Impressions: Six Months In The Life Of A Southern City

On February 1, 1960, four freshman students from an all-black college blatantly defy Jim Crow laws by seating themselves at a segregated lunch counter at the downtown F. W. Woolworth store in a major North Carolina city. News of the bold, defiant act moves swiftly across the country fueled by media coverage, and the movement quickly spreads throughout the South. While the nation looks on from without, the city is plunged into conflict and chaos, and its citizens, white and black, are left to search for answers from within. In the midst of a city paralyzed by racial upheaval, one white man, E. K. Bain, accepts the challenge to mediate and resolve the conflict that threatens to destroy his city, In search of his own answers and eager to encourage all to give voice to their deepest indignations, fears and frustrations, Bain embarks on a self-appointed odyssey to sort through centuries of anger, deception and hypocrisy. He uses a combination of humility, persuasion and adroit listening skills to contain the situation and to keep all parties talking to each other even at the height of racial confrontation.