ST. LOUIS — America is commonly referred to as the land of the free and home of the brave. Somehow, those two have become disconnected because after all, shouldn't everyone in a free country be allowed the equal opportunity to vote? It shouldn't come down to a certain voter ID or photo identification.
People have to be allowed to decide who makes the rules and which person has the final word. Right? Well, as far as back as, oh, let's just say the last election, it doesn't exactly work that way.
"All In: The Fight for Democracy," the powerful new documentary that champions voter rights, hits hard for many reasons. There's the matter-of-fact follow-through on the main ideas of this doc, which breaks down the painful disconnect between voters and Washington D.C.'s powerful pull when it comes to whose vote counts. Co-directors Lisa Cortes and Liz Garbus put a nonchalant approach on this unfortunate history lesson, which stretches back to 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, when African Americans marched for their civil rights. The late John Lewis, then 25 years of age, led that march with 600 other people, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg both show up in "All In," lending the film an easy gravitas that never wanes for its 103 minute running time. Two of the most instrumental souls in closing the gap between what civilians have the power to do and the powers that be pushing back against that given right. But the main focus of the film centers on Stacy Abrams, who swings the wrecking ball the hardest here. The politician-lawyer-author-civil rights activist served on the Georgia House of Representatives for 10 years, but couldn't find her way around voter suppression.
Voter suppression as in creating certain guidelines that prohibit a certain party from voting. It could be keeping people in line for hours until the polls close, or closing certain voting centers so the family down the street has to drive ten miles in order to have an impact on their country's future. Imagine someone tying a rope around a dollar bill and hanging it just out of the reach of ordinary citizens, the majority of them African American. Nothing hits harder than the documentary going all the way back to the first time a black man tried to vote, and he was murdered for it.
"It's like Jim Crow 2.0."
From 1900-1965, most African Americans were not allowed to vote to a set of laws called The Jim Crow Laws. These involved enforcing a tax to be paid before voting, If you were illiterate, voting rights were taken away. If you didn't own property, your vote was scrapped, something that affected white and black people. Heck, there were five states in the South that made it nearly impossible for a black man or woman to cast a vote.
If I am piling on info, it's because the documentary doesn't let up. When you see that around 28,000 people in a given state couldn't vote in 2016 and see how Donald Trump won that state with right around that same total, it's easy to get mad and enraged at how it all went down.
But if Abrams and the filmmakers have any intent with this film, it's pointing a finger at the viewer to get ready for November. The fight not just for democracy but more simply, a fairness to be distributed this fall when the people (I think and hope) get to decide who the next President will be.
One of the best things about the documentary is the way it provides plenty of evidence for its claim to voter suppression, hitting certain points in history and laying down all the cards. When Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and generated hope for democrats, Abrams and company knew the blowback from Washington D.C. would be potent. A victory for democrats and a record-setting night didn't move the needle all that much.
After all, the key to being free is being allowed to decide who governs your town, as well as the country. Only corrupt people take away voter rights, and I'd like to think of this documentary as the lights being turned on for good at exactly the right time.
Which is why Amazon Studios is making the documentary available and FREE today- on voter registration day- to everybody with a television, tablet, computer, or phone. Cortes, Garbus, and Abrams are merely keeping the flame strong while the decision-makers gear up. If you are in denial or shake your head at the notion of voting rights being taken away, do yourself a favor and watch this documentary.
It hits all the right emotions and pushes the right buttons, championing equal and full voter participation.
I wouldn't consider myself a political addict or well-versed in the history of this particular matter or the true details behind the fight, but that's the great thing about documentaries. They enlighten you about things that would otherwise speed by your social media feed or fail to catch your attention. Sometimes, you have to be woken up.
"All In: The Fight for Democracy" woke me up. It should do the same for you.
