Cadillac Records

In class today we watched Cadillac Records and it was obvious that race played a huge role in the movie. Though this movie is about African American music artists in a point of time when race was a huge issue, was it as intense as it was portrayed in the movie? And even if it was, does this movie specifically portray African Americans as violent, such as when Little Walter shot the guy impersonating him? Was the relationship between Chess and Waters as close as they seemed? Though many of these questions refer to the movie, I do wonder if their real life experiences were similar. Race relations within the US varied, so it makes me curious as to how race played a role in music with these specific men.