During a Kwanzaa celebration, a recovering drug addict who now counsels drug users inspires the residents of a Brooklyn housing project to apply the principles of the holiday to combat violence in their neighborhood.
Acting
Howard Rollins' final performance—dignified, wounded, magnetic.
Writing
Fracaswell Hyman makes Kwanzaa principles feel urgent, not preachy.
Director
Fracaswell Hyman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Howard Rollins filmed this while battling his own addiction; he died five years later. The role became unintentionally autobiographical.
One of the first dramatic films centered on Kwanzaa, created when the holiday was still controversial in mainstream Black discourse. Director Fracaswell Hyman later shaped 'Little Bill' and 'The Backyardigans'—this is his raw origin.
US
