0:00:10 > 0:00:14If I had to describe OW in one word - a real diamond.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Mind-blowing.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17Surprising.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Drama.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Swag.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Over the top.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23Just crazy.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Oh, my God.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27- Problems.- Discombobulated.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30This ain't no fairy tale high school.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32This ain't no fairy tale story.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Everything is real here.
0:00:39 > 0:00:422016!
0:00:44 > 0:00:49OW receives black people 98% of the time.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52You share pain, you share tears,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54we are lifelong friends forever.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Teachers, please close all doors, we are in an active hall sweep.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11I'm a senior, and it's make or break time for me.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14I'm about to get ready to leave high school.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Y'all going to jail, because y'all in a stolen car.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Come on, Ry-Ry!
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Oh, I love you, man.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28I am so proud of you,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31because I know that you have overcome obstacles
0:01:31 > 0:01:33to make it to this day.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35CHEERING
0:01:52 > 0:01:54It is going to be a wild ride.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57So tell me, MacKenzie, what do you want at your party?
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Whoever took the phone, you're not a very good person.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04It's sad that her birthday party has to come to this.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06What if you had hit somebody?
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I was being careful.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10No, you wasn't, because you ran a red light.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14She put me out, but I understood why she put me out.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15This shower is about Harmoni.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I appreciate everybody for coming today and everything.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20I appreciate you supporting us and everything.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Oh, look, my baby's going back to school.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I'm scared. I don't want to be a failure.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27In God's hands.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Morning, ladies.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Welcome back. Welcome back.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56We're back from spring break,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and I was hoping you would have your pants up by now.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Prom is the 23rd.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05April 23rd, yeah.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Yeah, they're ordering clothes and stuff.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11It's going to be a big night.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Yeah, it's going to be a big night.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17So today we kick off that last leg in this race.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I've... I've often seen it written that the race to excellence
0:03:21 > 0:03:22has no finish line.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26But we have to have a finish line here this year.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29And we're about to cross that line for seniors.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Let's go. Let's go, y'all.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Morning. How you doing?
0:03:34 > 0:03:35How was your break?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Good. Let's go, y'all.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Good morning, faculty, staff and students.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Welcome back from what I assume was a wonderful spring break.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Reminder - vintage Hollywood. April 23rd, 2016
0:03:50 > 0:03:54at the cinema room here in Orangeburg.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57This is a prom to remember.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01So, pretty much, we know we want flashing lights.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03You know, we want vintage Hollywood.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05How are you going to put it?
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Flashing lights and vintage Hollywood?
0:04:08 > 0:04:09Should we order, question one,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12should we order the whole kit on page two and three?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14No.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15What's the price there?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18A big deal?
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Of course.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Like, it's senior prom.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Like, it's going to be lit.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Oh, my God!
0:04:26 > 0:04:27I cannot wait.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Vintage Hollywood - a glamorous affair?
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Y'all not feeling that? No?
0:04:32 > 0:04:34OK.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36I like the glamorous affair! Affair.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39No, I don't have a date, but that's fine.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40I'm still going to slay by myself.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Hollywood is really for those who know what prom would look like.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47- Yeah.- So you want the columns and...?
0:04:47 > 0:04:50I like the gold on page...
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I was mad at the fact that Breezy put me out.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Because she knew that I didn't have nowhere else to go.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And that's, like, hurting me a whole lot.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08That hurt me, and that's when I really knew, like,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10it was done.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13The support that I had was lost.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17And I just felt like I got a little too comfortable.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19And I felt like that's what messed everything up,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21when I got too comfortable.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43My father's been locked up for six or seven years.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45But he's got one or two more years,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48we're not really worrying about how long he's been in jail.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49I'm just ready for him to get out.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I wish I was at school.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18School, school, school.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Dear Miss Rodriguez, a hearing was scheduled
0:06:32 > 0:06:35on Thursday March 17th, 2016.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36As a result of the hearing,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Anthony will attend Brother's Keeper Alternative School on Monday.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44It encourages that Anthony enrols in an anger management programme.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Yeah.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51He will not be returning to OW.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03You can't go to college in these kind of programmes.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06A kid that's constantly in trouble.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11In away, I'm kind of upset by the decision, but I guess...
0:07:11 > 0:07:14I guess they knows better.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15I guess they know better.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Only thing I'm scared of is being a failure.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20I do not want to be a failure.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22And that's probably it.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26That's my one thing - do not be a failure.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40All radio holders, 1083.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43All radio holders, 1083.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08All I did was defend myself.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11To the point where you're fighting, that's certainly not necessary.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- I didn't want to fight her. - Then why'd you get up first?
