BBC Documentaries

The Black American Fight for Freedom (2021x58)

Air date: May 26, 2021

In America, if you're black, you're five times more likely to go to prison than if you’re white. And the typical white family has eight times the wealth of the typical black family. Fifty years on from the promise of equality and the Civil Rights Act, this documentary reveals the moments where America had the chance to become more equal and why that didn’t happen. Through compelling interviews with those who were at the forefront of the struggle for a fair system in education, housing and criminal justice, the film reveals the key court cases, Supreme Court rulings and laws that failed to bridge the gap. It gives us the shocking context to the anger felt by the millions of people who took to the streets during the Black Lives Matter protests. The movement was not just calling for an end to police brutality but also asking for something that had been pledged 50 years ago: racial equality.