This movie is based on the book by Christopher Paul Curtis, a well respected children's author. The movie is about an African American family living in Detroit, Michigan who spend the summer in Birmingham, Alabama. The Watson children don't know about Jim Crow laws and segregation in the South. The children soon learn about the civil rights movement and discrimination. A scene like in the diner where the waitress tells them to go in the back or the cinema where whites and blacks are separated from each other. The film has a harrowing climax with the reality of the church bombing. The Watsons have made a life in the North but their Southern relatives face discrimination and segregation on a daily basis. This film is appropriate viewing for children. In fact, the movie and book could be used in the classroom.
Review of The Watsons Go to Birmingham
