All language subtitles for All.These.Sons.2021.720p.WEB.H264-RABiDS

[Shamont]
A lot of people from Chicago

do not like Chicago

for some reason,
for all the violent stuff.

But at the same time,
though, Chicago is so--

so decent and so pretty.

I never been nowhere else,
so I'm thinkin' I know

what a city like ours,
I don't know.

I love my city.

What's up, Joe?

Come by the church
sometime, man.

Hallelujah, eh, man.

Whaddup, head?

- He gon' start.
- Whaddup, head?

Oh, he know how to get a laugh.

I don't know
who these people is.

Big white dude right here.

This guy's like, "Whaddup."
Cool.

Big ass white dude.

Because the church
right here, no nothing--

no nothing really
happen by the church.

But down that way...

Past Madison, I'll say a couple
of blocks down that way,

yeah, we be going up.

And down that way,
right-- right there,

you'd be going up, too.

That way, it be cracking there,
like, a lot of violence,

a lot of e'erything and shit.

[siren blares]

[anchor] Chicago faces
an epidemic of gun violence.

This year alone, more than
2,100 people have been shot.

[anchor 2]
Chicago has seen more homicides

than New York
and Los Angeles combined.

[anchor 3] Most of the shootings

took place
in poor neighborhoods,

far from downtown.

What's up, y'all? You all right?

[anchor 4] Before the weekend,
a gang roundup.

[anchor 5] 61 of the 101 people
arrested early Friday

were documented gang members,
the police said.

[Billy] What's up, man?

You know, people
look at these young men

as being a problem.

Man, they're actually
the solution,

if you give them a chance.

[traffic din]

People are dying around us
on a daily basis.

Every day we turn on the news,

and how many times
we hear about shootings

and people getting killed?

Y'all gonna come in here

with stories about people
you know personally,

Man, heaven forbid

y'all become
one of them stories.

[siren blaring]

The MAAFA Redemption Project
is a ministry of this church.

Trying to create
a support system for you.

[Billy]
It's a great opportunity, man.

Because you were selected
out of 187 applicants.

How many people
have shot in here?

Raise your hand.

More than half of the room.

Anybody that been to prison,
raise your hand.

[Marshall]
A lot of these conditions,

on the West Side, in Chicago...

that we grew up in,
we didn't create.

[Billy] The system
is designed to what?

- Right?
- [Billy] Break us.

You got to be man enough,

man to be protectors
of your community.

The only way you do that

is start building
yourself up first.

[Marshall]
Welcome to a new beginning.

Doesn't matter
what you did in the past.

What matters is today.

There's going to be
a lot of struggles,

but the whole point
is moving forward.

There is no moving forward
without struggle.

All right, brothers.

I'm going to
read off a scenario.

If you feel that
that scenario is morally right,

you will stand
on this side of the room.

If you feel it's morally wrong,

you're going to come
to this side of the room.

If you really can't decide
one or the other

and you're kind of
in the middle,

then you can stay
in the middle, all right?

"Your friend is on the bus

and sees someone who
he recognizes from being

in an opposing gang's
music video.

Your friend sneaks up
behind the guy

and hits him in the head
with a baseball bat."

Morally right, morally wrong,
or you in the middle.

[chattering]

Try to be honest, guys.
Be honest with yourself.

I want y'all to come over here,
even y'all in the middle,

cause y'all gotta--
Y'all on the fence

about whether
it's right or wrong.

Come on, now.

'Cause if you think
you can justify

Shorty getting
bashed in his head,

just because he wanted to
be in the music video--

It's not right--
It is not right,

but it is, to a certain state.

You got to look at
how this person feeling.

[Billy] So, the consequences
for the action

- is prison time.
- [man] Yeah, that's true.

You got to just even
throw up gang signs,

or show no guns, none of that,

'cause they can still be with it
even though they dancing.

So, you never know.

I want to elaborate on that,

'cause he said
he was in the video dancing,

he could have been dancing
with a pipe in his hand.

A pipe is a gun.

He could have danced
with a pipe in his hand.

He could have been
doing anything.

He just-- he just
in there dancing.

And because--

[Billy]
Is that still justified?

No, I ain't-- I ain't saying
it was nothing--

I didn't say--
I'm not saying it justified,

That's why I was sitting
in the middle.

But at the same time,
you could feel in danger.

He could be on the phone.

You don't know who--
What-- what you gonna do?

Now, when they pull up
on the side of that--

on the side of that bus,

'cause somebody got popped
on the corner right here,

sitting on the bus.

[Billy] We're talking about
making a moral decision.

Moral.

Because we're trying to reduce

gun violence in Chicago.

That's our main objective.

And in order to do that,

we got to stop justifying
senseless behavior,

that amounts to people
losing their life.

Now, it's a whole list
of scenarios,

so if you ain't get to share,

I'mma jump to you
on the next one.

"Your friend pushed

a 70 year old woman
to the ground

and steals her purse."

- [chattering]
- I know.

So we're all
on the same side on this.

[Billy] You know,
I read a thing and it says,

uh, in Chicago, there's no more

than about 2,500
to 3,000 people,

who are actually
the perpetrators

and the victims of gun violence.

That's not a lot of
people, right?

You mean to tell me
we can't help 3,000 people?

One side or in the middle.

[Billy] Turn it around,
show them something different?

[calm music plays]

[Marshall]
As you can probably tell,

this was not a Baptist church
all the time.

[chuckles] We acquired
this space in 1993.

And we decided
to kind of replace

some of the European
representations

with more cultural
representations.

Let me show you all a picture.

Our logo was the bottom
of a slave ship.

I'll direct your attention to...

the Maafa remembrance window.

That image was produced
by British abolitionists

to expose the horrors of
the transatlantic slave trade.

We refer to that experience

as the Maafa,
or the Great Disaster.

Just looking at that image,

it's hard to see
what their experience was like.

You know, they tight packed
as if they're sardines.

This helps you understand
what it was really like.

And then, as you can see,
there's this blank window.

This will be the Sankofa
peace window.

Sankofa,it means

you cannot move forward
until you first go back

and get the things
that you have forgotten.

And so, it's about
learning from the past

in order to construct
a better future.

Every time I see your faces,

it reminds me of their faces.

Because somebody else
has created conditions

that control your life.

Seemingly control your life.

If you're so focused
on tragedies,

you kind of lose sight and
the hope that's also present

That God lives
in West Garfield Park.

A place that has the lowest
life expectancy in the city,

but a place
with tremendous promise,

if we invest in those
who are most vulnerable.

Aight, let's stand up. Move
these chairs out the way, man.

So we're building a team, right?
We're building a brotherhood.

You got to be able
to communicate,

depend on each other, all that.

So, the activity
we're going to do now,

the goal is for us
to keep the ball

from hitting the ground
for 60 seconds.

Go.

[Billy] You can't hit it
more than three times

and the guy next to you
can't touch it.

12 seconds. New record.

Hold on.
Let me-- What you got to say.

Ain't gonna be like my ball,
I would have just stepped back.

Make it a little easier,

so we ain't fighting
for the ball.

Y'all let's do this, man.
This the time now.

[chattering and laughing]

One link, one chain.

You guys are going to
be a part of that chain.

[all] We all depend on
the MAAFA Redemption Project.

We recognize that we cannot
redeem my friends, my community

without first redeeming myself.

[all]
I am a man.

I pledge as a man,
to be responsible to myself,

my family and my community.

Who is Mike? Big Mike, man!

- [chattering]
- [Billy] Come up, Mike, man!

Don't rush me, man,
I got this, I got this.

[all cheering]

You're breaking my heart
doing this right now, bro.

Therefore, our wish is to invest
in mind, body and spirit,

so that we may repair

and build our city
one block at a time.

Yo. [knocks on door]

Meditation at 7:15.

[Marshall]
Housing was critical to us.

You know, providing
a stable environment,

a bed, a kitchen.

You know, building routine,
and doing chores

and accountability.

