Brief

The true story of an interracial couple in conservative and racist North Carolina of the early 1900s. White Martin takes a brave stand for equality by marrying into the black community, slowly helping to change attitudes.

What We Liked

An intriguing true story about a young white man, Martin, who believed in equality since he was a child. He boldly joined black cotton pickers in the fields and married into the black community, earning a vehement reaction from his racist parents and the white township.

Film: It might do well as an indie movie in the vein of Loving, the true story of a ground-breaking interracial couple.

TV: It might do well as a MOW (Movie of the Week) as its interracial story is still very relevant.

Key points: A daring story for the time, early 1900s. Stand-up young male lead and empathetic black female lead. Shocking hostile reaction from white locals, with some horrible crimes committed. The bravery of local blacks who created their own self-sufficient co-op in order to survive.

Synopsis

MARTIN SPENCER, a young white man, grows up in North Carolina in the early 1900s, where racism is prevalent. His parents EDWARD and KERRY (both 40s) are strictly conservative – and they’re shocked when Martin, as a child, questions why all humans can’t be equal, regardless of the color of their skin. They’re even more appalled when he joins the black kids picking cotton in the fields! Martin’s father is so angry that he tells him not to come home.

At 18, Martin moves in with friendly black POPS (50s) and his wife MOLLY (40s) who are very kind to him. When Martin learns that Pops dreams of being a professional singer, he uses his wages to rent a local recording studio for an hour and allows him to make a record. Pops is thrilled. Unfortunately, walking home one day, a group of angry white men confront Pops and beat him to death before Martin’s eyes. Martin is devastated.

There is a large funeral presided over by PASTOR DANIEL (black, 60s) who knows Martin is a good speaker. He asks him to give a eulogy – and Martin chooses to sing a song instead. Some of the black congregation blame Martin but Molly speaks up in his defense.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for Martin to remain living with widowed Molly so the Pastor gives him a room at the back of the church. Martin earns a living fixing things around the building and assisting the Pastor.

Molly learns about the newly formed civil rights group, the NAACP, and she starts going to meetings where she meets a new friend, ETHEL (black, 30s), as well as a beau, HENRY (black, 30s). The ghost of Pops appears to give her his blessing to date again.

Meanwhile, Martin has fallen for RHONDA (black, 17), at church, and she turns out to be the Pastor’s niece. The Pastor tells Martin he’s planning to retire soon and he’s going to put Martin in charge. Despite his youth, the Pastor can see that Martin is a principled and impassioned young man.

Martin visits Molly and Ethel in another town and they take him to an NAACP meeting. As in the black church community, the black civil rights activists are wary of a white guy in their midst but Martin’s friends vouch for him and it’s clear from his reassurances that he is a man of integrity.

Back in town, three black shoeshine boys are returning home through the woods when a terrified white woman rushes past them, shortly followed by an angry white man, her husband.

When she is later found dead, the husband blames the three black workers and an angry white mob beat them, drag them to the village green and hang them from a large tree. Martin and the Pastor are horrified.

A white overseer appears, accusing the husband of killing his workers – and shouts at the white community, asking them how they could possibly let the atrocity happen.

The Pastor takes Martin to the plantation where he grew up. The white owner (his father) was racially tolerant and created a happy co-op. It’s the setting of Martin and Rhonda’s lavish wedding, with her parents. Martin’s parents refuse to attend. A few months later, Rhonda gives birth to their daughter, ANNETTE. Pastor Daniel passes away on the very same day and there is a large funeral.

Rhonda’s father ROBERT (40s) visits the Spencers to tell them about their granddaughter but they refuse to acknowledge her existence. Martin’s father tells him he should be ashamed of himself.

Martin and Rhonda go into town to shop and are refused entry to all white stores. They run into Martin’s mother and she softens when she sees the baby. Martin returns to the plantation, which has been left to him by the Pastor, and tells everyone they will become self-sufficient, growing their own crops, raising livestock and buying cloth to make clothing.

Rhonda has just had their second child, MARTIN, Jr., when WWI starts and blacks and whites are forced into the army. Martin’s father feels for Rhonda raising two young children alone but even so, he withholds Martin’s letters to Rhonda from abroad.

Tragically, as they all feared, Martin is killed in action in Europe. His mother is irrationally angry with Rhonda and won’t allow her to attend the funeral. Martin’s body is returned and he’s buried in a whites-only cemetery with a locked gate. The Spencers won’t even let her visit her husband’s grave.

Rhonda is shocked when Mrs. Spencer even tries demanding custody of the children. She tells them that they had no interest in her or her children before and they’re damn well not going to get them now. She will allow visits but only at the plantation where she is protected. She doesn’t want the Spencers to try and abduct the kids.

Rhonda educates the children at home, converting an outbuilding into a small school. She is determined to teach the other black farm kids that they can have more: they can go to college and get better jobs.

Years pass; the kids grow up and go to college. It’s the 1930s and times have changed. Annette gets pregnant during her final year of college and drops out to have baby Rachel. The child lives with her grandmother while Annette finishes school. She wants to go traveling like her brother even though Rhonda is opposed to it. But Annette persuades her mother to raise Rachel and she heads off to Europe.

The Spencers have mellowed and apologize to Rhonda for their previous attitude. They befriend Annette and give her money to fund her adventures. Sadly, a year or so later, Rhonda is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Son Martin gets Annette’s contact info from the Spencers and calls her, telling her to come home. Annette takes her time, not realizing how serious it is. She arrives at the hospital and lays down on the bed next to her mother. Rhonda is dying. She has a vision of her late husband in his military uniform and whispers: ‘The traveling soldier has come home.’ Rhonda passes away.

Annette and Martin ask the Spencers if they can bury Rhonda next to Martin. At the funeral, which the Spencers attend, Annette’s young daughter, Rachel, sees the ghosts of Rhonda and Martin when they were young and in love. Rhonda tells the child to never forget her history and to always work on bettering herself and her community.

About The Author

Betty Cooper comes from a family of ten children living in North Carolina. She has self-published a dozen books on Amazon. She loves to tell stories, especially those relating to important social conditions.