Alice is a 2022 crime thriller starring Keke Palmer, Common, Gaius Charles, Alicia Witt, and Jonny Lee Miller. The film was written and directed by Krystin Ver Linden. According to The Hollywood Reporter, per the filmmakers, Alice is, “inspired by the true events of a woman of servitude in 1800s Georgia, who escapes the 55-acre confines of her captor to discover the shocking reality that exists beyond the tree line … it’s 1973.”
America has a dark history and hidden history of not freeing all slaves at the same time after the Civil War. Some slave owners waited, if they could, before telling their slaves that slavery was over. Some sources say that the last slaves in America to receive their freedom were those owned by the Choctaw. The Choctaw sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. The slaves owned by the Choctaw didn’t receive their emancipation until 1866. Not to mention, not all slaves heard about the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. That’s why we celebrate Juneteenth.
Alice is an emotional film. From watching the less than two-hour film, folx hear parts of iconic speeches from activists Fred Hampton and Malcolm X. They also see powerful Black images of Diana Ross, Red Foxx, and Pam Grier. The audience even gets to see some bits and pieces of the 1973 film Coffy. The film is about a woman named Flower Child “Coffy” Coffin.
The film received mostly negative reviews. Maybe some people aren’t ready to embrace true American history. True American history isn’t about Critical Race Theory or Far-Righ Views. True American history is about the truth. The film Alice sheds light on true American history.
Dennis Richmond, Jr., is an author and journalist focused on the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ Community. He lives in Yonkers. Follow him on Twitter @NewYorkStakz.