[Shamont] No, boy, I'm busy.
Making a movie.

I'm making a movie.

You can't threaten me
and I'm making a movie.

I don't care.

[Shamont] See, look,
they want me to get mad,

because they think
I don't like sweeping.

But they don't know
I love doing this.

It ain't nothing
but a little sweep.

Make sure that
the neighborhood is nice.

I don't like dirt anyway.
How you doing?

See, the West Side
ain't bad, man.

They were trying
to make us seem bad.

They be lying on us.

You got people out here,
tattoos on their face,

sweeping the ground.

Oh, yeah,
we gonna have fun today, church.

We gonna make you mad
today, church.

[Deacon] I don't need you
to act up today.

I see you doing it again.

What you mean
you see me doing it again?

- What's gonna happen?
- You'll see.

- You threatening me?
- Yeah.

For some people,
whooping works with some people.

- That's true.
- I whooped my son one time.

I told you,
I whooped the older boy.

Younger boy was good.

He say, "It was big brother."

Him, he needs a good whooping.

What's a whoopin'?

This is just--
this is a metaphor.

So, don't call DCFS, okay?

He didn't actually
whoop his kids.

He whooped them with his words.

Right, D?

- And a belt, too.
- [all laughing]

[Deacon]
I show him love.

Even though he does
the things he do,

uh, I still love him,

I still-- uh,

I still take time out
to deal with him,

when a lot of people
have turned their back on him.

I don't think he'd be on--

I never knew my pops.

I found out who my pops was
when I was 17 years old.

[Deacon] But his dad
is not in his life.

He knows his father hangs out

on the street corner,
up here about the church.

And so, a lot of times
he just goes up there

that's to see
if he could see his father.

- [man 2] Ready? Go.
- [machine whirring]

Fire right up.

- You right handed, right?
- Yeah.

[Deacon]
I'm right handed.

Every young man wants
his dad to be proud of him.

Well, I played sports
when I was younger,

but my daddy never came
to none of my games.

Uh, never gave me
a pat on the back,

never, uh, gave me a hug.

My daddy didn't know
how to love,

and I believe his daddy
don't know how to love,

So, I give him that,
because I know how I felt

when I didn't have it
in my life.

- Carry your own tools, man.
- [Shamont] Yeah, get my stuff.

[Shamont]
My weed whacker.

Some people got hammers, saws.

[Deacon]
Pickaxe and a weed whacker.

[Deacon]
That's a weed whacker.

[Shamont]
To whack somebody weed.

- [Deacon] Good job.
- [Shamont] Thanks.

We understand the struggles

that each and every one
of you guys are going through,

'cause some of us been through
those same struggles.

We're a special type
of breed of men.

Some of y'all, man,
have been shot,

multiple times
and survived that.

And you here.

We're a special group
of people, man.

I've been through a lot,

I've been to prison twice,

I've been getting shot
and all that.

I got shot a lot of times.

21.

I didn't walk
for a year and a half.

Excuse my language,

but you can't do shit
for yourself

without your feet,

You know what I'm saying?

So when I got them back,
that was--

Ain't nothing feel as good
as getting your feet back.

[Billy] Let's talk
about your work history.

No work history? Okay.

So, you got two convictions.

I got armed robbery
with a firearm.

- I got a UUW.
- [Billy] A UUW?

Man, we just want
you guys to achieve

as much success as possible.

You got the power
to change your story,

to define your narrative,
you know what I'm saying?

That's the block I grew up on
right here, man.

All this right here,

At least 25 years.

At one point in time,

we would have
walked down this block.

We would have seen
this block lit up,

people sitting
all on their porch.

But right now, though,
it done changed, man.

It's got real--

real, real dangerous

in the present time,
you know what I'm saying, so...

Yeah, you better be looking at
every car that pass by.

Know what I am saying?

You got to be aware
of your surroundings.

Anything that's
going on around you,

you have to pay attention to.

How you feeling?

- Oh.
- Look at Big Head.

[both laughing]

With all the bullshit
I gotta deal on daily basis,

- she keep me level-headed.
- Yes.

He crazy.

That's why I be wanting him
in the house.

'Cause, um...

there be too much going on.

Most days, she a blessing.

Some days, she's more of a,
like, a headache.

That's what come
with relationships,

they're not always perfect
all the time.

- You a headache.
- Skrrt.

It's actually
a lot of happy times

are going around here, man.

Wassup, boy?

Ay, call my phone.
Let's call my phone.

Mind if I call you, uh, later?

Kids grow up,
they have childhoods.

I had a childhood,
you know what I'm saying?

But you just grow up fast
in this environment,

that's it, that's all.

[calm music plays]

If God willing, I got...

a lot more time to go, so.

I hope I can make
my mother proud,

Billy proud,

anybody that
cares about me proud.

[kids chattering]

A field of dreams.

As a kid,

yeah, I saw myself
playing shortstop

for the White Sox.

You know, that was a-- a dream,

but, you know,
at a certain point, man,

baseball wasn't
as important to me no more.

More so than, shit,

just making sure
I ain't get my ass beat

going to school.

[anchor]
Almost 70 killings this year

have been tied
to gang violence in Chicago.

[reporter] Last month,
parents took their children

out of school,

when rumors spread
of an all-out gang war.

[woman] I mean, it's--
it's an everyday thing.

If you walk the streets,
if you go to school,

if you go to church.

It's-- it's a gang thing.

A high school basketball star,

considered one of
the top prospects in the nation,

died Wednesday
of gunshot wounds.

Ben Wilson, the 6'8 forward--

[anchor 2] Fatally shot
a block from his high school.

His family, his school,
the city mourned his loss.

I don't see why
anybody do that to Ben.

What was going on
in their minds?

What would make them
think about taking

the life of someone?

I was 16 years old,
my cousin came home one day,

and she told me
that some guy had took

$10 out of her purse

while she was at the store,
up at Simeon High School.

And, uh, I decided
to go get a gun,

and I was going to go
get our money back.

As we was walking
towards the store,

out of nowhere,
I just get shoved from behind

by the biggest person
I've ever seen in my life.

And he told me, "Man, fuck you."

Now what?

It was about to be physical.

And I'm saying,
"I can't let this dude

put his hands on me.

And possibly
take this gun from me."

He lunged towards me,
and in my mind,

it was, like, do or die.

Man, the moment
I pulled the trigger...

I had, at that moment, realized

that I had done
something very wrong.

[crying]

I took away life.

That's something
I got to live with.

[tense music playing]

[anchor 3]
Charged in the shooting

are two neighborhood teenagers,
reported gang members.

[anchor 4] Their attorney
says there is no evidence

they were gang members.

[man 4] When anybody has a gun,
you must assume

they're looking for
somebody to destroy.

[host] Benji's Mother,
Mary Wilson, is here.

If I could arrange for you
to speak to the killers,

what would you say to them?

I think
what I would say is just--

Let's just close our eyes

and just focus on the fact
that there was a time,

when we were
not even here in a body.

And now that
we are here in a body,

we're here for a purpose.

And let's try to think about
what that purpose might be.

[Billy] I always felt like
the mistake that I had made,

wasn't going to be
what defined me as a person.

I went away for 20 years

and I just finished out
that bit, man.

I came home and I decided

I was going to go
about every day

making up for what I did.

What up, what up, what up?

We talking about forgiveness.

How powerful forgiveness is.

Let me ask a question
to everybody.

Who-- who all here believe
they deserve to be forgiven?

Raise your hand.

So, there's some people in here

who don't think that
they deserve to be forgiven?

You don't think
that you deserve...

Why don't you think
you deserve forgiveness, man?

You're a human being.

You got flaws,
you got weaknesses,

we make mistakes.

It's a really touchy subject,
because, like,

in certain situations
and stuff, like,

I've been involved in,
I can't take back.

I don't know if that person,
people gonna forgive me.

You know what I'm saying?

They people could still be out

trying to want revenge anything.

