Cedric the Entertainer believes there are parallels between the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s and the current fight being waged by African Americans for racial equality in the U.S.
“We thought we had these fights a long time ago and it’s really unfortunate that you see the kind of mentality that we thought should have been squashed is still very much alive,” the actor and comedian told us while promoting his new film Son of the South.
Set in 1960s Alabama, the drama is based on the true story of Bob Zellner, a White activist who joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and forged a bond with civil rights activists, including Rev. Ralph Abernathy.
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Cedric plays Abernathy in the dramatic role.
“I just thought it was a great opportunity to do something that was out of the normal casting for me and I was honored to be able to have the opportunity,” The Neighborhood and The Original Kings of Comedy star explained.
The film is written and directed by longtime Spike Lee collaborator, Barry Alexander Brown — who has deep ties to Montgomery, Alabama where the film was shot. Lee executive produced the movie.
“When I was writing the script, it was Spike that urged me to really use Reverend, Dr. Abernathy. He said, ‘you know, he really doesn’t get enough love,'” the director recalled during the press junket.
The movie stars MacGyver actor Lucas Till as Zellner.
“I met him a little bit beforehand, but most of my experience was Barry telling me what to do, and I watched old interviews from when he was my age, or actually even younger, when he was about 21,” Till, 30, said about Zellner.
Lex Scott Davis, Lucy Hale, Brian Dennehy, and Julia Ormond round out the main cast. While the movie is based on Zellner’s autobiography “The Wrong Side of Murder Creek,” the team behind the film says it is not a white savior story.
“Though it was a fight over racial injustice, there were a lot of people who were really involved,” Cedric noted. “It does take a village. It is a lot of people included and it’s not one-sided, so you do have to be careful that somehow it wasn’t like the White guy saving everything.”
Son of the South opened Friday in select theaters. The Vertical Entertainment release is also available on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play and other VOD platforms.
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