Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

‘What Killed Michael Brown?’ is the new must-see documentary that eviscerates the mainstream narrative on race in America

‘What Killed Michael Brown?’ is the new must-see documentary that eviscerates the mainstream narrative on race in America

A new film streaming on Amazon uses the tragedy of Michael Brown’s death in 2014 to insightfully reveal the manipulations and machinations that distort modern-day race relations in the US.

‘What Killed Michael Brown?’ is the most important documentary of the year. The film, which is exquisitely directed by Eli Steele and gloriously written and narrated by famed conservative black intellectual Shelby Steele, takes a deep dive into the tangled web of race in America through the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014.

From the get-go the movie jumps out at you, not with cinematic bombast, but with a subtle brilliance. The opening title sequence uses the same distinct font as Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Jackie Brown’, and in so doing lets viewers know it is unabashedly challenging popular myths.

This film is a searing, scintillating and staggering examination of race in America, but make no mistake – this is not some emotionalist screed or partisan polemic. It is a thoughtful, reasoned and measured commentary.

Shelby Steele is armed with an impressive background in civil rights, a towering intellect and a monumental mastery of language, which allows him to confidently march viewers through the maze and minefield of race without ever misplacing a step.

Steele frames the American conflict over race as a battle between ‘poetic truth’ and ‘objective truth’. Poetic truth is a distorted and partisan version of truth and is used by race hustlers and charlatans like Reverend Al Sharpton and former Attorney General Eric Holder to paint Michael Brown – who was shot by a police officer – as an innocent victim and noble martyr for the cause.

This poetic truth conflates the present with the past, which results in the tragedy of Michael Brown being transformed into a continuation of slavery’s violence and Jim Crow-era lynching by depraved whites.

Through this paradigm, Michael Brown becomes all black people, and all black people become Michael Brown.

The establishment media and racial activists embrace this poetic truth because their objective is coercion, not reason. This version of truth does two critically destructive things: it gives black people an identity through victimization, and it gives white people a way to assuage their racial guilt.

As Steele explains in the film, “white guilt became black power.” This dynamic sets up a vicious cycle where blacks use victimhood to exploit white guilt, and whites steal agency from blacks in order to assuage said guilt. Therefore, the learned helplessness of blacks feeds the self-centered, narcissistic paternalism of whites and vice versa.

Steele goes on to insightfully declare: “humans never use race except as a means to power… never an end, always a means.” This is contrasted by the vision of Steele’s working-class, minimally educated father who grew up under Jim Crow and fervently “favored character over race as a means to power.”

As seen in Ferguson in 2014 and in recent months all across America, racial anger has become ritualized and choreographed. Grievance is claimed without evidence, and protest encouraged with no good faith that it will lead to anything.


Whether it be Michael Brown, George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, these deaths are seen less as tragedies and more as opportunities.

The film highlights Al Sharpton as one of the more aggressive opportunists and as the epitome of the race grievance peddler. Reverend Al’s mendacious model is now used by Black Lives Matter and their ilk, who are just as intellectually and morally dubious as their duplicitous mentor.

Unlike the extraordinarily successful and morally impeccable civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., which exposed its opponents as devoid of moral authority, BLM and Sharpton are themselves morally bankrupt.

As the film points out, none of these opportunists is interested in the development of black people or communities, but in ‘justice’. And their definition of ‘justice’ is amorphous, ever-expanding and rooted entirely in emotionalism and greed.

Steele uses the immigrant-owned convenience store in Ferguson where the Michael Brown tragedy began as proof of the absurdity of the demand for alleged ‘justice’.

The mob wants the store owners to shut down for three days on the anniversary of Brown’s death and issues a whole host of other demands. The owners acquiesce, but it is never enough. Once one demand is fulfilled, a new and more egregious one sprouts up – until finally the mob is clamoring for the owners to literally give away their store to protesters.

Besides the movie’s robust intellectualism, it is also exceedingly well made and, like its soulful and melancholy jazz soundtrack, never loses its pace or rhythm.

In a bizarre twist, considering the high-quality filmmaking on display, Amazon first refused to allow ‘What Killed Michael Brown?’ to run on its streaming service, claiming it “doesn’t meet Prime Video’s content quality expectations.”

It’s ironic that, though major corporations like Amazon are now emphasizing black artists, when those artists don’t toe the establishment line on race, they are told to sit at the back of the bus.

Thankfully, after much public pressure, Amazon has now relented and is allowing users to purchase and stream the film on its service. But this is not the first time – and it certainly won’t be the last – that mainstream gatekeepers have tried to silence truth tellers.

In conclusion, ‘What Killed Michael Brown?’ is mandatory viewing, because it is an intellectually vibrant, finely crafted piece of work that brazenly and bravely reveals the uncomfortable reality of race in America today. See it now.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×