When I Rise (2010)

A documentary about Barbara Smith Conrad a gifted University of Texas music student who finds herself at the epicenter of racial controversy struggling against the odds and ultimately ascending to the heights of international opera A gifted black music student at the University of Texas is thrust into a civil rights storm that changes her life forever Barbara Smith Conrad is cast in an opera opposite a white male classmate fueling a racist backlash from members of the Texas legislature Barbaras expulsion from the cast escalates the incident to national news prompting unexpected support from a pop superstar This smalltown girl whose voice and spirit stem from her roots in East Texas emerges as an internationally celebrated mezzosoprano and headlines on stages worldwide