In 1970s Durham, N.C., two of the most unlikely people became what we would call today 鈥� 鈥渇renemies.鈥� The relationship between a Ku Klux Klan leader and a civil rights activist would go down in history and is now on the big screen.
That means the hottest ticket in downtown Durham on Tuesday night was the city's premiere of the film 鈥淭he Best of Enemies.鈥� The movie centers around Ann Atwater, a well-known community activist and C.P. Ellis, an "Exalted Cyclops" of the Ku Klux Klan. As the film depicts, they didn鈥檛 like each other at first.
"Folks in this town want blacks to stay in their own schools and I鈥檓 here to protect my family," says Ellis in a heated scene. "So all the better is you don鈥檛 get in my way."
"Well, I鈥檓 gonna get in your way," answers Atwater.
Atwater got in a lot of people鈥檚 way when it came to fighting against poverty and fighting for affordable housing and for better schools. She was sometimes called 鈥淩oughhouse Ann.鈥� Ann Nakia Green, Atwater's granddaughter, was at the Durham premiere and corroborated the stories.
鈥淪o stories about knocking chairs around, that was real," said Green. "Stories about hitting people over the head with a telephone receiver, that was real. Everything is factual!鈥� she laughed.
Green flashed bright red hair and all black attire on the red carpet. She says she learned a lot from her grandmother.
鈥淪he taught me how to be strong. She taught me how to be bold. To not be scared of adversity and to speak up for myself and others that couldn鈥檛," said Green. "My grandmother was old school. So respect was definitely something she instilled in me and something I try to give everybody, everybody that I come in contact with.鈥�
In 1971, there was a stalemate over court mandated integration of Durham Public Schools. Atwater and Ellis were called on to lead a 10-day 鈥淪ave Our Schools鈥� meeting to help bring all sides together.
Robin Bissell is writer, producer and director of 鈥淭he Best of Enemies.鈥� He says now couldn鈥檛 have been a better time to present this story to the world.
鈥淏ut I look at these two people and this happening in the south in 1971, and that gives me a little hope, right. OK, if they can do it, maybe we can do it,鈥� said Bissell at the event.
Osha Gray Davidson is author of the book 鈥淭he Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South,鈥� which was first published in 1996. He says this film resonates today because issues of race and class continue to be ignored.
鈥淏ecause of structural racism, it鈥檚 not going to be fixed by just one friendship," said Davidson. "That is what C.P. learned through Ann, that the problem that he was facing as a poor white person, he was told it was caused by poor black people.鈥�
Atwater helped Ellis understand, thinking this way would just keep poor people, black and white, at each other鈥檚 throats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWMZRghw830
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, founder of the School for Conversion, was a close friend of Atwater鈥檚 and was with her when she died in 2016.
鈥淵ou know at the end of Ann鈥檚 life she was so looking forward to being on this red carpet. Which is the only reason I鈥檓 here right now," said Wilson-Hartgrove. "Because she said make sure people know this story, so she was delighted this movie was coming in.鈥�
And Atwater was delighted to know Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson would be playing her on the big screen.
鈥淚 could just feel the love of this woman. She was not only a mother for her children, she was a mother to an entire community," said Henson. "She was just incredibly selfless and that鈥檚 hard to find from people these days. We owe a lot to her, even me and I鈥檓 not even from Durham.鈥�
In the end, 鈥淭he Best of Enemies鈥� was filmed in Atlanta, not Durham, because of a lack of funding and state incentives. The movie hits theatres April 5.
