DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. [on film]: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Even the state of Mississippi...
NARRATOR: Nineteen sixty-eight was a strange and passionate time. Things that had seemed impossible were happening all around us.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. [on film]: ...freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today...
NARRATOR: The events of those days brought every emotion to the surface.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. [on film]: ...With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day...
NARRATOR: We felt things strongly then. And we felt them together. I guess we all got caught up in it. Even me. And Miss White.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. [on film]: ...Protestants and Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last."
[The film of Dr. King's speech ends]
MISS WHITE: (sniffles) Well, people. We certainly lost a great man last April, didn't we?
NARRATOR: What was it about her that affected me so profoundly? Her sensitivity? Her warmth? Her intelligence? Maybe all of those. Maybe more. Maybe much more.
[KEVIN stares at MISS WHITE's chest.]
MISS WHITE: Kevin.
KEVIN: Uh, yes?
MISS WHITE: Do you agree with Leslie that this speech helped change people's feelings about civil rights?
KEVIN: Yeah, uh-huh. Yup, I do.
MISS WHITE: How do you think it might have changed people's opinions? Anyone?
[KEVIN raises his hand.]
MISS WHITE: Kevin?
KEVIN: I think that it showed a lot of people that America couldn't be as great a country as they wanted it till everybody had equal rights.
[MISS WHITE tilts her head over her left shoulder and looks deep in thought.]
NARRATOR: Aah, the look. I'll never forget that look. The way that she cocked her cute little head to the side as her eyes met mine.
MISS WHITE: Very good, Kevin. What other effects do you think that this speech had on people?
[KEVIN raises his hand again.]
MISS WHITE: Kevin?
KEVIN: Um, I-I think that, maybe before the speech, people thought of Negroes as a group that maybe they didn't like. But the speech made 'em realize that the Negroes are just people and they have the same feelings that all other people do.
[MISS WHITE again tilts her head over her left shoulder and looks deep in thought.]
NARRATOR: Another look! Oh, it was too good to be true. I was tempted to try for a third but I didn't want her to pull a muscle in her neck or anything.
[The bell rings signifying the end of class. Students get up from their desks to leave the classroom.]
MISS WHITE: People. I haven't dismissed you, have I?
STUDENTS: (groaning in disappointment) Aaaagh.
[STUDENTS sit back down at their desks.]
MISS WHITE: Now, today is the last day to sign up for the Fall play and there are still several key roles open. Now, as you know, the play is about the civil rights movement and I hope that today's film will inspire some of you to participate. Okay?
[Nobody raises their hand to participate in the play. MISS WHITE throws her hands up in both disappointment and resignation to the class will.]
MISS WHITE: Class dismissed.
[As the STUDENTS are leaving, MISS WHITE decides that she will try to persuade KEVIN to participate in the play by speaking to him one-on-one.]
MISS WHITE: Kevin, can I speak with you a minute?
KEVIN: Sure.
MISS WHITE: I was wondering if you'd thought about trying out for the play.
KEVIN: Oh, the play.
NARRATOR: I loved Miss White.
MISS WHITE: It's really an exciting new play. It's never been performed before. In fact, well, the truth is, it's actually, well, I wrote it.
NARRATOR: God, she was cute! But, I hated plays.
MISS WHITE: You'd be perfect for the part of Robert Kennedy. I really think that, that you have the right presence.
NARRATOR: Well, I guess I did have a kind of Kennedyesque thing about me but I hated plays.
MISS WHITE: So, what do you think?
KEVIN: Um...
NARRATOR: I hated the thought of acting. I hated the thought of rehearsing. I hated the thought of standing up in front of 300 people and making a complete and total fool of myself.
KEVIN: ...sure.
MISS WHITE: Great!
[MISS WHITE again tilted her head over her left shoulder, this time with a look of approval.]
NARRATOR: Three looks! The hat-trick! It wasn't just my imagination. She felt it. She knew it. She wanted me, too.
MISS WHITE: Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow.
KEVIN: Yeah, see you tomorrow.
JACK: I thought you hated plays. Why do you want to be in a play all of the sudden?
KEVIN: I don't know. No reason.
NORMA: Kevin, what play is it?
KEVIN: It's called "The Times, They are a-Changin'." It's about the civil rights movement and stuff like that.
JACK: What the hell ever happened to "My Fair Lady?"
KAREN: Don't you understand? I mean a play like this can raise people's consciousness about racial oppression. Sheeesh.
NORMA: Watch your tone with your father.
