“I could die today. Technically. I feel sick.”
These words by white independent film-maker Rob Bliss summed up the danger around him when he decided to walk through America’s most racist states wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt in memory of the 5th Anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.
This Storyville documentary is on BBC IPLAYER and is a disturbing and thought-provoking experience.
Bliss wanted to expand upon his YouTube video where he held a Black Lives Matter banner in Harrison, Arkansas dubbed “America’s most racist town,” in which he received a lot of threats and abuse.
Clips from this were shown before the filmmaker stated his 1500 mile walk through the deep south, from Mississippi to Washington DC, so there was a trepidation in the air before a step was taken.
With “Black Lives Matter” printed on his front and “walk with me” on his back, Bliss walked the by-roads of small towns and rural backwaters. At first it seemed that he was in more trouble of being run over as the suspicion of anyone travelling by foot was apparent.
Then the depressing abuse started with the ‘N’ word used constantly alongside threats of violence and diatribes of racism hidden under the guise of “White Lives Matter too.”
Sometimes there were passers-by who offered support (the majority of which were black) but the majority swore and frowned and offered barely concealed contempt for the young man walking.
In one scene, where Bliss is invited onto a man’s front lawn for a chat, events turn ugly very quickly, and the threat of being shot becomes very real.
As he moves closer to Washington DC supports for pilgrimage grows, but again it comes from mainly the black community. The polarisation between the chasm in attitude between white and black is startling to see in the cold light of day and is deeply depressing.
What was noticeable was how the southern states problems with poverty and crime had been manipulated by the Trump camp.
You got the impression that these people wanted someone to blame for the issues facing their communities, and that “whites first” was an easy answer for them.
White Man Walking is a great documentary that didn’t preach its politics, it let the words and images speak for themselves as one-man walked through rural and urban landscapes with a like affirming message that ignited strong feeling.
Sad, but important viewing.