WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA

Jeffrey Robinson, the formidable legal activist and criminal defense lawyer whose groundbreaking talks have become a hit in conference rooms and community halls across America, shoots for his biggest audience yet, with this filmed version of his acclaimed Juneteenth 2018 presentation at New York City’s Town Hall. Directed by Sarah and Emily Kunstler (the sister duo behind William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe), Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America expands Robinson’s talk to include interviews and personal exchanges that lean into his central argument that America can be two things at once: a great country and a racist one. Often provocative but ultimately illuminating, Robinson and his collaborators probe the history books, revealing fresh detail about America’s founding fathers, connecting their legacy with historical events and contemporary social issues. This absorbing documentary is more than an indictment, though; it’s also a summons for personal introspection and communal re-examination. –Wilfred Okiche