WAYNE: Yeah, and give me that potato if you're not gonna eat it.
NORMA: Kevin, I think it sounds wonderful.
KEVIN: Um, we have to rehearse until 5:30 everyday. Um, can you pick me up?
NORMA: Oh, gee, I don't know. I'm right in the middle of fixing dinner at 5:30. Jack, do you think, maybe, you could swing by school and pick him up on your way home?
JACK: I don't get it. Why do you want to be in a play?
NARRATOR: What was the matter with the man? Couldn't he see that I was pursuing a mature love relationship with a beautiful 28 year-old woman and all I needed was a ride?
KEVIN: Dad!
JACK: Okay, okay. I'll pick you up.
KEVIN: Yes. I mean, thanks.
KEVIN: (playing the role of Robert Kennedy) I'm Robert Kennedy, Attorney-General of the United States and I'm here to see Mr. Hoover of the F.B.I..
CARLA: (playing the role of J. Edgar Hoover's secretary) Go right in, Mr. Kennedy.
KEVIN: (continuing in the role of Robert Kennedy) Mr. Hoover, I need...
[KEVIN momentarily forgets his lines. MISS WHITE checks her notes.]
KEVIN: ...more support from you. The Negroes are fighting for their rights and we must help them.
PAUL: (playing the role of J. Edgar Hoover, Head of the F.B.I.) Are you trying to tell me how to run my agency?
KEVIN: (continuing in his role as Robert Kennedy) All I am saying is that we should give all the support we can to Dr. King.
PAUL: (continuing in his role as J. Edgar Hoover.) That man is a threat to the American way of life.
TWO STUDENTS: (playing the role of Hoover's aides) Yeah!
KEVIN: (continuing in his role as Robert Kennedy) No, he is not. He's fighting for the cause of freedom. (bangs desk)
[This brings rehearsal to the end for that day.]
MISS WHITE: Very good. Very good. Kevin, that was wonderful. Good anger.
KEVIN: Thanks.
MISS WHITE: Much better, Paul and everyone else, good work. Now tomorrow, we'll rehearse the town meeting scene. So, start learning your lines.
PAUL: Do you think I came off as unlikable?
KEVIN: Paul, you're playing J. Edgar Hoover. You're supposed to be unlikable.
PAUL: I know. But Miss White said I should try to find the complexity in the man.
[PAUL practices one particular line placing the emphasis on a different word each time.]
PAUL: That man is a threat to the American way of life. That man is a threat to the American way of life. That man is a threat to the American way of life.
KEVIN: Miss White.
MISS WHITE: Yes, Kevin?
KEVIN: I just wanted to say that I think a play like this can really raise people's consciousness about racial oppression.
MISS WHITE: Do you really? Because that was my hope when I wrote it.
KEVIN: Yeah. I've-I've always felt that theater was supposed to be a form of political expression.
MISS WHITE: Well, that's remarkable because so few 12 year-olds do.
KEVIN: Yeah, I know. Most 12 year-olds are so superficial.
MISS WHITE: Yeah. I guess they are.
NARRATOR: Well, it was pretty clear. She didn't see me as any ordinary seventh grader. She saw me as a man. A man who understood things like democracy and social injustice. A man who understood her deepest thoughts and feelings. A man, a man...
[JACK has come to the auditorium to pick up KEVIN and drive him home.]
JACK: Kevin, ready to go?
NARRATOR: ...a man who was getting picked up by his father.
MISS WHITE: Well, Kevin, is that your father?
KEVIN: Yeah.
JACK: Jack Arnold. Nice to meet you.
MISS WHITE: Diane White. It's a pleasure.
NARRATOR: "Diane White?" Didn't seem to fit. To me, she was more of a "Miss White."
MISS WHITE: Now, I must tell you, Mr. Arnold, that Kevin is an extraordinary young man. It's a pleasure to have him in my class and, of course, in the play.
JACK: Yeah, he's a good kid.
NARRATOR: Yeah. Let's face it, I was well-liked. Now-now, let's go.
MISS WHITE: He's really a natural actor.
JACK: Yeah? That's funny because I always thought he hated acting.
NARRATOR: Let's go, let's go.
MISS WHITE: Really?
JACK: Yeah. You see, in fourth grade, Kevin you remember this? In fourth grade, he had to play Winnie-the-Pooh in his class play. And right in the middle of his big scene with Piglet - in front of the whole school with all the parents - his little bear suit splits wide open.
KEVIN: So, Jack, ready to go?
