Difference between revisions of "Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility (2020)"

From blackwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
Line 11: Line 11:
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
  
[[Category: Black Racism in Documentary Movies]]
+
[[Category: Black-Targeted Racism in Documentary Movies]]

Latest revision as of 06:17, 15 March 2021

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America was released on October 13, 2020. in the USA. The American film was produced by Steeplechase Films. The movie storyline was written and directed by Rich Burns and Gretchen Sullivan Sorin. The movie was displaying how automobiles brought new freedom and also violence for African Americans from the 1920s up till today[1].

Ben Chaney in Driving While Black: Space, Race and Mobility in America[2]

Plot

Although cars offered all Americans desirable and newfound liberty of movement, traveling in cars was also a way for African Americans to experience new perspectives on racial prejudice and very real dangers. Following that, it is portrayed by footage and video recordings that show what African Americans go through while they are on the road. Historians explain that it all started from the slavery era, the impact of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, where the slave owners are allowed to seek their slaves who escaped to the North[3].

Controversy

It can be seen from phone footage and video recordings that police harass African Americans and even assaults them such as shootings during traffic stops. African Americans do not have the leisure of bouncing in the car and driving, without expectation of intimidation or worse. Due to this, most African American motorists have to be fully equipped when they are riding to their hometown or for business. This has to be done to ensure their safety by carrying extra food and gas in case they are not accepted at the gas station. This is a reminder that although Jim Crow laws have been abolished, the practice of harassment towards African Americans still exists especially these days[4]. So when the Black Movement occurs lately, the expression was actually piled up from days in slavery up till now. As Herb Boyd, a scholar in the film, says "It is living while Black, sleeping while Black, eating while Black, moving while Black. So, when we start talking about the restrictions on the Black movement in this country, that’s a long history. That goes all the way back to day one. And so, you have to get to the root of it."[5]

References