HBO and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hosted a private screening of the film 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets. The powerful documentary provides an engaging look at the November 2012 shooting that took the life of Jordan Davis at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida.
The film examines the initial interaction and repercussions of Michael Dunn’s senseless act of violence against Davis. But the film also delves into the dynamics of racism, family, and how Florida’s stand your ground law was used as another weapon of violence against young Blacks boys.
Following the screening, writer and University of Connecticut professor Jelani Cobb held a Q-and-A session with Jordan’s parents, Lucia McBath and Ron Davis. McBath and Davis shared their courageous story of dealing with the death of their son and how they have continued to seek justice since Dunn’s conviction for first-degree murder..
There was also a board on which attendees were encouraged to answer the question, “My life matters because?”
Ron Davis shared his thoughts on the film with our publication. “Jordan was not allowed to be called a victim [during the trial]. We also couldn’t show how Jordan was having fun, but you showed Michael Dunn having fun with his family and smiling. There are many Michael Dunns in this world. It shows what White supremacy is all about. It’s when you feel privileged to take the life of a Black child. And when you take that life, you don’t call 911. Instead, you go home and have a rum and eat pizza. That’s what we saw. Michael Dunn felt as if he was doing the public a service by eliminating Jordan. In the film, Dunn says, ’perhaps he [Jordan] would have killed someone down the line, so I’m doing the world a favor,’ ” Davis said.
