POV

Question is what do I think about the documentary? This is kind of this film documentary about two black kids going to a white school, I ended up going to a black school, and what's the difference? Uhh, who cares? MICHèLE: It's the other way.

I got it.

JOE

Okay, does that work?

IDRIS

This documentary? I don't really think much of it, to be honest. I live my life and, sometimes, there's camera around me. It's been around me since I was 5 years old.

My mother signed me up for it when I was like in preschool, so I ain't even know what was going on. I just went to school one day, somebody filming me. Nobody told me about this. It was mad weird.

Like, who does that?

STACEY

Oh, okay. Oh!

laughs

STACEY

Hi, Daddy.

JOE

Idris. Yeah? -Tell me about your girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend!

-

Laughs

JOE

Yes. -Me too. Seun, tell us about your girlfriend. Nah.

whispering

JOE

You tell it first. -No! You're just shy. -I'm not shy!

laughing

JOE

You're shy. -No, I'm not. You look like it. There are two eggs left and I would like to open them today so that you can see what's inside.

So, when I open it, I'm going to put it in the bowl and we'll see what happens. You might need to compare it to the chart and see how many days it did develop.

STUDENTS

It's unfertilized! Let's see what happened... -in number 5. Look what I see.

-What is it?

GIRL

Blood. No, I didn't. -Okay. What is it then?

Ohh! -Okay, guys, now, we can see how far this one went. It didn't die! It didn't die at all.

It's moving! -Oh, my God, it's alive! Don't hurt it! -I won't hurt it.

Let's put it right into the incubator. -It's alive!

Tweeting

GIRL

Make a lap. Make a lap. That's it. Look.

JOE

Idris is extremely bright. He's very curious and sensitive. Maybe those are terms that all parents use for their children, but, he scored in the top 2% or 3%, in terms of this educational testing, so we have a lot of expectations. Dalton will open doors for him for the rest of his life.

Julia! Julia. Julia! Sheila!

Sheila, I have three chicks! I have four!

Chuckle

JOE

Oh, sorry. Come on, Idris! Here comes the train, Idris! Let's go.

What letter do we do today? -M! M? Okay, m-words.

-Macaroni and cheese. That's great. January, February... -March!

Mozart. -Mozart. Very good. Initially, I didn't even want to go to the interview at Dalton.

I didn't want Idris to be part of this elite school that didn't give him any sense of grounding or sense of self. You know, a bunch of rich white kids, disconnected from the larger world and self-involved, et cetera, et cetera. But, going to the school, experiencing commitment to diversity, and comparing it to the other schools that I went to, I finally gave in. I can't say that I regret it.

Britney Spears is a singer. I love being at Dalton because it's my favorite school now and I always like it because it's my favorite and it's always my best school and I love it there.

STACEY

Seun's creativity is exceptional. He's a shy child, but, you wouldn't know that, because he's a very physical child. He likes to jump. He likes to run.

Seun won't give me a turn. -Don't tell a lie, Ayo. Seun! Stop it!

If I hear another complaint, everybody goes to sleep. -Ooh, and she means that.

Chuckle

STACEY

For real! He always wanted to send the children to public school and I have no problems with public school, if you can find a good public school in your district. When we moved into this area, District 3 is not a good public school. -I always wanted to send them to public school?

Yes, Tony. You were the public-school fanatic. -What do you mean, I was the public school...? I went to public school in New York City -- -So did I.

To know that I wouldn't send my kids to public school. -Anyway. So, we really didn't have any previous knowledge of Dalton. They just seemed so warm and genuine.

He will be exposed to so much more than I was exposed to, just experiences, the people that he will be coming in contact with. I want Seun to be comfortable around white folks because I think, even at this point, I am not comfortable around white folks.

BABBY

Welcome to Dalton. The person who founded the school, her name was Helen Parkhurst and she's considered to be one of the top 100 educators in history. And she said the goal of education should be to teach you to be a passionate lifelong learner. At Dalton, the big thrust is pumping in that self-esteem.

We want those 5-year-old chests to puff out and feel great about themselves. We always had kids of color here, but very few and far between. When I took over this job, they said bring in a diverse student body and try and become one of the schools in New York that's very diverse at the First Program level. What we teach at Dalton is to teach them they have a voice and they're going to grow up and they're going to have a voice.

We've been really successful, attracting families to the school, of all different backgrounds. We hover somewhere about 25% kids of color. "Kids of color" being African American, Caribbean, Latino, and Asian children. I won't accept a child if I don't think he or she can handle the work, but diversity is a big commitment of ours.

Okay, so this literally came from the kids.

JOE

How would you describe your life? I describe my life by saying the thing I like is basketball. I'm in second grade and I am seven and I would like to be a professional basketball player when I grow up. MICHèLE: Come on, be alert!

Pass it! No.

Whistle blows

JOE

Good! Good rebound, Lucas! Pass it back to Idris!

Buzzer

JOE

-Good try, Idris! You played really well and there was pressure throughout, the whole time! -

crying

JOE

No, it wasn't. I knew we were going to lose! Idris, come on. You did a good game.

Did you shake hands? -Yes, yes. Hi, how are you? -Why is he crying?

He -- they lost, by one basket. -Unh-unh. No, it was by 4 points! Oh, yeah, that's right, after.

-

Sobbing

JOE

Come on, Idris. I don't even believe in that bull. The real thing is... -In what bull?

Idris's game? Was bad. -Can you...? Please.

crying

IDRIS

He should be crying. Stop. -Because he cares more about it. Because that's not quite the thing.

There was a lot of pressure out there, that's why -- -Absolutely, there was a lot of pressure Okay, so you don't beat up -- That's not -- Not now. Not now, please. -You're making everyone feel worse! You're saying that they're horrible!

-I didn't say you were horrible. You just said the team played horrible! -No, no. I said you guys played horrible, and its true.

You sucked. Hello! If you're not willing to demand a certain level of performance, they'll never rise to the occasion.

Tinkling

IDRIS

Shh. We're going to practice one-foot, one-hand moves. Okay, now, right hand by your ear. Stepping back.

Bend the knee. Ready, go. Ready -- go. And up.

-About a month ago, he was brushing his teeth, like to bleed, and I said, "Seun, what are you doing?" He was trying to brush the color out of his gums so that he can have pink gums. And I said, "Why are you trying to do that? What's wrong with the color of your gums?" They're black, they're brown, they're ugly." Where he's getting these things from, I don't know. I mean, obviously, the white people have pink gums.

I mean, is this objective? Is that what he's seeing and that's what he wants to be. Every child wants to be like the other child. Nobody wants to be different.

I've been the only black child in the classroom. It wasn't a pleasant thing back then. One of the things that I always remember was being in history class. I probably was about eight.

Then they talked about Harriet Tubman and how she helped slaves escape and all the little white kids would turn around and look at me

laughs

IDRIS

like she helped me escape, you know, from slavery.

