In 1967, racial tensions in cities all over the country erupted in violent collisions that laid bare social, economic and political strife. Vocal protestors criticized the nation’s military tactics overseas and at home. People of color ardently fought for equal rights, and women of all races sought autonomy over their own bodies and some semblance of parity in the workplace.
Sound familiar? Even though half a century has passed since that time, much (if not all) of that 1967 description of the United States could be used for 2017. It was in that era when a bold movie called “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” premiered. The premise was that a handsome, accomplished doctor (Sidney Poitier) met a charming young woman (Katharine Houghton) 14 years his junior while on vacation and the two fell in love and decided to marry. The man was Black and the woman, white. They chose to tell both sets of parents about the whirlwind romance in a dinner at the young woman’s family home. Beyond the absurdity of marrying a stranger or the age difference, the larger issue was that none of the parents were expecting their child to bring home
someone of a different race.
The parents’ reactions are pretty close to what might be the reactions today. The white parents (played by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) raised their child to be liberal, progressive and intellectually curious. They had preached racial equality to her but had never thought about the practical implications of their daughter truly accepting and acting on the racial equality beliefs that they had instilled in her.
The Black parents (played by Roy Glenn Sr. and Beah Richards) are concerned for their son’s life. Having accomplished the challenging task of raising a successful Black son—a doctor no less and the embodiment of respectability politics—in the heady climate of the civil rights era, the doctor’s parents do not want a vacation fling to mark the turning point of an otherwise brilliant life and career.
The 36-year-old doctor tells his father that he sees himself as a man, not a Black man. It’s a cringe-worthy line and surprising for a grown man who is far from being a kid, but the notion of a post-racial society was part of some (magical) thinking back then, just as it is today. The movie ends with a saccharine speech by Tracy in the “love conquers all” vein that shows support for the marriage despite the continued objections of the doctor’s father. The audience never sees the actual wedding (if it occurred) and or the work required to maintain such a union in that volatile time period.
Still, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” was an audacious film at the time, providing one of the first movie kisses between a Black man and a white woman. Beyond that, it addressed white liberal hypocrisy and the depths of racism even among “good people.” The movie holds up in many ways, and the recent release of the 50th anniversary Blu-ray edition is right on time for several reasons.