Reflections on our Suit and Tie Video 1.5 Years Later

Reflections on our Suit and Tie Video 1.5 Years Later

I created a video as a counter-narrative on black male students for our High School's Black History Month Celebration in 2014. The joint video featured twenty juniors and seniors from the two neighboring high schools there as a way to counter the negative images of young African-American males in the media. The students affirmed the following in a video highlighting their successes of young black males instead. We were quoted as saying “The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don't tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools. In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps."

 

On Grief and Resiliency

On Grief and Resiliency

I don’t know what it is about me but people enjoy telling me their stories. Last night, I was sitting on a rock at Montrose beach with some friends listening to reggae music and eating dirty rice when the young man next to me kept trying to engage in dialogue. He said he loved sitting out here away from everything, peaceful, and that he drives up here weekly even though he lives on the Southside.

Suit & Tie in the 217

Special event and advocacy project for black males in Champaign, Illinois.

A Counter-Narrative on Black Male Students: At Central High School's Black History Month Celebration, the Central and Centennial High School African-American Clubs released a joint video countering the negative images of young African-American males in the media.