Shamrock Stine Productions, LLC has announced that its first documentary feature film, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN will have its “New York State Premiere” on Wednesday October 26th, Thursday October 27th and Friday, October 28th, 2011 at 7 PM each night at Squeaky Wheel. A Q&A with the film’s Director, Kevin J. Williams, will follow each screening. Tickets for this Screening/Q&A are $10.00 and can be bought in advance via the film’s website, www.fearofablackrepublican.com or at the door. The trailer for FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN can be viewed on the film’s website, YouTube and Facebook. Director Kevin J. Williams said, “We are honored to come to Buffalo and to screen our new film in the City of Light. Buffalo and our home town of Trenton, NJ are very similar politically and economically and with the 2012 Presidential Election is heating up, the Q&As after our screenings should be quite interesting.”
From the Civil War to FDR, the GOP was the party for African-Americans. Today, less than 10% of African Americans consider themselves to be Republican. This documentary film explores the phenomenon of Black Republicans, their battles with Democrats and their own Party, their struggle for power and acceptance within the African-American community and how this affects the U.S. political system. Today, many Black Republicans keep their political views to themselves or within family circles. Some endure insults like “Traitor,” “Uncle Tom” or “Oreo Cookie,' while others question whether one can really be Black and a Republican at the same time. What does this mean for the future of America’s Two-Party Political System and Urban America? Beginning in his hometown of Trenton, NJ, filmmaker Kevin Williams journeys over four years, two Presidential Elections and eleven states to find out if the Two-Party Political system in Urban America is failing his city and the country. In taking a self-critical look at his own Republican Party and speaking with BOTH Democrats and Republicans, Williams focuses his camera on the GOP’s efforts in the African-American community and examines the lives of Black Republicans; the GOP’s campaign strategy in urban areas versus the suburbs; Republican efforts to recruit African-Americans; the Democratic Party’s success in retaining the African-American vote; and what it means to be a “Black Republican.”
Director’s Statement, by Kevin Williams:
Urban areas are no longer part of the American Two-Party political system. This is due to one political party having free rein to produce or not produce for their Urban Area constituents, while their opposing political party ignores these same areas in order to focus on more affluent and easier to win Suburbs. This all plays a part in why Urban Areas and Cities have more crime, less jobs and worse education systems than other parts of the country.
Before I started shooting, I was just a voter wondering why things weren’t getting better after each election. Picking up my camera changed everything for me. My intention with this film is to find out if our political system supports the decaying of Urban America, what that means and what if anything can be done about it. Journeying across the country and spending time with an important, but misunderstood segment of our society - Black Republicans, revealed a reality and an experience few will ever see. As race, politics, human nature and history all clash in this film, I know that as the Director, I am only opening the book on this subject matter and its implications for America.
To learn more about the film or view the film’s trailer, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.
