Rufus Jones in the Malcolm Venville documentary ‘Theodore Roosevelt’

Theodore Roosevelt of New York City, New York was the 26th president of the United States of America, serving from 1901 through 1909. A survey of his life was offered through the History Channel documentary Theodore Roosevelt (2022), airing in televised episodes originally airing, respectively, on May 30th and May 31st. Malcolm Venville directed the documentary.

(Rufus Jones as Theodore Roosevelt in the Malcolm Venville documentary Theodore Roosevelt).

The opening episode of the documentary, titled The Great Adventure, starts with an introduction of Roosevelt in his childhood as a sickly youngster struggling to fight his way through illness. We literally get a sense of the man taking comfort in physical activity based in affluence and an education that gave the man an appreciation the belied his station; that is, Roosevelt would take an appreciation of the disadvantaged into his sense of the world. Interestingly, the documentary shared an image of Roosevelt and his brother overlooking Abraham Lincoln‘s funeral train from Washington DC to Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, had been assassinated in 1865.

(The historical Theodore Roosevelt, as pictured here, was the subject of the Malcolm Venville documentary Theodore Roosevelt).

The episode introduced us to much heartache for Roosevelt early in his life, including the deaths of his mother and wife, only hours apart on February 14, 1884. The young state legislator of New York had been in Albany, New York when summoned to New York City with the possibility of this news. Having also been away at school when his father died, Theodore Roosevelt as a younger man at the time, the spirit of a fighter through physical activity really summoned itself in this time. The reformer spirit of Roosevelt as the legislator, later as the New York City police commissioner, and an ability to rally public support with a streak of independence against the party ideals that he ran with, the notion of being Vice President of the United States had been a way for the party to quell this spirit led to the conclusion of the Roosevelt story, as told in The Great Adventure).

(The historical William McKinley, the predecessor to Theodore Roosevelt as president of the United States, gave way to his successor after being assassinated in September 1901).

The Man in the Arena picks up from the point of William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, having been shot to death at the 1901 World’s Fair (aka Pan-American Exposition) of Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt would assume the presidency with a philosophy of having those in power play by the rules. The education of Roosevelt in how to conduct this business of trust busting, extending the imperial ambitions of the United States with the Panama Canal, and negotiating his own assertion of power all were points of import for the story documented. The introduction of Roosevelt’s relationship with race was discussed through both episodes of the documentary, including specific interactions with notable leader on race, Booker T. Washington.

(The historical William Howard Taft, the Roosevelt selected successor to Theodore Roosevelt became the 27th president of the United States).

Theodore Roosevelt‘s service as president of the United States ended with the man being less than 50-years old. In addition to having renamed the executive mansion of the United States to the White House, the man found himself restless after ending his presidency. When presidential successor William Howard Taft took his single term in a direction not to Roosevelt‘s liking, the former president ran under the banner of a third party of Roosevelt‘s making in 1912. Roosevelt, notably giving a speech after having been shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would place ahead of Taft in that election. That election, however, would be won by 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.

(The historical Booker T. Washington).

Many significant points of history for Theodore Roosevelt, the man, were introduced within this documentary. The measure of the man himself was addressed for being something that measured the appetite for reform with perceived pragmatics in having the basis for being able to apply it. That the man wasn’t perfect, while moving the dial forward in meaningful ways, feels like the larger message of this experience. I grant Theodore Roosevelt as directed by Malcolm Venville at 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, June 11, 2022

Wil Haygood and the book ‘Tigerland’

Wil Haygood has offered stories of influential African American before, including 1993’s King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 2003’s In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr., 2013’s The Butler: A Witness to History about White House butler Eugene Allen, and 2015’s Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America.

(Tigerland: 1968-1969 writer Wil Haygood in front of East High School in Columbus, Ohio).

In September of 2018, Wil Haygood brought us a more modest cast of characters. Upon the start of the 50th anniversary of Columbus, Ohio‘s East High School‘s remarkable sports season, Wil Haygood delivered Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing. Tigerland: 1968-1969 is the story of how an all-African American school of students won state championships in basketball and baseball 55-days apart.

(The 1968/1969 East High School basketball team was portrayed in the book Tigerland: 1968-1969 by Wil Haygood).

Tigerland: 1968-1969 adds up to more than the sum of its parts. The book tells the story of two sports teams that overcame the serious odds of segregation to win the state title for the same school. Tigerland: 1968-1969 tells the story of a bigoted system of schools in a racially divided city in a racially divided state that segregated schools in a way that produced separate and unequal educational opportunity and results by systemic design, per court determination in the case of Penick v. Columbus Board of Education. Tigerland: 1968-1969 tells of assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the 1968 Mexico City Olympics with racial protests by athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and the cultural awareness of the players, the community supporting East High School, and the communities actively working against the team and its athletes.

(The 1969 East High School baseball team was portrayed in the book Tigerland: 1968-1969 by Wil Haygood).

In getting into the personal stories of the players, parents, hopeful teachers, administrators, and in-depth and active hatred, discrimination, and petty hurts leveled at the people surrounding these teams, to claim the feat of two championships in the face of the cultural and real adversity faced indeed makes for an arguably epic tale of underdogs overcoming those obstacles to achieve. The tone of Tigerland: 1968-1969 by Wil Haygood feels fair and even tempered to me, a 44-year-old Caucasian male. The read is compelling, and important in a time of fractured politics in America. My rating for Tigerland: 1968-1969 by Wil Haygood is 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, August 7, 2019