On this day in 2000, the Disney Channel Original Movie ‘The Color of Friendship’ first aired. Set in 1977 during the height of apartheid in South Africa, the film is based on a true story. White South African Mahree travels to Washington D.C. to spend a semester abroad with Piper and her family, who are Black. All parties assume the worst of one another, but gradually learn powerful lessons in tolerance. The film earned an Emmy and a Humanitas Prize. [25 years ago in 2025]