“Driving While Black” Documentary Looks at Dangers Black Motorists Face

The documentary "Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America" airs tonight on WNET at 9 PM.

Based on historian Gretchen Sorin's recent book of the same name, "Driving While Black" — the term Driving While Black came into vogue in the '80s, referring to the dangers faced by Black drivers throughout the history of the automobile — is about the history of how "the right to move freely and safely across the American landscape has always been unequally distributed by race," per program notes.

This was directed by Ric Burns ("New York: A Documentary Film") and Sorin who provides commentary along with others, including fellow historians Allyson Hobbs, Fath Ruffins, Eric Avila and Craig Steven Wilder, as well as authors (Herb Boyd, Candacy Taylor) and community leaders (Walter Edwards, chairman of Harlem Business Alliance).

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