Laughs

IDRIS

And when something would go wrong, it seemed like there was a lineup of all the black kids, you know, first to question. But that was how many years ago? And times changed. I hope times changed.

Beep

IDRIS

Friday,

10

57 am.

Beep

10

Hi, this is Libby Hixson from the Dalton School. Idris is fine. He got into a little brouhaha. He elbowed -- and kind of shoved him out of the way after school yesterday, so we are going to talk to him today, give him a little warning about behavior, because we can't have him shoving and elbowing kids.

Beep

JOE

Looks like you've been having a hard time this year. -I am.

Laughs

JOE

Yeah, yeah. They think I hit Sam, but I didn't. And then they said I got two days of suspension for...whatever, they say I hit him, and then I got another day suspension because they think I'm lying. -Are you lying?

No. He calls me a bully. He calls me I'm stupid. He says, "You're a big bully." How do you feel about being one of the few black kids there?

Is that ever an issue for you? -No, it's never an issue. No. Almost all the black kids in the 4th grade are my friends, except for the girls.

I'm friends with Galton -- a little bit, now, but -- friends with Seun, and I'm friends with Ahjay, so. Those are like the only black kids in my grade.

scoff

JOE

They told us that our son is a hard-to-manage guy. He's not a hard-to-manage guy. He's softspoken. He's eager.

My concern is that they don't know him. "Has great difficulty with impulse control, both physically and verbally. He talks out of turn continually. Has trouble respecting other..." -"Students' physical boundaries.

A goal for him is to make an extra effort to focus on activities without distracting others." Okay... They decided that our son is a problem. He's not a problem at home. He's not a problem in the community.

He's a problem at Dalton. The question is "What is it about Idris that makes him disruptive?" -Well, not so much what is about him -- what is it about the environment? -Ay ay ay ay. I don't know.

I'm working a night shift as an emergency-room nurse. Working nights, this gives me a little bit more flexibility and time to be home with the kids. Having the daytime hours available allows me to go on trips, you know, try to be more involved with school activities, and so forth. It's a bit of a challenge, having four children at the table, everybody has different things to do.

Laughter

JOE

You know what? I am really starting to get annoyed. It a lot of playing around here and I don't know why!

Reading aloud

JOE

"What is the ratio of Republicans to all the Senators in the group?" -There'd be 100, if you put them all together. 54 and 46, okay. So how many Republicans are there? -There are 45.

How many Republicans? -45. Wait, show me where you see 45, Seun. -It's 45 Republicans.

It says...Oh, 54. -That's 54, not 45. Okay. He is really having difficulty reading and he's not doing well.

Right now, we are getting Seun tested to see if there's any learning glitch going on with him. -I'm not going really good in school. I really feel disappointed because the teachers are kind of strict and sometimes they blame you if you really didn't do something. And if they say that you can't read something that you really can, like a "George in the..." like a "George Goes to Town" book and the teacher says that you can't read it, it's too hard for you, you get really frustrated.

MICHèLE: Good hands!

COACH

Get back! -All the way!

Whistle blows

COACH

Aww! Come in. Bring it in. Y'all, bring it in.

Now, listen. Who running the baseline? -Listen. We'll run it later.

Listen, we get the press, so come right out in the press because they beat you right down the court, a'ight? -At my basketball team, I sometimes get made fun of. They said, "Oh, you talk like a white boy," and stuff.

Whistle blows

COACH

Sometimes I change my voice and I go like "Hey, y'all, wassup?" or I change my voice. I don't talk like I talk at Dalton, so they won't make fun of me. I talk slangish, or something. Turn around!

Turn around! -I've been lying to my parents and saying "Oh, I don't notice that I'm changing my voice" because I don't want them -- like, they going to think that I'm like a coward or something.

REFEREE

Wait 'til it hits. -And I don't get made fun of at Dalton. I talk reg-- the way I usually talk. I think I fit in much better in Dalton because I don't have to change my voice for people not to make fun of me and I have a lot of friends at Dalton.

-There, guys. Lets go! Lets go! Go shake their hands.

Let's go. Tell 'em "Good game," that's all. That's all. Tell them it's a good one, baby.

Good job. Get back in the fight.

Miles wails

REFEREE

-What's wrong? He wanted ice cream. -What have you done to get ice cream?

Keening

REFEREE

Idris? -Yeah? Your game is getting much better. Miles, what did you think about Idris's playing?

Was he playing good? -Yeah. You think you can play as good -- as well as Idris? -Yeah.

I think so, too. -Yeah -- No! Idris. But when you're older, you can, Miles.

-Okay. Miles might even get -- You might even get to the NBA. MICHèLE: This summer was a basketball summer. -Yeah.

What's next summer going to be? It's going to be a French summer. -No! Why?

Because you need to learn French. You're going to go to French camp next summer. No! Mommy, please.

-It'll only be a week or two. No! You know what I'm going to get for you now, this weekend? I'm going to get you a math book.

-No-o-o-o-o! Math for 5th grade. All this is preparation so things go smoother for you in the fall. Jacques a dit danse.

Jacques a dit stop. -Tres bien. Tres bien. Alors, maintenant --

whispering

REFEREE

What's another song? Chanter le...? -You know two songs. Chanter quoi?

Le... -Non, non, ne fait pas un chanson. Donne le jour de la semain. "The days of the week," le jour de la semain.

-Jacques a dit je donne la se-- Non, non. Jacques a dit donne le jour de la semain. -Lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche. -Tres bien!

Au revoir. What is this? -This is my -- Why do you always give me your work at the end?! No, Seun, you did the same thing to me the other time.

You have to learn to give me the thing on time. -Mr. Benal, do we have any homework? You have the homework that we have today, for Monday.

Okay, quelqu'un peut effacer le tableau. Now I have to run. The psychologist called me and she said that Seun has been diagnosed with dyslexia. It was like --

relieved sigh

REFEREE

you know, it was a relief. Here, you know that you have this bright kid, but you're not getting it in the schoolwork. Ow! -I'll give you 50 cents if you sit and let me comb your hair nicely.

-Yay! Now we have a better idea as to what we need to do for him. I got a homework helper for him. He's been having math and reading remediation at school.

What I want to do is I want to start from -- Seun, that goes away. Everything needs to go away. -I can't have gum?

IDRIS

You know we can't have gum in school. -Can I have a piece now? You can take a piece and then that's it. We really shouldn't be wasting time for you to take gum.

Seun, that was not -- "But I was was not afraid of spiders, snakes, and wasps-s-s... But on that day," when a defined black spiders -- -"When a dignified..." "When a dignified black spider was investigating my desk..." "I, Salamanaca Tree Hiddle was afraid of lots and lots of things. For example, I was terrified of car accidents, death, cancer, brain tumors..." -We got a letter from Dalton, inviting Idris to participate in this tutoring program. He was having some issues in 4th grade, but we didn't know they were going to recommend tutoring.

