In 1965, Lowndes County, Alabama, was 80% Black with zero registered Black voters. One year later, more than 2,800 Black residents were registered.
I read about this one in the IDA Newsletter.
Trailer for “Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Black residents could be fired, kicked out of their homes or face violence just for trying to register to vote.
- They formed their own political organization and chose a Black Panther as its symbol—a year before Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland.
Watch “Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power”
You can watch “Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power” on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: not rated (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Release Date: June 2022 (Tribeca Film Festival); December 2, 2022 (theatrical and VOD release)
Director’s Note: Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir directed this 89-minute documentary. Pollard also directed “MLK/FBI” and co-directed “Citizen Ashe.” He spent years working with Spike Lee, editing films including “Jungle Fever,” “Clockers” and “Bamboozled.” Gandbhir is an Emmy-winning filmmaker whose work includes “I Am Evidence.”
Other Unique Stuff
- Lowndes County sat directly along the route of the famous Selma-to-Montgomery march. One of America’s best-known Civil Rights marches passed through a county where Black residents themselves had almost no political power.
- The term “Black Power” itself was debated inside the movement. The doc shows organizers arguing over what political power should actually look like.
- The filmmakers interview both Black and white residents. Their memories of the same county can sound like they’re describing two completely different places.
Wrap Up:
“Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power” filled in a big Civil Rights history gap for me: what happened after the Voting Rights Act passed.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc