Whose Streets?

This film entirely changed the way I saw Ferguson and how the death of Mike Brown impacted the local community. Please watch this film.

I came here to read about and review this documentary after viewing. I was so moved by it that I am leaving my first review of anything.

Then I read the last two reviews, both posted on November 16, 2017. Neither are reviews of the documentary but attacks on Mike Brown. I won't get into how I grew up within 10 miles in of Ferguson or about how I've lived in St. Louis for 50. How I know that, even though I'm a white woman, racism is alive and well in St. Louis. This documentary was a very accurate portrayal of what the reality is for black people (and other POC) in St. Louis. I've witnessed it over and over again.

The documentary was very well done. It was straight forward and real. Everybody should watch it.

The footage is so valuable. There is no story there. Still, the footage is powerful. I have no idea if the images were carefully edited to show the people in the streets all of African descent and the police all of European descent.

The sad part comes later. Poor people exploited.

Exploited by the thieves and robbers who make use of the revolt to destroy property. Not only they disgrace the manifestation, but they will make the lives of the people living there even worse without shops and restaurants nearby.

Exploited by the police. The police who does not care or interfere with the problems of the people living there only to ask for more money, more wages, more equipment and bigger pensions.

Exploited by the speakers. Young men and women taking about "our kids". Even if the "kid" was quite an adult. Progressive speakers who care about their possible speaking engagements and TV shows. Speakers who put salt on the wounds in the names of "being united". History shows these people usually move beyond the racial lines, in low crime towns and keep talking about the suffering while sending their kids to private schools.

Exploited by the film makers who get to travel and walk the documentary.

And the people are left there. With less police. Less places to shop. Less employments opportunities nearby.

I have to say that the director has to take the blame for using this opportunity to put together a poor documentary. There was no backstory on Michael Brown, well not a Knouff! Also a lot of video camcorder phone footage was used that was pointless. There was no investigative investigative journalism and the story wasn't linked together properly. For those who don't know anything about Michael Brown this story would be confusing it seems it was just made for the people of Ferguson who were aware of the story anyway. Really poor effort and missed opportunity by Sabaah The Director. Shame because it should have been a powerful story.

The people who gave this movie a bad review for the reasons they provided need to read a history book. I am not even American and I know that this kind of stuff is not pushing an agenda of any kind. It's continuing a centuries long struggle that unfortunately seems to have no end.

This documentary was emotional and powerful and told the story from a point of view many of us cannot possibly understand because we have not lived it. The only problem I have with this movie is that it doesn't contain more information from the people involved. I wanted even more interviews and more footage.