My Past Is My Own
My Past Is My Own | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama Family |
Written by | Alan L. Gansberg |
Directed by | Helaine Head |
Starring | Whoopi Goldberg Phill Lewis Allison Dean |
Music by | George S. Clinton |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Bradley Wigor |
Producers | Alan L. Gansberg Michael Killen Joseph Maurer Larry Rapaport |
Cinematography | Bernard Salzmann |
Editor | Jayme Wing |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Release | January 24, 1989 |
My Past Is My Own is a television film which aired as a CBS Schoolbreak Special on January 24, 1989.[1][2] The film is centered on a sit-in in the early 1960s at a racially segregated lunch counter in the Southern United States. Whoopi Goldberg, Phill Lewis and Allison Dean portray the lead characters.
Writer/producer Alan Gansberg was awarded the 1989
Plot
Justin Cook (
While Justin and Kerry sleep that night, they are mysteriously transported to a small town in Georgia in 1961. While there, the siblings participate in a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. The protest is staged by a group of local teenagers and young adults—including their cousin Mariah. The siblings are horrified by the hostility and racism of local White residents, and inspired by the strength displayed by Mariah and the others as the group is harassed during the sit-in.
When they awaken the following morning, the siblings find themselves back in the 1980s. No one is aware of their journey to the past except Justin and Kerry themselves (and possibly Mariah). As the Cook family watches Mariah accept her award later that day, Justin and Kerry do so with a greater appreciation for Mariah, the Civil Rights Movement, and the history of African Americans in general.
Cast
- Whoopi Goldberg - Mariah Johnston
- Phill Lewis - Justin Cook
- Allison Dean - Kerry Cook
- C.C.H. Pounder- Renee Cook
- Thalmus Rasulala - Marshall Cook
- William Allen Young - Rev. James Jordan
- Geoffrey Blake - Dexter Lee Smith
- Guy Boyd - Russell Crew
- Gloria Carlin - Frances Taylor
- Kenneth Edwards - Clyde Waller
- Dominic Hoffman - Donny Hall
- Charles Stransky - Alfred Wainwright
- Anthony Grumbach - White Boy
- Laurneá Wilkerson - Brianne Solomons
- Dorothy Sinclair - White Woman
- James Marshall - Willie Willens
Music
- The James Ingram tune "Remember the Dream" serves as the theme song for the movie.[4]
See also
Notes
- New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ Heffley, Lynne (January 24, 1989). "Television Reviews: Shared Lessons From 'My Past Is My Own '". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Humanitas Prize website (Children's Live-Action Category) Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Black Entertainment Televisionin the late 1980s and early 1990s.
External links
- My Past Is My Own (1989) at The Internet Movie Database