When They See Us
I was recently in a position to share my knowledge with the youth of TPT’s HYPE Crew, something I love to do whenever the opportunity presents itself. HYPE happens on a weekly basis for these youth to educate them on media, history, etc. In these meetings, they start the day with a quote and an accompanying question to that quote. The quote of the day was from Ida B. Wells, an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement.
“There is no educator to compare with the press” - Ida B. Wells
The question that accompanied this quote was to think of a time when you had learned something from the press or media, that you would not have learned otherwise. I thought this was a beautiful question for such a strong group of deep thinking and intelligent BIPOC youth. As I reflected myself, I was reminded of two stories that I would not have know about had it not been for the press and media creators that looked like me. The first was in homage to a dear friend and sister of mine, Georgia Fort. Together we have created some beautiful stories highlighting the black community here in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The story I shared was a piece called, Black Men Teach. It is about a black, male teacher named Thetis White that shared his story into education, the importance of his representation and how the organization, Black Men Teach supports and empowers black, male educators.
The second story is what brings us together here today. Another black, female inspirator of mine by the name of Ava DuVernay, who I admire on many levels for her bravery and ambition in telling our stories despite being in the belly of the beast of Hollywood. In one of her many important and impactful works, she takes on the challenge of shedding light on the truth against the system built to tear us apart and break us down. When They See Us, was an emotional series shared on Netflix of the Central Park 5. History tells us, in 1989 five teenagers “were convicted of the charged offenses and served sentences ranging from seven to thirteen years.” In this series, as Ava does so beautifully, we experience the humanity of these five young men and the impact this act of hate dealt to each of these boys families and their individual lives as they were wrongfully convicted and served years of their lives in prison.
How This Film Changed Me – Short reflections on how a specific film influenced your perspective or work.
