When I Rise | Documentary on Barbara Smith Conrad | Independent Lens | PBS

When I Rise Documentary on Barbara Smith Conrad Independent Lens PBS

This is a Documentary film about Barbara Smith Conrad. Raised in the gully of the Jim Crow South, she was one of the first African-Americans to attend the University of Texas. As a music major, she was a talent that could not be denied. As a result Barbara was asked to sing the romantic lead in the campus rendition of Dido and Aeneas-oppsite a white male. The casting set-off a fire storm of racial controversy that ended up in the Texas state legislature. Admist the pressure from numerous groups who were fighting for the so-called rights of white people, Barbara was asked, by the Dean of the School of Fine Arts, to step down. The role was assumed by a white female. In the end, Barbara Smith Conrad became a world renowned and "internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano" despite the racism and racial hatred she had to endure. Today, she retruns to Austin, Texas and The University of Texas yearly to teach master classes.