"The Long Walk Home" is the mirror which reflects American society's deep divisions based on race. The last scene of the movie when Mrs. Miriam Thompson and her daughter, Mary Catherine, join with their maid, Odessa, and other African-American women standing up against a great number of white men seems to be central to the message that is drawn from the film. It successfully reflects the tense confrontation between the oppressed and the oppressors and how opposite viewpoints these groups of people have it when they see the decisive action of Mrs. Thompson in standing by an African-American.

Despite differences in opinion from her husband towards racism and segregation in Montgomery, Mrs. Thompson decides to follow her heart after several disputes, helping other African-Americans via engagement in a carpool group. The last scene starts with her husband and his brother spying on her in the carpool parking lot, after which hundreds of white men gather at that lot.

The key conflict of the film, the injustice of racism and segregation toward African-Americans becomes visible in this scene through the confrontation between the African-American women, the oppressed, and the white men, the oppressors. While these men keep shouting: “Walk, n*gger, walk,” these poor women try to sing a hymn praising God. While these men are angry and bad-tempered, these women keep calm, standing, holding hands, and singing.

That confrontation is not men versus men, but women versus men. The director is so successful in this scene because he uses the figures of women instead of men to emphasize something that is both a gender and a race issue. These women who are usually considered weak and vulnerable, with no power in their hands, have to confront hundreds of aggressive men who have the political and economic power to do anything to African-Americans. All of these men, who are a symbol for polite and gallant gentlemen, are trying to oppress ill-protected and defenseless women. Obviously, these men do not care about how rude or cruelly they treat these women. Instead, they only pay attention to their own benefits and how they could protect all of the privileges that they have.

Two opposite extremes of American society appear in one scene, in which one side is at the top of “food chain” with full privilege and the other is at the bottom with nothing. Within a single scene, the audience realizes the whole picture of American society which is deeply divided with racism, violence, injustice, and inequality.

Moreover, this scene sharply contrasts “angels and devils,” by using a group of African-American women praising God and oppressive white men trying to push these women out of a parking lot. During the fiercest moments in wars, soldiers usually sing patriotic and hopeful songs as a method of encouragement to overcome every obstacle. Maybe in that moment, these women also need to sing something to keep their faith and to give them the courage to fight against immoral actions like soldiers in battles do. They also cry together. These teardrops are an intolerance of injustice and inequality. These teardrops seem to be a call for American society to realize how immoral segregation and racism are when they make those aggressive men de-escalate and disperse.

Mrs. Thompson holding hands with Odessa is one of the most beautiful and meaningful moments in the film, which could be seen from both of the opposing perspectives of African-Americans and white people. For the former, Mrs. Thompson is a sensitive and brave white woman who is building up enough courage to overcome prejudices and “social norms” to do what is morally right.

Obviously, Mrs. Thompson that racism is an unjust law at the beginning and she decides to act against what white people expect by helping African-Americans and standing up for their rights. Holding hands with Odessa, from Odessa and the other African-American women’s viewpoints, marks a milestone in her opinion shifting from the issue of racism to plain and sincere sympathy between two women. Mrs. Thompson understands how cruel and evil racism is and she decides to be an ally of African-Americans in the fight against injustice and inequality. The very first bridge between white and black people in Montgomery is built on the foundation of understanding and sympathy among these beautiful women.

In contrast, from white men’s viewpoint, Mrs. Thompson's action is considered to be a betrayal of their own benefits. The government and laws create a political and economic system in which all privileges are for white people. African-Americans are considered second-class citizens. Mr. Thompson said about Odessa, “She’s not like us. She never can be.” White people have no reason to change that system when they benefit from it. While standing by African-Americans, Mrs. Thompson directly refuses these privileges. By fighting against racist laws, she becomes an enemy of all other white people. Some white man breaks her own car and her brother-in-law slaps her down to the ground. At that moment, she might officially realize that she and other white people now are on opposite sides and that they have conflicting interests. Apparently, the protests in the Civil Rights Movements for justice and equality and a better society not only simply include sympathy or understanding of each other, sometimes, but also is a trade-off with painful distress when they decide not to do what people expect.

In a single scene, a great deal of thoughts come to the audience. The scene clearly shows the tense encounter between African-Americans and white people in Montgomery during Civil Rights Movements and how people reacted to Mrs. Thompson’s action when they were on opposite sides in terms of interests and privileges.