10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robert Townsend

Writer (WGA):

Cyrus Nowrasteh (written by)

Release Date:

24 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Union activist Asa Philip Randolph's efforts to organize the black porters of the Pullman Rail Company in 1920s America. |

Plot Keywords:

Union | 1920s | Race Relations | African American | Labor Activist

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Andre Braugher	...	A. Philip Randolph (as André Braugher)
Charles S. Dutton	...	Milton Webster
Mario Van Peebles	...	Ashley Totten
Brock Peters	...	Leon Frey
Carla Brothers	...	Lucille Randolph
Kenneth McGregor	...	Barton Davis
Ellen Holly	...	Selena Frey
Ernestine Jackson	...	Mrs. Randolph
Ardon Bess	...	Daddy Moore
Ordena Stephens	...	Sandi Totten
James McGowan	...	Desmond
Kedar Brown	...	James Randolph (as Kedar)
Christopher Bondy	...	William Green (as Chris Bondy)
Neville Edwards	...	E.J. Daniels
Collette Micks	...	Mrs. Robbins

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

95 min | Argentina:92 min | Japan:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PG | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Dufferin Gate Productions

Quotes:

[last tile cards]
Title Card: On August 25th, 1937 the Pullman Company signed the first ever agreement between a union of black workers and a major American corporation. It was twelve years - to the day - of the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
Title Card: For the next four decades Randolph carried forward his fight for equality. In 1963, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Randolph initiated the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was at that gathering that a young Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech... and Randolph passed his torch to a new generation of leaders in the fight for Civil Rights.

Very Interesting Historical Docudrama

This movie is a little choppy, but you try fitting 20 years of turbulent history into a two hour movie. If you don't know about other things happenning during the same period (the Great Depression, for example) the allusions to its effects on the primary storyline are hard to follow. I'd like to see this done as a mini-series, with about ten hours or so to tell the story in full.

Still, if you think that the civil rights movement began with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, you will find this movie fascinating. The drive to organize the African-American porters combines civil rights and workers' rights with historical perspectives on the late 1920's and 1930's.

One thing that struck me about this movie is the presence of benevolent White characters. In many African-American rights movies, all Whites are either evil or ineffectual morons. (Think the White assistant principal in Lean on Me). There are many White racists in the role of antagonists in this movie, but there is also the White rep for the AFL, who works to support the growing union.