BLACK POWER - FAST FORWARD

Opens with scenes of the Black Power Gang performing a haka. Black Power Vice President, Knockers Allen says the gang are “just a bunch of guys wearing patches”. Are they solely the defiant symbol of a disenfranchised culture or the “Māori warrior come to collect the rent?” Poses that pivotal question and tracks the lives of three members.

In the 1960s -1970s, the urban drift of Māori looking for a better lifestyle often resulted in unemployment, dissatisfaction with the system and with their own whānau. Gangs gave them companionship, a sense of whānau and the need to belong. This documentary follows the various hui, sporting activities and conventions held in 1989 in Auckland and 1990 in Kawakawa. Members of the Piki Mai Trust Headquarters at Mt Wellington, Auckland, are interviewed about their personal reasons for becoming members and the activities and work of the Trust.

Interviews: Martin Cooper, President - Black Power Auckland; Bert, Piki Mai Trust Committee member; Knockers Allen, Vice President; Rei Harris, National President; Denis O’Reilly, Manager G.E.L.S; Alf Porter, ex Black Power; Sam Utatao, Sergeant-at-arms. Many interviews and comments were added without personal identification.