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I'm not a fighter. She stood up first, Miss Smalls.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21All I did was tell a boy not to let her get to him,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23because I wouldn't let her get to me,
0:08:23 > 0:08:24and she was standing targeting me too.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28She stood up at her chair, then she was about to come and fight me,
0:08:28 > 0:08:29so I stood up out my chair,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31because I didn't want to get beat in a chair.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34And everything happened so quick.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38What am I supposed to do?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41You know what the punishment is for fighting, correct?
0:08:41 > 0:08:42It was self-defence, though.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Who hit who first?
0:08:45 > 0:08:47She got me on the ground, was kicking me.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49There's video, probably, somewhere.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51You can see how everything happened.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Your version, is that the same version
0:08:53 > 0:08:54everyone else has in the room?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57There's video... Ask the teacher, how about that?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59- I did that.- What did he say?
0:08:59 > 0:09:00That you were up first.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02That I stood up first?
0:09:02 > 0:09:03Mm-hm.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Well, if that's really how it is,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07then I guess that's how it's meant to be.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09I guess that's how the world turns.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13I shouldn't get in trouble for just trying to do the right thing,
0:09:13 > 0:09:14I'm telling you.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Dr Peters, you have a parent waiting for you at the front office.
0:09:21 > 0:09:2210-4.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Hey, Ms Williams.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29How are you?
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Tell Miss Smalls that we'll be in my office, OK?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36If Mykenzie stood up
0:09:36 > 0:09:40because the girl is now in her personal space, and she's like,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43"I'm not going to sit here and get hit," that's one thing.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48But if she stands up to say, "You want to fight?"
0:09:48 > 0:09:52that's a trigger. And for these children,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54somebody standing up is a challenge.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56It says, "Come on, let's fight."
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Why should she be the one to have to back down from what is right?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02And allow what is wrong to continue?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06She's saying to herself, probably - now I'm thinking in her head -
0:10:06 > 0:10:10that, "I don't care if I'm a white girl in a black school.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14"I'm just going to be myself, and I should be allowed to be myself."
0:10:14 > 0:10:15And she's right.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19She's right. She should be allowed to be herself.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21- But there's rules.- But is it smart?
0:10:21 > 0:10:26We - you and I and everybody in this school, and you at home -
0:10:26 > 0:10:29have to teach her how to read her environment.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34And to say that, "It's not going to be safe for me to jump into this."
0:10:34 > 0:10:37She's got consequences to face when she gets home for this, obviously.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47I am one of the only white people here at the school.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50And Mom knew that was going to be the case
0:10:50 > 0:10:53and I knew that was going to be the case.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57We chose to go to OW, because a lot of white parents
0:10:57 > 0:11:00are sending their kids off to private school
0:11:00 > 0:11:01and schools like that,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05so their kids don't have to be in an environment like this.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10When I first came here,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14I had positive energy and everybody was afraid.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Now, it's like I don't trust anybody,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18you can't get to these kids,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22keep your mouth shut and stay as visible as possible.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33You still appear to be going right at her.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Adrenaline. Adrenaline, was right there.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38You didn't see where she hit me first, Momma.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44See, she's hitting me.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And I'm just trying to block my face.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50When somebody hits you,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52it's human nature.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Had you ignored her, we wouldn't be having this situation.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00But, Momma, you gotta put yourself in my shoes
0:12:00 > 0:12:03as a student in that school.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05You said for me to put myself in your shoes as a parent,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and I did that. And I can see where you're coming from.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10If my child got suspended for ten days at school,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13I'd automatically want to punish them too.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16But put yourself in my shoes as your daughter in a school like that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I'm not... That's not fair.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21OK, no, just listen to me, it is fair, Mommma, get out the gutter.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25It's fair. From your perspective, I see how it could be unfair.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29But from my perspective, being the person in the school, it's fair.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Because you've got to put up with it, you can't speak up for yourself,
0:12:32 > 0:12:33you can't defend yourself all the time,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36or it's going to start something with somebody.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37You gotta just take it, every day.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40You gotta take it as it comes to you, and say,
0:12:40 > 0:12:41"I'm better than that."
