Thursday, December 1, 2011
Arkansas Politics / Arkansas Culture and Characters Daisy Bates documentary premieres at UALR
Posted by Cheree Franco on Thu, Dec 1, 2011 at 11:56 AM
- courtesy of NAACP
- Daisy Bates with the Little Rock Nine
Last night the University of Arkansas Little Rock hosted the world premiere of Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, a documentary made by New York native Sharon La Cruise. La Cruise discovered Daisy Bates in 1997, when she was struck by her image in a photo tribute to great black women. She considered herself well-versed in civil rights rhetoric, so La Cruise was bothered by the fact that she'd never heard of Bates. She quickly became obsessed with the woman from Huttig, Arkansas, who became the president of NAACP and the figurehead of the Little Rock Nine. She wrote to the 83-year-old Bates and, following her leads, began a meticulous research process that took La Cruise all over Arkansas. She dug up film footage and photographs and included on-camera interviews with Bates' friends from Huttig and beyond, relatives of Civil Rights journalist L.C. Bates (who ultimately became Bates's husband), four of the Little Rock Nine and a sprinkling of academic talking heads.
The documentary is a moving, well-researched tribute to a complex activist, and while La Cruise obviously considers Bates a personal hero, she doesn't gloss Bates's flaws. Bates's childhood was troubled by the abandonment of her birth father and the knowledge that her birth mother was raped and murdered by white men who were never brought to justice. Her rage butted against ego and an inborn energy and charisma that propelled her into the spotlight, diva style, even as she did the gritty work of organizing, managing the media, and ducking the rocks and bullets that flew through her picture window. An accidental feminist, assertive, stubborn, attention-seeking and simultaneously righteous, many people, including the Little Rock Nine, ultimately had mixed feelings about Bates and her legacy. La Cruise respectfully probes the controversial aspects of Bates's persona and the aftermath of her celebrity — the fact that Bates had three premature strokes, likely brought on by stress and a fondness of drink, and died a destitute woman.
Bates is well-known in Little Rock, but she and many other female civil rights activists are somewhat lost to history at large. They're eclipsed by a handful of men with reputations bolstered not only by dauntless deeds but by the patriarchal era and community in which these deeds were accomplished. This documentary's very existence reminds us of that fact. It also humanizes Bates, showcasing a woman of great accomplishment but also a woman we recognize — we find her in ourselves, our mothers, our sisters and friends. And a genuine flawed hero is infinitely more interesting than an airbrushed myth.
The film gained a layer of immediacy and intimacy for those present at the premiere. In the follow-up Q & A session, a woman mentioned her surprise upon spotting her uncles in the 1970s footage of Bates directing construction crews in Mitchellville, Arkansas. Bates moved to the black sharecropping community in 1966 and initiated projects such as paving roads and installing indoor plumbing. The older Bates received little fanfare for her contributions in Mitchellville, and she seemed more comfortable with a behind the scenes approach than her earlier behavior had indicated.
Another woman identified herself as Bates's god-daughter. With the fervor of a gospel preacher, she took the mic and thundered, "L.C. gave Daisy to me! When he was on his deathbed, he said to me, 'you take care of your mother.' And there were enablers in Daisy's life, and I told those people, 'don't you drive her to the liquor store.' And I just want everyone to know, Daisy never starved on my watch!" Ultimately the moderator had to cut her off, but the outburst offered the audience further, less sanitized insight into Bates's life.
The crowd was a mix of ages and ethnicities. When a white University of Arkansas student asked how Daisy would have reacted to "black extremists, such as the black panthers," tension shot through the audience.
"Stay calm y'all, stay calm," an elderly black woman stage-whispered to her agitated companions. Someone on the panel turned to La Cruise and muttered "undergraduates."
But La Cruise and Dr. John Kirk, UALR's chair of history, diffused the situation, saying that Daisy hosted Gandhi's grandson and chided violent activists. "But," Kirk said, "she also had a gun. And when threatened, she shot it."
If you missed the premiere, don't miss the PBS showing. Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock will air on Thursday, February 2, 2012, so keep an eye on local listings.
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
Max, great review of the premiere. But why did the Black Panther question cause tension? Were they not viewed as violent or extremists by Blacks?
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It's unfortunate that we had to leave before the panel discussion, but we needed to pick up junior and get him to bed. I think the film was very well done.
I am grateful for the struggle Mrs. Bates led, and certainly for the outcome that allowed me to graduate with a diverse class. Although my high school experience wasn't devoid of racial division, Little Rock Central was much different a quarter-century after these events. But no matter how many times I see that footage, I can't get used to the abject and raw hatred on display. Thank God I can't get used to it.
Hugh, you should have grown up in the midst of it. Racism seemed normal to me when I was a kid simply because all around me were racists. Well almost all. My aunt never tipped her hand. She was an office holder and received much support from the black community. Her hubby, my uncle, began chidding my racist family about "going to Heaven" cause the Bible didn't say there was to be a segregated Heaven. This threw the racist elders in my family into a tizzy cause they were taught to be hateful racists.
But, my dear late Uncle Martin opened my adolescent mind even though I doubt it was his intention. Anyways, I knew something wasn't right about my family and neighborhood in light of the contradictions my uncle kept bringing up.
When I was growing up in Central Ark everything I ever heard about Daisy Bates was negative and just about slanderous. Mostly I heard "she's a communist" repeated more often than other terms. She was doing the work of communist agitators as if that was reason enough to hate an entire race of humans.
I was well into my 20s before I deliberately worked on my own racism, purging it as best I could, undoing the conditioning of 100 post-Civil War years of fears and resentments, a century of poor, white bigots degrading another race because they too were degraded without hope for the most part. The merchants of Little Rock capitalized on the fear and degradation with impunity. I doubt many merchants marked their
money "White" and "Coloured" at the end of the day.
The documentary will be presented on AETN and nationwide on PBS in early February.
The documentary will be aired on AETN and nationwide on PBS in early February 2012.
oops! Just saw the PBS blurb at the bottom of the article. It will likely run several times on AETN.
Hi,
I am Jan, the God daughter of the late LC & Daisy Bates. I never claim to be a preacher, just a human being who watched others come into Mother Bates life for just a moment to get letters of recommendations or to say they were the good friends of hers. Many of them went on into politics, became writers, film makers and teachers. She was a young teenage girl who fell in love with an older man. She was the wife of an older man with a ten year old daughter. She was at times overwhelmed by the life she lived. But ,she and LC always gave their love,time, home and what little money they had to others.
I attended Little Rock Central High and they picked me up everyday from the school. My journalism teacher at the time Mr. Charles Lance was elated to know that I was able to give him scoops on events Pop's and mother Bates would attend. One in particular was the airport interview of Dr. Maya Angelou ( friend of Bates'), they told all other reporters to allow me to field questions to her also.
Yes , the Bates' were not perfect, but I know it did take alot of courage to take a stand in america at that time in history, when we all were not on the same page as Americans. The civil rights movement was one of the giant steps towards us(Americans), understanding that when it comes down to it we are all human beings. I loved LC & Daisy Bates : They told me I was their daughter and they treated me well. I am related to a few of the Little Rock Nine Melba Patillo, and jefferson Thomas. My mother got a rise out of you stating" I sounded like a preacher". Please excuse my outburst, blame it on my heart not my head. I would like to meet you one day, signing off with my by-line.
Thank You for even mentioning me,
Jan Brown
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