Driving While Black: Race, Space, and Mobility in America
By Martin Brown,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Powerful doc uses violent images to illustrate history.
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Driving While Black: Race, Space, and Mobility in America
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What's the Story?
DRIVING WHILE BLACK explores African Americans' complicated relationship with the automobile and how it came to be. The documentary investigates the complex connection between the freedom that owning and driving cars offers African Americans, and the ways that cars and travel have been used to oppress African Americans and destroy Black communities throughout history.
Is It Any Good?
It's important to understand that racism in America isn't a series of isolated events, but a continuum of oppression that is often reinforced by the government. Driving While Black is an incredible introduction to this complex idea that's missing from most versions of American history. Using travel as a window into how systematic racism works is extremely effective because it juxtaposes the promise of freedom with the reality of oppression. It streamlines a sprawling amount of material into an easy to follow timeline that leads right up to the police violence and misconduct that America is finally paying attention to in 2020. Rather than serving as a brutal slog through America's history of inequity, Driving While Black also highlights the Black culture, community, and entrepreneurship that flourished during segregation in spite of Jim Crow. It is not only a story of oppression, but also of resiliance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about "driving while Black." Is this a phrase you're familiar with? What does it mean to you? How does the documentary use the idea of driving while Black to spark a discussion about important topics?
How does Driving While Black's outline of American history line up with what you already know? Did any of it suprise you? How does the history of the car intertwine with America's history? With African American history?
What are some aspects of Black culture that Driving While Black talks about? What did you learn about Black communities?
What does Driving While Black have to say about contemporary America? How does knowing history illuminate the present?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 13, 2020
- Network: PBS
- Genre: Educational
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: August 30, 2022
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