Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995)

A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation.

Director:

Tim Reid

Writers:

Clifton L. Taulbert (book), Paul W. Cooper (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Freeman Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Leon

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Freeman Jr.	...	Poppa
Phylicia Rashad	...	Ma Ponk
Leon	...	Uncle Melvin
Paula Kelly	...	Ma Pearl
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Miss Alice (as Salli Richardson)
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Miss Annie
Bernie Casey	...	Mr. Walter
Isaac Hayes	...	Preacher Hurn
Ray J	...	Cliff (12 Yrs.) (as Willis Norwood Jr.)
Karen Malina White	...	Mary
Damon Hines	...	Cliff at 16
Iona Morris	...	Nila Fontaine
Phill Lewis	...	Sammy (19 Yrs.) / Narrator
Taj Mahal	...	Mr. Will
Polly Bergen	...	Miss Maybry

Storyline

This film relates the story of a tightly connected Afro-American community informally called Colored Town where the inhabitants live and depend on each other in a world where racist oppression is everywhere, as told by a boy called Cliff who spent his childhood there. Despite this, we see the life of the community in all its joys and sorrows, of those that live there while others decide to leave for a better life north. For those remaining, things come to a serious situation when one prominent businessman is being muscled out by a white competitor using racist intimidation. In response, the community must make the decision of whether to submit meekly like they always have, or finally fight for their rights.

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Plot Keywords:

segregation | rural setting | race relations | prejudice | mississippi | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements including mild violence, language, and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,375,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

BET Pictures,United Image Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

7 years prior to this film, Bernie Casey (Mr. Walter) And Isaac Hayes (Preacher Hurn) acted together in the Keenen Ivory Wayans comedy, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka."

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Quotes

Preacher Hurn: If you call Jesus, his line is never busy.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Message in a Bottle/My Favorite Martian/Children of Heaven/Blast from the Past/God Said, 'Ha!' (1999)

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Soundtracks

Maybe Tomorrow
Written and Performed by Lionel Cole

User Reviews

Neither the KKK or Hallmark Card Company

"Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored" (1996): Set in the deep American South, over the years 1946-1962, and told as biography, this is the story of one boy's memories of being raised in the Cotton & Bible Belt. He's poor, his family is in pieces, he's Black, he's surrounded by the KKK…and yet, this is a soft, even soft-focus look back at the people who DID provide community family, did not dwell on their poverty nor make their race the focal point of a normal day. We are so accustomed to angry, relentlessly violent films about the racial divides, this film could easily be taken as a Hallmark Card presentation…but SOMETHING about it tells me otherwise. Yes, problems are depicted, and yes, the times they were a-changin', but not as fast or dramatically as we've come to accept from the quick flip of a few pages in history class. I LIKE the pace of this film. It's slow, warm, often funny, occasionally sugary, sometimes sad or maddening, but for the most part it's a nostalgic look back at the GOOD parts of black author's childhood.