He politely tells his friends that he will not have time to see them anymore, later explaining to his mother that he "said goodbye to them before they say it to me" because he had accepted that they were only his friends "up to a point". Unable to discern any course of action that will alleviate his current unhappiness, Spence ultimately decides simply to persevere and focus upon building a brighter future for himself. His mother grows just as angry in return, insisting he will learn that having to swallow such humiliations is just part of being black in a white-dominated world. She is also perceptive enough to be wary of a possible romantic relationship developing between Spence and Christine.įrustrated by his mother's decision and the fact that she has asked his friends to come over and spend time with him, Spence grows very angry at her over the idea of his having to beg people to be friends with him. Spence's mother reasons that with the family no longer needing anyone to look after Gram, a housekeeper is unnecessary. To her own surprise, Christine finds that she is considering the idea, but the decision is made for her when she is terminated from the household. He proposes that, because Christine is lonely also - she is a widow, her only child was stillborn, and she is probably over 1,000 miles removed from any of her family - they might find some happiness together for a short time, even if their age difference precludes a long-term relationship. He confesses to her both his sexual frustration and his overall loneliness. She also criticizes their emphasis on providing him material comforts, as opposed to spending time with him, as evidenced by the fact that they are completely unaware of his having recently become something of an outcast among his peers.Īfter Gram dies, Spence turns to Christine ( Ruby Dee), the Scotts' housekeeper. She notes that they moved to the middle-class neighborhood to help instill in Spence a sense of self-respect that he might not have attained if he'd grown up in a slum, but they are now angry at him for displaying that very self-respect. Spence tells them that he ashamed of them for that attitude and Gram comes to Spence's defense, chiding the couple for not supporting him in his stance against his teacher's racism. Upon returning home, Spence's parents berate him for not having stayed "in his place" when dealing with white people, as they have learned to do. He is disillusioned to discover that the woman is unhappily married and wants only to find a man in the bar who has some money and a nice car, so that she can have a one-night fling with him to temporarily escape from her troubles.
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Although he is intelligent and well-read, he finds that his academic knowledge doesn't carry him far as he approaches an attractive older woman in a bar ( Ellen Holly), presenting to her a very logical case as to why he'd be a good boyfriend, and assuring her that he'd be willing to marry if they were to fall in love. His time on his own is short-lived, however, as he is socially unprepared for an adult world. Spence confides in "Gram" ( Estelle Hemsley), his ailing but wise grandmother, but he cannot face the prospect of telling his parents ( Frederick O'Neal, Beah Richards) what has happened, so he decides to leave home, catching a bus into a black neighborhood. At the same time, his white friends are beginning to exclude him from their activities because they want to include girls, and none of the girls' parents approve of their daughters socializing in circles that include a black boy. He is discovered there and is suspended from school. When his history teacher speaks ill of the intellect of black slaves during the American Civil War, he objects, and when the teacher dismisses the objection, he storms angrily out of the classroom and slips into the bathroom to calm down by smoking a cigar.
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Having been raised with a sense of self-respect, he is starting to become frustrated by the effects of racism. Spencer "Spence" Scott ( Johnny Nash) is a 17-year-old black high school senior who has lived his entire life in a middle-class white neighborhood of an unnamed city in the northern United States.