I had the wonderful opportunity of screening Mississippi ReMixed at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey, BC, where I taught for the last 29 years of my career. The film was shown at their Professional Development Day in the morning session, followed by a question and answer period. Here were some comments from the teachers:
How would you describe the film?
• Eye opening - it's interesting to view this topic from such an honest perspective.
• Emotionally thought provoking
• I found this film to be inspirational.
• It is very powerful and opened my eyes.
• Gave me a new insight into the relationships between white and black that existed in the 1960s
• It provoked much deeper thought into the subject than I have put into it in the past.
• It was unsettling in the beginning due to the lack of awareness of what was happening at the time, but it was very well done in rectifying those issues.
• An emotional, thought disturbing film. This film has my stomach in knots, my brain is confused. I think I'm part of the problem.
* Inspirational and motivating
• This is a very earnest, heartfelt and unusually modern look at a problem that seems locked in the past for most of us.
What part of the film was the most unsettling to you?
• The explanation of how the racist governmental & financial policies of so long ago resonate even now. In Canada, this applies so closely to what has happened with our First Nations.
• The "colored" sign on the water fountain and the movie theater
• How this was able to happen for so long
• When James Meredith was shot for walking
• You having to rethink your views about yourself and your parents and older whites whom you had respected growing up.
• To see that a struggle still exists, especially in light of the statistics used - i.e.: single parent families, poverty, etc. We (in Canada) or I (personally) don't really understand how much of a struggle is there.
• Emotionally, I found it complex - thought provoking - that the racial issues still exist and asking myself how I would have reacted if I had been there.
• How easy it is to be complacent and not see the issues or situations that surround you.
• The reminder that even while we may be well intentioned, we can be racist through the very act of not seeing and not knowing.
• "I'm a Loser" sung by Kamikaze; picture of lynching; politicians that wanted to maintain status quo. It makes me feel ashamed.
What part of the film was the most emotional or uplifting to you?
• Mrs. Schutt's use of the burned cross as her Christmas decoration - her resilience, her creativity and her humor and groundedness in her response to the object changed the meaning of it.
• The former soldier, Randall O'Brien, giving the Bronze Star to the woman, Brenda Travis, the civil rights activist as a young girl, who "gave up her youth for all Americans"
* Views of former governor of Mississippi, William Winter, and his attempts to change the status quo
• I liked seeing the successful integrated high school (Madison Central High School) plus the graduating class of 1962 (Burgland High School, McComb, MS).
• That Mississippi is on its way to healing
• Admitting you, we, they were wrong and need forgiveness. Seeing forgiveness extended and accepted.
• Seeing the individuals who had suffered by challenging society being recognized and respected for their stand! It says society (people) can change. It's a hopeful message - great film from many points of view.
• I found myself tearing up at one point. I think it was when people were reflecting on the courage of their youth. The challenge for me will be to incorporate this experience into my own experience growing up in Whalley.
• Having a black professor (Dr. Charles Ross, Ole Miss) speak about their history in Mississippi. It showed how barriers can be broken down and that Mississippi is changing.
• The end where Martin Luther King's speech was matched to the visible changes and "dreams". Seeing the steps and strides being made to connect and heal.