[KEVIN has called his father by his first name. MISS WHITE stares at KEVIN in amazement. JACK glares at him in anger.]
KEVIN: I mean, dad.
NARRATOR: Toward the end of rehearsal the next day, I realized something was bugging me.
KEVIN: (again, playing the role of Robert Kennedy) I see a more compassionate America. A nation in which all people - black, white and brown - have the opportunity to build a better life for their children.
NARRATOR: Miss White hadn't given me the look all day. What was I doing wrong?
KEVIN: (continuing in his role as Robert Kennedy) An America where all people can live free of violence and oppression. An America where dreams can come true.
[KEVIN now wishes to come out of his role and speak to MISS WHITE.]
KEVIN: Miss White, was that o...?
[MISS WHITE is speaking to JACK and had stopped paying attention to the rehearsal.]
MISS WHITE: (decides to address the students) Okay, very nice everybody. That's it for today.
[This brings rehearsal to an end for the day.]
NARRATOR: Oh, great. Now, he was probably telling her about the time at Ocean City when that wave knocked my bathing suit off. Or that time at Funland when I threw up on the cup and saucer ride. Or that time at the...
JACK: Yup, two years in Korea.
NARRATOR: Wait a second. I never spent two years in Korea.
JACK: Got a small piece of shrapnel in my leg but I didn't think the limp was noticeable anymore.
NARRATOR: Oh, him.
MISS WHITE: Oh, barely. Hardly at all. Just a little bit, really.
NARRATOR: A question to consider: Why at that moment did I wish that I had shrapnel in my leg?
JACK: Listen, I consider myself lucky. A lot of my buddies never made it out of that place.
MISS WHITE: War is such a terrible thing, isn't it?
NARRATOR: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
KEVIN: Miss White, was I okay today?
MISS WHITE: Yes, Kevin. You were fine. Does the experience haunt you at all?
JACK: Well-well sure. Sure, I think about it now and again. It's only natural. I guess nothing's ever quite the same after going through something like that.
[MISS WHITE tilts her head over her left shoulder and looks deep in thought.]
NARRATOR: Wait a minute. What was she doing? That was my look. She was looking at him.
KEVIN: Dad, let's go.
NARRATOR: Now, most people don't know this but there are two kinds of logic. There's logic-logic and then there's 12 year-old in love logic.
JACK: Whiff. High and inside.
NARRATOR: The way I figured it, everything had been going great with Miss White until Dad came along.
[Although they are close to each other, KEVIN throws a ball very hard to his JACK.]
JACK: Ow. What are you trying to do? Break my hand?
KEVIN: That was a strike! And so was the last one!
JACK: What's the matter with you?
KEVIN: Nothing.
KEVIN: (playing the role of Robert Kennedy) The, uh, the Negroes are fighting for their rights and we must help them.
PAUL: (playing the role of J. Edgar Hoover) Are you trying to tell me how to run my agency?
[KEVIN seems to have forgotten his lines so PAUL will try to help him.]
PAUL: I said: "Are you trying to tell me how to run my agency?" Or are you saying that we should just try to help Dr. King as much as we can? Cause if you are, I disagree.
[MISS WHITE decides to stop rehearsal for a few minutes because KEVIN is having difficulties.]
MISS WHITE: Okay, let's stop for a moment. Kevin, do you need to go over your lines?
KEVIN: No.
MISS WHITE: Is something wrong?
NARRATOR: Is something wrong? Is something wrong? Our entire relationship is fizzling like an alka-seltzer and you ask if something's wrong?
KEVIN: Can I make a phone call?
MISS WHITE: Well, sure. Of course. Take five everybody.
PAUL: Five what?
KEVIN: Hi, dad. It's me. I'm not going to need a ride home today. (Jack says something on the telephone but we cannot hear him) Yeah, I got one. (Jack again says something on the telephone but we cannot hear him) Yeah, sure. (Jack again says something on the telephone but we cannot hear him) Okay. I'll see you at home. Bye.
[KEVIN goes back to the auditorium but MISS WHITE has decided to end rehearsal for the day. KEVIN sits down in one of the audience seats]
PAUL: (walking by KEVIN) See ya.
MISS WHITE: Kevin, isn't your father picking you up? Can I give you a lift?
[MISS WHITE tilts her head over left shoulder in the way that KEVIN likes.]
NARRATOR: (responding to the way that Miss White is tilting her head) Hello.
MISS WHITE: Well, here we are.
KEVIN: Yeah, here we are.
