“Runaway Slave”, a political documentary that grapples with the freedom of the black community, premiered last Wednesday at the E Street Cinema in downtown D.C.
President Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks, the documentary sponsor, inspired high expectations within the audience, announcing, "If you make it through this movie without crying, there's something wrong."
Reverend C. L. Bryant, who stars in the documentary, continued Kibbe’s theme declaring that the audience will disperse from the premiere with the idea that "you have a vehicle that can change the discussion of race in this country."
“Runaway Slave,” presents the idea that the black community of today needs to escape slavery – not of a physical slavery, but rather a slavery of the mind and soul. Rev. C. L. Bryant explores “a ‘new underground railroad’ upon which Black Conservatives are speaking out against big government policies” that contain “a ‘new plantation’ where ‘overseers’ like the NAACP and so-called ‘civil rights’ leaders keep the Black community 95 percent beholden to one political party.”
Prominent speakers add to the film’s credibility, from Star Parker and Congressman Allen West (R-FL) to Dr. Aleveda King, Economist Thomas Sowell, and presidential candidate Herman Cain. Between the edgy film cuts and hip-hop music, they explore topics such as progressivism (“socialism”), tribalism, family, government policy, and Black history.
Various speakers reveal shocking statistics describing the deteriorating state of the Black community from the wedlock rate and single parent houses to welfare dependents. One jaw-dropping number states that, while blacks incorporate only 13 percent of the U.S. population, they commit 40 percent of U.S. abortions.
The “Runaway Slave” combines rally and protest coverage with man-on-the-street interviews and one-on-one interviews to deliver its message. It’s a message that Blacks should remember, but forgive past wrongs, asserts one speaker. It’s message that Blacks should have fairness, but not favor, declares another speaker. It’s a message that the American spirit is to ‘live free or die’ proclaims Rev. C. L. Bryant.
The audience wept no tears at the end as Kibbe had promised. However, there was a standing ovation, with a newly motivated discussion on race: to focus on the enslavement of the mind, rather than the physically caged body.
“Runaway slaves,” these individuals escaping the chained Black mindset of difference and inferiority, must concentrate on chugging forwards, rather than backwards, down their “underground railroad.” This documentary takes one step further to also imply that these individuals can construct their own tracks to travel by – to pave the way themselves instead of following a path set by others in the wrong direction.