At Lu Olivera's school the white kids and black kids sit on different sides of the classroom while Lu just wants to get along with everyone, but growing racial tensions will not let Lu stay neutral about the racial divide in school.

Based on Parks' semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows the journey of Newt Winger, a teenage descendant of Exodusters growing up in rural Kansas in the 1920s, as he experiences the bittersweet flowering of first love, finds his relationship with a close friend tested, and navigates the injustices embedded within a racist legal and educational system. Exquisitely capturing the bucolic splendor of its heartland setting, this landmark film tempers...