The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor, a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton.

Down on his luck and out of money, former R&B star Steve Hightower lands a music teacher gig at an inner-city Chicago school. Showing who's in charge with his unorthodox approach, Steve discovers a new groove at Washington High School.

Cadillac Dreams is a 1988 American short film directed by Matia Karrell. In the film, a young drug runner's dreams of being a great inventor give way to the equally unlikely dream of living to be 20. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

A coming of age story about a teenager whose ordinary day turns extraordinary, forcing him to take a leap of faith which will change his life forever.