peace keeping army to fight the Klan.
As word of the deacons for defense and justice spreads, the town is thrown into madness with the destruction of the local branch of the NAACP, the brutal beating of colored school children, and all out war between the Klan and the Deacons. But as violence erupts, all Vlay now seeks to do is to end the Klan ruling the town. With the help NAACP worker Michael Deane (Jonathan Silverman), Clay must now fight the powerful Klan and try to avoid the Deacons from turning into exactly what they're fighting against, racial controllers.
The film is mostly drama with violence erupting here and there with a great stand off at the end between the deacons and the Klan. The film is based on actual people and actual events that occurred in the summer of '64. The film hits many levels of dealing with equality, racism, and hate. I couldn't think of anyone better for the role of Marcus Clay then Forest Whitaker. Instead of the producers trying to get such big name actors as Will Smith or Denzel Washington, the company got little remembered Forest Whitaker. His performance is unforgettable, with the idea of fighting racism and having to keep his own men from committing senseless violence against whites.
The only fault and I do say the only fault is the use of Jonathan Silverman as the NAACP worker. I felt that he was a bit to bland and not enough depth and character to him. Other than him the acting is fantastic, the story is superb, and the overall presentation is incredible.
Deacons for Defense. Starring: Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman, Ossie Davis, Gene Mack, and Tyrone Benskin.
4 1/2 out of 5 Stars.
As the main site for jobs, the local factory is segregated and no high positioned jobs are permitted to blacks, unless the want to die over it. Marcus Clay (Forest Whitaker) is the head of the black workers and after a close friend of his is brutally beaten by white workers competing for a job, Clay decides he has had enough. With a small band of men, Clay is able to form a small, peace keeping army to fight the Klan.
As word of the deacons for defense and justice spreads, the town is thrown into madness with the destruction of the local branch of the NAACP, the brutal beating of colored school children, and all out war between the Klan and the Deacons. But as violence erupts, all Vlay now seeks to do is to end the Klan ruling the town. With the help NAACP worker Michael Deane (Jonathan Silverman), Clay must now fight the powerful Klan and try to avoid the Deacons from turning into exactly what they're fighting against, racial controllers.
The film is mostly drama with violence erupting here and there with a great stand off at the end between the deacons and the Klan. The film is based on actual people and actual events that occurred in the summer of '64. The film hits many levels of dealing with equality, racism, and hate. I couldn't think of anyone better for the role of Marcus Clay then Forest Whitaker. Instead of the producers trying to get such big name actors as Will Smith or Denzel Washington, the company got little remembered Forest Whitaker. His performance is unforgettable, with the idea of fighting racism and having to keep his own men from committing senseless violence against whites.
The only fault and I do say the only fault is the use of Jonathan Silverman as the NAACP worker. I felt that he was a bit to bland and not enough depth and character to him. Other than him the acting is fantastic, the story is superb, and the overall presentation is incredible.
Deacons for Defense. Starring: Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman, Ossie Davis, Gene Mack, and Tyrone Benskin.
4 1/2 out of 5 Stars.