Trick Bag

We only see the subtitle of this short documentary after the opening scene of a boxing match between two young fighters—one white, one black. It reads: “A black and white film.” Trick Bag arose out of the increasing tensions in 1970s Chicago, where—like in other US cities in this period—desegregation led to white and black communities living closer together. But as the voice-over explains, this film is about what comes after.

Almost all the people talking here about race relations are young. There are high school students and factory workers, as well as members of rival gangs who have established a truce. And always the underlying question is this: Who are the people suffering from racism, and who are the ones reaping benefits from it? One of the central figures sums up the situation succinctly: “It’s not about race, it’s about class.”