Despite the passage of the Voting Rights Act 50 years ago, certain states have recently implemented policies that push at the limits of the law. In 2015, Alabama closed 31 DMV locations in predominantly black counties due to “budget cuts,” forcing residents to obtain voter ID cards by going to mobile DMV units. Director Margaret Brown showcases the farce of these half-baked mobile units and their inability to provide a viable alternative for people in these areas. As important social movements like Black Lives Matter bring issues of race to the forefront of upcoming elections, The Black Belt furthers dialogue by questioning whether budget cuts justify these closings, or if there are more duplicitous reasons at hand. Harkening back to the words of Frederick Douglass, the film reminds us that “power concedes nothing without a demand.”  BD