The FBI's War on Black America

Watch The FBI's War on Black America

  • 49 min
  • 7.2  (22)

The FBI's War on Black America is a documentary film released in 1990 that provides an in-depth look at the Bureau's long-standing efforts to subjugate, disrupt, and even destroy black Americans' activism and civil rights movements. The film features insightful, candid interviews with key figures of this period, including H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, and Kathleen Cleaver, who share their experiences as members of the Black Panthers, one of the era's most radical and controversial groups. Through a series of personal accounts, archival footage, and insightful commentary from academics and experts, the film provides an unflinching critique of the government's tactics and lengths to which they went in their attempts to destroy black America's progress.

Directed by Deborah Shaffer, the film takes a chronological approach, starting with the Civil Rights Movement gaining traction in the 1960s but quickly transitioning to the post-civil rights period, which saw the creation of various black movements and civil rights groups such as the Black Panther Party. The end of the struggle for Civil Rights did not mark the end of oppression of black Americans but only heralded a transformation into something subtler and systematic. The film posits that, during this period, the US government saw black organizations, such as the Black Panther Party, as a grave national security threat and a challenge to their power, leading them to institute destructive counterintelligence programs such as COINTELPRO.

The interviews with the former party members provide a harrowing account of the immediacy and brutality of the war that was unleashed. Some of the footage of police and government response to the groups, and their continuous surveillance using informants, wiretapping, and infiltration, gives the audience a sense of the complete level of invasion black Americans underwent. The film argues that these programs, which often involved illegal and unethical behavior, undermined the organizations' work, drove a wedge between disparate factions, and sowed dissent. Some Black Panther members are in prison or have had their families split apart, with others going underground or fleeing the country.

The documentary uses rare recordings of speeches made by leaders of the Black Panther Party to provide insight into the goals and objectives of the organization, which aimed at addressing social and economic problems facing black communities. The party's iconic 10-point program, designed to empower and uplift black Americans, is detailed and presented to the audience. Additionally, interviews with other civil rights leaders and historians provide context and analysis of the situation faced by black Americans during that period.

The overall tone of the documentary seems to suggest that this effort by government law enforcement was a deliberate attempt to destabilize a movement challenging institutional and embedded racism in America and aimed at preserving the status quo. Despite the challenges, the leaders interviewed remained resolute and assertive in their views of America's future and civil rights moving forward.

In conclusion, The FBI's War on Black America provides a stark reminder of how racism, and systematic violence and suppression against the oppressed was pervasive and organized within government systems at that time. The documentary presents an entirely sobering account of how the government influenced and dampened the black movements and leaders' spirit as well as hindered their progress. It lays bare the limits of the United States of America's professed commitment to civil rights for all, and how some powerful institutions view black Americans as mere threats, and not citizens with equal rights. The documentary stands as a historical record of this dark period in American history and is essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of the black struggle in America.

The FBI's War on Black America is a documentary with a runtime of 49 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.2.

Description
Where to Watch The FBI's War on Black America
The FBI's War on Black America is available to watch, stream, download and buy on demand at Amazon Prime and Amazon. Some platforms allow you to rent The FBI's War on Black America for a limited time or purchase the movie and download it to your device.
  • Runtime
    49 min
  • IMDB Rating
    7.2  (22)