Hendersonville commemorates the 60th anniversary of the integration of its schools with a new film documenting the black community’s thirst for education when Color Beyond the Lines, a new film by David Weintraub and the Center for Cultural Preservation, premieres on June 21st.
Despite the fact that black students were forced to use old, tattered books and attend schools far from their homes, the schools they created became treasured institutions. The 9th Avenue School, for instance, offered a quality education while maintaining a close-knit family relationship. When integration of schools went into effect in 1965, the black community was excited to have access to resources that they never had before, but it came at a high price: the loss of their cherished schools.
The film documents the tremendous discrimination the black community in Henderson County and WNC faced and how they overcame it by building a nurturing, supportive community led by area churches such as Star Bethel Baptist Church. Sports also played an important role after integration in developing unity in the community. And black athletes excelled as demonstrated by the 1972 Hendersonville High Bearcats that took the basketball state title with an unprecedented four black students in the starting five, shortly after integration.
Color Beyond the Lines will have its world premiere in the Western North Carolina region on Saturday, June 21st at 7:00 PM at the Thomas Auditorium at Blue Ridge Community College. The premiere will begin with a local musical performance, followed by the screening and ending with a discussion with local black leaders on progress and challenges ahead.
