My wife suggested we see a documentary film called The Last Class. I did not know this movie, but it fit into her desire to learn more about how to fight for justice. “Robert Reich teaches his final ‘Wealth and Poverty’ class to 1,000 students at UC Berkeley, ending a 40-year career that reached 40,000 students.” (Incidentally, Reich has a Wealthy & Poverty section on his YouTube page, featuring his entertaining drawings.)
The film includes a bit in which the former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration is having a difficult time trying to get rid of the actual oversized chair from his time in the office.
Teaching is his true passion, although he’s better known in political circles. He wants to ensure that the students don’t just parrot what he’s thinking but show the ability to think for themselves.
It’s a short film—71 minutes—that is frank and, in the end credits, hysterically funny. I think my wife, knowing less about him, got more from the film than I did.
Freedom Summer
Still, he tells a particular story about Michael Schwerner, one I had heard before, but surprisingly, it was still moving. Michael was Robert’s protector in his neighborhood growing up because Robert was, and is, short of stature and was bullied. He lost track of Michael until he heard that Michael was part of the campaign attempting to register black citizens in Mississippi to vote. Shortly thereafter, Robert learned that his old protector, whom he knew as Mickey, along with James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in June 1964. This instilled in Robert a sense of the need to fight for justice.
As somebody who likes to go to the movies, I’m not sure this is a film one needs to see in the theater, but I think it’s very worthwhile. My wife and I went to a weekday matinee at the Spectrum Theatre. The only other people in the viewing were a man and his son, who had just turned 21 and wanted to know how to be a better citizen. THAT was inspiring!