So I asked "How was he selected?" and she told me, "Well we offer this to students who are on financial aid, so it's a way to make it more of a level playing field." But then we found out that, in Idris's grade, he and Seun are the only two kids in the entire grade taking this tutoring program. I don't want the tutoring to be at the expense of him being perceived a certain way that's totally inaccurate! I think that there's a perception that these are --

whispering

IDRIS

that these are young black boys who need extra help because they're not used to this kind of exposure.

Horns honk

JOE

What the school says is that many of his classmates are receiving tutoring. Some of the parents are spending up to $30,000 a year for tutoring. That's more than the tuition. -Am I your friend?

Mmm...no. It's interesting that you can be spending, what, $25,000? on an education and it may be next-to-impossible to keep up without tutoring. Miles, enough.

You got an A+ on this. But this? This is unacceptable. Scribbling!

-She said -- You can't hand something like this in. Obviously, we want him to succeed, so we increased our time commitment. We focus more on homework. 2 times x, 5 times x, and 111 times X.

I added all those together. That's 119. -It's 118. Okay, 118.

You feel the burn? -No. The burn of knowledge. We devised a spreadsheet.

Every hour of the week

was accounted for

eating, travel to and from school. There was too much of the Playstation, too much television. You know, at first, we were a little embarrassed. People would say things like "Wow, you're controlling his entire life." Well, I think the problem is we weren't controlling enough.

And what's that answer? -Zero? That's right! Hey-hey!

Hey-hey! Too slow. I hate school. It's...

bad, it's hard, and I'm in the 6th grade. Can I have a plain pizza with sausage?

WOMAN

How have you changed, personally? I got braces. It's just another year in Dalton, just that the work is harder. -You feel like there's more pressure?

A lot. -So how how are you dealing with it? I don't even know.

We have high levels of expectation

organization, time management, keeping materials together and knowing what to bring home and what to leave at school. There's a lot of work they have to do. I think you would have to read this first, then do that? I think we only read that way in China.

-We do expect a lot of independence, so if kids haven't incorporated those skills by 6th grade, that's when they start to fall apart. -All right, come on. Not an all-nighter, please.

IDRIS

♪ Wake me up ♪ ♪ when September ends ♪♪♪ -So what do you have here? What do you have to do? The short story, then you have to read "The Fun They Had". Okay, let's start it.

-I don't know. They're just like doing my homework for me.

WOMAN

You don't want their help? -I do, but not this much. Oh, no! I didn't bring my -- aah!

I'm so like dead. This sucks. I'm not going to finish. I can't finish my short story that's due tomorrow!

Aah!

Exhales

Moan

WOMAN

Ugh! I don't know. I just don't know. We worked two weeks on this freaking thing!

Two weeks, and then, the day before, you have to mess up like this! -

Blows raspberry

JOE

The school seems to be implying now that he needs to go on medication, that he's highly distractible, impulsive, acting out. I'm a psychiatrist. I've seen a few kids with ADHD. Our son doesn't appear anything like that.

In the meantime, he's starting to see himself as a weak student. His self-esteem is falling through the floor. I think Seun's has, too. -Yeah.

I think there are other black boys there and I don't think they're doing that well, emotionally.

STACEY

The difficulties that Seun is having -- you know, you feel very alone and you just feel different. You feel that "Oh, a place like Dalton -- everyone that goes here must be smart, just brilliant, you know, and it just comes naturally to them, just, you know, and something is wrong with my child," you know? And then, you come to find out that's far, far from the case. White kids have problems in the school, but when the school talks to you, its seems to be very shh-shh, hush-hush, and very secretive.

But 95% of the black kids have problems in that school, you know, some type of issue, and there's something unnatural. There's a huge imbalance, you know. I don't understand that. Hi.

I'm Stacey. -Nice to meet you. Hi. How are you?

Stacey Summers. MICHèLE: Raul. Oh, you guys have never met. We're meeting with other black parents from the 6th grade and we're going to talk about some of the issues our kids are facing.

JOE

White parents at this school are doing this automatically. And, you know, they're not meeting with each other because they planned it. It's because they live in the same neighborhood. -What the white parents have shared with me is all of them were complaining about the same thing.

"He lost his book twice and I don't know what's wrong with him. I can't get him to focus and he comes home and he won't do his homework, you know, and then he forgets things and he tells me at the last minute. I'm up 'til midnight and I'm helping him do his work." Same exact thing that we're all going through. That doesn't take away from the fact that we have this extra burden in this country.

It's just what it is. And I think, as parents of a black male, you're going to worry and you're going to have anxiety. Let me tell you this -- My son came into this school as an excellent math student and I'm watching him going down and I am questioning what's happening. Another case he had -- they're doing saxophone, something in the saxophone, the music.

They're playing a tune and Hamani said "I don't like it." One of the kids said to him "Yeah, you don't like it because all you like is hip hop." MICHèLE: The teacher said that?! -No, one of the kids told him that, another student. So I said "So what did you say?" He said "Well, I got angry, but I tried to compose myself because I know you said to compose."

Laughter

RAUL

That's hilarious! But you see what the child was telling him, there and then. -He was projecting onto him that he's... MICHèLE: A stereotype!

He's not going to be dealt with the same way, like a white child's going to be dealt with. I hate to say it. -As parents of a black male, you know the struggle that they're going to have to face, the reality of the way that people look at them and fear them when they see them. Because, every day, you're inundated with this marketing that a dark, black face is dangerous, so watch out.

But we put our children in this environment and if they are seeing it now, what perception are they going to have of themselves? Is this going to be something that's going to help them in the future or something that's going to hinder them? MICHèLE: Idris just started playing basketball for Dalton. He made the 8th-grade team, even though he's only in 7th grade.

C'mon, defense! C'mon! -Look at Ben. Look at Ben.

Look at Ben. Look at Ben. Look at Ben. Look at Ben.

COACH

Get it, Idris!

JOE

So, what happened? -I didn't play well. I wasn't driving. I wasn't shooting.

MICHèLE: Why? -I don't know. It's laziness. Anybody else would've gone for the ball.

He's saying "Let me do the least amount I have to do." Did you jump on the ball? -No. Did you fight for it? He's not aggressive, Michèle.

MICHèLE: How many times are we going to talk about this? -I'm just saying that we have to see the writing on the wall.

IDRIS

He was just mad. He's done it to me so many times that nothing's too critical anymore.

Whining

IDRIS

Raja. This is my dog. We got him for Christmas. Calm down!

In 1st grade, it was a dog. Then, when I didn't get the dog, I wanted a brother. And now that I got the brother, I want a dog. Just having one is fun.

Having him to play with and to laugh with and laugh at and just to be there to console you when you need it. He's not that easy to train. Sometimes he goes to the bathroom in the house, but, overall, he is a good dog. He's a puppy.

Come on, Raja. -At some point during the class today, I will come around and tell you what your grade is. -Did anyone get below a 40? That would be none of your business.

