A Time for Burning is a cinema verite documentary that shows us what happened in a white Lutheran church in Omaha when its pastor, William Youngdahl, tried to gain congregational approval to foster racial understanding in 1965. His proposal was that ten families from his church meet with ten families from a black Lutheran congregation whose building was several blocks away.
That may seem utterly innocuous and unobjectionable. But in 1965, it was a bit like throwing a lit match into an oil refinery.
My wife, son, and I watched A Time for Burning this evening. You can see the whole thing here.
It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1966, and is worth the 55-minutes it will take for you to watch it.
The producer of the film, Robert E.A. Lee, recently died. Here is his obituary from The New York Times.
Whether you were alive in those times and can remember being involved in discussions similar to those portrayed in this documentary or you're a young person looking for information or inspiration, A Time for Burning is riveting, important filmmaking you'll enjoy.
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