Not In Our Town

When bitter tales of social ills infect the evening news and it's tempting to think humans are heinous by nature, some good news goes a long way. Not in Our Town is the moving story of how the residents of Billings, Montana dealt with gross displays of racism. In 1992, hate groups plastered slurs on the home of a Native American woman and hurled bricks through the window of a Jewish boy's bedroom. These acts might have been ignored. But smart activists mobilized the painters union to paint over the vandalism and asked the newspaper editor to print a full page image of a menorah for all to display in their windows. "We can erase the damaging words on the house," said one painter, "but how do you erase a child's memory?" The solidarity the residents showed--and the risk they took in supporting the victims--is genuinely inspiring. Cinematically, the story is simply told; the drama is inherent. One of many pearls of wisdom uttered in this film is the idea that courageous responses themselves will not resolve racism, but the daily reinforcement that racist behavior is unacceptable will. Uplifting but not saccharine, this film is strongly recommended for general collections. (A. Laker)