American Blackout

Running time: 86 mins

The right to vote in America is sacred. American Blackout examines the recurring pattern of the disenfranchisement of the African-American vote. It is a story that goes to the very heart of our democracy, and it has been virtually ignored by the mainstream media.

With the passing of the Voting Rights Act, encumbrances to the rights of blacks to vote were thought to be a thing of the past. But in 2000, while it was hanging chads which got all the publicity, George Bush won Florida with the use of felony lists, which incorrectly included the names of tens of thousands of black voters who were not felons, denying them their legal right to vote.

Director Ian Inaba?s inquiry lead him to U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, an outspoken African-American from Georgia, who investigated the private company hired by the state of Florida to generate voter lists?which effectively shut out the black vote and handed Bush his unlikely victory?and who became a target of the Republicans after she questioned President Bush?s readiness for the attacks of 9/11. While examining McKinney?s career, it becomes quite apparent that the battle to give the black voters their voice is far from over.

Powerful and hard-hitting, American Blackout is an important film which will make you question the nature of our democratic system and realize that the fate of black voters is inextricably tied to the fate of all Americans.

Sandy Wolf

Preceded by: Peso; dir. James Bang; 12min; The lives of three different characters intersect in New York City as their burdens are lifted by their subtle influences on one another.

MAVERICK COMPETITION