Whose Streets? is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live. This documentary will be screened at Bozar during the Afropolitan Festival on Saturday 24th February, in the presence of the director Damon Davis and will be followed by the debate “No Justice, No Peace”: New Forms of Black Protest.
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis know this story because they have lived the story.
Following the screening of Whose Streets?, the documentary by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis, this debate will reflect on the character, the stakes and the internationalisation of new black protest movements in the United States.
Black Lives Matter, Hands Up Don’t Shoot and Campaign Zero criticise police brutality and systematic racism against black people. They were set up after the killing of young black people by white police officers. Today, Black Lives Matter has around 30 branches across the US, as well as several in Europe and Africa. What makes these organisations different from similar groups in the 1960s? Can we talk about a new transnational generation of black activists, one in which women take a leading role?
Speakers will include Damon Davis (artist and director), Rokhaya Diallo (journalist, director and activist), Dalilla Hermans (journalist and activist) and Nicole Hirschfelder (researcher), with Heleen Debeuckelaere acting as moderator.
Screening: 24 February, 5pm
Debate: 24 February, 7pm
Bozar – Afropolitan Festival
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