Lalee's Kin Film Analysis

In the film Lalee’s Kin, the school superintendent Reggie Barnes, described Tallahatchie county schools as being the worse of worse because they were a level 1 school according to the ITBS. As he pointed out, the system was built to fail these children. He partly blamed the state for not taking responsibility to provide him with the funds needed to hire more qualified teachers and purchase school supplies need to teach their students. He advocated for adequate and identical educational opportunities for students within his school district as the rest of Delta school district had. The state threatened to take over the schools if there was no improvement. He believed in his heart that the issue could only be resolved at local level. As he adequately

Without opportunities, no one can survive. The cotton system crippled Lalee’s family and the community at large. It left them impaired, oppressed, and helpless. They were oppressed to the point that even after they were freed; they were still slaves mentally and economically. A large group of the people in the community did not move pass “picking cotton”. That was there way of life. I guess when it ended, it left them vulnerable. Majority of the community was uneducated, and unskilled. Additionally, the community had no employment opportunities and limited community resources. Lalee’s family shares some similarities with some of the issues urban communities encounter nowadays. The similarities they share are lack of education, unskilled, depend on public assistance, poverty, large family, number of incarceration, absent parents, grandparents raising their grandchildren and great grandchildren, parental lack of responsibility, substance misuse, to name a few. However, urban communities have more resources at their

This appeared to be their way of life since the community did not offer any employment opportunities after the plantations were closed. People started to engage in criminal activities which lead to their incarceration. In Lalee’s household alone, three men were in jail. Redman and Granny’s fathers were serving time and Lalee’ son was in and out of jail. They often talked about the criminal justice system because their love ones were within that system. It is obvious the young boys did not comprehend the idea of behind bars; Red man stated in one of his conversation with Lalee’s that he wanted to go to jail. Lalee’ son involvement with the law had a negative impact on her. Apparently, the jail was located 16 miles away from their community; they made references about going to jail in some of their conversation. It seems like jail was a norm for male figures in this family and their community. The women did not seem to have high expectation of the men. I think is because they were afraid of being attached to them; knowing that they would either leave them or end up in jail sooner or later. I was amazed by one of the women that spoke of being married for just two weeks. When she was sharing with the gentleman that was teaching her how to write her name; there was no emotion she stated that her husband left to go change a mule and never