Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise with us all, Dr Hunt.

May I ask, as a non-American, are there some civil rights films that you think really got things right? Which ones would you recommend someone who is not American watch to get an a decent look at the different aspects of the movement?

Thank you again!

What lies did you find used in most civil rights movies?

Hi there, Dr. Hunt. Thank you for doing an AMA on this fascinating subject.
I'm sure generalizing in this manner is difficult, given all the other variable, but have you found civil rights related films to be more or less accurate as time goes on (accounting for prevailing cultural narratives, of course). I'm very curious if we've become more interested in the truth of the times as more are willing to hear about the darkest aspects of the fight for equality, or if we've moved further from the truth in service of something else as we move from depicted events being fresh in the collective memory.

Why is it that anytime something happens. It seems that people will force a narrative that African Americans must be “nice” to others when talking about oppression and systemic racism? Many times people will use a Dr.King quote or say “this isn’t what MLK wanted”. It’s always fascinated me that people mandate that African Americans must follow in the exact steps of MLK in protest and neglect the numerous other leaders in the movement.

Thank you for doing this!

Hello. Thank you for this AMA, Dr Hunt. In an attempt to make films more marketable to a wide audience, stories about the civil rights movement are often told from the perspective of a white person or with a prominent "white saviour" character. What impact, if any, do you think this has on the general public's understanding of the movement? Do you think our knowledge of the era has been skewed by this forced perspective or is it fairly accurate?

Tangentially related question: what do you consider to be the greatest civil rights story never told on film (possibly because it might not make it as a profitable feature film)? Who are the lesser known figures that you wish would get their due?

Hi Dr Hunt! Thanks so much for doing this.

My question related to films about civil rights. How far have historians of the civil rights movement tended to be involved in their production? A

Hi Dr. Hunt, thank yo so much for doing this AMA. Can you talk a little more generally about how civil rights movies affect our understanding of the movement? Are there any major findings from your research that stand out?

I am interested if these movies make people think that the civil rights movement was more widely supported in the US or if people think that the systemic racism they were working to address was limited to just certain areas of the South.

Dear Dr Hunt

Thanks so much for doing this.

I was wondering, to what extent did films about the Civil Rights movement feed back into the movement itself?

I realise many of the most famous films were made after the movement proper was over.* But how was something like In the Heat of the Night received by activists and leaders in the movement?

Or To Kill a Mockingbird: I have some awareness of how it was received by the wider public, especially white communities- what did people on the front lines of the struggle think of the book and film?

I'm not so much asking about their opinions of these works -but did Civil Rights leaders discuss how to encourage, accommodate and influence the way Hollywood depicted their struggle?

Thanks!

*I can't think of the right way to put this, I know that many if not most of the struggles weren't resolved and many of the relevant leaders and activists fight to this day. I'm sure you know what I mean, though.

Hello Dr. Hunt,

I don't know if you have seen it, but last year Doctor Who aired an episode on Rosa Parks and I'm curious what you think of foreign media (British in this case) telling civil rights stories. Have you seen any examples of it being done well or really poorly?

Hello Dr. Hunt thanks so much for doing this! Many movies that center around civil rights like the “The Help” and “Remember the Titans” feature prominent white protagonists. Many of the white antagonists are minor characters or have a change of heart. In your opinion, is there a positive skew in Hollywood representation of southern white society?

Thank you so much for doing this Dr. Hunt! I am going to be a first year American History teacher and was wondering if you had any book recommendations on the Black Freedom Struggle connecting across eras?

I find that it is easy to get a good information on one period. Like Reconstruction, the Washington/Du Bois debates, Harlem Renaissance, black communists, the 1950s Civil Rights Movement, 60s/70s black radicalism, and the Rainbow Coalition. However, I know that these were not really discrete moments, with black people "receding" (yuck) between them, yet that is what I am doing during my lesson planning. I have read interviews with African-Americans who were radicalized by inter-war strike action, became civil rights activists, then went on to join the Black Panther Party. An individual born 20 years before Wilson's election was just 58 in 1950. I am also hitting the problem that I am sure I am missing important material just by chance (somehow I never got Booker T. Washington or Du Bois is any class ever somehow), and I hope a broad history will help me see my blindspots. (For reference, a book like History of America in Ten Strikes by Loomis would be an equivalent for the labor movement)

Despite what I said before, I would also appreciate hearing if you have any book recommendations on any of the eras I mentioned above (or any other ones!). Foner is obviously the go-to for Reconstruction, but I would love to know what you think are the best accessible academic histories.

