Watching COA on Planet Classroom with young people?

Here are some tried and true guiding questions that have sparked thoughtful, empathetic conversations.

1. The events depicted in Color of Autumn happened in Chicago in 1966 and the Grimsby family was part of the striving Black middle class at that time, trying to establish themselves in their close-knit community.

a. Did you notice any aspects in the film, visual or in dialogue, that shows some of the tensions
that this might create?

b. After Willie gave Young Dottie the typewriter why do you think he said “Don’t tell your mother…”?

c. What do you thinkMama meant when she said “There’s a whole lotta stuff that’s gonna take a lotta
fixin’…”?

d. Why do you thinkOdessa tells Young Dottie “Don’t get dirty!” as she’s running off to play with
the Sanders kids?

e. How do you see the role models in Dottie’s life, Odessa, Willie and Mama representing
different aspects of this for Young Dottie?

1. Odessa

2. Willie

3. Mama

2. Does the 1966 playground dynamic around hate speech and bullying seem relevant today? How
does it seem the same to you? How does it appear different?

3. How would you describe Adult Dottie’s reactions to the moments that she remembers?

a. Seeing her youngself run off with her neighborhood friends.

b. Seeing Mama in the house as she polishes the brass lamp.

c. Witnessing the conversation between her young self and Mama.

d. Watching her young self have the first interactions, like playing Red Light, Green Light
with the Sanders kids.

e. Seeing the bullies appear.

f. Witnessing the bullying itself. Were the echoes and repetition real or were they an
exaggerated memory?

4. Do you think Adult Dottie has healed from this painful memory? Why or why not?

5. When Adult Dottie says “It’s an ignorant word made up by ignorant people,” we see her comforting
her young self. If you could go back and comfort your young self when you’ve been hurt by another’s words, what would you say to yourself?

Listening to the response from focus groups, educators and community leaders, it became clear that COA should have a broader reach. Our team realized this impactful short film could serve as an educational companion and tool to aid teachers and students in classroom discussions about race and racism, and what to do about it.

Specifically, COA is now available as an educational tool to empower teachers in the classroom and parents all over the world who want training and support materials to engage youth in empathy-led discussions around hate speech. We believe this is needed now, more than ever.

The volunteer team of story developers and producers behind the award-winning Black women filmmakers of Color of Autumn, is proud to announce our new distribution channel. We've joined forces with Planet Classroom to share Color of Autumn with a wider audience.

The Planet Classroom Network brings together writers, musicians, dancers, video game creators, filmmakers, learning innovators and emerging technologists from all over the world to entertain, educate and engage youth and to provide a rich cultural experience for all. The Planet Classroom Network is by youth for youth. Young people from around the world play a significant role in conceptualizing, creating, and producing the network’s vision and programming.