South to Black Power / Film School Raio interview with Co-directors Llewellyn M. Smith & Sam Pollard

On the eve of last year’s midterm elections, Charles M. Blow, New York Times columnist and best-selling author of “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto,” sets off across the country on a personal journey to test his theory on Black Liberation, which involves a daring strategy for Black Americans to move to the southern states to control southern legislatures and gain greater political power. Conversing with politicians, historians, community activists, colleagues, friends, and family members, Blow challenges Black Americans to disrupt the status quo by affecting change at the polls through reverse migration and gain control over states that already have the highest percentages of Black residents. Co-directors Llewellyn M. Smith and Sam Pollard’s thought provoking feature documentary SOUTH TO BLACK POWER also takes us on a journey through Blow’s personal story, from his childhood in Louisiana to his relentless commitment to racial justice, revealing the hard-won truths that illuminate his vision for the future. As the returns from the midterm elections roll in, Blow watches, acknowledging the gains, but also reflects on the possibility that a historic political transformation in the South might not come in his lifetime. Co-directors Llewellyn M. Smith and Sam Pollard join us for a conversation on the conflicted history of The Great Migration, the lack of substantive political and economic progress for Black Americans everywhere, and how Charles Blow’s provocative proposal to re-populate a handful of Southern states with enough Black voters to propel a seismic political shift in power towards a more equitable America. For more go to: hbo.com/south-to-black-power