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Each season, the NHL observes Hockey Is for Everyone Night, celebrating all of the sport’s players, no matter their race, gender, orientation, or ability. But in many cases, that’s more the dream than the reality. And the documentary Black Ice explores the history of Black Canadian hockey players, their impact on the sport, and the racism that today’s players still endure.
Black Ice allows Black players from every level of the game to tell their own stories—stories of falling in love with the sport, of playing on teams where no one looked like them, of quietly enduring racism and prejudice in order to continue playing the game they love. But today’s players are part of a legacy that began more than a century ago, with Nova Scotia’s Colored Hockey League, which was founded by players who—quietly and without credit—helped shape the sport in their own way.
In telling the stories of Black hockey players through the years, this eye-opening and sometimes heartbreaking documentary discusses where the sport has been, where it’s come, and what still needs to change. Though it focuses on Canadian players, it has a lot to say about the sport in general—and how, in too many cases, little is done to make sure that it continues to offer a safe, welcoming environment for all players.
In some cases—like that of former NHLer Akim Aliu, who came forward to talk about the racism and bullying that he endured as a young player—the stories are public knowledge. In others, though, the players have kept quiet for years—and their discomfort in opening up is obvious, often making the film deeply emotional.
There’s certainly a lot to explore here. And in covering the experiences of Black Canadian hockey players, the film tries to tackle a whole lot of different topics—from the Colored Hockey League to the early players in professional hockey to the experiences of past and current players. It examines the sport’s challenges with racism—and how today’s players and coaches are working to encourage more young players of color. All of these topics could easily fill a few different documentaries. But this one film goes a long way in opening up an important conversation.
With more than 125 years of history to explore and stories to tell, Black Ice is definitely an ambitious film. And while there’s still so much more to tell—and so much to discuss—it offers a valuable starting point.
Black Ice skates its way into AMC Theatres beginning on July 14, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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