Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999)

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999)

1999-04-18 100 Min. PG-13
7.5 4 votes

Overview

Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up on a North Carolina college campus, the daughters of the first African-American Episcopal bishop, who was born a slave, and a woman with an inter-racial background. With the support of each other and their family, they survived encounters with racism and sexism in their own different ways. Sadie quietly and sweetly broke barriers to become the first African-American home-ec teacher in New York City, while Bessie, with her own brand of outspokenness, became the second African-American dentist in New York City. At the ages of 103 and 101, they told their story to Amy Hill Hearth, a white New York Times reporter who published an article about them. The overwhelming response launched a bestselling book, a Broadway play, and this film.

Cast

Diahann Carroll is Sadie Delany
Sadie Delany
Ruby Dee is Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Amy Madigan is Amy Hill Hearth
Amy Hill Hearth
Lisa Arrindell is Sadie in her 20s
Sadie in her 20s
Audra McDonald is Bessie in her 20s
Bessie in her 20s
Mykelti Williamson is Papa Delany
Lonette McKee is Mama Delany
Mama Delany
Richard Roundtree is Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Della Reese is Martha Logan
Martha Logan