The Color of Friendship

This article is about the 2000 TV film. For the 1981 after-school special, see The Color of Friendship (1981 film).

The Color of Friendship
File:The Color of Friendship.jpg
Written by	Paris Qualles
Directed by	Kevin Hooks
Starring	Carl Lumbly Penny Johnson Jerald Lindsey Haun Shadia Simmons Ahmad Stoner
Theme music composer	Stanley Clarke
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Kevin Hooks Christopher Morgan
Cinematography	David Herrington
Editor(s)	Richard Nord
Running time	87 minutes
Distributor	Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original release	February 5, 2000 (2000-02-05)

The Color of Friendship is a 2000 television film based on actual events about the friendship between two girls; Mahree & Piper, one from the United States and the other from apartheid South Africa, who learn about tolerance and friendship. The film was directed by Kevin Hooks, based on a script by Paris Qualles, and stars Lindsey Haun and Shadia Simmons.

Plot

In 1977, Piper Dellums (Shadia Simmons) is a black girl who lives in Washington, D.C. with her father, Congressman Ron Dellums (Carl Lumbly), an outspoken opponent of the South African apartheid system and the oppression of black South Africans, her mother Roscoe Dellums (Penny Johnson Jerald), and two younger twin brothers, Brandy (Anthony Burnett) and Erik (Erron Jackson). Piper, who has been taking an interest in the different nations of Africa, begs her parents to host an African exchange student.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, Mahree Bok (Lindsey Haun) is a white South African who lives in a manor house with her parents and little brother. They comfortably benefit from the system of apartheid without questioning its morality; Mahree's father, Pieter Bok, is a South African policeman who cannot hide his joy when Steve Biko (a black South African man fighting against apartheid) has just been captured. They also have a black maid, Flora (Melanie Nicholls-King), whom Mahree, in her racial blindness, considers her best friend, not realizing that Flora is not satisfied with her life under apartheid. However, Mahree's observation is not entirely wrong, as Flora is a kindly woman who is indeed friendly with the Bok children, believing that gentleness and persuasion work better than agitation. Flora tells Mahree that when she was a little girl she would observe the weaver bird, which has many different styles of plumage, and its communal nest-building, which is used as a metaphor for the possibility of racial harmony that Mahree does not understand at the time. Mahree also asks her parents for permission to study in America, which is granted by her father, who believes she will either get homesick or realize that America is not a paradise. However, Mahree is slightly aware of some of the injustices of her society, as a black busboy gets slugged for spilling a tray, which she finds revolting.

Both Mahree and Piper have misconstrued notions about each other's countries: Mahree does not think that there are black politicians, only knowing the patriarch of her host family is "Congressman Dellums", and although Piper is expecting a South African exchange student, she does not realize there are white residents.

Their assumptions are not corrected until Piper and her mother meet Mahree at the airport and bring her home. Piper is bitterly disappointed. Mahree reacts with horror bordering on panic when confronted with this new situation, as does Ron. Piper goes to his office where he is meeting with several black Congressmen, and they all look surprised to see that he will be hosting a white South African. Once Mahree gets back to the Dellums' house, she locks herself in Piper's bedroom and refuses to come out.

Eventually, Piper picks the lock on the door to bring Mahree some fries and a chocolate shake. Mahree is standoffish, and Piper, upset by her attitude, tells Mahree how disappointed she is in her. Stunned by this, Mahree sees how rude she's been, and agrees to stay and try to make this work. Roscoe tries to play peacemaker, chalking up Mahree's reaction to misunderstanding and culture shock, while telling Ron and Piper they have been judgmental as well. Everyone tries to make this work out.

During Mahree's stay, she and the Dellumses grow close. Mahree sees people of different races getting along and realizes how much she and Piper have in common. The two become good friends. Mahree also begins to see her host family as individuals and learns to live among them day to day. Gradually, she develops a better understanding of what life under South African apartheid must be like for people of color.

When Steve Biko, a member of the South African liberation movement who was mentioned towards the beginning of the film, is killed by South African police, there are mass protests around the world, including at the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. In the wake of these protests, South African embassy diplomats arrive at the Dellums' house and take Mahree to the embassy, intending to send her back to South Africa.

In response, Ron goes to the South African embassy. After he threatens to tell the press that the embassy kidnapped Mahree from her host family, the embassy releases Mahree. Mahree returns to the Dellumses without fully understanding what happened to her and why.

When Mahree returns to the Dellums' house, she makes a cold offhand comment about Biko's death. Outraged, Piper shouts at her for being blind to the racial struggle happening in South Africa. Hurt, Mahree runs from the house. At first, it seems that their friendship is over; but Piper's parents soon bridge the gap between the girls. In private, Ron tells Mahree that the United States had a long, hard history of trying to overcome problems, which is what South Africa is doing now, and she finally fully grasps what the liberation fighters in South Africa stand for. She and Piper reconcile.

Soon, Mahree leaves the United States, now a very different person. When she returns home, the first person she greets is Flora. Secretly, Mahree shows her an ANC flag sewn inside her coat, signifying her decision to side with the black liberation movement. Flora is touched and pleased.

An epilogue-like scene at the end of the movie shows Mahree with the Dellumses at an African pride event back in America. Ron Dellums delivers a speech that includes the weaver-bird story, as told to him by "a new friend from South Africa."

Afterword

The film was based on a short story called "Simunye" written by the real-life Piper Dellums about a South African girl named Carrie coming to stay with her family. Dellums writes that she lost touch with Carrie after she returned to South Africa and does not know what happened to her. In "Simunye", Piper speculates that Carrie may have been murdered for her anti-racist views by being beaten to death or disappeared along with a number of other anti-Apharteid activists.

Anachronisms and mistakes

• The movie is set in 1977, but the first shot of the movie shows the Washington Monument with the scaffolding used for its renovation in 2000.
• In the final scene when Mahree returns to the farm, the car arriving at the farmhouse has the newer, yellow number plates. During the 1970s South African vehicle number plates were white text on a black background. Transvaal province was the first to use the new black on yellow plates in 1978. The Dellums' family car, however, is accurately portrayed with a set of license plates decorated with themes honoring the U.S. Bicentennial, which occurred one year prior to the film's story.
• The light switches on the walls throughout the Dellums' home are all "Decora" rocker-style versus the classic toggle style, despite rocker wall switches being very uncommon for home installation during the time period of the movie.

• Mahree's home in South Africa appears to be near the ocean, while Dundee, South Africa, located in KwaZulu-Natal where she is supposedly from, is not.

TV and VHS release

The movie was met with overwhelming praise, and was played on the Disney Channel several times throughout 2000 and 2001. After this, the channel stopped airing the movie for unknown reasons. However, beginning in 2006, Disney Channel began airing the movie annually in early February, to correlate with Black History Month.A VHS was released early in 2002, and included the film, as well as the music video for "Galaxy is Ours" from Zenon: The Zequel. This has been long out of circulation, and Disney Channel rarely airs or sells DCOMS from before 2004. Disney Channel most recently aired the movie on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at midnight.

Awards

Won

2000

• Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program
• Humanitas Prize

2001

• NAACP Image Award
  • Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special
• WGA Award
  • Children's Script Category, Paris Qualles
• Young Artist Awards
  • Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) - Leading Young Actress, Shadia Simmons

Nominated

2001

• DGA Award
  • Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs, Kevin Hooks
• Young Artist Awards
  • Best Family TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series - Cable
  • Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) - Leading Young Actress, Lindsey Haun

External links

• The Color of Friendship at IMDb