Lean On Me

Joe Clark (Morgan Freeman) is asked to become the principal of Eastside High School, a school overwhelmed with violence and drugs. He begins his tenure with assembly during which he kicks a large group of known troublemakers out of school. He then chains all the doors to keep the trouble out. Joe doesn’t put up with anything from his teaching staff either. His methods are challenged by the mayor as well as an irate parent, Leonna Barrett (Lynne Thigpen). Regardless of how much opposition he’s experiencing, he’s determined to do a good job and change the school for the better. Historically the school has made a pathetic showing on a basic skills test, and Joe insists that everyone in the school work towards everyone passing the test. He shows compassion, too, when he tries to help Kaneesha Carter ( Karen Malina White), a pregnant student. The fire chief catches the chains on the doors even after Joe has been ordered to remove them. Joe is fired, arrested, and put in jail. While he lies on his cot in his cell, the students all gather and demand his release and his reinstatement as principal.