(News4usonline) – The 38th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) always has a plethora of films and documentaries that uncover a vast amount of human interest stories. The 2023 SBIFF is no different than in the past in that its film lineup has a wide swath of film and docs that will stump you for thought and challenge your intellectual capacity.
In layman’s terms, the annual film festival produces and brings out films that make you think and raise your curious eyebrow a little bit more. One of those films is the “Gumbo Coalition.” This is a must-see documentary. What the “Gumbo Coalition” does during its two hours of run time is to inform the viewer about the tropes of democracy and its ever-tingling balance in America.
We’re thrilled about #GumboCoalition‘s premiere @SBIFF. What an exciting venue to highlight this story of 2 civil rights leaders––@MARCMORIAL & @JMurguia_Unidos––told by award-winning director @barbarakopple Exec Produced by @NinaEaston & @pattiesellers https://t.co/kUpSWgw46e pic.twitter.com/2B5FAmmJHv
— SellersEaston Media (@SellersEaston) February 15, 2023
For the past years, the word democracy has been at the center of attention when it comes to political vibes. The “Gumbo Coation” does highlight this tug-o-war within neighborhood boundaries, community circles and in the greater heights of things, in formal political landscapes.
The war for democracy did not end when the eight-year run of former President Barack Obama ran its course, the film illustrates, In fact, in many ways, it just got started. The Gumbo Coalition is a forged relationship between National Urban League leader Marc Morial and UnidosUS leader Janet Murguia.
The pair work relentlessly at unifying their respective constituents into a rallying force of social justice building and electrifying citizens on getting out to utilize their voices for the 2020 general election.
After four years of Trumpism, what the unification of Morial and Murguia’s groups did was make things plain for voters as both Morial and Murguia hit the streets and knocked on doors to let everyday citizens know that the choice of democracy lay in the power of their ability to go out and vote. This film is not anti-Donald Trump.
What “Gumbo Coalition” does is give a backdrop to the political, racial and social tension the country was dealing with in the four years former President Trump was in office, specifically in 2020. When you talk about the year 2020, many topics come to mind. And they were not on the positive side of things. The Covid-19 pandemic broke out. This was just the beginning of America’s problems.
The deaths or murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police sparked a firestorm of political and social backlash as millions took to the streets to protest police brutality against Black people and people of color. The social fury carried all the way over from the summer until November when the presidential election took place.
In between time, Morial and Murguia and their band of Gumbo Coalition were busy working on protecting what they saw as an erosion of democracy. Morial and Murguia spent countless days and hours letting folks know from the Black and Latino communities that the election was more than just casting their vote.
Democracy was on the ballot. As we shift through the film, the documentary back up Morial and Murguia’s deepest fears as the removal of postal mailboxes and the usage of random Robocalls passed along illicit information to citizens. What the “Gumbo Coalition” is about is letting the American public understand that there is no rest in protecting or dismantling democracy.
As hard as Morial and the National Urban League and Murguia and UnidosUS as well as other organizations work at empowering citizens in Black and brown communities, the “Gumbo Coalition” shows us that there are forces working on the opposite spectrum.
What best illustrates this point is the hallmark Jan. 6 insurrection that took place at the nation’s capital where buildings of congressional lawmakers were raided by those wanting to overthrow the presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden. What this part of the documentary shows is that the work of Morial and Murguia is not close to being done.
The “Gumbo Coalition” is a needed film at a needed time in our society. More than anything else, the “Gumbo Coalition” serves as a stark reminder that the fight for democracy is a lifetime battle. There are no days off in the fight for freedom, social justice and equality. Morial, Murguia and the excellent presentation of the “Gumbo Coalition” reminds us of this harrowing fact.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, social justice, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University.