At a 2019 public hearing calling for a vote on a bill restricting access to abortion in Kentucky, then-state legislator Charles Booker delivered a rousing speech on abortion rights, comparing medical procedures to lynching. criticized politicians who When the Speaker of Congress tried to silence him, Booker shouted, “Sir, my life matters too.”
“I can only imagine that in this white man’s mind, he thought he had the right to tell this black man to sit down,” says Attika Scott, another Kentucky state representative, later.
This exchange unfolds in Pat McGee’s new documentary, From Hood to Horror. This followed Mr. Booker’s subsequent run for the Senate in 2020, whose campaign included the “shouters” of Appalachia, the mostly white poor, to unite poor voters. It includes a campaign defined by his willingness to reach out to the community and walk across its racial divisions. Booker narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Amy McGrath. The documentary notes that in the weeks before the election, he raised about $300,000 while she raised $29.8 million. (MayBooker wins the primary in a landslide and faces Republican Senator Rand Paul in November.)
The documentary successfully presents Booker as a candidate who can unite voters, and its best scenes show him meeting at the moment. After Taylor’s death, he mediated between police and protesters, persuading officers to drop their batons in a show of solidarity. In another, he strategized with his team on safety procedures for traveling through what was once considered the Town of Sunset, and how racism persists in modern-day Kentucky and the country. is showing.
But as inspiring as Booker’s story and success is, the documentary doesn’t pan out, feeling more like a political tool than a commentary on Kentucky’s political climate. Instead, he would have benefited from speaking to many Kentuckians who were ready for change.
From hood to horror
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes.Available for rent or purchase at the theater apple tv, google play and other streaming platforms and pay-TV operators.