Film Forum

FREDERICK DOUGLASS: AN AMERICAN LIFE and BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: THE LIFE AND THE LEGACY

William Greaves · 1985 · U.S. · 33 min

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Frederick Douglass: An American Life This short biopic depicts the incredible life of Frederick Douglass, one of the most important political thinkers and social advocates in American history. Born into slavery, Douglass (Hugh Morgan) taught himself how to read and write and eventually escaped bondage; in the North, he found his calling as an activist, speaker, and writer for the abolitionist cause, with his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave becoming one of the movement’s central texts. Directing from a script he cowrote, William Greaves celebrates Douglass’s monumental accomplishments yet refuses to shy away from darker moments, such as Douglass’s ambivalent relationship with abolitionist John Brown or his children’s opposition to his controversial second marriage. Booker T. Washington: The Life and the Legacy Infusing fiction with elements of documentary, William Greaves’s short biopic of legendary African American activist Booker T. Washington focuses on how his leadership of the Tuskegee Institute—which equally emphasized practical labor skills and classroom learning—influenced educational philosophy and practice throughout the United States. Screenwriter Lou Potter sets the action during the lifetime of Washington (Maurice Woods), but a modern-day narrator (Gil Noble) interviews the historical personages—and frequently challenges their answers. This experimental format highlights the still-contentious nature of Washington’s political stances, especially his accommodationist strategy for Black integration within the racially hostile South.