Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up on a North Carolina college campus, the daughters of the first African-American Episcopal bishop, who was born a slave, and a woman with an inter-racial background. With the support of each other and their family, they survived encounters with racism and sexism in their own different ways. Sadie quietly and sweetly broke barriers to become the first African-American home-ec teacher in New York City, while Bessie, with her own brand of outspokenness, became the second African-American dentist in New York City. At the ages of 103 and 101, they told their story to Amy Hill Hearth, a white New York Times reporter who published an article about them. The overwhelming response launched a bestselling book, a Broadway play, and this film.
Lynne Littman
Director
Emily Mann
Writer
Diahann Carroll
Sadie Delany
Ruby Dee
Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Amy Madigan
Amy Hill Hearth
Lisa Arrindell
Sadie in her 20s
Audra McDonald
Bessie in her 20s
Mykelti Williamson
Papa Delany
Lonette McKee
Mama Delany
Richard Roundtree
Booker T. Washington
Della Reese
Martha Logan
The Rosa Parks Story71%
The Miniaturist71%
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge63%
Iron Jawed Angels67%
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks63%
Grey Gardens68%
Starving in Suburbia65%
Normal66%
TalhotBlond63%
I Am Elizabeth Smart68%
Girl in the Box67%
The Cut59%
How Sarah Got Her Wings59%
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B65%
Mansfield Park61%
Oslo65%
Confirmation69%
All the Way66%
The Ron Clark Story76%
The Color of Rain63%
