Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America

✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews

United States

2021

1h 57m

Director Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler

Starring

Genre Documentary

Former ACLU deputy legal director Jefferey Robinson gives an incisive and perceptive talk on the history of U.S. anti-black racism, establishing a distinct historical timeline and interweaving Robinon’s lecture with archival footage, personal anecdotes, and a variety of interviews.

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WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING?

Austin Chronicle by

The simplest thing to say about Who We Are is that it should be part of the standard curriculum in every school in America.

The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg

It’s a confrontational film, but never an alienating one, and so much of what’s in it is persuasive.

The Associated Press by Jocelyn Noveck

If the format of a lecture is inherently limiting, the directors do a superb job of weaving a compelling visual — and emotional — experience.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

What this film does best is offer, sometimes playfully and sometimes not, new perspectives on the central problem of our shared history.

100

RogerEbert.com by Matt Fagerholm

Robinson is matter-of-fact, thoughtful and enormously compelling in illustrating hidden chapters of our shared history.

100

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

The combined impact of these scenes, augmented with Robinson’s lecture — which, while deeply informed and informative, is anything but dull or academic — makes for a powerful one-two punch.

Los Angeles Times by Robert Daniels

Who We Are, a revelatory, albeit stiff documentary, anchored by Robinson’s personal anecdotes and footage of his 2018 lecture at New York City’s Town Hall Theater, uncovers startling research while surveying the country’s unimaginable racial crimes.

TheWrap by Ronda Racha Penrice

Arriving at a time when conversations once reserved for academics have filtered into popular culture, “Who We Are” never plays like the product of some Hollywood bandwagon effort. Instead, its existence speaks to the power of cinema to reflect the times by sparking conversations and changing minds.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Sarah-Tai Black

While Robinson’s lecture is thought-provoking and his living tour of that same history is illuminating, the Kunstlers don’t add much in terms of directorial vision. Robinson is an apt orator and tour guide, but the literal translation of his lecture to screen lacks life and suffers from the inherent banality that comes with watching a recording of someone – no matter how charismatic – speaking to a live audience we are not part of.

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