Unless you're the one who got below a 40, right? So, clearly, we're going to have to do some more work on this. So what does this remind you of? -

singsong

IDRIS

Factor tree. Factor tree. But instead of finding the factors that go into something, you're finding the roots, so see if you can figure out the following problems. I really don't want to leave.

Like I'm friends with everybody in the school because I've known them for a long time. That would work. That would work. Get rid of these x-squareds here.

I think you're going to confuse yourself. -I don't have an eraser. This doesn't have an eraser. Okay.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get better grades and I'll be able to go to Dalton for high school. See her? -Yeah. He's doing a movie.

-All right! How old is he? He's my age, 13. It's his own movie.

-My parents' movie. It's his parents' movie and he's in it. MICHèLE: You got a bar mitzvah invitation. Everyone's saying they really want to go to this party.

Don't judge a book by its cover, but a lot of people are judging this by its invitation because it's a really fancy invitation. I don't know who'd spend this much on an invitation, but... -What are your feelings about the bar mitzvah? They have a lot of -- like they have cool -- they have very good songs and we dance a lot.

Yeah. I've been to about 20 or more. They've been very elegant. They've been big and fancy.

The MCs always have this thing where people have to dance with the girls, this one part where people have to dance with girls and I really don't like that part because I don't get to dance with the girls. They usually say no. I don't know why. They just say no, which makes me feel bad.

sniffle

JOE

Have you ever kissed a girl? -No. You want to? -Sure.

I don't know how it feels. -You kiss your mother. Yeah, but that's on the cheek! It doesn't really matter.

-

Raja whining

JOE

Sit. Sit, sit. Lay down. -Well, he'll kiss you.

That's for sure. I bet if I go to -- I wonder, if I go to another school, I'll be fine. -I'm not sure that it works that way. I don't know.

Bet if I was white, I'd be better off. Isn't that true? -You asking me? Yes.

-What do you think? Yes. Well, at this school. I'm not saying I want to, but isn't that right?

That's what everyone else is saying. MICHèLE: Who's "everyone else"? -Seun, Brandon. They say that?

-Yeah. In what context do they say that? -That they'd get girls at our school, if they were white. I'm not -- I don't know!

Is it true?

STACEY

Seun didn't pass his English workshop. I said to them, I said, "I'm surprised that he didn't pass because he gets 80s. He gets high 80s, 90s, in his tests. Why is it that he's not passing?" Organization.

Teacher has to ask him for homework. Doesn't come to class prepared. I said, "I work with Seun at night. I know homework is done.

I know it's in his bag." You can't -- "Seuny, where is your homework? Do you have your homework? Leave it on my desk." You want to fail a child for that? Oh, and they go "Don't forget that testing for such-and-such is next week.

crying

STACEY

Don't forget to get him to that test next Saturday because we want him out of here." It's like okay, after you leave Dalton, where do you go, you know? -And that's the problem, because -- and not just you -- a lot of parents probably think "Well, where do you go after you leave such a school like Dalton?", but you'll be surprised. There's probably a lot of places out there, honey.

LIBBY

Seun is a wonderful human being. He's so smart, but everything you watch about Seun is thoughtful, sort of peaceful, and Dalton is thoughtful, but it isn't peaceful. This is a high-energy, fast-turnover, a lot of volume, a lot of ownership, a lot of things happening at the same time and I don't think it was, frankly, a good match for him. We don't have the same problem, usually, with African American girls; they do okay, but we often have -- there's a cultural disconnect between independent schools and African American boys and we see a high rate of kids not being successful, the boys not being successful, and the question is "Why?" Where's the disconnect?

What's going wrong? What are we doing, as a school, that is not supporting these guys? A lot of kids leave Dalton. I'm open to it.

You know, I get to learn new things, different experience. It's not that bad. It's not a total loss.

"Pomp and Circumstance" plays

LIBBY

As the vision of the school has gone forward, everyone's getting better at this. It strikes me that the families who made the commitment early on, you know, were brave, were brave. We're a white school and it's hard enough to go through early adolescence, but to be constantly noticed for one factor of your life is just stupid. That's why numbers are important, because you don't need that burden, that I'm a sole representative of something.

-Arch Day is a lasting tradition going all the way back to the founding of Dalton and, ever since, we have celebrated the growth of each student and faculty and staff member and their moving into the next year, on Arch Day. Will the 8th graders pass through the arch and into the next year. Why are you leaving, man? Why do you have to leave today, why?

Full-on campaigning continues through the weekend. Palin's lack of foreign policy experience could make it harder for McCain in the battleground. Where'd you get those earrings? -I got them at the Obama camp that I did.

It was a camp to get some training on volunteering for the campaign. Go, Obama!

gasp

LIBBY

I got to persuade, Mommy. -You have to persuade? Yeah! -Okay.

What does that mean? -Let's try it. Brr... Hello.

Is William Jolly available? Okay. Okay, thank you for your time. Bye.

laughing

LIBBY

Um, hi. My name is Idris Brewster. I'm a volunteer with the Barack Obama Campaign for Change in North Carolina. How are you?

He died, and then she hung up on me. -You're kidding. I was like "Hello. Is William Jolly available?" and she was like "He dead."

Laughs

LIBBY

And I was like "Okay. Thank you for your time. Goodbye." She's like "What you want?" I was like "Hi. My name is Idris Brewster.

I'm a volunteer with the Barack Obama Campaign for Change in North Carolina. How are you?" and she hung up. -Oh, my God! So you have to report that.

You have to report that it's a deceased. But should I write "deceased and hung up"? All right, here we go. And go.

Wow!

smattering of applause

LIBBY

Come on, don't stop. Don't stop! Don't stop. Let's go.

-Whoa! Hey! All right, let's turn and give courtesy to our brand-new purple belt. -Oss!

Until next time. You know what? Let me tell you something. Congratulations.

-I got a purple belt, but I should've been a brown belt. -No, you shouldn't be a brown belt. You're not a brown belt because we didn't push you to come, so you are what you are.

TONY

Well, then, it's your fault. -No, it's no one's fault and you're only now a purple belt because we're making you come. You would still be what? A yellow belt.

CHILDREN

Oh! Oh!

TONY

That's right.

You would've got there at 12

00, it would've been over, uh-huh.

We walk in there at 12

00,

thinking your promotion is at 12

00

and it started at 10

30. Come on, Seun. We can't always be up on everything for you. We've been giving you a little bit of freedom.

You have to run with it.

Quiet laughter

and it started at 10

-True. We have in this country, representative democracy. How is representative democracy different from direct democracy? Shay, remember?

Direct democracy is "when people directly vote on issues" and representative democracy is "when people choose representatives to choose for them." -Everybody got it? The issue -- population in the South because of what? -Slaves. They were stolen, captured, and whipped.

I learned that a long time ago, in grad school. I took a class on how to teach about slavery and that always stuck with me. -When the school first started, the idea was the school would be in a community that was African American and Latino. A third to a half of the kids come from the Fort Greene projects right here.

