It took a single image for both David Oyelowo and Amma Asante to fall for the true story of Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams. The cover of Susan Williams’ book “Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation” shows a dapper looking couple in the late 1940s walking hand in hand. Ruth is white. Seretse is black. And the mere fact of their decision to marry would rock the social fabric of their respective worlds and result eventually in Seretse’s exile from his country.
This little known tale is chronicled in the new film “A United Kingdom,” out Friday, starring Oyelowo as Seretse, the Prince of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), and Rosamund Pike as Ruth, a British office worker.
“I was shocked and ashamed that as a person of African descent, I had never heard of these people.” Oyelowo said.
Beyond the connection of the love story, Asante, too, is a Brit of African descent and connected to the story on a personal level.
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