Black Girl

A family drama about a young woman who defies the low expectations thrust upon her and pursues her dream of becoming a dancer. The story begins in Mama Rosie's rental house where she lives with her three teenage daughters, her mother, and her mother's boyfriend. The youngest daughter, Billie Jean, desperately wishes to avoid the fate of her sisters, Norma and Ruth Ann, who are unmarried mothers. Billie Jean dreams of becoming a successful dancer but her mother and sisters belittle her attempts to better herself. Mama Rosie compares her daughters unfavorably with Netta, a former foster daughter, who has achieved success in her education and has a promising career and who is resented by the daughters. Netta comes to visit and is treated with hostility by Norma and Ruth Ann, but nevertheless has plans for Billie Jean to finish high school and to apply for college, which neither her mother nor her sisters ever envisaged. The film ends with Billie Jean leaving home to attend college to pursue her dreams despite much protest from her mother and sisters.