Educational Media Reviews Online

In this feature-length documentary, filmmaker Sonia Lowman notes in a prior byline, “...when I went to South L.A…. I realized I never ever spoke to young Black men when I was growing up…as liberal, progressive, enlightened, and educated as I think I am, even I had to look in the mirror [as a white woman] and say, like, 'Am I afraid of Black men?' And the answer was, honestly, yeah, a little bit. That was something that I really wanted to unpack in Black Boys, this fear that's very pervasive, but we kind of pretend isn't there. And I think if we don't talk about that, we're not gonna break it down. And we're not gonna be able to get to the other side of that, which is love and compassion and understanding and really hearing each other.”

Screened at numerous film festivals, and winner of the Twin Cities Film Festival, Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award, the film is a deconstruction of the dehumanization of black men and boys in America. The film strives to engage the viewer in several narratives from a black perspective. It highlights the perception of the black male body, their role in education, and allows for the retelling of personal aggressions and experiences of being black in America. These narratives serve as contributing factors to then reconstruct and humanize black men and boys to various degrees of effectiveness depending on the viewer’s perspective.

The beginning of the film analyzes the black male body vis-à-vis America’s favorite obsession, sports. It highlights the commodification of black bodies in the world of sports for a primarily white audience and profit of white team owners. It’s shocking to see how the NFL performs ritual body measurements reminiscent of body measurements taken during slave auctions. Something missing from the discussion is, perhaps, the racialized distribution of risk because of Title 9. In a recent YouTube post by Iraqi Osei-Frimpong, aka The Funky Academic, he posits that because of the 63-85 scholarships that Division-I schools give out to football players, primarily black men, an equal number of scholarships must be awarded to women effectively subsidizing athletic scholarships for sports that are less risky to play and bring in far less money such as field hockey. Then when you connect that most of those scholarships are awarded to primarily suburban white women, it’s not hard to argue that in the pursuit of gender equality, black men are taking on a larger portion of the burden than other groups are. Olympic Rundown, Tokyo 2020, accessed September 7, 2021.

Sports as a topic is wielded expertly to segue into academics. The film points out that “school districts serving mostly students of color receive $1,800 less per student.” In response to this inequity, the movie shines a spotlight on black men as educators, fathers, and mentors. These men instill confidence in family and students to believe and achieve in higher education, as well as debunk the myth that to succeed, one must become an athlete or entertainer. The film spotlights the Mastery Charter School in Philadelphia. Their motto is to " support students in finding their own paths to success." Some believe that while charter schools help to alleviate the lack of opportunities offered to low-income students, students must still face and survive within societal inequities and injustices. Also, the debate continues over access to public versus charter schools, curriculums, and finances. It doesn’t help to read the occasional headline regarding charter school fraud albeit "preparing students to pursue their dreams" (Mastery Schools, accessed September 7, 2021).

Interspersed in conversations related to sports and education are personal narratives of societal aggressions and obstacles. Using archival footage and still images, it is true that every person has a story to tell. However, these stories are not uncommon among those who experience and witness daily abuse, harassment, and obstacles from employers, law enforcement, and racists.

Overall, the film is very well made, polished, and sends a positive message. Its transitions are flawless, and the soundtrack fits the pacing like a glove. The all-boys choir and musicians performing at the end of the film are superb. However, no film is without its flaws. For instance, more dialogue from educators on how to transform and finance public schools would have been eye-opening. One could question if the film is to make white liberals feel good about themselves. For example, a young boy in the film compares himself to an eagle, and as cliché as it is cringe worthy, the shot pans to an eagle soaring. Is it possible for all black men and boys to escape their circumstances? Although it is the filmmaker’s intention, among other reasons, to listen and better understand black men and boys, perhaps, the removal of the filmmaker’s on-camera presence should have been edited out to give full voice and attention to the talking heads.

While the films’ pursuit of social justice is to be commended and made with good intentions, if one is new to, or interested to learn more about systemic racism in America, especially towards black men and boys, then Ava DuVernay’s film 13th does a better job to provide an historical and current overview. For long time activists or academics, the film doesn’t offer anything new to chew on, but rather offers the same platitudes that are heard and seen every day via mainstream media. Still, brava, Sonia, brava.

I highly recommend this film for the study of the black family in areas of African American, psychology, sports and sociology.

Award:
Twin Cities Film Festival, Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award

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