Film Review: WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer

This documentary, WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer, starts off with scenes of police brutality toward Black people that I’ve seen over the years on TV and in other documentaries. They are jarring, intense, hard to witness. Hearing “I can’t breathe” uttered in gasping breaths again was a cringe-worthy moment. The images are displayed in quick shots of various incidents, which adds to their disorienting effect. They are presented, unapologetic in their truth, like the opening salvo in an argument, which is then buttressed by personal accounts from different sources.

The overall effect is to paint a fairly bleak picture of how far we haven’t come  since the Civil Rights Act went into effect and Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. It’s a bleakness born out of anger and frustration. Along with a crying need to be heard. To be allowed simply to live.

One must admit, it’s pretty bad when a person of color is stopped and questioned by police, because they’re perceived as someone who doesn’t belong in the neighborhood. Almost as bad as being a black FBI agent doing your job and having the cops called on you, because the person you spoke with didn’t believe you and felt threatened. Yes, these things happen.

Unfortunately, this bias is baked into our system. Police are under pressure to make arrests, to meet a quota. Why? Because prisons have been privatized. They need inmates in order to exist. This provides a financial incentive to make arrests that will result in incarcerations, which in turn creates an incentive for the police to engage in profiling, i.e., targeting the poor and people of color.

However, about midway through the film, A.J. Ali,  a resident of Howard County, Maryland,  who wrote, directed, and produced the documentary, has something of an epiphany while on vacation in Hawaii. During a recent screening of the film, Ali spoke about feeling the “Aloha Spirit” washing over him. Made me want to go to Hawaii. He describes that experience in the film, then realizes that the spirit of love he had felt at that moment was what was needed.

At this point, the documentary takes on a more hopeful tone, with the introduction of the concept of L.O.V.E. According to his website, Ali coined the acronym “L.O.V.E.” from a process. “L” stands for learning about your community and its people, “O” means to open your heart, “V” stands for volunteering yourself and “E” stands for empowering.

The focus shifts to the ways solutions are reached, often through community-based initiatives, in which the police and citizens are encouraged to meet. They emphasize the importance of listening to differing perspectives. While police need to regain trust and respect, the citizens they protect and serve should also be treated with dignity.

Ali interviewed a variety of sources, providing a welcome diversity of perspectives—racially and otherwise. Police officers who want not only to work with the community, but to be part of it. Ordinary citizens who want to make that happen. The movie provides specific instances of how that’s been done. For instance, Howard County “Coffee with a Cop” meetings. Why would you want to have coffee with a cop? Maybe to talk. Maybe for the donuts. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Maybe to exchange viewpoints instead of blows.

The idea that change can come from within is endorsed. One interview subject emphasized the importance of joining the force and calling out any officer who degrades or dehumanizes people, while stating clearly that, “We don’t do that here.” Close ties between the police on the street and the community are to be encouraged, engendered and nurtured.

And lest you doubt whether L.O.V.E. (or love) really is the answer, Ali provides a flesh-and-blood example: a White cop who set up an innocent Black man — the result being that the man was sentenced to 10 years in prison. At some point, the White cop grew a conscience/felt the weight of his guilt and confessed to what he did, earning himself a conviction and three years in the joint. Years later, the men (now released) crossed paths. But neither of them ended up in the hospital or jail.

I won’t completely spoil the ending for you. But whatever you’re thinking, either imagine the opposite or something even more awesome.

The film conveys a message of hope and the power of forgiveness that we could all use. Along with thoughts of a trip to Hawaii. Aloha.

Debbi Mack is the NY Times bestselling author of the Sam McRae and the Erica Jensen mystery series and other novels, a screenwriter, and producer of two podcasts: the Crime Cafe and Dark and Twisted Alleys: A Film Noir Podcast, co-hosted with crime writer F.R. Jameson. She loves books, movies, travel, cats, espresso, and Doctor Who—not necessarily in that order. You can find her online at debbimack.com.

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