(The Root) — The story coming out of Georgia about separate proms for black and white high school students is just the latest example of the ugly history of racial segregation and the ways in which its residue hasn't been fully erased. It seems that 42, the film about baseball legend Jackie Robinson's life, is right on time.
Chadwick Boseman stars as Robinson in the movie, which takes us through the racial trenches of Major League Baseball in the late 1940s, when Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first black player to break the baseball color line. Boseman is joined by another heavy hitter, Harrison Ford, who plays the baseball executive who guides Robinson through the desegregation.
Other stars include Nicole Beharie as Robinson's wife, Rachel Robinson, and Christopher Meloni as famed MLB manager Leo Durocher. It's a must-see, and a necessary reminder that this part of American history wasn't that long ago.
The film hits theaters on Friday, April 12, 2013.