Freedom Road

4.8

186 minutes

10/29/1979

Overview

Ex-slave and former Union soldier Gideon Jackson represents other ex-slaves at the constitutional convention, and is soon elected to the U.S. Senate despite opposition from white landowners, law enforcement and the KKK. He unites with sharecropper Abner Lait, who helps Jackson unite ex-slaves and white tenant farmers.

Cast List

Muhammad Ali
as Gideon Jackson
Kris Kristofferson
as Abner Lait
Ron O'Neal
as Francis Cardoza
Edward Herrmann
as Stephen Holmes
John McLiam
as President Ulysses S. Grant
Ossie Davis
as Narrator
Barbara O. Jones
as Rachel Jackson (as Barbara-O Jones)
Sonny Jim Gaines
as Brother Peter
Joel Fluellen
as James Allenby
Jean Foster
as Ellen Allenby
Grace Zabriskie
as Ruth Lait
Bill Mackey
as Trooper
Earl D.A. Smith
as Hannibal
Alfre Woodard
as Katie
Fred Covington
as Sheriff Bentley
Sonny Shroyer
as Jason Hugar
Ernest Dixon
as Marion Jefferson
Sylvia Kuumba Williams
as Louise Jefferson
Tom Delaney
as Will Boone
Ron Gural
as Frank Carlson
William Allen Young
as Older Jeff Jackson
Tony Ross
as Young Jeff Jackson
Eric Washington
as Older Marcus Jackson
Rodney King Adams
as Young Marcus Jackson
Howard Brunner
as Lawyer Greene
Howland Chamberlain
as Isaac Went
Georgia Allen
as Mrs. Carter
James Bowman
as 1st White Trash Delegate
Don Brady
as 2nd White Trash Delegate
Robert Bloodworth
as Major at Convention
Barbara Chaney
as Mrs. Ganfret
Stuart Culpepper
as Major Walsh
Lionel Ferbis Jr.
as Uncle Baddy
Peter Gabb
as 3rd White Trash Delegate
Ian Graham
as Jimmy Lait
Jerome Greene
as Black Delegate
Bill Holliday
as Yankee Boss
Don Hood
as Gen. Ganfret
Maurice Hunt
as Dudley Carwell
Don Lutenbacher
as Convention Speaker
Ritchie Montgomery
as Soldier
Danny Nelson
as Auctioneer
Afemo Omilami
as Young Black Man with Scars
Courtney Pledger
as Mrs. Dupre
David Robbins
as Wounded Redshirt
Jeremiah Shabazz
as Well-Dressed Black Delegate
Gregory White
as Clair Willis
Bob Zay
as Roger Dupre