Schedule | TNT Originals | Turner Learning
After Viewing
Activity Suggestions
Part A. Looking for Accuracy: After watching PASSING GLORY, share with students several examples in the film where historical events have been altered (Fact vs. Fiction). Have them discuss possible reasons why the filmmakers made these choices. Then have students share additional points in the film that they believe would need to be verified for accuracy before they could accept this film as a reliable source of information on the Civil Rights Movement. Divide students into small groups and assign each group one (or more, depending on how many questions are generated) of the questions to research using at least two other sources. Have each group report on any discrepancies they discovered among the additional sources.
Part B. Dramatic Elements: How does PASSING GLORY compare with other films that have the Civil Rights Movement as part of their theme (e.g. Mississippi Burning, Malcolm X, Ghosts of Mississippi)? Are these films "historically accurate"? How do you know? How does PASSING GLORY compare with the documentary series Eyes on the Prize, or other documentaries on the Civil Rights Movement? How might PASSING GLORY have been different if it had been presented as a documentary? What dramatic elements are used in PASSING GLORY to let the audience know that this is a docudrama and not straight historical presentation?
Part C. Point of View: From whose point of view is PASSING GLORY told? How does this perspective influence your reaction to the film? Why do you think the story is told from this perspective? The script writer, Harold Sylvester, played for the Purple Knights in the legendary 1965 basketball game depicted in the film. Can students identify examples from the film where his perspective is presented? How might his perspective have influenced his story? What other perspectives are represented in the film? Were any left out? Were all perspectives treated "equally"? Executive Producers Earvin "Magic² Johnson and Quincy Jones also have their own perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement. How might their perspectives have impacted the production? What questions might you have for the makers of this film? How might the story have been presented through the eyes of Mr. Malone or Mommit or Travis' parents? Have students explain their answers.
Provide half the class with a copy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have a Dream" speech and the other half with Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet." Allow time for each group to analyze key points made in its assigned speech and prepare a presentation for the other group. After both groups have presented, have the class work together to construct a Venn Diagram illustrating how the philosophies and goals of the two leaders differed, and in what ways they shared commonalities. Have students identify various characters in the film PASSING GLORY. Where on the Venn Diagram would students place these characters? As an extension, have students write a persuasive essay explaining to one of these characters why he or she should follow either Dr. King or Malcolm X.
Throughout the film PASSING GLORY, there are several references to the coverage of sports in the newspapers. Have students consider possible ways that the print media influenced people's thinking about the Civil Rights Movement. Have students write a newspaper article that could have appeared in either the Herald or the Globe on the day following the basketball game between the Purple Knights and the Blue Jays. How might the story have read in each newspaper? Have students read the sports sections of current newspapers and have them note how papers today compare with those depicted in PASSING GLORY. Extension: Have students research an African-American owned newspaper from a large southern city (e.g. Atlanta, Birmingham) and compare stories related to the Civil Rights Movement from an African-American paper and from a general interest newspaper.
Point-Counterpoint: Conflict was inherent throughout the Civil Rights Movement, not only between Blacks and Whites, but among different generations and even the Civil Rights activists themselves. PASSING GLORY depicts many of these conflicts (e.g. Travis Porter and Mike Malone, Father Grant and Father Verrett, Travis Porter and his parents, Mike Malone and his father). Have students pair off and assign them one of these conflicts, or have them choose their own. Have students identify the major points of conflict between the two characters and have them prepare a skit that illustrates these points. At the conclusion of the skits, discuss the many different perspectives during the Civil Rights Movement. Are all of these perspectives addressed in the students¹ textbooks? Extension: Have students participate in an oral history project by interviewing family members, neighbors, family friends, teachers, clergy and other members of the community who lived during the 1950s and '60s. Click here for help presenting an oral history. (Suggested topics for research.) (Suggested list of individuals for research.)
Distribute the following quotation to students. Have one half of the class argue in support of the quotation and the other half refute it.
Magic Johnson:
"Sports are colorless. A Black man and a White man walk side by side for the same goal. That's to win. We come together, Black and White, to cheer on our favorite team and our favorite player, no matter what color he is. I think basketball is the only way you can tell this story. You don't cheer for the Black team, you don't cheer for the White team, you just cheer for the athletes that they made this commitment."
Web Extra Activity:
Have students learn about memorials and monuments dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement. Working individually, in pairs, or in small groups, have students design and construct their own monument or memorial to the Movement from the vantage point of those learning about it many decades later. Provide time for students to explain their artistic expression of the Movement to classmates and designate a showcase, hallway, or another area of the school for the monuments and memorials to be displayed.