Quick Take: While it may feel easier to tune-out the current political, environmental, and emotional chaos of 2020, I urge you to engage with this defiant and informative documentary masterpiece about voter suppression.
With the 2020 presidential election soon approaching, we are still living in a pandemic, our economy is deep in a recession, and political unrest has led to parties weaponizing human rights to gain favor and power. And while it may feel easier to tune-out or self-preserve, I urge you to engage with the defiant and informative masterpiece that is All In: The Fight for Democracy. Lisa Cortés and Liz Garbus’ documentary shows how voter suppression has been instrumental in keeping Black voices silenced not only in the past but today.
The documentary follows Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist, lawyer, and author, as she fights for the governor seat in Georgia. After barely losing to former Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Abrams continues to use her platform to combat voter suppression by shining a light on it. We hear from a variety of voices like Andrew Young, Eric Foner, and Lauren Groh-Wargo, who each add their own experience and expertise. This brings out an awful truth: voter suppression is a constantly evolving monster. Even during the time of Coronavirus, we see how voter suppression has evolved in most states’ primary elections and the ongoing debate around mail-in ballots.
All In teaches a necessary civics lesson and focuses on the hypocrisy of “All men are created equal.” The racism that our country is founded on has been prevalent throughout every political decision and tactic. The current Black Lives Matter movement reaffirms this fact. Our reputation of “Home of the Free, Land of the Brave” may have you wonder why it is so difficult to vote today, and the simple answer is power. Abrams says it best, “When elected officials feel that they may not have the power anymore, they have two choices: They can either be more responsive to those they lead, or they can eliminate the people they have to answer to.” Our representatives continually stand on the necks of our Black citizens because the idea of losing their position is greater than the lives they were elected to serve.
All In: The Fight for Democracy shows us the harsh realities that many voters face, but it does give us hope. Hope that we can do our best by exercising our right to vote. Hope that we can change with this election. Hope that we will not regress. Hope that we can become the America we always said we were.
Distributed by Amazon Studios, All In: The Fight For Democracy will be available on Amazon and drive-in theatres on September 18, 2020.
