Mickey Leland Documentary Film

Mickey Leland’s story is both unique and universal.  He came into this world like many other black males. He was poor, fatherless, and grew up in what is reported to be one of the roughest neighborhoods in the country, Houston’s Fifth Ward.  As a young boy, the misery and injustice he saw in the world around him troubled him.  He was taught that he could be anything he wanted to be, and that he could do something about the poverty in his neighborhood.  It was his choice,  vowing that he would strive to improve the quality of life in his community. He was a man of his word. 

Once Leland became a Congressman, his perspective expanded beyond the Fifth Ward in Houston, Texas to include more global concerns.  In order to expand inner-city children’s vision to the world he sent them to live on kibbutzim in Israel.  A growing interest in his roots led him to Africa where he began focusing much of his energy.  He became so impassioned about the plight of millions of starving Africans that ending world hunger became his personal crusade.

Tragically, it was on a famine-relief mission to one of the refugee camps in Ethiopia that Leland's life came to a shocking and untimely end.  His plane crashed into a mountain during a rainstorm just forty-five miles from his destination.  Mickey’s death was a tremendous loss, not only for those who loved him, but also for those who desperately needed him.

We are in the final stages of the documentary film about Mickey Leland: A Man for All… To date we have completed 80% of the production which includes a rough draft of the script, complete with interviews with twenty-six people who knew Mickey, including Governor Ann Richards, columnist Molly Ivins, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rabbi Bob Samuels, J. Victor Samuels, Alison Leland, Reverend Bill Lawson and so on. . Also, we have researched archival film, documents and still photography which are included in the film.


The ambition of the film is to inspire individuals; especially the young. Mickey Leland, in his time, created hope for humanity reaching across the aisle, and finding common ground, and not just talking about serious problems, but impletmenting solutions. He was instrumental in forming the House Select Committee on World Hunger and then carrying 50 pound bags of grain off planes to feed the hungry children in Africa. He talked to anyone who would listen; the plight of the hungry was foremost on his mind.

To conclude the film we plan a final edit, narration  original music, and distribution through PBS, Educational Film Libraries, and private sales on DVD’s.


Mickey Leland is a Man for All, what he believed is still relevant today and we believe the film will bring his ideals into focus and keep his legacy alive. We need Mickey's voice more today than ever before.