Emily Kuester grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and always dreamed of making movies. On this week’s WTMJ Conversation, she talks with Libby Collins about her first full-length documentary, “Messwood,” the story of how Milwaukee’s Messmer and Shorewood High Schools joined together to form one football team.
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LIBBY COLLINS: When they were actually playing, did any of the kids feel like they were victims of racism?
EMILY KUESTER: Yeah, and even when you watch the film, there’s a game where the boys are upset because they were being called the “N” word from the other team.
LIBBY COLLINS: When this happened to the teammates of the kids who were white, did they come to their defense?
EMILY KUESTER: Yeah, the older boys do. I think the younger boys were more startled than anything, because they hadn’t realized that we still live in a time and place where we get called that frequently, and more frequent than you would ever hope or wish. The parents, I think, had a harder time figuring out how to be friends and navigate the space. I mean, I think adults are seeing more things, are a little bit more jaded, because we lived longer. So, it was definitely more of a struggle to get the parents to spend time together.