In 1972, Joy Barnes entered Earl Middleton's Orangeburg real estate office and asked for a job.

Not a big deal in today's society, but when it happened on the tail end of the civil rights movement, it could have easily been one of the most controversial events of its time in the Southern town.

That's because Barnes is a white woman and Middleton happens to be a black man. But the bond they share transcends the racial lines that continue to fade today.

Their relationship, morphing from a deep respect for each other's professionalism into a friendship that has been compared to one shared by siblings, will be the foundation for a feature film currently in its pre-production stages.

Produced by Yolanda King's company, Culver City, Calif.-based Higher Ground Productions Inc., plans are for the movie to be filmed in Orangeburg and the surrounding area beginning early next year.

The idea sprang from a chance meeting at a Florida health spa between Barnes and King, eldest daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

Barnes shared with King the story of her business relationship with Middleton, passing her a copy of an article published in The Wall Street Journal in April 1992 that outlined Middleton's success story.

"I think it all started with The Wall Street Journal story back in the 1990s," Barnes said. "People were just mesmerized by it, and we're still feeling the ripple effects from that article."

Barnes said the actress and motivational speaker seemed to enjoy Middleton's success story and the bond the pair shared, staying in contact with them since that initial meeting.

"The story has been kind of simmering in her pot for this many years," Barnes said. "I guess what makes the story unique is it changed a number of people in a positive kind of way."

Tanya White, director of development for HGP, said King was indeed moved by the story.

"When she met Joy and subsequently Earl, she was struck by the fact that these two forged a bond in the 1970s, when it was controversial to have such a bond," White said. "Higher Ground Productions is really in the business of illuminating and promoting peace. With so many stories of discord, it's nice to come across one that speaks to human nature."

Middleton's story is indeed unique and characterized by his perseverance, his will to succeed.

Upon graduating from Claflin University in 1942, Middleton trained as a Tuskegee airman cadet and served with the U.S. Army Air Corps until 1946.

In the 1950s, he and Eugene Montgomery founded a real estate and insurance business in the back of Middleton's Orangeburg barbershop. Middleton later bought out Montgomery's portion of the business, dropping the insurance side to focus on real estate.

Years later, Barnes found her way to his doorstep after losing her job with Cason Nichols, who announced he was going out of business just two years after she received her real estate license.

"I had met Earl, and I just saw a lot of integrity," she said. "I saw someone who was serious about doing business correctly, and he had a lot of potential for building a larger business. I wanted to work somewhere like that."

But White said the story is not just about two unlikely friends. Orangeburg plays just as big a role in the story of their relationship as Middleton and Barnes do.

"The context in which it occurs -- Orangeburg history, South Carolina history -- really becomes a character in how it (their friendship) occurred," she said. "It's about Orangeburg about as much as it is these two characters."

Barnes said that's what makes the movie such a special experience for Orangeburg.

"This is just one little piece of the picture. There's a lot of hidden history in this area," she said.

Barnes entered Middleton's life just four years after a defining moment in Orangeburg's civil rights history -- what has become known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

On Feb. 8, 1968, state Highway Patrol troopers opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside the South Carolina State College campus, leaving S.C. State students Henry Smith and Samuel Hammond and high school student Delano Middleton dead and 27 more wounded.

The shootings occurred during a time of racial tension and violence. The students were demonstrating against segregation at the local bowling alley and other downtown businesses.

It was during the aftermath of events such as those that Middleton and Barnes were able to prosper in business and friendship.

Jennifer Lanning, technical director for Higher Ground, said the bond Barnes and Middleton share is evident in their day-to-day lives.

"It is almost family-like," she said. "Earl is getting up in age, and Joy is always looking out for him. They've been together for a long time."

Middleton and Barnes share a sort of "brother-sister shorthand," White added.

White and Lanning spent nearly a week away from their California offices, interviewing Orangeburg residents and those close to Middleton and Barnes for background.

"They both ... want to do what's right, they're compelled to do what's needed right now," White said of what she has gathered of the drive Middleton and Barnes share. "They're very straightforward.

"It's not about getting noticed for what they've done. It's just about getting it done."

Middleton said meeting White and Lanning and sharing his story with them has been a wonderful experience.

"We enjoyed having them here. It's like we've known them all the time," he said.

Middleton said one of the keys to his success -- and life -- is getting along with people.

"If you know how to get along with people, you're way ahead of people who think they have everything," he said.

Middleton still goes into the office every day, and Barnes continues to be an active Realtor. They are currently working on Middleton's memoirs, which Barnes said should be published in 2007.

"It's just ordinary to us," Barnes said of their relationship. "I think it's interesting to other people."

While White said the film may not make theatrical release, "This is a story that's beyond being made. It needs to be seen." She added that one of the best ways to do that is through television.

HGP has met with the South Carolina Film Commission several times about the project, and White said the state's rich resources make it a prime location for shooting the film.

According to its Web site, Higher Ground Productions was founded in 1990 "to help people find greater inner peace, to empower people to love themselves enough so that they may begin to love others, to create unity by celebrating diversity, to help people embrace their differences until difference doesn't make a difference." For more information, visit www.highergroundproductions.com.

T&D Staff Writer Wendy Jeffcoat can be reached at wjeffcoat@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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