Heroes are hard to find, but director Ian Anaba's thrilling roller-coaster ride proves they still exist. Exhibit A? Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The Democrat from Georgia uncovered evidence about a private company that the state of Florida hired to disqualify many thousands of black voters in the 2000 election, and she was one of the lone Congressional opponents to the Iraq war. Her brave stands ultimately led to a dirty 2002 campaign, in which McKinney was defeated after Republicans infiltrated the Democratic primary. Two years later, as evidence of voter disenfranchisement appears in the Ohio presidential election, McKinney fights to reclaim her seat. Poignantly echoing the struggle for black civil rights in the '60s, Blackout suggests that none of us should take our right to vote for granted: the struggle continues and the good fight never ends. (MF)

[ close this window ]