‘Who We Are’ takes a look at racism in America

Above : A scene from the documentary film “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.” (Photo/Sony Pictures)

One of the big social and political issues of my lifetime has been racism. Even the act of writing that sentence, though, belittles the problem.

Racism, in one form or another, has always been a problem. Numerous psychological studies have shown that humans tend to distrust, even fear, anyone not like them.

As an NYU psychologist named Jay Van Bavel told a writer for Vox , “Once you trip this wire, this trigger, this cue, that you are a part of ‘us versus them,’ it’s almost like the whole brain become re-coordinated in how it views people.”

We’ve all seen it. But to make the point more clearly, filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler – daughters of the late civil rights attorney William Kunstler – have co-directed the documentary “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.”

The film will screen at 7 p.m. Saturday at AMC River Park Square.

Michael King of the Austin Chronicle wrote, “The simplest thing to say about SXSW Documentary Spotlight Audience Award winner ‘Who We Are’ is that it should be part of the standard curriculum in every school in America.

Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press wrote, “No matter how much you think you already know, you’re bound to learn new things from ‘Who We Are,’ directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler. And to be stunned, at some point.”

Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International was particularly impressed by the presence of ACLU attorney Jeffery Robinson in the film.

“Robinson,” she wrote, “is a precise, empathetic and informed speaker and a righteous man who, in sisters Emily and Sarah Kunstler’s documentary, is every teacher you might have ever wished for as a student, but who deserves a larger stage.”

Sounds about right. None of us is ever too old to learn something new.