One of the buses used in the background is the actual bus #2857 on which Rosa Parks was arrested. The bus was in such bad shape that it had to be repainted and towed by a cable in scenes where it is moving. It has since been fully restored, and is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
During a March 2020 interview with Terry Gross on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air," Octavia Spencer recalled that as a Montgomery, Alabama, high school student she managed through sheer persistence to convince the producers of "The Long Walk Home" to hire her as an on-set intern. Many years later, Octavia Spencer went on to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the movie "The Help," which, like "The Long Walk Home" also starred Sissy Spacek.
One of the girls in the park , Schuyler Fisk , is Sissy Spacek's daughter.
In order to avoid the heavy competition of the holiday season, the film was withdrawn from distribution by Miramax following its December 1990 limited release and re-released March 22, 1991.
Upon arriving home from college, Sara wants to eat dinner at the Elite. The Elite Cafe was a Montgomery institution during the '60s.