Description
It was one of the most talked about events involving a white policeman and a black youth in recent history. Amid a torrent of media reports from CNN and other left-leaning outlets, the name Ferguson came to represent a defining story of unrestrained and overzealous white cop targeting and killing a defenseless and innocent black youth. But like most stories that get presented through the lens of racial bias, the story of what happened to Michael Brown is much more nuanced and layered than has ever been presented to the American public. Until now. In assembling the narrative for What Killed Michael Brown, renowned Black intellectual and former civil rights leader, Shelby Steele and his filmmaker son, Eli spent two years in Ferguson tracing minute by minute the actions of the cop in question, Darren Wilson and the victim, Michael Brown. What they discover reveals a story that got twisted to suit a political and financial end rather than one where the media messengers were interested in the truth and nothing but the truth.
Jeff –
This is a superb film which gives viewers much to think about. Many thanks to Shelby Steele and to his filmmaker son Eli Steele for their careful telling of the story in Ferguson, as well as that of the important larger American context. Here is a great example of how to listen to all sides and sort truth from error and lies, including widely-held assumptions. The Steeles have given us a gutsy, informative film and a needed reflection on race in this country.