OXON HILL, Md. — Race in America is at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds these days. It’s become one of the most difficult political talking points.
Especially after this summer when we saw the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks and others--sparking outrage.
One Maryland man has been documenting the deaths of Black people by police in a new film called the American LOWS.
Sifting through countless hours of video, Darnley Hodge, the son of a police officer, is telling a story of police brutality in his new documentary.
“I want people to understand that the problem of racism, white supremacy is bigger than an individual police officer, it’s bigger than even a Black president,” Hodge said.
Hodge delves deeper into the construct of race and the divide it continues to cause in America and how he believes white supremacy is ingrained in our society.
“We can't really counteract or cure a disease that we haven't diagnosed, that we don't understand. We can't solve a problem that we haven't really analyzed and studied,” Hodge added.
The Virginia native, spent many years as a photojournalist, covering local and national news. He said the limitations of in-depth storytelling at the local level pushed him to create his own film.
“It was actually birthed out of a short piece that was specifically talking about the extrajudicial killings of black men,” Hodge said.
Hodge aims to curve a knowledge deficit in Black people with his film. It features authors and historians, those who lived through previous civil rights movements, and those who are actively involved in the current one.
“I’ve created a film to help us better understand our problem through our own lens, and stop looking at our problem through somebody else's lens, using somebody else's language to describe what we are facing.”
In hopes of creating a society where there is equality for all.
Hodge said the documentary may get uncomfortable because of the topics discussed. The documentary was featured in the San Antonio International Black Film Festival earlier this year and received positive reviews.
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