Strong Island (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
In April 1992, William Ford, Jr., 24 yr. old African-American man from Central Islip, Long Island, NY, was shot & killed by a 19 yr. old white man, Mark Reilly. What precipitated this incident was a verbal altercation btwn. the parties a few weeks prior; Ford's mother's car was totaled by the driver of a tow truck from the body shop Mark Reilly worked at. The driver of said tow truck offered to have the shop repair the car free of charge in exchange for not calling the cops. Weeks went by, the car wasn't repaired, & Ford's mom was insulted by Mark Reilly when she went to the shop to get answers.
Irritated, William went to the shop to confront the employees. He showed-up unarmed, words were exchanged, and EVEN as the exchange was described by eyewitnesses as non-violent, William was killed just the same. While dying on the scene, the police seemed pre-disposed to believing that Ford was somehow complicit in his own homicide while Mark was taken away from the scene - NOT in handcuffs - in a limo {no less}. Ford's loving parents & siblings, grieving this heinous loss, were insulted by this apparent racial injustice. To make things worse, this senseless death was dismissed by an all-white grand jury; who refused to charge the shooter with homicide. They believed that the shooting was from, you guessed it ... self-defense.
'Strong Island' is a STRONG documentary made by William Ford's younger trans sister-now-brother, Yance Ford, which discusses the deep, deep emotional scars that his family suffered over the years since this incident. In fact, the intense suffering led to a disintegration of this hardworking, respectable suburban middle-class family. The doc also places this incident in the broader context of the institutional racism, as well as the specific, institutional racism of real estate developers/city officials of of Long Island 'redlining' African-American families to segregated neighborhoods -- and I know Central Islip very well.
What makes 'SI' unforgettable, to me, is not just watching Yance describe the incident, or watching this poor family deteriorate over time, but how it conveys racism in both historical & personal terms. Instead of focusing solely on the central death, Yance uses her personal history & family's experiences to highlight this treachery of institutional racism and what it means to be black in America. He explores how a dignified, hardworking middle-class family with strong morals & values went through their profound loss while realizing - fairly quietly & tragically - that justice would never be served.
The very personal anecdotes of the Ford family & journal entries of William go far to humanize & provide nuance to a crime that media didn't bother showing back in '92; especially because it's an African-American who was killed. The emotional scars are so clearly seen & felt, both in 1992 & 25 yrs. later -- Yance's face & his mother's face will break your heart. And the relevance/timeliness to today's news of unarmed African-American men shot in cold blood is sadly obvious. 'Strong Island' intrigued me, held my attention, moved me & will force viewers to acknowledge the institutional racism that lies at America's core. I say: check it out.
Irritated, William went to the shop to confront the employees. He showed-up unarmed, words were exchanged, and EVEN as the exchange was described by eyewitnesses as non-violent, William was killed just the same. While dying on the scene, the police seemed pre-disposed to believing that Ford was somehow complicit in his own homicide while Mark was taken away from the scene - NOT in handcuffs - in a limo {no less}. Ford's loving parents & siblings, grieving this heinous loss, were insulted by this apparent racial injustice. To make things worse, this senseless death was dismissed by an all-white grand jury; who refused to charge the shooter with homicide. They believed that the shooting was from, you guessed it ... self-defense.
'Strong Island' is a STRONG documentary made by William Ford's younger trans sister-now-brother, Yance Ford, which discusses the deep, deep emotional scars that his family suffered over the years since this incident. In fact, the intense suffering led to a disintegration of this hardworking, respectable suburban middle-class family. The doc also places this incident in the broader context of the institutional racism, as well as the specific, institutional racism of real estate developers/city officials of of Long Island 'redlining' African-American families to segregated neighborhoods -- and I know Central Islip very well.
What makes 'SI' unforgettable, to me, is not just watching Yance describe the incident, or watching this poor family deteriorate over time, but how it conveys racism in both historical & personal terms. Instead of focusing solely on the central death, Yance uses her personal history & family's experiences to highlight this treachery of institutional racism and what it means to be black in America. He explores how a dignified, hardworking middle-class family with strong morals & values went through their profound loss while realizing - fairly quietly & tragically - that justice would never be served.
The very personal anecdotes of the Ford family & journal entries of William go far to humanize & provide nuance to a crime that media didn't bother showing back in '92; especially because it's an African-American who was killed. The emotional scars are so clearly seen & felt, both in 1992 & 25 yrs. later -- Yance's face & his mother's face will break your heart. And the relevance/timeliness to today's news of unarmed African-American men shot in cold blood is sadly obvious. 'Strong Island' intrigued me, held my attention, moved me & will force viewers to acknowledge the institutional racism that lies at America's core. I say: check it out.