American Documentary

Illustrating the adage that politics is a contact sport, Street Fight gives viewers a ringside seat. This up-close chronicle of the 2002 race for mayor in Newark, New Jersey is riveting with its dramatic account of youthful energy and ideals running headlong into old-guard machine politics and racial charged demagoguery. These opposing forces are, of course, nothing new in American elections. But, in Newark in 2002, a black mayor was using these tactics against a black challenger and fellow Democrat, caused deep rifts among African American leaders across the country.