Imagine a mother, feeling as though her heart has been ripped from her chest from the senseless loss of a son who was brutally murdered. Imagine a father, who confronts racial prejudices on a daily basis, feeling like he cannot adequately protect his family after witnessing the murder of his son, simply because of his skin color. These are accounts of true stories; stories that can move the hearts of anyone watching — regardless of race, color, creed or origin. America needs stories like these to be told, to spread the message that we will not stand idly by as these crimes are committed. There must be justice for the murders of the Black men of our country.
“We are tired of being tired.”
Fanny Lou Hammer
Open Season tells the story of eighteen Black males who were killed within the past 12 years, not because of drug wars or gang violence, but simply because of the color of their skin. What do Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham, Jonathan Ferrell and Darius Simmons have in common? They didn’t know each other. They lived in different states. They were murdered. The only thing they had in common was that they were Black. This film chronicles the lives of young Black men and their current existence within a society where they are hunted animals — their lives viewed as scoped targets, not human beings. It is “open season” on Black men.
