The Sky Is Gray (1980)

From Ernest J Gaines author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman comes a deceptively simple yet emotionally complex tale of a young boys discovery of what its like to be black in Louisiana during the 1940s James the boy in question has a raging toothache that necessitates a trip to the dentist His mother played by Emmywinner Olivia Cole accompanies James to town on an eyeopening odyssey where the boy gains valuable insights into poverty racism and his own sense of pride With an exciting musical score by Webster Lewis this multiaward winning film explores a childs discovery that the world is a complicated place where things are never truly black or white only shades of gray