0:12:41 > 0:12:44It's not a race thing, no, but it's a culture thing.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47It's a way of who you are, in that school.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50If you don't follow up with what they're doing
0:12:50 > 0:12:54and how they act and all that... Momma, you are singled out.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Dr Peters was kind of saying the same thing.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01He was saying that, somehow or another, you are in a culture,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and a world now that you don't understand.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05He says that we need to keep you safe
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and that you understand that people in this culture
0:13:08 > 0:13:10take things differently.
0:13:10 > 0:13:16And I really have to say, I thought that, on the way here,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19I thought I was going to say something totally different,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24and I'm going to tell you this, and I hope that, one day...
0:13:26 > 0:13:28..that I won't regret saying this.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33But I'm saying the opposite - be you.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Take that for who you are.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38- Take that, and see the good in people.- Thank you, Momma.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41You stick up for what you think is right,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45and the good Lord will protect you, and good will come out of it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47That's right. You always try to help people.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50And if bad things happen because of it, like a ten-day suspension,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54just compose yourself the best you can and...
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Know in myself I did the right thing.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- That you...- Tried.- That you tried to do the right thing.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Here we go.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28My father is in one of the best prisons in South Carolina.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30The other prisons in South Carolina,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34I heard that they have most African-Americans in there,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36and they have dangerous African-Americans.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39They be killing each other just to kill each other for fun.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41I'm glad that my father's in one of the jails
0:14:41 > 0:14:42with the old people and stuff.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I'm nervous about telling my father I got kicked out of school.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49But if he in jail and I hide something behind his back,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51that'd be messed up.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02Look who come up.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- Little dude from across the street! - I love you.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I love you more.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11How's school coming on?
0:15:11 > 0:15:12Good.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- Good.- What about them grades?
0:15:15 > 0:15:17- They was good.- What you call good?
0:15:17 > 0:15:21As and Bs. And some Cs.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23What about that attitude I was telling you about?
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I don't know.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- That flew out the window. - The attitude?
0:15:27 > 0:15:28Nah, it ain't gone.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31What do you mean by that?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33You got in some trouble?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- Not some trouble.- What happened?
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- A lot of trouble.- What happened?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40I got kicked out of school.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41- Really?- I got kicked out of school.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46- For what?- Punching someone in the nose.- What happened?
0:15:46 > 0:15:48He said my momma was going to die.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51- Huh?- He said my momma was going to die.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29I'll always be proud of you.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54My father being locked up...
0:16:54 > 0:16:56For one, they were saying,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59for two hours I was mad.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01I'll tell you why I was mad.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Because that day before, I said, "Dad, don't do nothing stupid,
0:17:04 > 0:17:05"just stay home."
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Wake up in the newspaper,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12everybody crying. So I go get the newspaper,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and I spaz out, punch a wall.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18That's when it started. I just realised something -
0:17:18 > 0:17:20that's where it started. That's where my anger started.
0:17:20 > 0:17:21That day I punched a wall.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23And ever since then, I started punching walls.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25I never started punching stuff.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30So that mean, with your father being in jail,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32you shouldn't use that as an excuse, just like I did.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35When your father be in jail, that should be, like,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37a motivation to you to, like,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40inspire you to be stronger and better than your father.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Getting asked to leave OW wasn't a good thing.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52But I took advantage of it, I'm glad it happened.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56So I won't end up in jail or six feet down, like others.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17The majority of my friends, their fathers are
0:18:17 > 0:18:20either out of their lives or, you know,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24somehow in their lives, but not in the same household as them.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Oh, my daddy!
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Daddy, daddy, daddy.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Well...
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I really...
0:18:37 > 0:18:38He's just my daddy.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Well, I consider him a sperm donor.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45It affects the school,
0:18:45 > 0:18:51because you can see the ones that don't have a father figure to go by.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54And there's the ones, you know, that are misbehaving,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58and really not doing what they're supposed to do.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Who is this dude?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Nobody don't know really who he is.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Everybody know who Kordel Johnson is.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09And if you don't know, then you ain't somebody,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11that's all I gotta say.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Like, if I call him asking for something,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16I know I can't depend on him,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19because my mother,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22she was basically my father and mother.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The OW prom is not like what you see on TV.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07You don't have fairy-tale endings.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12You don't make up with the dude that was being a butthole
0:20:12 > 0:20:16the entire time you were preparing for prom.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Prom is a very big deal for me.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20This is the mark.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23This is just one more step to...
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I'm out of there.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31You see Vernon?
0:20:31 > 0:20:33I saw him yesterday.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37No, I didn't speak.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- You didn't?- No.- Why?
