When I see a movie like The Long Walk Home (1990), I often feel everyone should see it.  It is about the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956, the event that launched the career of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (not pictured, archived audio), and was a key moment in the civil rights movement in the United States.  It is also something that appeals to me as the event had a strong Christian component, with faith being the backbone providing the strength for African Americans in this Alabama city to continue standing up for their rights as citizens.  You have to do extra research to find a Catholic connection to the story as it is not mentioned in the movie.  Still, the values they championed are universal, and you will see how as we go along.

The first scene in The Long Walk Home is narrated (Mary Steenburgen) by an older version of Mary Catherine Thompson (Lexi Randall), who is seven-years-old in 1955.  She is dropped off in the park by her mother, Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek).  Do not worry, Miriam is not sending her child and two friends into the city alone.  With them is Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg), their maid, and the subject of the narrator’s musings.  Odessa is setting up for a picnic when she is approached by a police officer, using racial slurs to address her and telling her to leave.  When they get home, Miriam is not happy about the incident and calls the precinct.  Before the day is out, the same cop is at the Thompson residence apologize to Odessa, though it is clear that it is perfunctory.  That the apology is merely performative is the opinion of Odessa’s family, but they have other news when she gets home from work.  Returning from school, her sons are carrying a note about the planned bus boycott, which is the primary mode of transportation for African Americans in the city.  It has been triggered by the arrest of Rosa Parks (not pictured), who refused to give up her seat for a white patron on one of these vehicles.  Her husband, Herbert Cotter (Ving Rhames), who is employed in a factory, has received a similar notice.  It is something they take seriously, though their eldest, Selma Cotter (Erika Alexander), is annoyed by the possibility of the protest disrupting her ability to see her boyfriend.  Later, she is almost assaulted by a group of white boys for sneaking a ride on the bus.  At first, white Montgomery does not take the black collective gesture seriously.  If anything, it is more of an inconvenience, such as when Odessa starts coming to the house later because she must walk across town.  The situation becomes untenable for a few reasons.  First, her feet bleed due to her inadequate footwear.  This is remedied on Christmas when her family present her with a new coat and shoes.  The holiday is another issue as Miriam expects to host extended family at the Thompsons.  During the meal, Miriam is forced to listen while her in-laws imagine the worst things if African Americans are allowed to succeed in their endeavor.  Some of it is said while Odessa is in the room, further adding to Miriam’s embarrassment.  With the way things are going, Odessa is contemplating finding another job.  At this point, Miriam offers to give Odessa a lift two days a week as part of the white mother’s usual routine.  Miriam tries to keep the situation from her husband, and Odessa intuitively understands what is at stake in which her employer finds herself.  One of Miriam’s problems is her husband, Norman Thompson (Dwight Schultz), who allows himself to be influenced by his older brother, Tunker Thompson (Dylan Baker).  Tunker is the real racist of the family, and he lures Norman into the all-white city council, which is a front for the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).  They are becoming increasingly desperate to end the boycott, which is viewed as a communist plot on their way of life.  God forgive me, but such is the logic of fools.  For Miriam, this new position for Norman puts her in an awkward position because a man of his stuature cannot have a wife who gives such help to African Americans.  When he learns of her activities, in a rage her commands her to call Odessa and tell the maid to walk in the pouring rain.  Upon finally getting to the Thompsons, Miriam and Odessa talk about the situation, and the servant reiterates her need to find other work.  Things seem to be at an impasse until Norman gets home from his job that night.  Instead of informing her husband that they need to find new help, she proclaims that she will be giving Odessa rides every day.  He responds petulantly, packing up some clothes and moving to the guest room.  This frees Miriam to commit herself full time to the ride service that has been started in order to provide transportation to the African American community.  Eventually, Norman finds out what Miriam is doing, being told by Tunker.  There are a group of angry whites gathering outside of the impromptu taxi depot who plan on intimidating blacks into giving up their protest.  Tunker offers to get Miriam, who is there with Mary Catherine.  Instead of going with them, Miriam tells off Tunker, who slaps his sister-in-law.  At this point, whites are converging on the small parking lot, and one of their number begins bashing in Miriam’s car.  Before real violence breaks out, Odessa steps forward and remains still.  Others join hands with her, including Miriam, and they sing until their tormentors disperse.  That is where the film ends.

One moment I did not discuss before I got to the end of The Long Walk Home is the scene when Selma is attacked by the white kids on the bus.  Her brother, Theodore Cotter (Richard Parnell Habersham), fearing for his sister’s safety, manages to find her before anything terrible happens to her.  He stands up to the racist bullies, and he does so without fighting back.  There is a powerful sequence in which he is punched by a boy much older than him, and the camera focuses on his fists opening and closing.  The obvious parallel to faith here is Matthew 5:39 where Jesus tells His followers to turn the other cheek to their oppressors.  While this is a sign of emotional maturity on Theodore’s part, it is also not a random act.  Like the rest of his family, he goes to church where their religious leaders talk about the importance of being disciplined during the boycott.  It is in these houses of worship where they hear about the concept of non-violent protest as espoused by Dr. King.  His approach to addressing injustice was to do what Jesus would do.  His philosophy was also tinged by Catholicism, being a major proponent of St. Augustine’s theories on unjust laws.  It was that late fourth, early fifth century African saint who gave us the saying that an unjust law is no law at all.  This was the situation in Montgomery in the 1950s, and that on which the film focuses.  The treatment you see of African Americans in the movie is not only unjust, it is un-Christian.  The Church has taught for centuries that everyone is God’s children regardless of the color of their skin, and have treated everyone as such.  Because of this truth, it is always inspiring to see people stand up for what is right.  It does not have to be done violently, but it must be done.

However, in light of what I wrote in the introduction to this review of The Long Walk Home, I am going to stop short of saying that you must watch this film.  It is excellent and I recommend it, but I want it to be your choice.  What I can say with confidence is that you will be a better person for doing so.