Civil rights activists and left-wing radicals fight for justice as the Cold War begins. Before Martin Luther King Jr., before the March on Washington, before Selma, they had a dream.
The events of Utopia take place between 1945-1956. It is an anxious time in America. World War II ends and the Cold War begins. Communism is condemned as dangerous and un-American – “Better dead than Red”. Racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism are rampant. Thousands march to protest racial injustice and fascism.
Utopia is a one-hour serialized historical drama. Utopia tells the stories of the passionate activists of the Civil Rights Congress, a groundbreaking organization that wages an epic battle for racial and political justice from 1946-1956. Utopia’s strong ensemble cast features two charismatic leads: future Congresswoman Bella Abzug, then a young attorney defending Willie McGee in one of the first civil rights case of her career, and Paul Robeson, at the time the most famous and influential Black entertainer and civil rights activist in the world. The tone is serious, with gravitas and moments of dark humor. Locations include New York, Mississippi, and Washington, DC.
Founded in 1946 by Black civil rights attorney William L. Patterson, the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) fights for anti-lynching legislation, defends unjustly convicted Black people, and represents political dissidents including Communists. The CRC had 10,000 members at its peak – comparable in size to the ACLU at the time. The CRC works with the NAACP and the ACLU to publicize cases and file appeals, especially in death penalty cases like the Martinsville 7, the Trenton 6, Rosa Lee Ingram, and Willie McGee. During the Red Scare, the CRC is branded a Communist front, and the FBI investigates Robeson, Patterson, Abzug, and other “subversives”. Under pressure from the Truman administration, the CRC is forced to disband in 1956, but many of the activists continue to work for justice as the civil rights movement evolves and gains momentum.
Utopia honors the brave, idealistic men and women who fought for a utopian vision of equality, justice and peace during this turbulent period in American history.
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