A Binding Truth (2024) Film Review
Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick was a very successful young man whose abilities in football changed his life. He was a standout running back at the all-black Second Ward High School in 1965, when he was offered something quite important. He could be the first to desegregate another all-white high school by joining their team. What followed was a difficult journey into a territory divided by opinions coming from both sides. People cheered for him or downright despised his skin color.
But when he was voted the best player in the city, it was shocking that he couldn’t play in the All-Star game. A civil rights case spawned from the controversy, but justice didn’t exactly arrive. More than 50 years later, a scholarship was created bearing his name. And people still don’t know much about Kirkpatrick.
The documentary A Binding Truth provides some insight into this. And while you may imagine that it’s a film about Kirkpatrick coming to terms with the events that happened half a century ago, it’s actually about more. Something more relevant and universal. This is a history lesson that goes back centuries and serves as a great backdrop for Kirkpatrick’s place in the civil rights universe.
De Kirkpatrick evidenced everything from the start. He was a white man who didn’t exactly believe in segregation and actually wrote about Jimmie’s case. Some years ago, Jimmie was investigating where he came from and reminisced about De’s last name. It wasn’t exactly a common one, like “Smith,” so he did some digging.
As it turns out, something unites them. A tragic but real piece of history that goes back to the times of slavery. This realization and the journey that starts after it are the basis for Louise Woehrle‘s heartwarming film A Binding Truth, in which both men join forces to explore their history. Jimmie simply says, “Your great-great-grandfather owned my great-great-grandfather.”
Both men were only able to look forward by going back to their roots and losing any sense of shame or guilt about who and what their ancestors were. It was only natural for Jimmie to reject this look toward the past, but his optimism is visible through Woehrle’s film. De stares in shock at the memory of what his bloodline means, and when he digs deeper, he finds evidence of the terror they still represent.
A Binding Truth is a compelling history lesson because it provides a strong backdrop for the facts that many would think are not relevant. But the only way to look forward is by recognizing that the past is also important and has the ability to model the present. Stories like De and Jimmie’s are a testament to what needs to be acknowledged.
Today, in times where racism is still active and extremely hurtful, a film like A Binding Truth will make you look back at your own tracks and reflect on your actions. Sometimes, it’s not just about demanding justice and denouncing cultural appropriation. Sometimes, it’s also about listening to those who need it and recognizing trauma where it is still an open wound.
