4 Netflix docs to watch this weekend for Black History Month

Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story

Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story is a documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams that chronicles Willy’s career in the all-white world of auto-racing. When describing how he first conceived of his entry into racing, Willy told the North State Journal:

"I went in with the — I don’t want to say naïve thought, but my feeling was if I liked racing and I liked racing drivers, they had to be good people. That was my thought. I mean, they couldn’t be bad people, if I liked what they were doing and I was trying to do what they were doing, then I would automatically be one of them. Well, no, I wasn’t."

Instead of being seen as a fellow racer who had a passion for the sport and a drive to compete, Willy was seen as a threat. He faced harassment for daring to pursue a career in racing and being one of the fastest drivers on the track. Willy’s response to the threats were to challenge the status quo of the racing industry. His defiance earned him the label of uppity for not “knowing his place.”

Willy refused to keep his head down and play the game, and he ruffled more than feathers with his victory dances atop his car a la Muhammad Ali’s shuffle. Still, despite support from Paul Newman, Don King, and Bill Cosby, Willy could not attract the sponsorship that would allow him to be on equal footing with his fellow racers.

Though Willy’s treatment by the racing industry restricted his talent as a driver, he broke barriers in spite of efforts to push him out of the sport. Willy became the first Black driver to win a Trans-Am race, test a Formula One car, and race in the Indy 500.