Thank you so much. Have a great day!

Why do you think there is so much backlash to the relatively recent disclosure that Dr. Martin Luther King may have been an accomplice to rape? Is it just that people have difficulty confronting their hero's faults? Is it a function of the current political climate in the US?

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https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/06/04/how-to-make-sense-of-the-shocking-new-mlk-documents-227042

Hello Dr. Hunt! Thank you so much for taking your time to answer our questions. I'm currently writing a paper in university on this poster. I'm looking at how "reconciliation" is portrayed in the photograph. I've already read that local schoolteachers bought the poster for their lessons on the civil rights movement but I was wondering if you knew more about that, or if you know of similar photographs from the civil rights movement in the US.

I was also wondering whether or not there were differences in the expectations for male vs female civil rights icons. I see a lot of praise for Eckford from contemporary articles for her "grace" in reconciling with her former attacker and I would imagine that might look different for a man.

Also, I'd love to read your book when it's published! I'd be happy for information on how to get access to it.

What are your views on Americans othering Black civil rights movements in other countries?

Hope I am not to late....

The civil Rights movement among Catholics in northern Ireland during the late 60's specifically modelled itself on the civil Rights movement in America. What I am curious about is how much interaction was there, how much was the American movement aware of the fact they had inspired catholics trying to get the vote and access to jobs and housing the other side of the Atlantic? Was there exchanges, training, Sharing of ideas in any way?

In my experience, movies that are highlighting civil rights issues always focus on really obvious (in retrospect) problems and how they got resolved back in the 60's or back in the 1800's or general thereabouts.

Do you know of any movies that do a good job of explaining/exposing current systemic issues that are still a problem today? Such as the disparity between black and white incarceration for the exact same crimes, for example?

I am often astounded by the legacy of segregation in the New England and neighboring regions, going as far back as the first African arrivals in Massachusetts and extending almost as far forward as the civil rights movement. Why don't we remember these stories?

Hi. Thank you for answering questions. I’m wondering if you’ve ever looked at how the American civil rights movement influenced the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, and if there was any idea of educating people from other countries on tactics?

Thanks you for this great AMA Dr! Have you noticed a shift over the past couple of years in the portrayal of the civil rights movement in film or pop culture? Or do most of the big block buster movies just tend to hit the same 'notes' each time?

Dr. Hunt, thanks so much for participating in this AMA! I have a question that I hope is not too vague or broad here:

Can you tell us something of what was happening around the creative process that gave us the star-studded 1999 made-for-tv animated historical/science fiction movie Our Friend, Martin?

I have hazy memories of watching this movie as a young child in elementary school, and didn't think about it until some synapses reconnected in my brain after some chance phase triggered me remembering it. And frankly, having rewatched it (it's available on youtube, mostly intact, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROracLAcRSc ), it comes across as a little bizarre. I'm particularly thinking about the plotline where the protagonist, Miles, after learning of King's 1968 assassination, uses time travel to bring an adolescent King to 1999, only to discover that without King's participation, the Civil Rights movement never occurred and the late 90s are a racist dystopia. Realizing that King must fulfill his destiny, Miles lets him return to his own timeline to live out his life and death as he did historically.

The weirdness of this plot line, its messianic martyrdom characterization of MLK's assassination, the amount of time it spends devoted to the perils of altering history with the aid of a time machine, make me curious about how this film came to be. The fact that its cast is star studded, including several cameos by members of the King family, makes me wonder how word of this film's production spread, and how and why various big names attached themselves to such a movie. Or whether any of the people involved in crafting the story have looked back on it since and reflected on their motivations and goals.

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I believe, being 1999, this falls within the 20-years or older rule. I'd be really grateful for any info you had on how and why this film was made! Thank you!

Can you point out a narrative or undertone or mood or something similar that you think isn't represented in the successful civil rights movies? Something you'd like to see highlighted in future ones?