We modeled it almost after those early segregated schools in the South and it became a nurturing place. We want kids to be successful, do some challenging work, but make them feel good about themselves and not always worrying about how they're going to fit in or how people are going to look at them. Who led the Supreme Court when the role of the judicial branch was solidified? -Marshall.

Marshall, oh! -

Laughter

and it started at 10

I'm not against, you know, kids being in diverse environments, but, at this point, over my many years of being in the system, it's not really necessary. White people never talk about that. They never say "I want to take my kid out of this all-white school and put them in an all-black school so things will be more diverse." Just people don't think that way and I don't know why we have to think that way, because we can teach our kids. Guys, prepare yourselves.

You're good. Everybody here is very, very bright. -That's so unfair. Let's get going, please.

Here's a good question -- What was so revolutionary about the French Revolution? How do we begin to answer that? Well, I think a lot of revolutions in the past have been more to overthrow the current political system, but one of the things that the French Revolution ended up doing was really sort of change everything, remake time and space, with like the calendar and renaming places. -Okay, very good.

So this idea of change, there was a cultural shift. What about violence? What role does violence play here and how radical or revolutionary is violence in the 18th century? It becomes normal for them, and even pleasurable, to see all this violence and so they just want to see more and it ends up in the September Massacres.

-The violence is out of hand, but at its height, it destroys the old social order; it destroys the old regime. I'm the only freshman on the varsity basketball team. I've improved my point-guard skills, my dribbling, my driving. -Thataboy, Idris!

Cheering

and it started at 10

Yeah! But, because I'm the smaller guy on the team and I'm the youngest, they look down on me. -That's why they have the Bulls jersey on. This year, I lost connection with some of my friends, old friends, but the school is a little bit more diverse.

There are some new people that I made friends with. Hey, Shay. -What up? Students,

please be advised

do not let lateness lead to your failure. You will miss not graduating. At Banneker, I'm kind of well-rounded, I guess. I get around with all the crowds, you know, with the nerdy kids, the cool kids, and the gang kids.

I have black friends. Hey-y-y! You feel some kind of comfort when you're with people of the same race, so you don't have to feel kind of odd, the odd one out. Yeah, we used to do it a lot -You feel like Seun's different now?

No. I mean, he dresses way differently. -I used to wear baggy clothes all the time, right? This year, I'm wearing like skinny stuff.

-I like wearing sweaters now. I have a cardigan. I like that. -A what?

You know what a cardigan is? -No. It's a nice piece of clothing. Very nice.

Sweater, buttoned down. You could wear another shirt under it. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history.

Cheering and applause

please be advised

You see the inauguration? -Yeah, I saw the speech. How'd you feel? -I didn't feel very different.

Did you feel different? Yeah. Oh. I was thinking about my father.

I told you that they used to call my father "Nigger Joe" at work, right? That's why he quit. It was a union job, it was well-paying, but he didn't want to deal with that kind of humiliation. It was not easy finding another job, particularly if you couldn't read.

He couldn't read 'til he was 40. And I thought about you and Miles a lot because here is a black man who's achieved, academically, at a very high level, and morally. At one point, I was thinking what we're doing with our kids could pay off in something like this. Not that I want you to be the president of the United States, but maybe you'll be productive and happy and worthwhile.

MILES

What time is it?

It's 7

24! You need to go. I know. I'm waiting for the bathroom.

What for? -To brush my teeth. Just get in there while he's in there.

JOE

Don't come in. -He needs to brush his teeth. He's got to go! I don't care.

He could've done it -- -Okay, you got to go. You must leave now.

It's 7

24.

Grind

It's 7

MICHèLE: Idris! -I'm trying to...! You know what? Forget it.

-What are you doing on the computer? You need to leave. -Okay, I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I just really need to study this on the train.

-Study what? What do you have, a quiz today? A history quiz. -You have a history quiz today?

I have a 10-page document that I made. I'm fine. -Well, why didn't you tell me that and why wasn't it written in your plan book? -

whispering

It's 7

I'm fine. I'm good now. It's not written here that you had a quiz! -You always freak out!

All right, stop!

MILES

Ooh! What? Did you find the paper to review for your quiz? -Something's wrong with these printers.

I printed it downstairs. -It didn't print? I'll check again. Yeah, yeah, it didn't print.

-So how are you going to study for this quiz?! You know what? You always -- Stop freaking out, Mommy. Stop freaking out.

haltingly

MILES

I study when I am in lab. What do I use my lab for? Studying. All right, you got 2 minutes, Jabulani.

Put your cheese on your bread. Would you hurry up? No putting it in the microwave. You'll eat it just like that.

-But it's going to taste like -- Let's go. -I'll take it with me. No. No.

-Yes. You're going to eat here. Don't do this again. You just make sure you turn your paper in to your teacher.

All right, quiet and eat so you guys can get out. 8:32. Run, take off, take off. Hurry up.

Dad's job for dropping kids off to school is done. I don't get to do this much, sit down. This feels good. Stacey was diagnosed with colon cancer.

What is it now? Two months ago. Had a surgery, probably the week after she was diagnosed. Went back for the follow-up and they found out that the cancer spread to the lymph nodes.

They said we can probably get it all with some chemo. So for this next six months, every other week, she has to do chemo. She's at work. She's working two jobs.

But, I mean, she's hanging in there. -They said they found it early. She was like "It's nothing to worry about." She acts like nothing's happening, but I know she's thinking it. It's kind of scary.

I mean, you know, my mom is behind me 24/7, so it's kind of -- It'd would be different, very different, you know, it just wouldn't feel the same, at all, without my mom. How well you did on this test is a fairly accurate gauge of how well you know these basic rules. All right? So Stephan, Nora, Idris -- Bailey, Casey.

-Yikes. Justin. I know I have problems focusing. It's appeared on every one of my reports since kindergarten, so there's definitely a pattern and a problem.

I think I should be taking medicine right now. I think the worst-case scenario, if I took the medicine, is that there's no effect, but I know there's an effect. My friend Nian took it. He changed his grades from a D to a B.

and I'm having C's, so if I take this -- I'm not saying that medicine's a magic pill and, once I take it, I'm going to start doing well, but it gives me the tools to do better. It gives me the focus that I need. MICHèLE: You think so? -Yes.

Idris! Come on, we have to leave! -Bye, Miles. Bye!

Have a nice ADD test! Oh, when you get back, tell me if you have ADD! You know what? I don't have time for this.

Jabu. -Yeah? Here's your book. Ayo, do you have money?

Come and get some money. Come on. Hi, yes. This is Stacey.

I'm one of the supervisors on call. I completely forgot about my chemo today, so I'm not coming in to the office. Okay. All righty.

Bye-bye. Okay. All right, hurry up, hurry up, so I can catch this light, still. Aw, shoot.