Like me.

I look over my shoulder
every day.

Every day. All of us do.

I know we all do.

We in a jungle every day
when we leave here.

You know what I'm saying?

This is the only space

where everybody can probably
be they self a little bit,

or, you know,
let out certain stuff

they can't do around
when they with their guys

or on a block,
or something like that.

Ain't nobody out here
trying to have no apology.

I won't get in
nobody's business,

but everybody, my-- my--
my crime is for public record.

I served my time.
Everybody know.

At some point in life, man,

we've all been caught up
in a level of ignorance

that has caused us
to make plenty of mistakes.

First, man, just know
how to forgive yourself, man,

when-- Without people
even seeking

forgiveness from you.

So that you could
sleep at night.

I-- I know I got
purpose or something.

It ain't just to be--

Just mess around in the streets.

But it's hard to leave it alone,

when there's always something
pulling you back into it.

It's, like,
what other way is there

but to protect myself?

Even though
I don't want to do this,

but I'm forced to do this.

So, I don't know.

[man] Everybody sign in.
Everybody sign in.

We're here to learn something,
we have to be open-minded

'cause anybody that don't come
here to better they self,

I think
you're in the wrong room.

So, be silent for a few moments

and focus on your breathing.

[calm music playing]

[Shamont] So y'all, I don't
got time for schoolwork.

'Cause that's part of
your work, too.

[Shamont]
So then, you gon' get mad.

- Your GED.
- [Shamont] You gon' get mad.

No, we get mad
when you don't get your GED.

[Shamont] That's crazy.

Come on, Pop,
you late for your meeting.

[Deacon]
I gotta make sure you stay.

I'm straight!

[Deacon] You more important
than a meeting.

No, I am not more important
than a meeting.

The meeting more important
than me.

[Deacon]
Sit down and do your stuff.

He now-- He feel
he accomplished something.

- [woman] Makes sense.
- Then we go to the next thing.

Okay, so, he's with me.

Whatever help you need,
I'll give him.

So, if there's any questions,
I am here to help.

[Shamont] Okay.

Uh.

[Shamont]
25. Failed that too.

Okay, that's okay.

Because you're--
you're not familiar with it

- and you can always go back.
- My back hurt.

- [woman] Okay, so--
- My neck hurt.

[woman]
You want something,

- you want a different chair?
- My back hurt. My leg hurt.

Get the laptop, sit at the desk,

we got to make it work.

- Can't I leave, ay?
- [woman] No, no.

[woman]
Mr. Slaughter. Mr. Slaughter.

Shut the door,
so you're not distracted.

I don't even wanna
do this stuff, man.

Ain't no one like
doing that school stuff, bro.

Being a waste.

Mr. Slaughter.
If-- Is reading a challenge?

[Shamont]
Everything is a challenge,

I don't like
doing nothing, period.

All the time
I could be in school,

I could be outside,
making money.

[woman]
We're just your scaffolding.

We're just here,
because you sat down,

or you agreed to,

"This is what
will make me happy."

And, so, in between
you getting from here to happy,

is your diploma.

I'm just saying.
I don't-- I don't know, man.

[woman]
Just answer my-- Okay.

Listen, y'all just ain't get--

Y'all never know
where I am coming from, bro.

[woman] Okay,
tell me where you coming from.

I'm getting tired
of being stuck in this room.

♪

What's happening, my nigga?
How you be?

[Shamont]
One thing I know about me,

I've been living my life
on these streets,

ever since I was 13 years old,
I'm 22 right now.

Somebody might
look at life, like,

you gotta grow up
and get you a job, a career,

get old, you retire.

All that sounds good,
but at the same time,

in my mind,

it was always, "Boy,

you ain't going to be shit,
but a drug dealer."

Or, "You ain't going to be shit
but a killer, or a robber."

[Marshall]
Man, you can't separate

how Shamont
kind of views himself now

from just the constant
negative messages

that the neighborhood
tries to reinforce

about who he is
as he's growing up.

In 2013,
the city closed 50 schools.

Majority of them
in Black and brown neighborhoods

on the South and West Side.

You know, when you observe
this neighborhood

in relation to others,

it looks the way it does,
not by accident.

[reporter]
Chicago's South Side.

Line of demarcation
between Black and white

runs along the railroad tracks.

[Marshall]
Majority of communities

driving the violence
are those same communities

that Black folk were pushed into
after the Great Migration.

And I think
that's the biggest barrier, man.

I think it's trying
to climb out of that.

[politician] "Ayes" are 46
and "nays" are zero.

[politician 2]
I move to reconsider the vote.

[politician]
All those in favor say "aye."

Those opposed say no.

- [all] No.
- [gavel bangs]

[Marshall]
One of the major goals

of this project
is to push the limits

of what you can do
and who you can be.

[Marshall] What makes you think
your vote doesn't matter?

I mean, that's part of
the reason we're here, right?

To understand what our power is
in relation to theirs.

And what we do about it

to make our neighborhood better.

And then you can become mayor
if you want to.

You got charisma.
You're intelligent.

What's preventing you
from aspiring to be the mayor?

You have to act different.

You have to define yourself
differently.

You have to dream differently.

[man]
And I know how, um...

[Marshall] So that we create
the next alderman.

We create the next mayor.

All of our young people
deserve an opportunity

to be redeemed.

God says,
you may have been rejected

by other people,
but you're accepted by me.

You may have been denied
by others,

but you're received by God.

You may be thrown away
by others,

but you are claimed by God.

God says, "You are still mine."

Can I get a witness right there?

- Yes, Lord! Yes!
- [applauding]

[sizzling]

[Hatch] I know your mama
sent you out here

- [Deacon] She sent me out here
- [Hatch] On this mission.

- [Deacon] She did.
- Clarify your mission again.

My mission is to prevent you

from burning the chicken
like you usually do.

- It all depends on
- Pretty simple.

how sophisticated
you believe your mother to be.

See, she could have
told you that,

so that you could come out here
and pick up the skill.

And not just sit in there,
'til I get done.

You have to just
feel the spirit.

- Barbecuing is spiritual?
- That's the African way.

So you got to cut--
cut the flame, see?

- Don't smoke it, dog.
- Doc. We got to cut the fry.

You really don't know
how to use this, do you?

You have to cut the air off
and keep the flame low.

I understand.

Burn the chicken
like you usually do.

That's actually called grilling.

[laughing]

What's up, boy?
Still have your bag?

[laughing]

I'm out at my cousin's house
for the 4th of July.

You know, family get-together.

To be honest, I'm not really
relaxing right now.

These 4th of July
holiday weekends,

you know, they--

they have been historically
dangerous in Chicago.

So, just got my guys on my mind.

I'm thinking about 'em.

We in America, we Black.

Everything about this day

don't have nothing
to do with you.

I'm saying, like,
how do we feel the fact

that the Chicago
Police Department

is deploying, what,

extra 1,000,
1,200 officers.

For what?

Them 1,200, let's see how many--

how many-- how many shootings

- and bodies happened, okay?
- [man] Exactly.

Because the 1,200,
they don't have nothing to do

with keeping you safe.

It got everything to do

with keeping you
in your plantation.

- [fireworks exploding]
- [brass music playing]

[anchor 1] The city of Chicago
flooded the streets

with thousands
of extra police officers

during the holiday weekend.

But they could not stop
an eruption of gun violence

[anchor 2] 1,500 police
officers worked overtime

to try to prevent and respond

to violent incidents
in the city.

Six people were killed
and at least 66 others wounded

over the long holiday weekend.

Four people got shot. One dead.

I got a text message saying
that Isaiah Manny had got shot

on 44th and College Road.

You know, it's one thing

to be living your life
in a certain way

and you put yourself
in harm's way,

but it's different
when you living,

doing everything right,

you obeying the law

and then some
random stuff happen.

He was in a little corner store,

you know, coming out.

Somebody just started
letting off shots.

