These 9 Disney Channel Original Movies Pushed Boundaries

In the 1970s, a white South African named Mahree Bok (Lindsey Haun) girl goes to America to stay with a Black family as part of an exchange program and is surprised to learn that apartheid doesn’t exist there. You can’t help but cringe at the premise of The Color of Friendship, especially given that it’s a DCOM that was released in 2000. That’s what you’d be surprised by how Black director Kevin Hooks and Black writer Paris Quallers are willing to go all the way there by refusing to pull any punches in its effective depiction of race relations in this movie that’s based on a true story.

When Mahree arrives in America, she awkwardly refuses to shake hands with her homestay mom Roscoe Dellums (Penny Johnson Jerald), and laughs in uncomfortable hysterics when she meets her Congressman homestay father Ron Dellums (Carl Lumbly), shocked that someone in power can be Black. Through a series of events, which includes a young Black girl named Piper Dellums (Shadia Simmons) offering a self-sequestered Mahree food, the veil of Mahree’s ignorance slowly lifts, and the two realize they have a lot in common. One of the more impactful scenes features Mahree teaching Piper the various classifications for black people in South Africa. In it, the N-word is mentioned twice in a TV-G rated DCOM!

Shit gets really real when Steve Biko, an actual South African anti-apartheid activist, is killed by the police. Mahree responds: “Who cares? Just some crazy terrorist who killed himself.” Piper flips out, rightfully so, and Congressman Dellums teaches her about the vicious cycle of apartheid. It is then that Mahree understands how the system oppresses Black people and what the Black liberation movement in South Africa is fighting for.

Not your average Disney movie, huh?

Just look at Remember The Titans: Another Disney movie about desegregation in 1970s America that came out in 2000 and is based on a true story. Unlike The Color of Friendship, Remember The Titans stars one of the greatest actors ever (Denzel Washington), and is widely considered a classic. However, it’s impossible to ignore how Gary Bertier and Julius Campbell simply “solve” racism at a late night practice when they yell “left side, strong side” to each other. From there, racial tensions dissipate.

The Color of Friendship ends with Mahree heading home to her racist parents in South Africa, revealing to the famly’s Black maid Florathat she secretly embroidered the Black liberation flag in her jacket. Racism isn’t solved. In fact, it’s very much still present and Mahree may find herself in danger if she expresses her new viewpoints.

The Color of Friendship is the most un-Disney Disney movie on this list, which was perhaps made possible by being hidden away on the smaller screen. While the film does imply racism is a thing of the past in America, the way it demonstrates how ignorance is developed, educates young viewers on apartheid, and showcases the commonalities between all people (regardless of the color of their skin) makes The Color of Friendship a fascinating re-watch.