JABULANI

♪ Just a small-town girl ♪ ♪ livin' in a lonely world ♪ -Go ahead, Jabu. ♪ something, something... ♪ ♪ Everybody wants a thrill ♪♪♪ I can't remember, remember, remember, remember. -For the chemo, only 2 more sessions left.

I had 12, and only 2 more left, which is nice. -Goodbye. Bye-bye. -Some of the side effects are some nausea, fatigue, and weakness, nothing tastes the same.

But I feel that it's all gone.

Alert chimes

JABULANI

You're not? -No, I have to do down -- Shay's parents feel that Shay could do much, much better, which, I agree with them, but when I look at him and compare him to other boys, I do see investment. I do see him really caring about his future. Can he push himself to do better?

Absolutely. One thing that Shay has experienced with me is that I really care, not only about him academically, but him as an individual, as a young person. When you're feeling good about yourself and when you're feeling good about how people feel about you, you know, you're going to succeed and you're going to excel and when there is a time that you're not feeling those things, then we need to help you. Lets see what it says.

-I'm going to read it to you. I want to read it to you. No, but this takes too long. -Okay.

"Idris's mother's report, teacher questionnaires, and Idris's description of his difficulties with attention and hyperactivity are consistent with the diagnosis of ADHD." Are they saying I have ADHD? -Yes. This is a diagnosis. You have ADHD.

That means that -- -We should go to the DSM IV. Can I look at it? -No.

Whining

JOE

Miles, let's go. What do you think it might be representing about the history of the South, that this big, white plantation house has been lost and, now, we have Stanley and Stella kind of living in a city amongst people of many different races? Idris. Well, the plantation, before, had slaves and, now that the plantation is lost, essentially that blacks are being more accepted in society, nowadays, in New Orleans, in this society, so I just think it's just talking about how, in New Orleans and how this city, blacks and whites can mingle together much easier than they could before, when -- yeah.

One of the things this play is going to ask us about is "What is the future of America going to look like? Is it going to come from these working-class people or is it going to come from the kind of faded aristocracy that Blanche is representing?"

MILES

Let's go, Idris!

Cheering

Whistle blows

Cheering, smattering of applause

MILES

That's my brother! I think we're making the cuts, based off of that game. Ohh! So you don't know about yourself?

-I definitely think I made the team, but like it's not me who has the choice. It's my coach, Teddy. You're in bed? -I'm tired.

Ah. And why are you tired? -I'm tired. So, I heard what happened.

-I don't even know who made it or not. I just know about myself. Ah. What'd he tell you?

I made the team. He said that I won't get to play. And? -That's it.

So what do you want to do? -I'm not going to JV. Why not? -I played varsity last year.

It's going to be embarrassing. Who is it going to be embarrassing to? -Everyone. I don't think so.

-Yes. Well, it won't be embarrassing for us. -Yes, but -- I'll come to all the JV games. -

crying

MILES

I'm not going and playing JV, Daddy.

Sniffle

MILES

They want the Idris, the little guy who plays varsity good and then, when I go on JV, everything changes. -It doesn't change.

Sniffle

MILES

People won't have any different opinion of you, if you're not playing basketball. It's like basketball is one of the only other things I'm good at.

Crying

Sniffle

MILES

Well, I think the mistake that we made is constantly pushing him to play beyond his age. I mean, his range. We have! He's the smallest little thing in that varsity team.

I'm going to go up there and check.

Idris crying, Raja whining

Cheering

MILES

Yeah, so I just spoke with Idris. He's already giving me excuses about the paper. And he's got to finish this draft and it can't be half-assed. I got a B+ on my science test.

-Okay, I'm trying to figure out how long is it going to take you to eat that? Look, we have -- Idris, you have a lot of work tonight. You didn't even play today, so it's not like you're exhausted. So I need to know -- -No, what does that mean?!

I'm just saying, you didn't play -- there's no reason to be hemming and hawing. -There is reason to be tired! I've been working. I've been working,

going to bed at 12

00s on Saturday and Sunday.

I don't know why you went to bed at 12

00 on Saturday; you didn't finish the paper. We want to make you comfortable. What do you need? -Listen, man, worry about playing later.

Right now, this is crisis. The images of a river for what? What do you think that represents? No no no no no no, that doesn't work.

You're being circular there. What does the river represent? Make the sentence work! Sit up!

Sit up! Finish that. -Michèle, you got to stop. He's not bought into this yet.

What do you want to do, Idris? Because you can make this paper into a B or an A. -Not in two nights. Okay, then take the D.

We're done. -No, I'm not taking a D. Yes, you are. -No, I'm not.

So you got to build this paper one brick at a time. Read it out loud. "Well, son,

I'll tell you

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor-- Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' -- And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back.

Don't you set down on the steps... Don't you fall now-- For I'se still goin', honey, I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair." I was so independent by that age. Sixteen -- I was on my way out of my house because I needed to get away. I was working.

You know, it's just a very different, very, very different existence, you know. You know, we had economic problems at home. You know, my father, you know, was having a hard time financially. He was sick with cancer.

My mother was bipolar, crazy, not at the house, and it was just a very different existence. And, um -- Yeah, so I don't know where the anxiety comes from for me, the hysteria from me, the need to -- the pressure that I feel I have to put on him. I -- I don't know. I just want him -- I don't know.

I just wish he had half the drive that I had when I was that age. I'm doing some clubs this year, so I can put that on my transcript for college and stuff. I'm doing the African Tours Club and the whole idea of it is to go to Africa over Spring Break. My mom was like "Oh, if you don't choose a club, I'll choose one for you" and I picked one and she didn't like it, so.

You know, with my mom, it's like a lose-lose situation, so, you know, I just left it alone.

Speaking

I'll tell you

The king says that you're welcome and I trust you are his children. You are back home and that you are welcome in this kingdom. He said that you have to forgive all the kings that participated in the horrible trade of human beings. We have to work hand-in-hand, in the sense that we are one, we are united and nobody's different from another.

Anybody want caramel- chocolate cluster food? You know, I really wasn't expecting them to say sorry. I never thought that they owed us an apology because they didn't give us away, thinking that what we were going to was what we were going to. I don't think they we're saying "Oh, we're going to give them away and they're just going to like --" -But what I don't understand is why did the Europeans need us?

Like why couldn't they use their own people? -Because their own people was gonna charge. Charge what? Oh, to...

-Do the work. They wanted free labor. Anyways, I've decided to revise the way I answer questions like "Where you from? What nationality?" I just decided I was going to say I'm a product of the diaspora, so I got a hoodie made that says "Product of the diaspora" and in the front it says "Stolen from Africa".

-I'm going to make a sweater that says "Stolen from Africa", too. -Shut up, whitey! I'm just

bleep

I'll tell you

with you. I love you. -Don't worry. This is your home, too.

Thank you, Nia. -Can I ask you a question? Your father's ridiculously lightskinned. Yeah, my grandfather's grandmother's Irish, 100% Irish.

