When Miss Jane Pittman Drank from the ‘Whites only’ Water Fountain.
This is what passive resistance looks like. In just under five minutes.
In 1974, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman appeared on our television screens. Not our movie screens, on television. Because it was shown on one night only (with only one commercial break, it should be noted) it wasn’t seen by everyone who might have wanted to watch it. It was here and gone but not forgotten. But now, thanks to resources available to us on the internet, we can watch it and study it and weep over it and revel in its masterful consciousness1
This scene alone, an unheard-of five minutes long, especially for television, lives on, thanks to the writing of Ernest J. Gaines, thanks to the remarkable artistry of Cicely Tyson, thanks to those of us who have never forgotten and have kept it going, those of us who need this as our ‘fix’ whenever we’re about to be convinced that there is nothing a single person can do to make unfairness and misery go away.
When Cicely Tyson brought Miss Jane Pittman to life.
Please, drop everything, go into a quiet space, grab a tissue, and learn…
Watch it here on YouTube.
Back in the day, I taught the book—and it was received with such attention by whites and blacks. I wonder if it would be banned today.
I remember when this came out. We were transfixed by it. My parents had lived in Surinam from just after the War until they moved to Canada in 1956. This is one of the major reasons they came to Canada. But such a great show.