Lieutenant Tom Cantrell is sent to defend Sergeant Braxton Rutledge, a Black cavalry soldier, on a charge of rape and murder. The story begins in a courtroom and it is told through flashbacks.

Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.

The Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library is holding a special screening of the John Ford classic “Sergeant Rutledge” next month and after the movie, film historian Foster Hirsch will lead a discu ...