Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America

I found this a very well-researched and well-constructed documentary. It lets the facts speak for themselves - and of course they have a devastating story to tell.

Having seen the movie *Green Book*, I knew a little about the problems Blacks faced when they drove around the U. S. in the first decades after World War II. I had never thought about how the interstate highway system lessened some of those- Blacks didn't have to stop in small towns to get from one place to another. I knew that the construction of the interstate through cities often led to the destruction of Black neighborhoods. I saw that happen in Milwaukee in the 1960s. But it was not just Black neighborhoods. It was any neighborhood too poor to defend itself, too underrepresented in Congress and state legislatures.

A previous reviewed found the last 15 minutes of this documentary less objective and more slanted. I disagree. It is the section that shows one example after the next of police stopping a car with a Black driver, and then either yanking him out and beating him or shooting him while he is still behind the wheel. That's not easy to watch. But even so, I wish they had provided information in each instance of where it took place and what happened to the driver.

The scene where the Black father, perhaps in his 40s, asks whites to look him in the eye and imagine what it is like to think that such things might happen to their sons, as he fears it might happen to his, is devastating and hard to watch without crying. But I know that is what my Black friends who are parents worry about.

I strongly recommend this documentary. I have lived through most of the era that it covered, yet I still learned a lot.

As a white man who can't jump I want to say that this documentary is a important piece in the history of the brutality against people of color. Although I before hand knew bits and pieces mentioned in the documentary, i.e. The Montgomery boycott, Jim Crow, these bits and pieces were nicely put into a larger picture and thus became more coherent to me.

Although I cannot be held responsible for these horrid actions against afro-americans I still feel some degree of awkwardness. But most of all I feel ashamed of being a part of mankind.

Watch it and take a moment to contemplate what you just watched.

What I really liked about this documentary is that I learned a lot of things on this topic that I didn't know about. Yes, I knew this kind of stuff existed, but the level of detail they gave was extraordinary, and the context of the times, and the things that black families had to deal with to make things work was eye-opening for me. The detail given of Pre-Civil War, the Jim Crow Era, and even after the Civil Rights Bills were passed were all very insightful.

However, my issue with this documentary was when it went into modern times (i.e., the last couple of years). Prior to modern times, I thought the documentary stayed very informational and objective. The modern times showed more of a political slant. Some people might have appreciated that, but I didn't.

Amazing work from PBS, all of the historians and speakers provide great context and personal stories. Really learned a lot about what Driving While Black means and how it pertains to our current society. Only critique is I wish the premise was comprised of shorter episodes similar to other documentary series and not a 2 hour movie. My recommendation watch it in two parts as the doc isn't a slog but is very rich. Left the doc with more knowledge and a question about my own entitlement.

Disregard anyone who criticizes the last 15 minutes or so! The movie introduces a political aspect that is impossible to ignore! Not appreciating it is hard to excuse because it's harder experiencing it! Open hearts and minds demands accepting this information as fact, not fiction!