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DRIVING WHILE BLACK
2020〡USA〡115 MINS〡ENGLISH
SYNOPSIS
DRIVING WHILE BLACK, a feature-length documentary film, explores the role of the automobile in the lives of African Americans in the early twentieth century. Based on over a decade of research by acclaimed African American historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin, the film draws on an extraordinarily rich archive of material from the period – including photographs, advertisements, billboards, road signs, maps, brochures, letters, and legal records – along with riveting oral histories and the on-camera insights of scholars, writers, musicians, artists, religious leaders and ordinary American travelers.
TRAILER
CREDITS
DIRECTOR: Ric Burns, Gretchen Sullivan Sorin
WRITERS: Ric Burns, Gretchen Sullivan Sorin
PRODUCERS: Bonnie Lafave, Emily Pfiel, Emir Lewis, Steven Bennett, Kathryn Clinard
IMPACT PRODUCING PARTNER: ROCO Films
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Buddy Squires
EDITOR: Emir Lewis
MUSIC BY: Briane Keane
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Margaret Munzer Loeb, Rula Jebreal, Arthur Altschul Jr., Geralyn White Dreyfous, Regina K Scully
DISTRIBUTOR: PBS
STATUS
Released
PRESS
“Driving While Black strikes a fascinating balance between never losing track of the racism of Jim Crow and celebrating some of the black entrepreneurship it inspired.”
– The Hollywood Reporter
“Eye-opening. Revelatory.”
– NPR
“It’s a thorough history of the effort to restrict and shame Black mobility, and it’s a must-watch.”
– IndieWire
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