I’M CHARLIE WALKER IS A BIOPIC ABOUT A BLACK ENTREPRENEUR
Director Patrick Gilles has chosen a unique person to honor in I’m Charlie Walker. A self-confident African American living in San Francisco in the 1970s, driving a truck, is being treated as a second class citizen by many employers until one day he learns of an opportunity. Two Standard Oil tankers collided off the shores of San Francisco on January 19, 1971, and there is a need to clean up 800,000 gallons of oil. Showing up to do the job, various contractors are selected for several beaches, but nobody else wants Stinson beach in Marin County—that is, until Charlie Walker (played by Mike Colter) raises his hand and gets the job. While the other contractors are baffled about how to remove oil from beaches, Charlie gets a road digger to provide the technology, has hippies as volunteers to help, and summons the press to cover his success. The film then portrays the oil executive, Mr. Bennett (Dylan Baker), as a crook who is easily seduced by a White woman cooperating with Charlie. Several incidents show how Charlie Walker navigates blackmail, licenses, permits, racism, and more, emerging with nearly a million dollars in cash. When the film ends, a title declares that the story is fictional, but the next title contradicts the first, and a video of the real Charlie Walker is presented. For some, the film is a lot of fun. For others, there is a window into institutional racism even in liberal San Francisco. MH