-She's a product of the diaspora, that's what she is. Because most black people can't really say what they are. I'm Irish, Trinidadian, Asian, Polish. -You want to know something?

And I also have --

bleep

I'll tell you

, I have Indian, West Indian -- -You know what would be so much easier to say? And I have Native American in me. -You know what would be so much easier to say? That you're a product of the diaspora.

-Okay, I'm a product of the diaspora. Imagine if everybody that was really a product of the diaspora said they were a product of the diaspora. You know that would be like subliminally unifying. -What is this movie going to be called?

"American Promise." You're going to be friends with the star, the movie star. Oh, you're so lucky! People see you with a camera, they think you're important. Talia came to my school in 8th grade.

First thing she ever said to me was "You have really nice eyebrows." That's actually what she said to me. I do have nice eyebrows. No one's really said anything like, liking my physical features in middle school, so that was really just really big for me. Talia, here.

I think that's where I first started liking her. Now you owe me 2.25. I'm serious. -Here.

No, I'm kidding. I don't want your money. I want it in full, 2.25. I'm just kidding.

You don't have to give me any money. -You owe me money. I do owe you a lot of money. -He owes me like $20.

I will pay you back, though. When we go to college. And then, I realized Galton, my friend, want-- liked her, too. Then he asked her out.

She said no. And then I actually asked her out and she said no as well. Oh, come on, Talia. I can lift weights with these.

I could probably push you up in the air like I'm benchpressing you, because you know I've been working out. Okay, bye. See you later. Talia will come back to me -- come to me, not come back, because she was never there, in the first place -- but she will come to me because of my looks.

I think, ultimately, you're doing exceptionally well and you've grown in a lot of areas and you've sort of expanded and you've become this newer version of Idris. Having acknowledged your successes, we want to expand. Part of what we have to note is that the areas, the classes, in which you can improve and there are really finite and concrete steps that you can take to do all of that, which are well in your sort of reach. We'd like you to let us know how we can better support you in doing that.

-I think the support I have has gotten me through, not only high school, but middle school, which I struggled a lot in, so I feel that, now, it's me taking my own initiative to go out and do this stuff, that I have to take responsibility. -Absolutely. You're going to look at a university, you might as well learn something from the experience and the biggest learning experience you can have is how to handle yourself around other people. You're going to meet people who may have an impact on whether you get in or not.

-Okay. So you have to give a good first impression. Can you not play with the plate, please? -Why are you thinking about going to Stanford?

-Because... Are you going to be looking at the plate? -No, I'm trying to -- I haven't practiced yet. I'm trying to -- I haven't developed my answer.

-Well, let him think. But don't take too long. -Who are some graduates that you admire? I know Mark Zuckerberg.

-Okay. Well, it could be your dad. He graduated. -But you said don't use that.

And he impressed -- No, don't go there "because my dad goes there." You go there "because my dad was there and I like what he's become. He's my favorite person." -

Laughs

I'll tell you

You basically are saying "I know a little bit about it. This is what I do know. It's got a great tradition of educa--"

I want you to say this

"It's got a great tradition of education." -Great tradition of -- Great tradition of education. It has a great tradition of education. -Look, say that, say it like you mean it. It has a great tradition of education.

IDRIS

We look like college students, dude. -

Laughs

IDRIS

Davis Field. This is just a large field, really, great place to come out and study. -So, hi, everyone. Welcome to Stanford.

My name's Karin. I'm going to be your tour guide today. Okay, we're going to see if we can cross the road. Please don't get hit by a bike.

This feels so right. MICHèLE: Does it? Calling my name, "Idris." And I'm like "Yes, Stanford?" I'm going. So I'm coming.

I already decided. I'm going to do everything in my power I can, then leave it up to the admissions people. How could they reject me?

Suspenseful music plays

IDRIS

So what colleges have you researched, Seun? -Penn State, Binghamton, San Francisco Art Institute. -Have you axed if they have tours? No.

-No? Okay. I just want to know where you got the idea of a graphic designer, really. Why a graphic designer and what do you intend to do with it?

-Clothing lines, billboards, like using Photoshop, and all that. I need to see some enthusiasm, Seun. Because that's going to dictate how much money we're willing to shell out. Think I had somebody to hold my hand and "What are you doing and what school are you going to and where do you want to go?" and "You should do this and you should do that"?

None of that. -You blowing it up. What does that mean, I'm blowing it up? What does that mean?

Laughs

IDRIS

Let me watch my show. -I'ma hit you with this water. Let me watch my show. -Yeah.

I mean, I want to be a graphic designer, I want to go to college, but, as to applying and stuff like that, I have not done that yet. I'ma need to do that soon.

PASTOR

How do you make sense of this? Sometimes you just have no words to communicate the devastation that you feel. -

Wail

PASTOR

But you got to trust God, these days, trust Him, that He's going to bring you through. You got to trust that He's going to fill the void. -I'd rather be dead, than my younger brother. He deserves to live a lot more than I do because he was the epitome of life.

Jabu is life. That's his personality, is full of energy. I'm not that person. I'd rather die than him.

Page 194. "I looked at the painted slab.

It appeared the same

a gray tinge glowed through the whiteness, and Kimbro had failed to detect it... Well, I thought, as long as he's satisfied... But I had a feeling that something had gone wrong, something far more important than the paint." Why is our narrator having such discomfort, mixing black into white in order to make white; or why are we, in this room right now, finding discomfort, imagining white as somehow involving blackness? -While reading, I felt that the white paint stands for like the white race and then, in order for like the white race to become successful, they need those black drops, those black people.

Like Mr. Norton needed the black people. Like without the black people, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was. The way the people look at it in this book is that -- -The way that people look at what in this book?

At white -- -No, no, race. Wait, are we talking about race or are we talking about color? -I think we're talking about race. Another way of thinking about this, uh, John.

Where's your family from, man? -Europe. I mean, Eastern Europe. Poland, Russia, the usual suspects.

Laughter

It appeared the same

I've been here for a while. -One sec. ♪ Da da da ♪♪♪ Oh, great, we have white chalk. So, Poland...

-Latvia. Latvia, Russia. -Poland. From Austria, Hungary.

Iraq. -From England. Do all of these nationalities make up a race? Do all of these nationalities make up a color?

Is white white or is white kind of white because we want to make it white?

Music plays

It appeared the same

Raquel's getting locked up tonight.

Honk

It appeared the same

What the hell?! Wow! All right, bro,

bleep

It appeared the same

-- I said I could afford -- What? Move, move, move. Yo! You coming?

Mayor Bloomberg says the city can handle whatever Mother Nature throws at us....is in Bedford-Stuy. If...myself, I wouldn't actually believe it was happening. At the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning

for New York City until 2

00 am tomorrow morning. If you're trying to get around town, take your time. Let's look at the vocabulary and, when you see the French word, you're going to say the definition. It's very important, listening, okay?

