A precursor to Dee from "What's Happening?", Tamu Blackwell is hysterically funny as Francie, a 16 year old black girl from the ghetto tired of being a tool of white guilt by always being sent to a white family over school vacation. She's bitter over the fact that she's being exploited and her anger (even directed to Florida whom she considers *an auntie") erupts when she makes Maude finally lose her temper. In very intense, but frequently humorous moments, both get to reveal their feelings, and Maude finally drops her pretenses to say she's had enough, winning Francie's respect as a result.
This is a very wise and well written expose of the often condescending manner in which race relations are dealt with out of guilt for 200 years of subjugation. There's no good guy or bad guy here, just two people of different races and generations having to force themselves to see the other as a human being rather than as an experiment or the enemy. Blackwell makes the first of two appearances as Francie, and while she could have easily made the attitude stereotypical and frustrating, does get to show in her eyes the hurt she feels of being used. Maude on the other hand has to face up to the fact that she's not always right in her attempts to be liberal, and truly faces the fact that the world is not always black and white, but overloaded with shades of grey.
This is a very wise and well written expose of the often condescending manner in which race relations are dealt with out of guilt for 200 years of subjugation. There's no good guy or bad guy here, just two people of different races and generations having to force themselves to see the other as a human being rather than as an experiment or the enemy. Blackwell makes the first of two appearances as Francie, and while she could have easily made the attitude stereotypical and frustrating, does get to show in her eyes the hurt she feels of being used. Maude on the other hand has to face up to the fact that she's not always right in her attempts to be liberal, and truly faces the fact that the world is not always black and white, but overloaded with shades of grey.
