DEACONS FOR DEFENSE

There were no passive sit-ins for the Deacons of Defense. This is the true story of a group of African American men who took an aggressive and armed stand in the fight for civil rights. It’s a provocative look into the heart of a courageous and progressive radical movement during one of the most turbulent times in American history.

Marcus (Golden Globe nominee Forest Whitaker, Panic Room) is a thoughtful family man and a war veteran who works in the local paper mill in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He has lived his life in quiet acquiescence to the white community, believing it is best for his family. When two white civil rights activists from the North, Deane (Jonathan Silverman, The Single Guy) and Hillibrand (Adam Weiner, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), arrive in Bogalusa, Marcus vehemently opposes his family’s involvement in any of the civil rights meetings. But his passive stance changes when the local cops arrest and beat him for trying to defend his daughter during a peaceful rally that turned unexpectedly violent.

When he doesn’t come home from the police station, his wife Velma (Melanie Nicholls-King, Little Bill) contacts Reverend Gregory (Emmy winner Ossie Davis, Do the Right Thing) and enlists his help. Marcus must face the fact that his life has changed and that it’s time to take a stand, a stand which results in the creation of the Deacons for Defence. With the help of the local Deacons, armed with heavy artillery Marcus, organises neighbourhood patrols to help protect protestors and civil rights workers and, ultimately, as the South’s first black militia, strike a life-and-death fear in the Ku Klux Klan.

One of the most important chapters in American history and the focal point in the civil rights movement, the incredible and courageous story of the Deacons is now a powerful motion picture—and a heartfelt tribute to the men who fought to change the world.