You know,
he had lost a lot of blood,

almost bled out.

You know, I just started
praying for the little brother.

And I keep just thinking
about Steven Ward behind this,

you know?

I've been shot multiple times.

The program started August 2nd,

and I got shot
a couple of days later.

after the program started.

I was going to go do
what I knew I had to do,

because somebody shot me.

So, I wanted to hurt
somebody who hurt me.

But they be on us.
Don't be late.

- [all chuckling]
- Got you, don't be late.

So I go-- I'm like,
"I'll just stay in the house,

'cause I know
I got to get up tomorrow

and be on work on time."

So, this program...

[Billy] A little over
two weeks later, man,

he was shot and killed.

And I knew
he was changing his life,

because even his fiancée,
she would call and say, man,

she's so glad
that he found this program,

because all he does now
is study his books.

You know, before then,
Steve be all out in the streets.

[anchor 1]
There's a troubling report out

about young Black men
in Chicago.

This new report shows
almost half of those men...

[anchor 2] 47% of the city's
20 to 24-year-old Black males

have been out of school
and also out of work

in neighborhoods on Chicago's
South and West Side.

♪

[Billy]
See the construction workers?

You got people in our community

that's on these
construction jobs

making all this money.

While, you got guys
on the same block hanging out.

It just don't seem like
it make any sense.

♪

So, what we're doing
is taking properties

and rebuilding them.

- [drill whirring]
- See that?

All you have to do
to get it off.

[Billy] You know,
you'll see those guys out there,

learning the trade.

The way you address
smaller cavity here...

[Billy] And they gonna put
their learning to use on site.

So, is each way as efficient,

or is one way
more efficient than the other?

[Billy] They're going to be
rehabbing properties,

they're going to be increasing
the value of the community.

Big Mike, I want you
to be the first mastic painter.

That's all it is,
it's simple, man,

ain't nothing to it.

- Ooh.
- [tradesman] Put it back.

[Big Mike] Hey, don't--
don't record that, man.

Wow.

Wow.

[teacher]
All right, so--

so tomorrow we're going to
test on module one, guys.

Who did not take advantage
of reading module one?

Did not take advantage of--

So, you didn't read it? At all?

I ain't never studied
a day in my life.

Okay, we have six weeks
to get through this whole book.

He said,
"Read the whole chapter."

We don't even have
time for that.

The-- the time of the day.

If you take
an hour out your day,

you're still not going to
be able to read

100 pages in three days.

- I think that's for everybody--
- No.

- [student] No? So, you ca--
- Yes, I can.

- [student] Uh, well--
- Yes, I can.

[student]
Obviously, the majority can't,

because most people
that sit in here

been out of school

almost five, six,
seven, eight years.

So, your study habits
are very slim to none.

So that's why a lot of
people ain't ready,

especially younger cats.

[teacher]
You read the 39 pages?

Yes, I read-- I could test
on that right now.

[teacher] So, you can't read
the rest of that?

I can read the rest of it,

but you want me
to read 61 more pages

and remember
everything in the page?

It gonna take
some time and guidance.

[teacher]
So, what have I been saying

since the get-go?

We don't have time.

We have six weeks
to get through this whole book.

We don't have that luxury.

Open your books in section two.

Start off the reading, sir.

"Falls from elevated heights

account for about
one third of all deaths

in the construction trade."

[keys jangling]

[Marshall grunts]

[Marshall] Hey.

She likes to think
that it's our office,

but this is my office.

Yes, our office,
'cause we share everything.

But, both of these,
if you take a step back,

are very indicative
of Marshall and I

and our personalities.

- You see--
- [Marshall] Hers is bland.

- No.
- [Marhsall] And mine--

Can you let me speak?

- Mine is creative.
- [Marshall's wife] First of all,

Bogus.

There are business cards

inside of your degree.

You know, I have my degree

in an official
Bowdoin Marquis frame.

- Although it is framed...
- I know I gotta fix it.

- ...it is crooked.
- You-- you see?

I feel-- Obviously,

not enough detail
has gone into this.

Yo, we weren't so full of it.
[laughs]

You want me
to do the sauce, too?

- No.
- You sure?

- Yes.
- Because I can do it.

[Marshall]
It's a Hatch recipe.

Throw a little pepper in there.

Moderate, not a lot. Moderate.

[Marshall's wife]
That's red pepper, baby.

Uh, yeah, I know.
That's moderate.

[Billy]
This be my assignment, baby.

I'm not the cooker.
She's the cook of the family.

But I gotta,
you know, contribute, man.

I gotta, in order
to stay in the house,

I gotta. [laughing]

She always laughs
when I tell her this,

but I was like,

"You was kind of,
like, my dream woman.

Like, I conjured you up
20 years ago

and didn't know you,
but I knew of you."

- He told me--
- [Billy] One shot.

He told me he saw me in the car.

[Billy]
I had to hit the brakes.

He said he was leaving,
and he came back,

'cause he saw me
pull up in the car.

And then when she got out,

I just knew
right then and there,

I had to get her name
and her phone number.

If I wouldn't have did it then,

I would have always
been wondering,

"Man, what if?"

But I ain't got to ask
"What if," you know?

I already know now. So, see?

[laughing]

Hey, 'Quita. Anybody ask,
I'm Playboy, you Cardi B.

Hey, look, y'all, it's Cardi B.

- [siren blares]
- [Shaquita] You're so funny.

Before I clear it out
and make a scene.

Hey, everybody, look,
there go Cardi B!

[muffled chatter]

Cardi B, what you doing
in Chicago, huh?

My girl, Shaquita.

Mm, she a little decent
little Black girl.

Go to school,

she go to church,
got a decent job.

I know what to do.

Buy a whole bunch
of cheetah pets.

Buy, like, 50 cheetah pets.

Dig a big, ol' hole in the yard.

[Shaquita] See, this why
you can't be in that field.

A lot of people say

I don't even deserve
to be with her.

"He got tattoos on his face,
he sell drugs."

All the other stuff--
"He play with guns,

he ain't the kind of-- he ain't
the kind of dude for you."

All I know is on the other side
looking in, though.

She fell in love.

Maybe I fell in love, too.
That's my baby.

Now, I have me a little Shamont.

I have me
a little Shamont Slaughter

running around
here in the church.

Yeah.

[calm jazz music playing]

How far you in?

I have to use the bathroom.

[teacher]
Please focus on these sections.

That way everybody
can pass these exams.

[man] It is hard,
getting back in the swing

in the classroom setting.

So you have to have
the desire to actually grow.

[teacher]
So, it's five over two, right?

[student] Now, you cross cancel,
make five,

one to five, one time five,
one to ten twice.

[teacher] I'm going to put
another one up here,

- if you can do it?
- [student] Yeah.

You want me to step up
and do it?

[teacher] Yeah.

♪

[Shamont] I want to be able
to do everything

for my baby that my daddy
wanna never did for me.

[siren blares]

[indistinct]

[girl exclaims]

[grunts]

What up, man?
How was your weekend?

It was decent.
I went to [indistinct] funeral.

Found myself
a little bit too active.

What was going on with that?

My head
weren't in the right place.

I-- I can't say--

Really-- Too much going--
Too much detail.

I just found myself falling back
into the same shit.

If you find yourself

dealing with
the loss of a friend,

then you feeling like, "Man,
somebody need to pay for that."

When you--
when you feeling like that

and you know
you in these places,

in-- in these spaces,
in your mind,

man, call me, man.

You know, 'cause you can easily
be pulled off into something

that you really
shouldn't be a part of.

[Shamont]
Since I joined the MAAFA,

I go to work and come home,
and I can live comfortably.

At the same time though, there's
people that don't like that.

They fucked up my face.

They fucked up
my damn face the other day.

All this illegal fast
shit on the block I live on.

Corey and Jeff
fucked up my damn face

and they put fucking staples
in my fucking head.

I never let nobody
fuck up my face like that

and a part of me,
I want to go back, go kill...

everybody.

