The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Originally published on social media on February 28th, 2022

What better way to conclude #blackhistorymonth than with this film. The script, the acting, all of it was so inspirational that we were convinced that Jane Pittman was a real story. It turns out the story is not about one person, but rather inspired by many real life people. In this film, Jane is 110 years old and her story starts with the Civil War and ends with the Civil Rights Movement. Utilizing this expansive timeline was clever for so many reasons, but the best (and most important) is how it shows how things DID NOT really change THAT MUCH for black people in the south throughout that 100 years. That was not a common historical perspective for many generations, and maybe in some ways is still uncommon today.

This film accomplishes another important task: sharing how dangerous progress can be. It is so easy to say that you would be braver in somebody else’s shoes, or critique people throughout history for not doing more to help their fellow man. Reality was scary and progress was challenging, but not impossible. This film guides viewers through many emotions, but the two most important are sadness and hope. These two emotions paired together teach us how to have empathy and compassion, reminding us of how important it is to never forget the sacrifices previous generations made for the world we live in today. Our world is still flawed, but hopefully through remembrance, activism, and learning, we can make an equality based, safe, and loving future.

This film is significant to #blackhistorymonth not only for the story, but because of Cicely Tyson. She was a pioneer for strong, beautiful, and brave black actresses on the big screen. Also, she was the first African American actress to win an Emmy, the 2nd actress to be nominated for an academy award for best actress, awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor, and friend of Rosa Parks. She was and still is a legend. With this, her performance in this movie is phenomenal, almost hard to describe with words.