Black Beach/White Beach

Audience Reviews

View More

11/13/2018 This documentary, directed by Ricky Kelly, focuses on 2 biker festivals in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which take place a week apart at the time of the Memorial Day holiday. One festival is made up of predominately white bikers, called Harley Week, while the other consisting of mostly black bikers is called Black Biker Week. One of the main points of the movie is to illustrate how the black bikers, sometimes reaching 300,000 in numbers, are treated differently by local and state officials. Police presence is enormous with up to 700 law enforcement officers converging on the city, leading to what many in the film describe as harassment and unfair treatment of the black bikers. Also, the black bikers are confined to a 23 mile one-way traffic loop, which leads to consternation, not only for the bikers but for tourists and local citizens. Also, there are claims local businesses jack up their prices and post stricter rules for Black Bilker Week in comparison to Harley Week. There's an interesting look in the movie at the neighboring town of Atlantic Beach, where during the height of segregation African-Americans could safely go and enjoy the beaches and hotels along the Grand Strand. Even entertainers who were performing at Myrtle Beach had to return to Atlantic Beach to sleep due to strict segregation laws. Ironically, as segregation has eased the town of Atlantic Beach has suffered economically. Overall, this documentary at about an hour in length was rather talky but I thought made its point clearly. It remains to be seen with the election of a new mayor in Myrtle Beach whether there will be changes occurring. To note, subtitles were available on my DVD copy and there are some brief scenes of upper female nudity. See more Read all reviews

Black Beach/White Beach

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING