The Best of Enemies, Movie Edition : Race and Redemption in the New South

"C. P. Ellis grew up in the poor white section of Durham, North Carolina, and as a young man joined the Ku Klux Klan. Ann Atwater, a single mother from the poor black part of town, quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight. During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issue of race, Ellis and Atwater met on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. In an amazing set of transformations, however, each of them came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that flourished against a backdrop of unrelenting bigotry."--Page 4 of cover. Claiborne Paul Ellis, known to all as "C.P.," grew up in the "poor white" section of Durham, North Carolina, just north of the railroad tracks that marked the boundary between the white and black neighborhoods. Surrounded by poverty and affected early by a pervasive racism, C.P. devoured the tales his father told him of the secret, all-white society that would save Dixie, and as a young man he joined the Ku Klux Klan. In 1955, Ann Atwater was employed as a domestic servant when the ripples from the Montgomery bus boycotts hit Durham. Incensed by a racist remark made by her employer, Ann quit her job to join the civil rights fight. . During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issues of race and class, Ann met C.P. on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. Gradually, though, Ann and C.P. each came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that even today flourishes against a background of renewed bigotry. In our racially divisive times, Osha Gray Davidson gives us a vivid portrait of a friendship that defied all odds. And with characteristic skill and elan he probes one of the most crucial concerns at the heart of our culture: how and why race is a potentially destructive force. The Best of Enemies weaves rich history with an inspiring personal saga to depict the triumph of the human spirit over the tragic past. C. P. Ellis grew up in the poor white section of Durham, North Carolina, and as a young man joined the Ku Klux Klan. Ann Atwater, a single mother from the poor black part of town, quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight. During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issue of race, Atwater and Ellis met on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. In an amazing set of transformations, however, each of them came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that flourished against a backdrop of unrelenting bigotry. Rich with details about the rhythms of daily life in the mid-twentieth-century South, The Best of Enemies offers a vivid portrait of a relationship that defied all odds. By placing this very personal story into broader context, Osha Gray Davidson demonstrates that race is intimately tied to issues of class, and that cooperation is possible--even in the most divisive situations--when people begin to listen to one another. C. P. Ellis grew up in the poor white section of Durham, North Carolina, and as a young man joined the Ku Klux Klan. Ann Atwater, a single mother from the poor black part of town, quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight. During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issue of race, Ellis and Atwater met on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. In an amazing set of transformations, however, each of them came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that flourished against a backdrop of unrelenting bigotry. Now a major motion picture, The Best of Enemies offers a vivid portrait of a relationship that defied all odds. View the movie trailer here: https://youtu.be/eKM6fSTs-A0 C. P. Ellis grew up in the poor white section of Durham, North Carolina, and as a young man joined the Ku Klux Klan. Ann Atwater, a single mother from the poor black part of town, quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight. During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issue of race, Ellis and Atwater met on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. In an amazing set of transformations, however, each of them came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that flourished against a backdrop of unrelenting bigotry. -- Provided by publisher In Durham, North Carolina, a Ku Klux Klan member, C.P. Ellis, and a black community leader, Ann Atwater, forged a friendship that overcame their differences. Osha Gray Davidson ; With A New Introduction By The Author. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 299-304) And Index.