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Erm...- It's a long story?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Yeah.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48He used to live with me.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50He used to be, like, my kid.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54A couple of occurrences happened,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56stuff I don't put up with with my kids,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58so I just had to let him go.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16She put me out. I'm now currently at my Aunt Rosa's house.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It's a little hectic there, because of all the kids.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24This is, like, their fourth time doing that.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29But I'm sticking it out until graduation.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39It's my aunt's three kids,
0:21:39 > 0:21:44and then my Aunt Rosa has my other aunt's two kids.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46And she have me.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50And then there's my Aunt Rosa
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and her boyfriend. So there's eight people in the house.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56SCREAMING
0:21:56 > 0:21:58You crazy!
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Hey!
0:22:04 > 0:22:08The situation with me and Breezy...
0:22:08 > 0:22:11If she tell me to run around the school naked
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and she'll be friends with me, I would get butt-bone naked.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20She's Breanna, and she got a whole lot of pride in her.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24Yeah.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29I just want my friend back.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31That's all.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43SCHOOL BELL RINGS
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- Hello.- Hello, how are you?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- Good, how are you?- I'm fabulous.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Through this little adventure I've been through with Mykenzie,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57as you know, and moving into Orangeburg,
0:22:57 > 0:23:04how do we get away from something's that's always been of...
0:23:04 > 0:23:08almost segregation, still, in our county?
0:23:08 > 0:23:12Right. How do we create the conditions for students
0:23:12 > 0:23:15to be able to get to know each other?
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And to walk away with a perception,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22whether it's positive or negative, at least we'll know.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25If we can somehow combine the schools together,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29try to get the community more...
0:23:30 > 0:23:32..united. But how do we do that?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34So we put together a breakfast...
0:23:34 > 0:23:35Oh, good.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- Where is it?- It's going to be at OP, at the cafeteria.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41At OP, I'll be there.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47In 2016,
0:23:47 > 0:23:53we still have a white school and a black school in Orangeburg.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56One is public and one is private.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59We have an opportunity to go to OP.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03What I want to do is facilitate conversation, right?
0:24:03 > 0:24:08We probably have six white students, right?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Five or six. Give or take.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I could be on OP's Campus - Orangeburg Prep's campus -
0:24:14 > 0:24:16probably within eight minutes.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18I mean, we're that close.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23But then, your perception of Orangeburg Prep is what?
0:24:23 > 0:24:26- White...- All right, all right.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- Orangeburg Prep?- Uppity.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- Orangeburg Prep?- White.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33- Orangeburg Prep?- High-class.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Orangeburg Prep?- Rich.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39All right.
0:24:40 > 0:24:47Why is OW a school that has 98.6% of our children African-American?
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Don't we live under a rule of desegregation?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02What's up, man? What's up? How you feeling?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Good. Yeah? You feeling some pressure?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Yeah, a little bit.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Wouldn't be normal if you weren't feeling that.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12I'm almost relieved to hear you say you're feeling some pressure.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14When is the baby due?
0:25:14 > 0:25:1627th of April.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Of April. All right.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19So, basically,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I want you to get to a point where you don't make decisions
0:25:22 > 0:25:26that are detrimental to you, your family, your girlfriend,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28and, now, your baby.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Because they're going to need you more than ever right now.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33And a lot of times, you know, your girlfriend,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37she's going to need your support and your presence.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39You need to be there for her,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43cos she's gotta be scared, she's young, man, you know?
0:25:43 > 0:25:45It has become an accepted part of our culture
0:25:45 > 0:25:48that black fathers not being in the homes,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50that it's become normalcy.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I'm here to tell you, that's not normal.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56And I don't want you to be a part of something that's not normal,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58or an accepted practice.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02I want you to be the exception, not the rule.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07I know how important that is to see.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I see my sisters, and how they're close to my dad.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12I want that to be your daughter with you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15All right? And I wanted to look back 20 years from now and remember
0:26:15 > 0:26:17this conversation. Because you're going to make it.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I know you'll make it. As hard as it is.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23All right? All right, brother.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I don't want to disappoint my family.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I still want to do this, I still want to play ball.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44But I'm trying to face reality at the same time.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47And I got a daughter over here, on the other side of my life,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49I've got a daughter.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But I still want to go to school, so that's going to be out of state.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05You feel me? So it's like...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07I got a lot going on right now.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Straight to the point, we need a plan.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Yeah. Parents need to be a part of what we do in here,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32seven, eight, nine hours a day.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35What parents have done is they've done drive-bys on us.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38They've driven by and dropped their kids off on us.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42And all of the problems that their children have, we now have.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44But this is the diagram.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47This night, Thursday night,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I'm going to challenge them to become partners with schools
0:27:50 > 0:27:54instead of consumers. And it's going to require all hands on deck.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58SCHOOL BELL RINGS
0:27:58 > 0:28:00All right, be safe, man.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03All right, brother, you too now.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08The parents of our successful students are engaged,
0:28:08 > 0:28:14and the parents of our students who are not engaged are not active.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18You want us to educate and help train your children,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22then you best come up here and be involved in the process.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27OW has taught me this year there's only one me, and I can't do it all.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30- What's wrong? - No, no - thank you for my change.
