This spring marks the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. The anniversary provides an opportunity to revisit the nation’s racial history and consider the legacy of this important decision, and Bucknell’s Department of Education will do that through a free, public film series. The films in this series were curated to help viewers better understand the historical context and rationale behind the Brown decision, as well as the protests and violence that followed.
The Intolerable Burden is the second film to be screened in the series. Produced and directed by Chea Prince and Constance Curry, the film is set in the autumn of 1965 as sharecroppers Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter enrolled the youngest eight of their 13 children in the public schools of Drew, Miss. Their decision to send the children to the formerly all white schools was in response to a “freedom of choice” plan. Given the prevailing attitudes, Blacks were not expected to choose White schools. This proved true for all but the Carters.