Episode 137: "American Blackout" (parts 1-3)

I feel as though the previous episode (episode 136) and this one are kindred media, as the issue that they highlight was just as relevant in 1963 as it was in 2000 and 2004, and continues to be all the way up until today. Peace to GNN for producing this documentary. "American Blackout" is an important film, and I felt that now was the perfect time to share this with my audience. "American Blackout" (2006) was directed by Ian Inaba, and chronicles the recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement from Florida in 2000 to Ohio in 2004. What makes this film compelling, to me at least, is that it does this while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. In producing this podcast, I sometimes try to release episodes in a sequence where they are able to shed some light on specific topics from different historical perspectives. I feel that this episode, following episodes 136 and 135 help me to pay homage to the work of important black women, as well as try and give a different perspective on the work and troubles that have faced Ms. Cynthia McKinney. Through this film, Ms. McKinney sounds very much like a modern day Fannie Lou Hamer...at least to me. Ms. Hamer was also belittled and dismissed in her day, and continued to press on with her work to try and do what was right and necessary, despite the haters. So to me, this film is a must-see in the months before this year's historic presidential election. It touches on so many important issues, that all I can say is that with the efforts being made to increase black voter turnout and elect this country's first African-American President, people ought to pay attention to the ways in which Americans have been disenfranchised back in the day, and in recent years, and begin to prepare ways to prevent these same things from happening in 2008. Truth be told, voter disenfranchisement may be the opposition party's only hope of victory this fall. I usually try to keep away from political commentary on this blog...the topic of African-American history is so much broader than a political issue. But everything that is, is because of everything that was. So in the spirit of political awareness and voter education, I offer up this episode. And in case you would like to see more evidence of modern voter suppression (or are one of those people who only want to believe something is true if it is presented by a certain demographic), I'd also encourage you to watch this documentary, HBO's "Hacking Democracy" once you've finished "American Blackout". Peace.