The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

Gr 7 Up—This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Selma march, and this documentary introduces viewers to a man described as a foot soldier for the civil rights movement: 85-year-old James Armstrong. He carried a flag when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched towards the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and his Armstrong Barbershop (parts of which seem held together with duct tape and love) is as much a civil rights museum as a place of business. Armstrong, an energetic and dapper spokesman, brings the issues to a personal level. The film uses historic footage (including brief, disturbing scenes of beatings) to recreate the atmosphere that Armstrong faced as a young man. His conviction and commitment to nonviolence are obvious. Grainy black-and-white footage captures signs like "Keep Alabama White," as Armstrong walks with his young sons, Dwight and Floyd, past angry protesters in front of a school. In his 80s, he watches election returns as Barack Obama wins the presidency. (Armstrong passed away in 2009.) Interviews with son Floyd, footage of speeches by Dr. King and President Obama, and a brief narrative of the civil rights time line since 1870 pack a lot of information into this worthwhile film.