Directed by Gretchen Sullivan Sorin and Ric Burns
Featuring Gretchen Sullivan Sorin with Eric Avila, Tamara Banks, Herb Boyd, Leah Chase and Craig Steven Wilder
Running Time: 1 hour and 54 minutes
Unrated: Explicit violence and archival images of racist imagery

by Jenny Swadosh

“White people don’t have to think about it because the myth of the open road was created for them.” -- Alvin Hall

At this point in American history, most Americans have encountered the phrase,“ driving while Black,” even if they themselves are not. I would guess that a good percent of Americans also recognize the now iconic 1991 video footage of LAPD officers attacking African American motorist Rodney King. Likewise, while they may not be able to identify each victim, the familiar narrative of Black drivers pulled over in their cars by law enforcement and the subsequent tragic results is quintessentially American. How did we arrive at this awful destination? Driving While Black comprehensively answers that question, starting at the beginning of the journey, which is to say the arrival of enslaved Africans on the shores of what would become the United States of America. The twists and turns of a national, real life dystopian road trip make the two-hour documentary well worth the discomfort for non-Black viewers and a comprehensive illustration of what systemic racism looks like for anyone who is still trying to figure it out.