''My Past Is My Own'' is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

which aired as a ''

CBS Schoolbreak Special ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' is an American anthology series for teenagers that aired on CBS from December 1978 to January 1996. The series began under the title ''CBS Afternoon Playhouse'', and was changed during the 1984–85 season. The concept ...

'' on January 24, 1989. The film is centered on a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

in the early 1960s at a

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

lunch counter A lunch counter (also known as a luncheonette) is, in the US, a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server or person preparing the food serves from the opposite side of the ...

in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Phill Lewis Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and director who is best known for his role as hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Li ...

and Allison Dean portray the lead characters. Writer/producer Alan Gansberg was awarded the 1989

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

in the Children's Live-Action Category for his work on ''My Past Is My Own''. Editor Jayme Wing was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for best achievement in film editing.

Plot

Justin Cook (

) and his sister Kerry (Allison Dean) are two

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

teenagers living in a middle-class

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

household in the late 1980s. The Cook family is visited by their distant cousin, psychologist Mariah Johnston (

). A contemporary of Justin and Kerry's parents, Mariah is about to receive an award for her years of community work, particularly in the area of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. Having been born after the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

, Justin and Kerry never experienced

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

, and the two fail to appreciate the stories about the era that Mariah and their parents recount at dinner. While Justin and Kerry sleep that night, they are mysteriously transported to a small town in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1961. While there, the siblings participate in a

at a segregated

. The protest is staged by a group of local teenagers and young adults—including their cousin Mariah. The siblings are horrified by the hostility and racism of local

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

residents, and inspired by the strength displayed by Mariah and the others as the group is harassed during the sit-in. When they awaken the following morning, the siblings find themselves back in the 1980s. No one is aware of their journey to the past except Justin and Kerry themselves (and possibly Mariah). As the Cook family watches Mariah accept her award later that day, Justin and Kerry do so with a greater appreciation for Mariah, the Civil Rights Movement, and the history of African Americans in general.

Cast

- Mariah Johnston *

- Justin Cook *Allison Dean - Kerry Cook *

C.C.H. Pounder Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is a Guyanese-American actress. She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in ''The X-Files'', '' ER'', ''The Shield'', and ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc ...

- Renee Cook *

Thalmus Rasulala Thalmus Rasulala (born Jack Crowder; November 15, 1939October 9, 1991) was an American actor with a long career in theater, television, and films. Noted for starring roles in blaxploitation films, he was also an original cast member of ABC's soap ...

- Marshall Cook *

William Allen Young William Allen Young (born January 24, 1954) is an American actor and director who has starred in over 100 television, stage, and film projects, including two Academy Award-nominated films, ''A Soldier's Story'' and ''District 9''. He is best k ...

- Rev. James Jordan * Geoffrey Blake - Dexter Lee Smith * Guy Boyd - Russell Crew *Gloria Carlin - Frances Taylor *Kenneth Edwards - Clyde Waller *

Dominic Hoffman Dominic Hoffman is an American actor and playwright. He is known for his recurring roles on ''The Shield'' as Louis Sperling, ''A Different World'' as Whitley's boyfriend, Julian Day, and ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Jeff Russell. He is also an acc ...

- Donny Hall *Charles Stransky - Alfred Wainwright *Anthony Grumbach - White Boy *

Laurneá Wilkerson Laurneá Wilkerson is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Under the name Laurneá, she has released four studio albums including ''Betta Listen'' in 1997, which includes the singles "Can't Let Go" (#55 on the US ''Billboard'' 100, #20 on ...

- Brianne Solomons *Dorothy Sinclair - White Woman * James Marshall - Willie Willens

Music

*The

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...

tune "Remember the Dream" serves as the theme song for the movie.The song was also billed as the "theme song" for ''YSB'' (Young Sisters & Brothers), a short-lived magazine owned by

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Notes

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External links

''My Past Is My Own'' (1989)
at

The Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

African-American films Civil rights movement in television 1989 television films 1989 films American television films Films about race and ethnicity Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in New Jersey Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1980s Films about time travel

Plot

Cast

Music

See also

Notes

External links