Selma, Lord, Selma
Encyclopedia
Selma, Lord, Selma is a 1999 American
film based on true events that happened in March of 1965, known as Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
. The film tells the story through the eyes of an 11-year-old African American girl named Sheyann Webb
(Jurnee Smollett
). It premiered as a television movie on ABC
on January 17, 1999.
one day while playing outside with her friends. They were told that Dr. King had come to Selma, Alabama to help the Negro people get voting rights. Sheyann learned many things from Dr. King. He taught her and her friend Rachel (Stephanie Zandra Peyton) to say when asked "Children what do you want, your answer should be freedom." He also taught her that no matter what the color of your skin is you should treat everybody right and children also had a battle to fight. Sheyann wanted to get involved so she skipped school to sneak into the meetings. One night a friend of Sheyann's named Jimmie Lee Jackson
gets killed. To draw attention to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, it was decided that a 54 mile march to the state capital of Alabama would take place. They would present a petition to Governor Wallace signed to protest that Negroes were not being treated fairly. On Sunday, March 7, 1965 Sheyann and the other African American protesters marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge
in route to Montgomery. Sheyann was the youngest person to attempt to march.On March 25th, 1965 blacks were able to march. They called it bloody sunday. Then on August 1965 President Johnson signed a bill for blacks to vote.
|- valign="top"
|
After the book was written, Selma, Lord, Selma was made into a movie. Walt Disney Pictures
picked it up and on January 17, 1999, one day prior to the national holiday commemorating Dr. King's birthday, it was broadcast on the ABC
television network. Dr. King's daughter Yolanda
is featured in the film as Miss Bright, Sheyann's teacher who marches with Sheyann in the back of the march. Music composed by Stephen James Taylor, with vocals by Brides of the Wind.
, the author, was nominated for the Humanitas Prize
. The category was Best 90 minute film. Selma, Lord, Selma did not win. The winner was NYPD Blue
.
Selma, Lord, Selma also was nominated for an Image Award in 2000. The category was Outstanding Television Movie/Miniseries/Dramatic Special.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film based on true events that happened in March of 1965, known as Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
. The film tells the story through the eyes of an 11-year-old African American girl named Sheyann Webb
Sheyann Webb
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Smallest Freedom Fighter" and co-author of the book, Selma, Lord, Selma. As a nine year old, Sheyann Webb-Christburg took part in the first attempted Selma to Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday.Sheyann was born on...
(Jurnee Smollett
Jurnee Smollett
Jurnee Diana Smollett-Bell is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Jess Merriweather on the critically acclaimed television series Friday Night Lights...
). It premiered as a television movie on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on January 17, 1999.
Plot
Sheyann Webb meets Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
one day while playing outside with her friends. They were told that Dr. King had come to Selma, Alabama to help the Negro people get voting rights. Sheyann learned many things from Dr. King. He taught her and her friend Rachel (Stephanie Zandra Peyton) to say when asked "Children what do you want, your answer should be freedom." He also taught her that no matter what the color of your skin is you should treat everybody right and children also had a battle to fight. Sheyann wanted to get involved so she skipped school to sneak into the meetings. One night a friend of Sheyann's named Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a civil rights protestor who was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement. He was 26 years old.-Personal...
gets killed. To draw attention to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, it was decided that a 54 mile march to the state capital of Alabama would take place. They would present a petition to Governor Wallace signed to protest that Negroes were not being treated fairly. On Sunday, March 7, 1965 Sheyann and the other African American protesters marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Edmund Pettus Bridge
The Edmund Pettus Bridge is a bridge that carries U.S. Highway 80 across the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama. Built in 1940, it is named for Edmund Winston Pettus, a former Confederate brigadier general and U.S. Senator from Alabama. The bridge is a steel through arch bridge with a central span of...
in route to Montgomery. Sheyann was the youngest person to attempt to march.On March 25th, 1965 blacks were able to march. They called it bloody sunday. Then on August 1965 President Johnson signed a bill for blacks to vote.
Cast
{| cellpadding="10"|- valign="top"
|
- Mackenzie AstinMackenzie Astin-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
- Jonathan Daniels - Jurnee SmollettJurnee SmollettJurnee Diana Smollett-Bell is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Jess Merriweather on the critically acclaimed television series Friday Night Lights...
- Sheyann WebbSheyann WebbDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Smallest Freedom Fighter" and co-author of the book, Selma, Lord, Selma. As a nine year old, Sheyann Webb-Christburg took part in the first attempted Selma to Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday.Sheyann was born on... - Clifton PowellClifton Powell-Movie career:Powell is known for playing the role of Pinky in the 2000 comedy film, Next Friday and its 2002 sequel, Friday After Next. Powell stars also in the Indie thriller Chain Letter.In 2009 he played "Bowman" in the film Just Another Day...
- Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the... - Ella JoyceElla JoyceElla Joyce is an American actress.Born Cherron Hoye in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Joyce graduated from the Performing Arts Curriculum at Cass Technical High School, and went on to attend the Dramatic Arts program at Eastern Michigan University...
- Betty Webb - Yolanda KingYolanda KingYolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
- Miss Bright - Elizabeth OmilamiElizabeth OmilamiElisabeth Williams-Omilami is an African-American human rights activist and an actress, a writer and a Pastor while being the voice of the less fortunate at Hosea Feed the Hungry.-Life and career:...
- Amelia BoyntonAmelia Boynton RobinsonAmelia Platts Boynton Robinson was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama. A key figure in the 1965 march that became known as Bloody Sunday, she later became vice-president of the Schiller Institute affiliated with Lyndon LaRouche. She was awarded the Martin Luther King,... - Afemo Omilami - John Webb
- Brett Rice - Sheriff Pots
- Margo Moorer - Alice West
- Von Coulter - Tom West
- Laura-Shay Griffin - Sallie Parker
- Danny Nelson - Father Whitaker
- Faruq Jenkins - Willie
- Stephanie Zandra Peyton - Rachel West
- Zach Rogers - Jimmie Lee JacksonJimmie Lee JacksonJimmie Lee Jackson was a civil rights protestor who was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement. He was 26 years old.-Personal...
- L. Warren Young - Hosea WilliamsHosea WilliamsHosea Lorenzo Williams was a United States civil rights leader, ordained minister, businessman, philanthropist, scientist and politician...
- Bob Banks - Reverend Reese
- Richard Reed - John Lewis
- Ebony Curry -(Billy Vickers{C.E.O)
Production
Selma, Lord, Selma is based on a book of the same name written in 1997 by Sheyann Webb, Rachel West and Frank Sikora. The full title is Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil-Rights Days. It was published by the University of Alabama Press in Tuscaloosa, AL. It is written in the style of memoirs by Sheyann and Rachel.After the book was written, Selma, Lord, Selma was made into a movie. Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
picked it up and on January 17, 1999, one day prior to the national holiday commemorating Dr. King's birthday, it was broadcast on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network. Dr. King's daughter Yolanda
Yolanda King
Yolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
is featured in the film as Miss Bright, Sheyann's teacher who marches with Sheyann in the back of the march. Music composed by Stephen James Taylor, with vocals by Brides of the Wind.
Awards and nominations
In 1999, Cynthia WhitcombCynthia Whitcomb
Cynthia Whitcomb is a television writer that has been nominated for numerous awards including the Emmy, the Edgar and the Humanitas Prize.-Background:...
, the author, was nominated for the Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
. The category was Best 90 minute film. Selma, Lord, Selma did not win. The winner was NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
.
Selma, Lord, Selma also was nominated for an Image Award in 2000. The category was Outstanding Television Movie/Miniseries/Dramatic Special.