-After it happened, I didn't sleep for months. I didn't go to school. I really don't care about school, at all. -His brother's death really set him back.

When he did come back to school, his eyes were red and he just was not -- he did not look good. He would come in here and actually sleep on my couch for two, three periods. He's, right now, experiencing difficulties in a couple of his classes because he fell behind. We really need to give him support to be able to graduate.

MICHèLE: So we've heard from some colleges. Idris got into University of Vermont and Morehouse and he also got a really nice offer from Occidental College out in LA, Southern California. There's a bunch more places he's got to hear back from. It's nerve-racking, I'm nervous because the other ones, there are a lot of reaches there for him.

Wait list.

Yawn

for New York City until 2

-That's crazy. He's waitlisted on Trinity. Did you send in? -Yes, it's sent.

It's submitted? -Yes, it is. You sure? -Yes!

I'm positive. So what's the next step, then, once it's submitted, to be on the waitlist? Did you send the letter to Wake Forest, to the email? -Not yet.

When are you going to do that? -

sniffle

for New York City until 2

I'll do that today. You need to do that now! -I need to take my -- I'm tired, Mommy! Can I take my nap?

-Tired from what?! I'm going to take my nap. -He's tired from sitting in the car! My mom is nervous.

She assumes everything is because I'm slacking,

sniffle

for New York City until 2

but that's not the case at all. Davidson. "It is with great regret that I must inform you that your application will not be included among our accepted students." -Berkeley is today. Yikes.

-You didn't get in? So the only one you have left is Stanford. It's a no. -I know, but let's do it and get it over with.

You're going to say it's a no without verifying? I mean, it's likely to be a no, I agree, but, can't not check. Yeah.

sniffle

for New York City until 2

-Wait a minute. It's a no, Mommy. Don't get excited. It's a no.

So it's all nos. Idris! Come down here, Idris! -Why?

Right now. Your father's on the phone. Sorry? -Why?

What does he want?! What have we learned from this? -I don't really care. I really knew this was going to happen.

-That's not the kind of analysis that a Dalton student would make. -I'm sorry. Well, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to say?

You can point at everything. You can even point at the SAT scores, you can point at the grades, you can point at the teachers, you can point at the counselor, you can point at me, you can point at extracurriculars, you can point at anything. You don't know. You don't know.

You're never going to know.

sniffle

for New York City until 2

You're never going to know. You're a brilliant young man, but you're lazy. What? I am very angry; I'm in pain because I watched you be lazy for years.

I tried to do something about it; I failed. No one believes that you can't be at the top of something, at the top of your game. You are not at the top of your game. You're in bed.

-That's true. Get out of bed. -That's right. What?

-You're in bed! I'm right here. -He's talking metaphorically, you're in bed.

Laughs

for New York City until 2

-Okay. Well, I'll get out of bed at Occidental. So I think it's best that we move on and worry about Occidental, because that's where I'm going. I've already decided.

I'm sorry. No, you're not -- -I've decided! You can't tell me what I've decided. I'm just deciding where I want to be.

I want to be in Los Angeles. I've read all the reviews; I've read everything. They said the teachers are great at Occidental and it's very under--

sniffle

for New York City until 2

It doesn't get all the credit it deserves. I'm going to Occidental.

Beep beep beep

TONY

Grace, mercy, and peace. -Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you. One year ago, we lost our baby son. -All right, Tony, you go on.

Crying

TONY

This has been the toughest year of my life. I had dreams that my youngest son was going to help save this world because that's the type of person he was. He held no grudges. He loved.

He was hilarious. He was giving, although he believed most folks didn't give back to him, but it never stopped him; he kept giving. My daughter, I love you, and if I haven't told you that enough,

I'm telling you now

I love you.

I want to tell my son Ayotunde

thank you for being the rock. Thank you, because, when I wanted to fall, you was there for me to lean on.

I want to tell my oldest son

Dad has not given up on you. I'm hard because I want you to be a better man than I am and, in order for you to be that better man, you have to work because anything worth having is worth working for. Graduation, all your classes, everything is in order. Senioritis didn't bite you.

-Have you heard from any universities? Did you get any letters? Ms. Salomon.

Did you let her know? -No.

Laughs

I want to tell my oldest son

You should, so, that way, she could put you on the Wall of Fame. You should be proud. Mr. Oluwaseun, next year, you're doing what?

What? -Going to college. Courtesy, these black belts. Courtesy!

-Oss! Bottom line is, we don't know everything yet, but you wouldn't know it when you listen to this --

OBAMA

This is a tragedy, but my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. -His Republican opponents have jumped all over him.

STACEY

Come on, Shay.

quietly

STACEY

I'm excited! I'm excited! I'm excited! I like it.

This is -- I love it here. This is a really good setting. -I think I'm ready for college. You know, just all the struggles that I've been through, I can't take life for granted because, you know, I've seen it go away.

-Graduates! Are we ready? -

Cheering

STACEY

We also acknowledge a young man who went through a lot over the last four years. They overcame a lot of obstacles, but, once again, they persevered and they're in here today. The Triumph Award for this year goes to Shay Summers.

Cheering

STACEY

Congratulations. You made it here. This is just the beginning for you.

Knock at door

STACEY

What do you need, Daddy? -I need to talk to you for a second. We're disappointed, but not disappointed in you. We are very happy with your progress.

You came from a very long way. There were many times when we thought you would not make it at that school. -Okay. You had a learning disability that we did not even address until the 10th grade.

But the colleges you got into are great colleges. If you perform at Occidental, there's nothing you can't do, if that's your first choice, to go to California. It's nothing you can't do in this world. We back you up all the way.

Do I get a hug? Is that a hug? -I'm tired. Oh, look at this.

It's us. I...and decided to go to college because most people tell me college was the most exciting time of their life. I'm going to be sad, leaving all my friends, but I know, my close friends, I will stay in touch with. Oh!

-Next couple. Oh, my God, that's gorgeous. -2, 3.

Cheering

STACEY

-Yeah-eah-eah! I appreciate all that my parents did to educate me. They did what they thought was best for me and my future. Oh, no.

Oh, no. Get in here and see what it feels like. They couldn't have predicted the struggles that came along with a place like Dalton. Oh, my God.

But, even through all the struggles, I feel like I've become a pretty good person; I feel like I'm going places. At least, I think so.

JOE

So what's it like being filmed for 13 years?

SEUN

It sucked. I didn't like having a camera in my face. You want to expand on that? -It was annoying, at times, for me.

This is supposed to be everyday life, everyday. This is not everyday! This is not everyday, whatsoever. This is what we're going to do.

-Oh, you're going to film me filming you? Yeah. -Okay. It's a good conversation, though.

-It's a great conversation... -Piece.

whispering

SEUN

"I'm in a documentary."

Laughter

BOTH

13-year documentary. -"Oh, my God!" Yeah, you bet I'm going to use that one.

Laughter