Whose Streets By Sabaah Folayan And Damon Davis

The 2017 documentary Whose Streets directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis was a critical piece that demonstrated the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pervasive issue of police brutality in the United States. The film depicts the 2014 Ferguson protests following the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer. This film was unique because it highlighted an issue that was nationally contentious and emphasized the voices of the black community in Ferguson who were protesting against this injustice. Much of the media coverage during this time misconstrued the protests, referring to the event as “riots” and utilizing video clips that portrayed the protests as solely violent. The Ferguson protests were instead a reactionary event that catapulted Black Lives

Because this event took place in Ferguson, Missouri instead of New York City, audience members could feel the direct effects of racism down to the suburbs of American cities. Many audience members likely witnessed the Ferguson protests through the media’s portrayal in 2014, and interpreted the protests as senseless anarchy. However, Whose Streets combat these assumptions and reclaim the narrative of the Ferguson protests from the community who had to fight for their rights against racist systems. The filmmakers employ stylistic editing, hands-on cinematography, and rapport with their subjects to create a sense of understanding within the audience. The subject of this film is perhaps the most compelling. One of the filmmakers, Damon Davis, is from St. Louis, Missouri and therefore provides a unique perspective on the situation. Arguably, this could have been a much different documentary had it been completely produced by filmmakers not from the area. Whose Streets, however, tackles the community directly as active protest participants and Missouri