The 20 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies Ever

[liberalhistorian]

126. I so completely agree on that.

That movie literally made me sick when I saw it. It not only turned the FBI into the heroes that they most assuredly WERE NOT, but it made the REAL heroes, the African-Americans who were suffering so deeply under the heavy, crushing boot of segregation, oppression and persecution yet who had the courage to stand up against it despite the very real risk of losing their lives, and especially after seeing others lose their lives, look like blubbering, pansy cowards.

I remember meeting James Farmer, Jr., when I was in college at Kent State in the late 80's; he'd been sponsored by the Black Students Association but there were, we were all glad to see, as many white students attending as black students. This man who'd done so much to improve both conditions for his people and racial reconciliation, and who'd started his work long before the 60's by founding CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), was one of the most electrifying, charismatic, dynamic individuals I'd ever met. He was old and blind by this point and was nearing the end of his life, but he was as determined as ever that his work carry on and was one of the few people I'd ever met who truly had little sense of any racial boundaries and he wanted others to be the same.

During the Q and A period after his speech, someone asked about Mississippi Burning and how he felt about the tremendously inaccurate and insulting portrayal of African-Americans, as well as the idolization of, and fawning attitude toward, the FBI. It was the closest I saw him come to real and strong anger up to then. He said that it made the FBI seem like the "conquering heroes" come "swooping down to save the day for the poor, sniveling, huddled Negroes (the exact word he used), "Heigh-Ho Silver, here we are, you're safe now", when "nothing could have been more wrong". He said that, regarding the FBI, "we dragged them kicking and screaming down to MS, it was the last place they wanted to be and the last thing they wanted to do. Hoover himself hated us and considered Martin to be a communist".

Man, Farmer HATED the movie and it's very easy to understand why. I've never forgotten that. I used to have a tape of his whole appearance that I tape-recorded at the time, but, unfortunately, it seems to have gotten lost over the many years and many moves and location changes.