Thanks so much for doing this! Great info here. I was really disappointed that Green Book got as much attention and accolades as it did, mainly because of the white saviour trope, but also because it's not actually about the Green Book! Do you know of any films in the works about the people who developed/published the Green Book, and what they must have gone through to gather the information (my guess is they only found out where they would be welcomed the hard way). I'd love to see more about them!

Hello Dr. Hunt. I apologize if this question is outside your area of expertise, but do you see parallels between the movies you have written about and movies taking place antebellum/civil war/reconstruction era that overtly or indirectly discuss slavery?

For example: 12 Years a Slave, Django Unchained, Gone with the Wind, Hateful Eight, Harriet, Birth of a Nation (1915 and 2016), etc.?

I'm curious as to what you think the primary impact of The Birth of a Nation (1915) was on modern civil rights. While obviously not directly about civil rights I've heard alot about its huge impact on racial tensions, but have never heard a good source talk about how it shaped our civil rights.

Hi Dr. Hunt. Thank you for doing this AMA. I’m interested in the experiences of black women regarding the civil rights movement. It appears like the black women who are celebrated for their roles in the civil rights movement were passive actors rather than actively taking part in the movement. For example, Rosa Parks was simply sitting on a bus and didn’t want to give up her seat because she was tired. Whereas male civil rights leaders, such as MLK, acted with the intention of eradicating racial issues. I have a hard time believing this was reality and it seems more like there’s some gender bias effect on how we remember civil rights leaders. Does this bias exist and, if so, would you speak about the black women who were activists similar to male figures such as MLK, Malcolm X, etc.

Hi Dr Hunt! I'm interested as to the role of international organisations (to my knowledge UNESCO took some steps against 'racism' although I don't know how much this would overlap with civil rights as you study it) and transatlantic media companies and broadcasting organisations. What kind of role did they see themselves playing in civil rights movement, what kind of media did they produce, and were there significant moments in which their own promotion of a civil rights agenda flashed with movements within the US and UK?

When I think of the civil Rights movement, I see "across the universe". "Let it be" sets the stage in a scene with a young black boy, and I found it really moving. I cried and felt connected to the heartbreak of the period.

I was surprised just now to Google and find that it got pretty severe reviews...but maybe I'm just a simple creature.

Question: what do you think of Across the Universe as a ciltural historian?

Hi, Dr. Hunt! My husband & I spent 2 years stationed at Ft. Monroe, VA. It is now either a State or National Park. There is a beautiful old home, “Quarters #1” inside the Fort walls, that, we were told, was a stop on the Underground Railroad. I remember going inside an old cistern in the basement of that home. It had a sand floor and a huge iron door. That was supposedly where they hid escaping slaves. Has anyone ever written about these stops on the escape route? Where did the escapees end up? Were the people who helped them suffer for helping them? How many stops existed? It seems this is an area that has not been extensively explored. I have always believed this to be an “American story” rather than solely a “Black History.” There are good & bad people, & they come in all sizes, shapes & colors. Unfortunately, politics is the filter through which we view this part of our history. Vicki Urban

Dr. Hunt

In your opinion, do you believe the more “radical” (to use a subjective term) elements of the civil rights movement get needlessly glossed over to appease modern audiences (such as the role of the communist party in defending the wrongfully accused scotsboro boys, or Dr. Kings support for what could be described as democratic socialism)?

Hi Dr. Hunt,

Thanks for doing this AMA! I'm curious if, as an educator, you've found any movies that are thoroughly unrealistic and yet highlight some unique part of the civil rights movement /experience that would be difficult to capture otherwise? Are there parts of your study that focus less on historical accuracy, and more on how films affected us?

I'm thinking about kung fu films, for instance, which had a profound effect on black culture, and perhaps more indirectly inspired some with themes of resistance against prejudice. Or perhaps, to widen the scope, modern films that speak more broadly about black experience or black history (Sorry to Bother You, Django Unchained) that are utterly unrealistic while having something to say about civil rights.

Hey Dr. Hunt, how did the Ebony Saint stereotype develop and change with the civil rights movement?

How has the portrayal of police in cinema affected the false, negative stigma around them of them being overly racist?

What do you think are some of the most common misconceptions about the civil rights movement and the eras surrounding it?

Was there a parallel civil rights movement in Canada?

Are you white? I’m white, my question was not meant as an insult, I’m just wondering so I know what lens you’re viewing history through