Was the black kid being a part of the team unrealistic?

Benny Rodriguez was Latino and the black kids last name was "DeNunez", which is also Latino. Benny was kind of like their leader so maybe there was a special consideration made if the rest of the team had an issue with him.

But if you don't look at it through the lens of race, and just see it about a bunch of kids growing together through baseball, then it works just fine.

When you watch a movie like this, do you see italian kids and irish kids and english kids? or do you just see a bunch of kids?

This movie doesn't really deal with race (well, I shouldn't say that since it's been a long time since I've seen it). Was the race of the blind neighbor brought up? Anyway, I don't remember race being an issue - so I don't think it's important to try to typecast everyone. I would cast the best actors I had available - and I wouldn't worry about what part of the world their ancestors may have come from (unless the story needed a distinction)

I watched this film for the first time yesterday, and I was struck less by the acceptance of a black kid on the team than I was struck by the absence of making Ham the butt of "fat kid" jokes. All of those kids were kind of misfits and weirdos, but that didn't matter to them, nor should it matter to the audience, IMO. They were kids who banded together for love of the game, and even Squints, the geeky little kid with the horn-rimmed glasses, had skills, contributed to the team, and was accepted.

Would that this were true in all aspects of life.

My grandpa was ten in 1962 and his best friend was a black kid

I grew up in the 60s and when I was that age we didn't have a clue what race was.

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Make me a sergeant and charge the booze!

I think what is unrealistic is assuming black and white kids didn't play together in the 1960's because of your liberal bias

The rest of us see a movie that mirrors our real life experiences growing up in the neighborhood and the rest of you are hung up on how "absurd" it is to be friends with a black kid in the 1960's

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