0:28:30 > 0:28:31OK.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33I care about you, bro.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36All right. What you doing,
0:28:36 > 0:28:37getting ready to fight this morning?
0:29:04 > 0:29:10I feel like opportunity depends on your circumstance.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15You probably have more opportunities if you go to the private school
0:29:15 > 0:29:17than you do if you go to OW.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22The town is split in half.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27Where Walgreens at, if you live on the left side, that's the hood.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29That's like, the dark side of town.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32But if you live on the right side,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36that's where a bunch of businesses are.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38They come pick your trash up there.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40There's a lot of stuff.
0:29:50 > 0:29:56I feel like it's crazy how we are separate, but that's just how it is.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10So, listen, we are excited this morning to be a part of,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13I think, history, in Orangeburg County.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Where we come together, transcending race,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21thinking and discussing the things that you should be leading
0:30:21 > 0:30:22the conversation on.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26In certain areas of America, yes, I fear for black men.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28I might walk into somewhere right now,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30and they see all these tattoos on me, and they're like,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33"Oh, yes, he an inmate, he a failure."
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Anything, you never know, anything.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38OW has a reputation.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41That reputation has been what, about OW?
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Just, it...seems ghetto...
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Right. So, as a ghetto school...
0:30:47 > 0:30:52We just, like, hear stuff, like, through talk of other people.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Doesn't always mean it's true,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57but it's what you think of when people tell you all that stuff.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02We don't mingle. I wouldn't see none of y'all on a regular basis,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04on the weekends. No times.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09The only people I really know that's Caucasian...
0:31:10 > 0:31:12..I can count how many people.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14My orthodontist.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17You know?
0:31:17 > 0:31:21We went on a tour, for a college tour,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25I was shellshocked. There was white people everywhere.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28I didn't know what to say to them, I didn't know what to do.
0:31:28 > 0:31:29I was just, like, you know?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I don't know how to talk to them, I didn't know how to approach them.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35It was like a glass of milk, and I was like a pepper.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39That's how I felt, that's how I felt!
0:31:39 > 0:31:42Nobody in my family is racist,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46but I don't know what they would say if I brought a white girl home,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48you know what I'm saying?
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Yeah, they'd probably, like, "Hold on now..."
0:31:51 > 0:31:52you know what're saying?
0:31:52 > 0:31:55It's not the fact that my family's racist,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59it would just be weird. I would feel weird bringing...
0:31:59 > 0:32:00You know what I'm saying?
0:32:00 > 0:32:02I don't think my parents would like it,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05because they're born in a different time, or whatever?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08But I don't think it should be that way.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10What's next? Do you walk away and say,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14"OK, we had a good experience with those black kids from OW?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17"They're not that bad!"
0:32:17 > 0:32:20You know, you go home and say, "Mom, guess what?
0:32:20 > 0:32:22"I met this guy, Kordel, he was cool!"
0:32:22 > 0:32:26You know? I mean, "He didn't try to beat me up!
0:32:26 > 0:32:28"Or take my pocketbook!"
0:32:28 > 0:32:32You might find something like, "Hey, let's go meet up somewhere."
0:32:32 > 0:32:38- You know?- Honestly, like, we're not going to see each other,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40and that's the truth.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Orangeburg is segregated.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48I think that breakfast allowed OP and OW students
0:32:48 > 0:32:51to say their views,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54but I knew for sure we weren't going to change the world
0:32:54 > 0:32:55with that conversation.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58We wasn't going to change Orangeburg with that conversation.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28All right, my brother, what we got going?
0:33:28 > 0:33:31OK, I don't know if I should... OK...
0:33:36 > 0:33:41Me and Breanna, like, I feel like it's not going to happen.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Like, we're not going to be friends.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Vernon came up with this?
0:33:52 > 0:33:53- Mm-hm.- Wow!
