New York, NY -- A new film on the subject of the 2008 presidential race and the role African American and independent voters played in the election of Barack Obama has been released. 

The film, entitled How the Independent Movement Went Left by Going Right, mixes commentary delivered at a national conference of independents with archival footage of the grassroots activism which set the stage for Obama’s stunning upset of the Clinton machine in the Democratic primaries and the Republican machine in the general election.

The independently produced film is available online in its entirety as well as in DVD format. 

Dr. Lenora Fulani, the country’s leading African-American independent and an innovator in youth development and education, is featured in the film.  

To read a review of the film click here.

The film also explores the controversial subject of open primaries which exist in 33 states and allow independents to vote.  Many states that were pivotal in the 2008 election, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, hold open primaries.  Currently partisan players in several states are taking steps to shut down open primaries in anticipation of 2012 presidential election. 

The film includes commentary from Black activist Wayne Griffin of South Carolina, a state which was pivotal moment in the 2008 election when 78% of African American voters swung decisively for Obama.  After South Carolina, exit polling began reporting on a new constituency in several Super Tuesday states. In Massachusetts it was noted that 33% of black voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary self-identified as independents.

A Pew poll released on May 21, 2009 titled “Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era: Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009” shows independents at their highest level in 70 years.  Most notably, independents rose in the post election period of Dec ‘09 to April ‘09 from 30% of the electorate to 39%. 

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies which tracks voter trends among African Americans reports that while 14.8 % of Blacks identified themselves as politically independent in 1997 by 2005 that number had increased to at least 25.9 %.