[Deacon] Have you ever
disciplined yourself?

Have you ever graduated college?
Check yourself. Get right, man.

Sometimes you got to
check yourself.

You don't need that.
Check yourself, man.

[Marshall]
In neighborhoods like this,

it's very quick to immediately
go to "I kill you."

Because that's
the ultimate threat.

And if you say
you're going to kill me,

I don't know
if you're gonna do it or not.

So, I can't leave my life
in your hands.

I just take you out first.

[man] You Super Mario, bro?
You get that shit?

[gunfire]

[Marshall]
This is all around you.

It almost feels inescapable,

that this is your ultimate fate.

If you kill one of mine,

it's only right
that I kill one of yours.

[Shamont] When I was a baby,
everything was decent.

My momma got five kids,
five boys.

We used to be sleeping
on pallets and shit.

Like, real life--
don't I--

don't got a bed,
but it's comfortable as hell

up on this floor
with all these blankets,

with me and my brothers.

My little brother, Keno,

was nothing like me.

When I went to school,
I got Fs and Ds.

Keno? Going to school, As.

I would say As and Bs.
But he really got no Bs.

Man, shorty got As.

So, my little brother
got killed.

That would really make me
not give a fuck about nothing.

He got killed, got shot
in the back of his head,

walking down the street.

A hole in the back of his head
like this big.

Ever since that day, in my mind,

I was finna make everybody
have a hole that big

in the back of their head.

I was gonna make
everybody mama cry

the way my mama cried every day.

I want to make
all their brothers think

the way I'm thinking right now,

since they did that
to my baby brother.

The one I know
that was righteous.

[Billy]
You know, Isaiah,

he almost bled out
on the operating table.

So we're glad to have him back.

After I got shot, now it's like,

"You play crazy
and try disrespecting me,

I'mma just throw it your way.

[man]
We got you, man.

Fella's tweaking, folks.

[Billy] But he's a young man
who's still traumatized

by how and what happened to him.

I understand the feeling.
I've had guns drawn on me.

Actually, somebody tried
to shoot me in the head.

You tend to arm yourself
if you feel like

the police
can't keep you safe, right?

Maybe we focusing
in the wrong area.

Where you're going to have

the majority
of the problems going on--

[shots firing in distance]

I ain't got to tell you
what that is, my brother.

[Joshua]
That was a lot of shots.

Man, I ain't got to tell you
what that was.

Wow.

[sirens wailing]

[Billy]
The police's job is

to kind of,
like, respond to crime.

There's really no plan in place
to prevent crime.

[sirens wailing]

[Marshall] Chicago has
addressed gun violence

the same way that
the nation as a whole has.

We now spend almost
five million dollars

on policing
every day in Chicago.

And this figure doesn't even
include the $700 million

in police misconduct
settlements since 2011.

This is the perfect reason
why I'm going to be

in the house tonight,
on a Saturday night,

because they-- They're looking
for usual suspect and

my profile fits
right in line with that.

We, as taxpayers,
have paid out so much money

that we should feel like,
when we see the police,

we're protected
instead of feeling like

our life is in jeopardy.

They shot him in his apartment,
let him bleed out, you know?

He had just had his first son.

His-- his girl was pregnant
with his second.

They need to know that
if they do something like this,

there's gonna be consequences.

You know, you're gonna lose
your fucking freedom.

[crowd chanting]

The whole damn system
is guilty as hell.

[anchor] Four years
after the shooting...

[anchor 2]
The Van Dyke murder trial

is just hours away.

[anchor 3] The police officer
who was charged

with first degree murder

of the 17-year-old
Laquan McDonald.

We want to see
Jason Van Dyke go down

for murdering Laquan McDonald.

[Marshall] Laquan McDonald
was a 17-year-old kid.

Shot 16 times
by a Chicago police officer.

He was our Michael Brown.

He was our Treyvon Martin
and so many others.

[anchor 1]
It's the first time in decades

a Chicago police officer
has been charged

with murder
in an on-duty shooting.

[anchor 2] Jason Van Dyke
took to the stand

to testify in his own defense.

His eyes were just
bugging out of his head.

He had just these huge...

wide eyes just staring
right through me.

[Marshall] Fact is
that a lot of the folks

that knew Laquan
before he was killed...

uh, the constant theme
that they would use

to kind of describe him,
a characteristic,

is that he was just very jovial.

He was playful, you know,
he cracked a lot of jokes.

That's Shamont.

And apparently,

the other officers
just saw a kid

Who obviously needed attention.

They cared.

But Jason Van Dyke
saw a nigger...

that was worthy of death.

Yeah.

[woman]
Your stories are the stories

we don't tend to hear.

So one of the things
that I think about is,

yes, you're writing a book,
yes, to publish your story,

but to use that story in a way

that's powerful
to create changes,

not only in yourselves
and amongst us, but beyond that.

You guys know that
the Chicago Police Department

is mandated to have training.

So, where does the content come

to train those officers
around that?

How do we teach them?

We're going to be
meeting every Wednesday.

We're going to put together
a collection of stories

that are unbelievably powerful,

and we're going to
present your work,

printed and published.

[Zay]
But law enforcement?

The reality is,
even when we do share

these stories with them,
there's still gonna be

unarmed, Black,
innocent people getting killed.

You know what I'm sayin'?

There still gonna be
people our age

or older who's traumatized

by certain events,
because of police officers.

That's what makes
the world flow.

Violence will always make
the world flow.

It's a part of life, period.

[Johnny]
I just think it's important

for us to have
our voice out there,

sharing those difficult stories,

those stories that you just
really don't want to share.

Because oftentimes,
we think we going through

this shit by ourselves,
but there's somebody else

that's going through
the exact same thing.

Leave your comfort zone, right?

[Zay]
It ain't really comfort.

It just triggers, like,
certain things in my head.

So now, I'll give you
an example, like...

everybody know got shot.

You know, talking about
only, like, really--

talking about
specifically that day,

or whatever the case is,

'cause I still--
You know what I'm saying?

I still battle with this shit.

I still visualize everything.

From gettin' shot
to the emergency room

gettin' out the emergency room
to recovering.

You know what I'm saying? So--

[Johnny]
No, I-- Trust me.

So, I was shot
almost 30 years ago, right?

Like-- like, messed up.

Came out the hospital
in a wheelchair,

the whole nine, right?

I couldn't walk.

So-- And I still, to this day,
just a-- You just--

The minute you mentioned that,

I went back
to the day I got shot.

And I'm going to
be honest with you,

it's not gonna go away,
but every time we meet,

you're going to grow
a little bit.

- Trust me.
- Well, I don't trust people.

So, I ain't talking
to nobody, man.

I just can't do it.

[Billy] I'm looking
at these faces, man.

It's going to be
a lot of you brothers, man,

that I know,
before this is all over,

we're going to love,
like our own family.

It's unfortunate
that we have imprisoned

our own self
and our own community.

I'm not talking about
not traveling out of Illinois,

some of y'all don't even travel
four blocks away

from where you live.

Am I lying?

Because, you know,
that's a danger zone.

Some of y'all
ain't even went downtown

and took a walk
on the Riverwalk.

Because you don't feel safe

outside of these silos
that you can build for yourself

within your own communities.

We're going to change that.

[Marshall] Ay, y'all, hey,
repeat after me, "This trip."

[all]
This trip.

"Is a church trip."

- [all] Is a church trip.
- [man] Aw, no, that's a setup.

- "This trip."
- [all] This trip.

- "Is a church trip."
- [all] Is a church trip.

- [Marshall laughing] Okay?
- I better get off two blocks.

[Marshall] Let everything
follow from that, all right?

["The Wonder Years"
by The O'’My'’s playing]

♪ When I was a snot-nose,
my Papa told me ♪

♪ All you got is family, son,
soon you'’ll see... ♪

[Marshall] I know for me
just how crucial it was

to experience
the world outside of Chicago.

