Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up on a North Carolina college campus, the daughters of the first African-American Episcopal bishop, who was born a slave, and a woman with an inter-racial background. With the support of each other and their family, they survived encounters with racism and sexism in their own different ways. Sadie quietly and sweetly broke barriers to become the first African-American home-ec teacher in New York City, while Bessie, with her own brand of outspokenness, became the second African-American dentist in New York City. At the ages of 103 and 101, they told their story to Amy Hill Hearth, a white New York Times reporter who published an article about them. The overwhelming response launched a bestselling book, a Broadway play, and this film.
Cast
Audra McDonald
as Bessie in her 20s
Rebecca Koon
as Miss Moseley
Ruby Dee
as Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Clifton Powell
as Frazier Johnson
Alex Van
as Drunk White Man
Mykelti Williamson
as Papa Delany
Bumper Robinson
as Frank
Diahann Carroll
as Sadie Delany
Lisa Arrindell
as Sadie in her 20s
Della Reese
as Martha Logan
Nate Bynum
Richard Roundtree
as Booker T. Washington
Cameron Arnett
as Lemuel
Lizan Mitchell
as Actress playing Bessie on Broadway
Alison Robertson
as Teacher
Tiffany LeShai McMinn
as Student (uncredited)
Amy Madigan
as Amy Hill Hearth
Lonette McKee
as Mama Delany
