American Violet - A Review

John H. Armstrong:

American Violet is one of those films I truly wish every Christian I know would see. It reveals the deep seated impact of racism on black America and shatters the typically conservative stereotype that the problem is all but over. The film, released in April of this year to a limited number of screens in apparently small places, is based on the true story of Dee Roberts, a 24 year-old African-American single mother of four living in the small Texas town of Melody. Dee is dragged away from work one day in handcuffs, and dumped in the women's county prison for twenty-one days before bail can be met. The local district attorney leads an extensive drug bust, sweeping her housing project with military precision. Dee soon discovers that she has been charged as a drug dealer, crack-cocaine. Even though she has no prior drug record, and no drugs were found on her in the raid, she is offered an all too typical choice: plead guilty and receive a ten-years suspended sentence and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison, jeopardizing custody of her four kids and risking a long prison sentence, perhaps as long as 16-25 years. She chooses to fight the unyielding criminal justice system, risking everything in a battle that forever changed her life and the Texas justice system. I will not spoil the ending or the consequences of this ordeal but it is a wonderful story with a mostly positive ending. The response of the community to their DA underscores just how deep-seated the racism is when you see the closing commentary of the film. Again, seeing is really believing in this instance. Just see the film. The San Francisco Chronicle called this “An ideal movie for an ideal time.” Entertainment Weekly says, “[A] powerful performance by newcomer Nicole Beharie,” giving the film a B+ rating.

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