The purpose of the trip
is to share with one another,

to grow closer,

just to really
expand their world view.

♪ Somebody put you down,
better stand up ♪

[indistinct lyrics]

[indistinct shouting]

Yeah!
You better know your rights!

♪ Sell CDs in packs of five ♪

♪ Better rap your heart out ♪

We ain't got to worry about
nobody shootin' at us,

no police messing with us.

We ain't got to worry
about shit.

I want to be like that
for the rest of my life.

♪ Papa told me ♪

- [chatter]
- [music fades]

[Shamont]
You know how much I love you?

[Shaquita]
I love you, too.

Yo mama mad
because I popped two off.

You haven't had
[indistinct] in a month.

She blue.

Don't nobody want their daughter
have a baby by me.

- That's crazy.
- [Shaquita] Yeah.

I'mma call you back
I finna hop in the shower.

[both]
I love you.

[Shaquita]
No, I love you more.

Ma, I love you more.

[Shaquita]
Nope. That's impossible.

How is that impossible?

[Shaquita]
'Cause I love you more.

Aight, bet.
Nah, but I love you more.

[Shaquita]
No, you know--

Aight, bet. I finna go.

- [Shaquita] Bye.
- [Shamont] Bye, babe.

[calm music plays]

[guide] In a moment,
we're going to be walking

into the Senate chamber
that was in use

from 1810 to 1869.

That was a period that
was known as the golden age...

[guide] That's a nickname
that needs to be taken

- with a grain of salt,
- For free.

[guide] because that was the
nickname they gave themselves.

[Marshall]
The first question that we pose

to the guys is, "Who are you?

How do you see yourself?"

If you don't know
and if you don't appreciate

your history,

if you don't really
love the people

who loved you into existence,
your ancestors,

if we don't cherish that legacy,

we don't know who we are.

[man]
We are at Howard right now,

we are on Howard campus
right now.

[Deacon] Howard is a premier
historically Black university.

And so I want them
to step on campus,

breathe in that history,

and they kind of see
themselves as part of it.

[man]
Ay, we heard about you.

[woman]
Basically, what this house is,

is not only
our English department,

but our Department
of Foreign Languages.

So when you come in
as a freshman,

you work directly
with Fortune 500 companies

such as Johnson & Johnson,
JPMorgan,

- things like that.
- [man] I'll get money, money.

Don't trip.
Y'all will see me again.

[woman laughs]

[woman] All right, any questions
about preemptive or anything?

No?

[woman on TV]
The future of Howard University

promises to be amazing.

[Marshall]
With Shamont,

there's this inbuilt frustration

with education.

[woman on TV]
Howard has delivered

a myriad of writers,
filmmakers...

[Marshall] But at the same time,
his potential is immeasurable.

We just got to keep--
keep challenging him to grow.

Our department
is one of the departments

that makes major contributions,

uh, to American society.

[overlapping chatter]

Shamont, let's go!

Yo, leave me alone, bro.

[Shamont]
Bro, leave me alone.

[man] We guests, Shamont,
we ain't in Chicago.

[Shamont shouting] That's how
they talk, huh? Come on, boo!

[man]
We ain't in Chicago, bro.

[Shamont]
I don't give no fuck. Damn!

I don't even
wanna be with y'all ass, bro.

[man] Sal, we goin' down.

[Marshall] Maybe the purpose
of this trip is to convince you

that you belong
at a place like Howard,

or Georgetown, or anywhere.

You belong there.

The biggest obstacle
is for you to see that.

[Billy] Hello.

Yeah, I had to go
to court for Lul Charles.

Last night,

Lul Charles, man,
was arrested for a gun.

I hate this place.

He ran from the police,
allegedly.

And they recovered a gun,
allegedly.

So, he could get 6 to 30 years.

[somber music playing]

[Lul Charles]
Not going to go into detail,

but you didn't think

a program is going to just
solve everybody's problem?

It's not going to happen.

You slip and you fall,

and this is the only thing
that you get.

The jail and the prison system.

That's extremely frustrating.

It's not making anybody better
or anything like that.

[Marshall] I think
what I'm trying to say is,

our goal is to always keep

- pushing you.
- [man] Why?

Your relationship
with us is about

us having
high expectations for you

and trying to hold you
accountable to that.

Right? So, I know
you want to go to school

so, the focus
should be there every day.

Be working towards something.

The portion
that we're working on now,

is for the English part, right?

It says, "A trip to the ocean
can be a relaxing escape

from the everyday pressures
of life."

Hey, are you
staying up too late?

Man, I'll be honest, bro,
I'll be waking up at night

- at all kinds of hours.
- Why?

I don't know. I have nightmares.

You have nightmares?

I be dreaming
about my little brother,

so I be tweaking
and I'll stay up.

[teacher] Do we need
to get you some help?

Nah, boy. [laughs]

[laughs] Whatever you gave--

[teacher]
Boy? Do I look like a boy?

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.

- They try and lock me up though.
- [teacher] No!

No, no, no, Shamont, excuse me,

you may need to talk it out.

I mean, we haven't dealt
with it effectively,

is what I'm saying.

Because you have not had
any counseling for you,

you did not have any
grief counseling or anything.

[Shamont] I don't think
we need counseling,

we're from the hood.

No, see that's mis--
that's a misconception.

We need
what everybody else needs.

We are humans
just like everybody else.

And you know why we--
And this is why we continue

to down spiral,

because we think
we don't need it,

but we need it.

[Johnny] The thing is,
you have to be able to open up

and say, "Man, this
is what I'm going through."

And I know it's weighing on you.

You know what I'm saying?

It's pressure,
this shit'd weigh on anybody.

How long y'all been doing this?

- It's a Whole year.
- A whole year.

You've been shot, you had
all kind of shit happening.

You still here, so that means
you want to do something.

The thing is, man,
you just got to

put in the energy, man.

And the fact is,
you come here every day

to your meeting.

You want something else.

Now it's about, like--
like, what you want to do

to do something else.

[Zay]
Sometimes, I can't even sleep,

I wake up with cold sweats.

With this trauma and PTSD,
you know, like,

because there's a lot of
people that got PTSD, honestly.

And they're, like,
kind of in denial.

Some people are in denial,
some people are not, so.

What some people don't realize,
like, they really gotta,

like, the fact, like,
you feel like you got to carry

a gun everywhere you go.

That's PTSD.

I mean, honestly? Yeah.

I used to lie to myself
to say I wasn't,

because I didn't really,
like, fully understood, like...

that how could, like, really--
How it really affect me.

But, like, over time,
it's starting to get to you.

[Johnny]
If it's a specific moment,

how did that moment
affect you in some way?

[Zay]
You keep it all bottled in.

You don't really talk to nobody.

Either you're gonna be able
to tame it, like,

keep it tame
as much as possible,

or eventually, it's just
gonna spill out and just...

cause it just to overload.

[man] They say
everything comes in twos.

So, we got two announcements.

I just came to find out
yesterday,

my baby mama
is six weeks pregnant.

[all cheering]

[Marshall]
My baby mama is eight weeks.

[all laughing and cheering]

[man]
So we got, like, three babies.

[Marshall]
My alpha baby.

[man] It's so, it's so crazy.

[laughter]

[Shaquita]
No. Ugh, okay.

[Shamont]
Babe, let me see your face.

It's why I had to call you.

[Shamont] I thought you said
that I ain't never--

[Shamont] I thought you said
it weren't for real.

[Shamont] I was asleep,
she called me one morning,

she said she needed to go
to the hospital.

I asked her,
"Why? What happened?"

She said she has
a whole bunch of blood

and she dying
or whatever.

She said she thinks
she having a miscarriage.

I was saving up for my baby.
When I found out

she had a miscarriage,
that shit was over.

I started getting high,
I started spending that shit,

I started doing
all kinds of shit.

I was saving that money
for a reason, for a baby.

You know, a baby is what I was
fucking saving that shit for.

