The Sky is Gray: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A feature film with the title The Sky Is Gray. It consists of two reels of 16mm acetate film with color and sound.

The film is a coming of age story about a young boy named James (James Bond III) from a sharecropper family in 1940s Louisiana. Through various encounters during a trip to see the dentist about a toothache, James learns about race, religion, gender, and poverty. The film opens with an introduction by actor Henry Fonda who describes life in the slave quarters and Ernest Gaines’ rise to prominence. In the next scene, James and another boy are seen in bed discussing James' toothache. Despite his companion’s suggestions, James refuses to inform the adults in the quarters of his discomfort. Later, James accompanies his mother, Octavia (Olivia Cole), to the cane fields but is still visibly in pain from his toothache. After a few home remedies fail, including prayers by one Monsieur Bayonne (Cleavon Little), James' mother resolves to take him to the dentist.

On the way, they walk underneath a Confederate flag in the town, shortly before entering the dental office. In the waiting room, James witnesses conversations about topics such as religion and the nature of reality before the nurse informs everyone that the dentist would be going to recess shortly. After some futile persuasion, James and his mother leave the dental office and head to a nearby restaurant where James witnesses an altercation between his mother and a man who makes unwelcome advances toward her. In the final scenes, James and his mother meet Helena (Susan French), a white shopkeeper who offers them some food on their way back to the dental office.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1980
• Directed by: Stan Lathan, American, born 1945
• Written by: Ernest J. Gaines, American, 1933 - 2019
• Written by: Charles Fuller, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Olivia Cole Actress, born 1942
• Subject of: James Bond III, American
• Subject of: Margaret Avery, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Cleavon Little, American, 1939 - 1992
• Subject of: Chez Lister, American, born 1969
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: feature films
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 1): 22 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 800 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 2): 21 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 750 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Agriculture
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Poverty
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2017.55.98.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.