Deacons for Defense is a 2003 American television drama film directed by Bill Duke. The television film stars; Forest Whitaker, Christopher Britton, Ossie Davis, Jonathan Silverman, Adam Weiner, and Marcus Johnson.
It is loosely based on the true story of the Deacons for Defense and Justice, an African-American militia that was formed in 1964 to protect activists working with the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), as well as others working with the civil rights movement.Synopsis
In 1965 Louisiana, war veteran Marcus (Forest Whitaker) works in the town's mill for meager wages, and must endure the ongoing humiliation meted out by his white supervisors. Encouraged by an idealistic white Northerner (Jonathan Silverman), his daughter becomes a civil rights activist. When his daughter is abused at a nonviolent demonstration, Marcus is pushed too far. Marcus organizes the Deacons for Defense and Justice, an all-black defense group dedicated to patrolling the black section of town and protecting its residents from the aspects of "white backlash".
Actors