Well done documentaries educate us in interesting ways, but so often they leave us angry or frustrated or worse. This film about Julius Rosenwald, a man I never heard of before, is uplifting and inspiring at the same time it tells a story that few people know about a Jewish businessman who helped build and ultimately owned Sears Roebuck, whose generosity built more than 5,000 schools for African Americans in the rural south who otherwise would have been educated in one-room shacks. He also built a museum, a beautiful housing project, and provided scholarships for many of the best known African American writers and cultural icons.
Unlike many documentaries, this one brings the story to life with archival footage and some footage from movies or recreated scenes, and the talking heads include Julian Bond, civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, and Maya Angelou. The movie theater was packed, enthusiastic, and was the most integrated audience I have ever seen in Northwest D.C.
If you want to learn about a historical figure who deserves to be known and admired, learn a little civil rights and Chicago history, have some laughs and leave a movie theater feeling good about humanity, I recommend this documentary.
Unlike many documentaries, this one brings the story to life with archival footage and some footage from movies or recreated scenes, and the talking heads include Julian Bond, civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, and Maya Angelou. The movie theater was packed, enthusiastic, and was the most integrated audience I have ever seen in Northwest D.C.
If you want to learn about a historical figure who deserves to be known and admired, learn a little civil rights and Chicago history, have some laughs and leave a movie theater feeling good about humanity, I recommend this documentary.