The Learning Tree is a 1969 American coming-of-age drama film written, produced, and directed by Gordon Parks. It depicts the life of Newt Winger, a teenager growing up in Cherokee Flats, Kansas, in the 1920s, and chronicles his journey into manhood marked with tragic events. Based on Parks' 1963 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, The Learning Tree was the first film directed by a black filmmaker for a major American film studio, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. In 1989, The Learning Tree was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot summary In 1920s Kansas, a group of African-American boys, Newt Winger, Marcus Savage and friends steal apples from Jake Kiner's orchard, and when Jake (who is white) confronts the boys, he is beaten and left for dead by Marcus, who is later sent to jail for his actions. During the chase of Marcus and the boys, the racist white sheriff shoots dead an innocent black man, and is not punished. Newt does well in school and aims to go to college; a white teacher tries to dissuade him, but the white principal opposes the racism of the town and encourages his ambitions. While Marcus is in jail, Newt begins to work for Jake to make up for his actions and those of his friends, and also begins a relationship with the new girl in town, Arcella Jefferson, but his relationship with her is ultimately destroyed when Chauncey Cavanaugh, a white man and son of the local judge, rapes and impregnates Arcella, who ultimately moves away out of shame. Another scene depicts Newt winning a boxing match at the county fair. One day when Newt is eating his lunch in the loft of Jake's barn, he witnesses the brutal attack and murder of Jake by Booker Savage, Marcus' father. Newt initially keeps quiet about what he has seen, but appears to be bothered that Silas Newhall, a white man, who was at the scene of the crime for another reason, is being accused for a murder he did not commit. Encouraged by his mother Sarah, Newt reveals to Judge Cavanaugh that Booker committed the murder, and also testifies in court, but rather than doing the good he intended it to do, Newt's testimony leads to the suicide of Booker. Newt