Fuck that money.

[Deacon] Slaughter does not do
what he needs to do.

And he fell back doing his GED.

And so, it was real hard
trying to find out

what he's thinking,
to try to help him.

[Deacon] Slaughter!

- Did you eat something?
- [Shamont] No.

- You got some money?
- [Shamont] No.

I just gave her some money
to go get him something to eat.

You gave him
some money for what?

'Cause he did
all that work in there.

[Shamont]
Man, I could've did that.

- That's what I'm talking about.
- [Deacon] Did you see?

You ain't never said "Come
over there and do no work."

You know what I'm sayin'?
How do you expect me to come--

- Cause that's stupid.
- [Deacon] You playing games.

You ain't said
nothin' about work--

Hold up, hold up.

Did I tell you
to come over at ten o'clock?

- [Shamont sighs]
- Yes or no?

- [Shamont] That don't got--
- [Deacon] Answer the question.

- [Shamont mumbling]
- Did you come at ten o'clock?

- Yeah, man, nah--
- Did you come at ten o'clock?

- No, I didn't.
- [Deacon] Okay then.

Ya'll ain't gotta record
everything.

- [Deacon] Yeah, yeah.
- Get the fucking camera

out of my face.

[phone ringing]

[Lul Charles] Hello?

No, ma'am.

This is what confines me.

It's a house arrest box.

Pretty much, it's just
a home-monitoring center.

[Joshua] So you can't leave
the house and you can't go

- back to the program.
- [Lul Charles] Yeah.

You know, the system is broken.

So, they're gonna do
what they want to do

when they feel like doing it.

It's just the system.

Set up for failure,

which is what
they want you to do,

at the end of the day.

[Billy] We gotta get you
up out of here, man.

I'm gonna talk
to Bilal tomorrow

and see how soon
we can get you over there.

I need you to lay low, bro,
until you hear from me.

Yeah, I ain't got
no problem doing that.

I just need some time to chill

with my family
for the holidays, though.

[Billy]
Yeah, do that. Do that.

But I need you
to chill in the house.

- All right?
- Yeah.

All right, boy. I love you too.

[door creaks shut]

When I was growing up,

I could not come over here
on this block.

My grandparents
and mother moved over

in this neighborhood
when I was a baby.

Ashland was the divide block.

Black people couldn't really
go across Ash.

Now Ashland is still
the dividing line itself,

but it's not dividing
Blacks and whites.

It's dividing
clicks against clicks.

So, I was cool over here.

This was the block I grew up at.

My son grew up
in that house right there.

With the fifth house
off the corner.

[somber music plays]

When my son was born,
I was in prison.

So, it was almost like a dream.

And at that moment,

everything about this person
is perfect.

And you want to help
that perfection

last as long as possible.

It was like, "Man, I gotta
get out to be with my son."

And the day that I walked out,
oh, man, it was a happy moment.

Finally, I got an opportunity

to be the best father
that I could be.

But, you know,

me and his mother
weren't together.

And I think
he had a level of resentment

that he had to be brought up

without me in his life
every day.

So, a lot of times when I spoke,

what he probably heard
was static.

You see that
red car right there?

That red car
right on the corner?

That's exactly
what my son was parked

when he got killed there.

He got killed
right there on that spot.

♪

You know, at a certain age,

it's hard to change
this way of life.

[Shamont]
In my room, dirty boy.

Oh, shit. Gone, man.

I got weed right here,
and they're gone.

Gone, man.

[Joshua] Tell me
what's been going on lately.

Nothing.

- [Joshua] How's the GED going?
- I ain't getting that shit.

That's what I need to do.

We probably need to act
on that fast.

[woman]
Yeah, I was just thinking.

[Shamont]
Man, we on that blood, though.

Don't try, might find
a motherfucking pill.

There, that's tweaking.

♪

[Marshall] Man, he's experienced
a lot of pain.

But he can't keep
running from himself.

And I told him this to his face.

If you're not going to stop
the pill popping, the drugs,

then we're not gonna be able
to help you anyway.

[Joshua] So, what are you
planning to do?

Man, I'm gonna just go to sleep.

When I wake up, I'm leaving.

I wake up when I'm finna go.

No, I ain't tryin' to stay here.

That what they want me to do,
stay here.

[Shamont mumbles]

[funder]
So, we really want to

kind of talk about
two criteria.

Obviously, our
grant is designed to fund the most at-risk men.

So we do need, you know,
just confirmation

that the guys who are in there
meet that criteria.

[Billy] Oh.

[funder]
Wondered if you all were serving

the same population
of highest risk.

- [funder 2] Okay, sounds good.
- All right. Thanks, gentlemen.

Appreciate you, God bless you.

- [funder 2] Thanks, everybody.
- [Marshall] All right.

The funniest--
The funniest comment was,

"Well, we know that
some are high risk,

but we want the highest risk."

What does that--
what does that mean?

That's everybody
the hell over here.

This the funding war.

That's why nothing
ever changes, you know?

They want to go
with that dog and pony show.

They could just leave me
the hell out of it,

'cause I don't care, you know?

I really don't care

to be in no competition
for no blood money.

[Marshall]
I mean, there's a lot of

social service organizations

that have been starving
for a long time,

fighting for the same crumbs.

It's like putting
a band-aid on a bullet wound.

[man on phone]
Uh, did you get a chance

to show Jessica the budget?

I know she was waiting on.

[Marshall] Because what
ultimately needs to change

are the conditions
that produce shooters

in the first place.

[man] Yeah,
you already know, man.

Most of you guys know
my own son was murdered.

I don't know if the guy
who murdered my son

is sitting
in this room right now.

You know what I'm saying?

But he could be.

So, if I couldn't extend
forgiveness

to that young man
who killed my son,

there's no way
I could sit up here and work

with any one of you guys
who I know may be guilty

of the same type of crime

that I myself was guilty of.

I can't stand
in front of you guys

and say that
I want better for you,

if the guy who killed my son

walked in here
and the only thing

I could think about
is killing him.

[Johnny]
Thinking about forgiveness,

let's write based on what was--

Uh, what this helps
pull up out of you.

Do some writing right now,

while we're having
fresh thoughts.

Go ahead,
you know what I'm sayin'?

See, I'm not finna forgive
the person that shot me.

Not right now. Hell no.

I got some
real anger in me built up.

But I want to apologize
to my people, though.

How can I want--
You know what I'm saying,

apology and sympathy from them,

if I'm not even giving
the motherfucker

who did something to me
no type of sympathy or remorse.

Yeah, that's a hard thing,

to-- to embrace, you know.

But if you-- if you're not
willing to forgive,

guess what?

Never expect forgiveness
to ever come your way.

I sat across the table

from Benji's
two younger brothers,

and they expressed the years
of hatred they had for me.

But, the hate that they had
in their heart didn't kill me.

It was killing them.

You will have to let it go, man.

Because if you're not willing
to get past it,

it's gonna kill you more
than it's going to hurt

the other person
who you holding it against.

[Johnny]
Let's take the time to write.

- [Billy] Did you talk to him?
- No.

Well, you need to.

[Marshall]
You know, in our work

of course you have
thoughts of doubt...

about what impact
our programs have.

With Shamont,

doubt says
that nothing mattered,

didn't have any impact, any
effect, positively on his life.

Faith says maybe a seed
was planted in his soul.

And that just because
we can't see it now,

doesn't mean
that it's not there.

[all shouting faintly]

[Deacon] The overall goal is
to reduce gun violence, right?

But at the same time,
when you get to know guys

and you get to know
their habits,

or their deficiencies,

then you got to start
looking at success

in a different way.

[woman] It's incredibly brave
and challenging.

The thing
about writing memoirs is

it takes us back to that moment.

And it can be some
of the most challenging,

heart-wrenching experience,

is to feel that again.

Some authors had many,

many pieces to choose from,
let me tell you.

I'm going to shout out Zay
for a second.

Zey's a prolific writer.

