This is a documentary about one of the most disturbing issues facing America today – and in fact, a threat that has existed since before the founding of the nation. We’re not talking about some foreign adversary seeking to crush our freedoms. It’s not some viral pandemic that would wipe us out. And it’s not some financial disaster that would render our economy bankrupt.
No, it is, as has so often been predicted, a threat from within and based on the actions of our fellow citizens. It is a force perhaps as old as mankind, and which has been a cancer on our society since 1619. Racism. Racism in action, seeking to thwart the rights of people of color – specifically in this case the Right to Vote. During Reconstruction, the KKK was created to thwart Black voters. This force still exists today, and is spreading.
Investigative reporter Greg Palast (“The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”) has teamed with director David Ambrose (“American Terrorist”) to examine the organized effort to deny the vote to colored residents of states across the nation, but specifically in Georgia. As one interviewee describes it, this “legal” approach that has replaced violent intimidation, unreasonable voting tests applied only to blacks, and poll taxes, is “Jim Crow 2.0.”
The doc begins with Palast interviewing a charming “southern belle” named Pamela Reardon. Pamela has used Georgia voting security laws to challenge the right to vote of 2,348 Georgia citizens – none of whom she has ever met or knows anything about. As Palast presses his point about why she challenged these persons, and her excuses and claims of ignorance become feebler, the sweet facade melts away and we see the die-hard white supremacist hiding inside.
Where did this law, and others like it come from? Through a series of historic steps, Palast takes us from the founding of the familial wealth of the current governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, which was based on slave trade, through to today. Kemp began his run for governor while he was Georgia Secretary of State –- in effect the person running the electoral machinery of the state — against Stacy Abrams. Time after time, Kemp made decisions that favored his candidacy over Abrams. Once in office, he worked with the Republican legislature to push through laws making it more and more difficult for minorities to vote.
Example after example of tens of thousands of registered voters being challenged are given. People who have voted for years were suddenly denied the right at the polling station. People spent considerable time to prove they were in fact eligible, while others simply gave up in disgust. Once challenged, it is up to the voter to prove they do, in fact, meet the criteria to be eligible to vote. And the challengers have no idea who it is they are challenging. Rather, it is done by an organization out of Texas called “True the Vote.” As bad as this is in Georgia, Palast and Ambrose explain how these types of voting laws are spreading to other states.
Greg Palast is very committed to uncovering a story, as those who’ve seen his previous films know. As a result, he can become abrasive – something not all viewers appreciate. Despite that, this is an important documentary. Right now in our society there is a strong call for “states rights.” This means policies being set by the voters of the states. But what if those polices are being set by only a select group of those voters, with other voices silenced?
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I have also seen this expose. William Sterr, a political pundit on other sources, has produced an accurate summary of this real situation. Great review!