NARRATOR: I wanted something to happen. I didn't know what. I just knew that I couldn't leave that car until something happened.
[The following sequence is from a daydream that KEVIN has while he is in the car. MISS WHITE looks at him seductively and puts her hand on his thigh.]
MISS WHITE: When do you have to be home?
KEVIN: Thanksgiving.
[The daydream ends and KEVIN comes back to reality.]
MISS WHITE: Kevin, are you all right?
KEVIN: Yeah, fine.
NARRATOR: Liar, liar, pants on fire.
MISS WHITE: Well, you better get a good night's sleep because tomorrow is the big day.
KEVIN: Yeah. Guess we won't be seeing each other that much anymore. At least, not professionally.
MISS WHITE: Oh no, I guess we won't. There's still English class, though. You can't get out of that so easily.
KEVIN: Yeah.
NARRATOR: I had to make a move ? some kind of move. My moment was slipping away.
KEVIN: Miss White.
MISS WHITE: Uh-huh.
KEVIN: You're pretty.
MISS WHITE: Thank-you Kevin. Is there something you want to talk about?
NARRATOR: No, I didn't want to talk. I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her on the lips. I wanted it so bad I thought I would explode. She was right there. She was two feet away. Why couldn't I do it? Why wouldn't my muscles move? After all, she was a woman and I was a .... And that's when I saw it as though I was looking down from heaven at that VW bug. I saw an image of myself with Miss White. And it was ridiculous. She was a woman and I was a 12 year-old boy.
[NORMA momentarily comes outside the house and she sees KEVIN in the car.]
NORMA: Kevin, is that you? Honey, dinner's almost ready.
KEVIN: Well, I gotta go. Bye, Miss White. Thanks for the ride.
MISS WHITE: Bye, Kevin.
STUDENT: (in the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream today, that one day, every valley shall be exhausted. Every hill and mountain shall be made low.
[KEVIN is backstage and he can see MISS WHITE. He looks at her from time to time.]
NARRATOR: Waiting backstage that night, I started thinking of the first day I fell in love with Miss White back in the classroom. I thought of the way she had cried at Dr. King's speech. And I thought of the way that made me feel.
STUDENT: (in the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South.
NARRATOR: And you know something? In my heart, I really believed that Miss White loved me too. It wasn't something that could be a part of real life. But that didn't mean it wasn't there.
STUDENT: (playing the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty. Of thee I sing.
NARRATOR: And that's when I knew what was going to happen. That's when I knew what I was going to do.
PAUL: Hey-hey, Kevin. What's the matter?
NARRATOR: I was about to go out to deliver a speech in front of 300 people and I was gonna cry.
STUDENT: (playing the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
PAUL: Okay, Kevin, this is you. You're on. Come on, Kev.
[As KEVIN goes onstage, he is crying because of what has happened with MISS WHITE. The audience, however, thinks he is a very sensitive boy who can see the injustice of racial oppression and is playing the role of Robert Kennedy with a heartfelt passion.]
KEVIN: (playing the role of Robert Kennedy) I see a more compassionate America. A nation in which all people - black, white and brown - have the opportunity to build a better life for their children. A nation in which all people can live free of oppression and violence. Our answer is the world's hope. It is to rely on youth.
NARRATOR: I don't even remember how I got through that speech. I just remember all the hurt, all the anger, all the disappointment, and all the love that fused together and surged through my 12 year-old body as I delivered it.
KEVIN: (playing the role of Robert Kennedy) Some men see things as they are and ask "why?" I see things as they might be and ask "why not?"
[Audience claps in approval of what they think is a very sensitive interpretation of the role of Robert Kennedy by KEVIN. This speech marks the end of the play. So, after completing his lines, KEVIN goes backstage. He sees MISS WHITE and walks toward her to hug and kiss her. However, before he reaches her, she is hugged and kissed by her fiancé. As this episode ("Our Miss White") is ending, Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" starts to play in the background. JACK is very proud of what he thinks is his son's extremely sensitive acting. He stands up and starts clapping. The rest of the audience also starts to stand up.]
NARRATOR: It was a strange and passionate time. Some of our dreams dissolved into thin air. They almost seem comical now. But some of our dreams were lasting and real.
[The end.]
Cast:
Wendel Meldrum Miss (Diane) White (later Mrs. Heimer,
see episode 37)
E'Lon Young Martin Luther King
Krista Murphy Carla Healy
Shea Farrell Steven
Mathew Kohrit Hoover Aide #1
Dustin Wride Hoover Aide #2