50 Years Forward and Looking Back

In a series of personal essays, members of the cast and crew of The Watsons Go to Birmingham reflect on the Civil Rights movement, and what it means to them.

Sometimes You Have to Sit Down to Stand Tall

Hello, my name is Bryce Clyde Jenkins and I play Kenny in The Watsons Go To Birmingham. This is a special year as it marks the 50^th Anniversary of the March on Washington, where Dr. King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech.  While it is important to honor Dr. King and other famous Civil Rights leaders, it also took thousands of small, but courageous acts made by everyday people to change hearts and minds.  I would like to talk about one of those brave people, my grandmother, Gussie Jenkins. READ MORE…

Movie Theaters in the 1960s
(Harrison Knight plays Byron Watson in The Watsons Go to Birmingham.)

All of my life, I have enjoyed movies.  I enjoyed watching movies on TV, watching movies via the VCR, and especially watching movies on the silver screen.  As a matter of fact, watching movies on the big screen has become one of my favorite past time activities.  I love going to movie theaters because nothing is more enjoyable to me than seeing talented actors and actresses bring a script to life.  This is a source of relaxation for me so it even disturbs me when I have to stand in a long line in order to see a new feature.  I can’t even imagine not being able to frequent a movie theater or not being absolutely welcome at one.  Being from South Carolina, I am intrigued by its past laws and restrictions that existed before I was born.  I am amazed by the conversations that I have with my mother and my grandparents. READ MORE…

Childhood Recollections of the Civil Rights Movement
(LaTanya Richardson Jackson plays Grandma Sands in The Watsons Go to Birmingham.)

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia put me smack in the middle of the Civil Rights movement. My aunt, Doris J. Rogers, was a student at Clark College and participated in the sit-ins. My sister Deborah and I knew something was going on in the city that was extremely important and dangerous because of the hushed tones in our house among the adults. We were no older than 6 and 7 but we were very aware of the evening vigils sat by our grandparents as we waited for our aunt to return home.  READ MORE…

Dear Watsons Readers…
(Tonya Lewis Lee is the executive producer and screenwriter of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.)

I first encountered The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 when I was looking for a book to read to my children that featured a family that closely resembled ours.  I read the story to my young son and daughter and we laughed out loud, cried a bit and then had an important conversation about America and some of its difficult past.  The characters Christopher Paul Curtis created stayed with me and were so vivid they were practically begging me to bring them to life…on the screen.  As a screenwriter, I was excited to give the spirit of Christopher Paul Curtis’ narrative a visual life especially capturing the lively family dynamic.  I also wanted to give the viewer a sense of what life would be like in Birmingham Alabama in 1963 and to showcase how families tried to protect their children and manage living in the segregated south. READ MORE…