He had a lot of different pieces
to choose from.

[Johnny] I think Zay should lead
off, that's our little brother.

If Zay chooses to.

It's your choice, Zay.

Uh, the piece is called
"No Guidance No More."

"I could talk about all the shit
I lost in the streets.

I lost opportunities.
I lost homes.

But the main thing
I lost was my father.

No, not my actual father.

That nigga
around this earth somewhere.

My fucking grandfather, man.

My main guy.

Partner in crime, father figure.

I lost a nigga who I view
as my protector, my king.

And I was his prince.

I hate it because

he's the only one I allow
to call me and shit."

[voice cracking]
I can't read that shit, bro.

[woman]
It's up to you, love.

You don't have to continue.
It's okay.

[somber music playing]

[Zay]
Oh, man. [mumbles]

You got something else
I can carry?

- [Deacon] That's it?
- Yeah.

[Deacon] We told him to call us
when he's ready to come back.

So, sometimes,
you got to let them see,

uh, that the choice
that they make

is not-- is not good for them.

[Marshall]
You got to take responsibility

for your own life,
your own actions.

There comes to a point,
you can't blame nobody else.

And that's what it means
by he came to his senses.

He said, "I got myself
here in this pig sty.

Therefore, I need to
get myself out of it."

So, the son is coming back
to the estate,

thinking, you know,

"My father
will probably be disappointed."

[Shamont]
Which he probably was.

[Marshall]
Which he probably was,

but he didn't show it,
the father ran,

hugged him, embraced him.

To the father, the apology
is not even important.

What's most important
is that you are here.

You came back.

[Deacon]
Home sweet home.

You got a bathroom right there.

You can put your TV up here.

[Shamont]
In the corner right there?

[Deacon] Uh-huh.
There's a socket right there.

You got your Bible?

Yeah, you got
your bathroom, right?

This what I got
back when I was here.

[Shamont]
I feel like I got to grow up

and stop acting
like a little kid.

[Deacon]
Your own bathroom.

[Shamont] I can't afford to go
to jail and none of that.

And I'll be damned
if I go down like that.

And I got everything
that's going on right now.

Nuh-uh.

Yeah! Welcome back.

[Deacon] I'm glad to see you
back in the space, bro.

I had to get back in the swing.
Getting up early, man.

[Deacon] Lul Charles is back
in space. [laughs]

[Lul Charles] Kind of funny that
a 23-year-old can be considered

an armed habitual criminal,
which is a career criminal.

Judge actually, uh,

said I was a danger to society.

And everybody, uh,
touched a few nerves,

because when you working
to change yourself,

if somebody tries to label you,

it's really tough,
because I know

I'm meant for something
bigger than a jail cell,

a prison cell.

That ain't me.

[Deacon] It's coming over
to you, Lul Charles.

Get up under there.

[drill whirring]

[Billy] They said,
today is a record number

of young people voting.

So I told him, he wants
to be a part of history, right?

Mission accomplished.

That's crazy.

- I was trying my best.
- [Billy] I see that.

[Marshall]
No social program,

no program like this,

can really save anybody.

[laughing]
You-- you voted.

[Billy]
Be a good man, Slaughter.

[man on phone]
That's good, Slaughter.

[Marshall] When it comes to
actual healing or redemption...

Hey, gentlemen,
break over in five minutes.

[Marshall]
...that can only come from...

Where are you going?
Check in in a minute.

[Marshall] ...relationships.

And the investment
in relationships.

I might not be around,

'cause I'm doing
my homework and shit.

You gotta stay
in school, y'all. You gotta do something.

You gotta stay--
You gotta get this focused now.

Fuck that weed,
fuck them pills.

We got to get this focused,
so you can get yourself focused.

Hell yeah, I smoke.

What are you talkin' about?
That's how I stimulate my mind.

Hell yeah, I get high,
but I stimulate my mind

another way, too.

[crosstalk]

[Billy]
I learned a long time ago,

you don't stop
talking to people

because it appears
as if they're not listening.

[man] Stop shooting
with your eyes closed.

[Billy]
If you're talking to them,

out of love and concern,

you never know
what they're picking up on.

Shoot, shoot!

As long as
you're showing up every day...

There you go.

What you waitin' on now, Zay?
Shoot that.

I'mma be in your face,

I'mma be your hair,
I'mma be in your ear...

Isaiah! Isaiah!

...telling you to write shit.

I'm gonna take responsibility
for that shit I've done here.

I want to give an apology
to my mother,

my brother, and my sister.

I put them through more than...

I wanna say
more than they can bear.

How are y'all doing
this evening?

[man] Good.

Y'all have to bear with me,
I ain't never done this before.

The first thing I want to do is

I want to thank
Billy Moore, man.

He saved my life, man.

- Saved my life.
- [all cheering and applauding]

[Zay]
He left me to basically

figure everything out
and in the process,

I done caused a lot of damage.

Damage that
didn't need to be done.

"To change anything,
you must first reflect.

I don't blame anyone
for my shortcomings,

not even my parents.

Even as a young man,
I was supposed

to make adult decisions.

It helped me mature,

but it also caused me
great heartache.

The path I chose,
I don't regret it.

It made me stronger
and more resilient.

My past did not define
my future.

Because I've been to prison
shouldn't hinder me

from being successful.

With that being said,

I celebrate myself
as just that, a man.

A young Black man
with great potential."

[woman]
That's right.

[Marshall] This year marks
the 400th anniversary

of the first enslaved Africans
being brought

to the so-called New World
at the bottom of slave ships.

We declare that
this is the year of Sankofa.

[cheering and applause]

I thank God that he's allowed us

to install
this beautiful piece of art.

But of course, it's more
than a stained glass window.

It's a memorial
meant to shape how

and why we remember
the names and the stories.

[Billy]
I met Steven Ward

two weeks
after my son had got killed.

I think one of the ways
that I was able to honor my son

is to be there for a young man
like Stephen Ward

and provide an opportunity
to give him a space to change.

[woman]
Shamont Slaughter.

[cheering and applause]

[Billy]
This is evidence

of what we can do
with young men,

who's trying to
change their lives

and refuse to give in

to the narrative
that they're not redeemable.

As a father who wanted
the best for his son,

I want the best for each
and every last one of these guys

that come through the program.

You know,
they got this picture made

of me and my son,
and everybody signed it.

And they basically
talked about how

I lost a son but, uh, you know,

through all these young men
that I worked with,

I inherited
all these other sons,

you know?

[Marshall]
And the reality is,

that all of us have
Sankofa stories.

[people shouting] Yeah!

Let our stories
be connected to the pain

- and the glory...
- [people shouting] Yeah!

...of this great cloud
of witnesses. [sobs]

- [cheers and applause]
- [sobbing continues]

Where he is now, it just shows
how much more we have to do.

And he has to do so much more.

Growing and maturing.

[woman]
A baby bather.

[Shamont]
What is this?

[laughter]

You put 'em in a tub
and wash 'em up in it?

[women] Yeah!

It's becoming real
to him, man.

[Shamont]
I like to thank everybody.

Like always, every time I ask,
I actually do get nervous,

someone always come through.

Y'all are the best, man.
Y'all know y'all is.

- And now y'all can have my son.
- [laughter]

Yeah, that's the plan.

Y'all need to get him scraped.

Like y'all got me scraped.

Thank everybody in MAAFA.

[Marshall]
Success in this line of work,

Maybe you don't see it
in six months or nine months

or even six years.

And so, the doubt is trying
to convince me that

the structural inequalities
are too intractable.

The self-destructive habits
that exist are too rooted.

But the forces of oppression
are unrelenting.

And so the opposite force

really has to be greater.

Each generation
has to continue fighting

if you want to do
anything meaningful

in the time
that you're allotted to live.

[woman laughing]

And the world that
these young men are creating

is the world that my children

and their children
will have to grow up in.

[atmospheric music playing]

♪

♪

♪

♪