Ep6 Positive Cinematic Spotlight ep. 2 - Positive Attitudes in 2017's Marshall - a podcast by Academy for Success

*Be aware, like any movie production of a written work, there are differences between the text and video. The theme and overall message is the same. The text is presented smoother, more polished, and has more information.*

Welcome back, Wolf Pack, to another Positive Cinematic Spotlight! When I was planning our week two spotlight, I was looking at some movie options, but then tragedy struck, and I knew I had to shift our focus. Afterall, reality often happens, making us adjust our plans.

The tragedy which made me adjust my plans was the untimely passing of award winning actor Chadwick Boseman. I wanted to honor Boseman by focusing on one of his rolls. I knew him only for his title character Black Panther, but knew he was recognized for other characters, and I took the opportunity to broaden my experience with his career. I chose his movie Marshall, in which he portrayed trailblazing Civil Rights lawyer and judge Thurgood Marshall.

There is a lot of inspiration to be found in the life of Thurgood Marshall. His strength and fortitude to seek justice for the falsely accused. Going further back in his story, which is not addressed in the movie, you can find that Marshall was willing to listen and change, being described by fellow classmate Langston Hughes as, “rough and ready, loud and wrong.” It can be shocking to learn that Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was suspended from college twice for hazing and playing pranks on fellow students, and the civil rights leader opposed the integration of African-American professors at Lincoln University. But the following year, he was participating in sit-ins protesting for the integration of lunch counters. I haven’t discovered what shifted his focus from pranks and keeping things segregated to becoming one of the most influential Civil Rights leaders, but he was willing to change.

As for the movie Marshall, what caught my attention was the relationship between Marshall and Sam Friedman. In the movie, Marshall was sent by the NAACP to defend Joseph Spell after determining his innocence. Marshall had just returned home and was not happy about the immediate assignment to go to Lafayette, Louisiana. However, he went to defend Spell with gusto. Friedman, on the other hand, did not want to be involved in the case. Through Marshall’s conviction and personality, Friedman found himself being connected to the case, and when Judge Foster said Marshall would not be allowed to speak during the case, his presence only allowed to insure Spell received a fair trial, Friedman was forced into taking on the lead defense of Spell, following Marshall’s lead behind the scenes.

In this awkward arrangement, we can find inspiration. Much like Friendman, many of use find ourselves being required to take on rolls and responsibilities which we are neither prepared, nor interested in taking. Many of us balked at the idea of becoming virtual, distant educators. Virtual education, video classes, distance and online learning,.. These were not things that magically generated when COVID-19 hit the U.S. But many teachers dug in their heels, determined to remain classroom teachers, being live and in person with our students, only to find out… we did not have a choice. But Friedman, while he did complain some at the outset, is shown to display a determination, wanting to do as good of a job as he could, despite his desire to not be involved, and not letting missteps fester into negativity. We should follow Marshall’s Friedman into whatever aspect that virtual teaching takes for us, be it all virtual, or a hybrid paired with traditional teaching, and not allow ourselves to wallow in the negatives, and remain determined to perform to the best of our abilities.

We can also learn from Boseman’s Thurgood Marshall. Marshall entered the Lafayette courtroom planning to lead the defense of Joseph Spell only to be told he had to sit silently as an observer. The virtual aspects of our school year are forcing us, to some

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