Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story (2020)

Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story (2020)

The tale of a forgotten champion

The Very Best

8.2

Movie

United States of America
English
Documentary
2020
ADAM CAROLLA, NATE ADAMS
Adam Carolla, Bernie Ecclestone, Bobby Unser
109 min

What it's about

An in-depth profile of the life and career of Willy T. Ribbs - the controversial Black driver who shattered the color barrier of professional auto-racing and became the first Black qualifier in the storied history of the Indy 500.

The take

“They called me uppity. Uppity n*****. And I loved it”. That’s how this excellent documentary, about the first professional black racing driver Willy T. Ribbs, starts. It summarizes the strong personality of a champion who excelled in tracks that were filled with confederate flags.

The documentary explains the details of the difficulties that Ribbs went through in the 70s and 80s, but also the people who supported him and recognized his talent. It’s by no way a sad movie, on the contrary, even when Ribbs is talking about people spitting wherever he walks or about the death threats escalating, his unharmed determination is at the center of the story.

This is an inspiring documentary about a character who never got his worth in the history books. I was full of shivers by the first half-hour mark.

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