0:33:53 > 0:33:55I'm impressed.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57We did have a friendship.
0:33:57 > 0:33:58I'm not really...
0:33:58 > 0:34:00ready to talk to him.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Or be buddy-buddy, like we once were.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I honestly don't think that it'll ever get like that again.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Like, once you make her mad, it's...
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It's not over with.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Pretty much.
0:34:22 > 0:34:23Hi, this is my baby.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- Look at my baby.- Cheeks, squeeze.
0:34:28 > 0:34:29Don't mess up the make-up!
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Whoo!
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Gotta go get it. Ain't nobody going to give you nothing.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48You weren't born into money, the money ain't going to come to you.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51So you gotta go get it.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54# So long, so long
0:34:54 > 0:34:57# Jesus walk with me
0:34:58 > 0:35:02# To the hustlers, killers murderers, drug dealers
0:35:02 > 0:35:04- # Even the scrippers - Jesus walks for them
0:35:04 > 0:35:07# To the victims of welfare for we livin' in Hell here,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09- # Hell, yeah - Jesus walks for them
0:35:09 > 0:35:12# Now, hear ye, hear ye Want to see Thee more clearly
0:35:12 > 0:35:15# I know He hear me when my feet get weary
0:35:15 > 0:35:18# Cos we're the almost nearly extinct
0:35:18 > 0:35:21# We rappers is role models We rap, we don't think
0:35:21 > 0:35:24# I ain't here to argue about his facial features
0:35:24 > 0:35:26# Or here to convert atheists into believers
0:35:26 > 0:35:29# I'm just tryna say the way school need teachers
0:35:29 > 0:35:33# The way Kathie Lee needed Regis That's the way I need Jesus... #
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Where's Breanna?
0:35:40 > 0:35:44I don't know where our relationship stands exactly.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46But I don't know...
0:35:51 > 0:35:54No, I haven't spoken to Vernon.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00We'll start off with our welcome to prom.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03What's up, OW? CHEERING
0:36:03 > 0:36:05MUSIC STARTS
0:36:10 > 0:36:14So, all of the candidates for prom king need to come towards the front.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Prom kings have been chosen.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Vernon. CHEERING
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Rendull Middleton. CHEERING
0:36:23 > 0:36:25INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT
0:36:30 > 0:36:34We're going to announce the winner. And our prom king is...
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Rendull Middleton. CHEERING
0:36:37 > 0:36:39MUSIC: Can't Do Without You by Caribou
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I feel I was already prom king.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05I'm the prince of the city. This is how I imagined it.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10Seeing here, prom king... OK!
0:37:17 > 0:37:20What's the plan? That's just the only question right now.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22What has God got planned?
0:37:22 > 0:37:25He done got you through elementary, middle and high school,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27so what's the plan?
0:37:27 > 0:37:28# I can't do without you
0:37:30 > 0:37:32# I can't do without you
0:37:34 > 0:37:35# I can't do without you
0:37:38 > 0:37:39# I can't do without you... #
0:37:41 > 0:37:44College... College is not for everybody. You know?
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Not for everybody.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49# Can't do without, can't do without
0:37:49 > 0:37:54# Can't do without, can't do without, can't do without... #
0:37:54 > 0:37:55I feel excited, you know?
0:37:55 > 0:37:59I know where I'm going to college, I know I'm going to State
0:37:59 > 0:38:01and I know I'm going to play football.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Everything is basically laid out.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08It's like a brick road. All I have to do is follow the brick road.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10# I can't do without you... #
0:38:11 > 0:38:16I have sort of a naive approach.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19I honestly do not know that much about the world.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23And I'm about to step into it.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25It's best to keep your hope alive
0:38:25 > 0:38:30and never to give up and to stay positive.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32# I can't do without you... #
0:38:32 > 0:38:34I just can't wait to get out of this high school,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37get out of this home city that I'm in right now.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42Like, there's more than Orangeburg out here in this world,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44and I'm trying to go see the world.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49# Can't do without, can't do without, can't do without
0:38:49 > 0:38:52# Can't do without, can't do without, can't do without... #
0:38:56 > 0:38:59You know what I mean? Just...Hollywood.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Vintage Hollywood. It's unfortunate,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05it's so much like a Cinderella story that, for a night,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07they get to really come out and...
0:39:08 > 0:39:14..and lose the cares and troubles that they have in their real world.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16I just wish it could be like that for them every day.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18# Can't do without you
0:39:18 > 0:39:22# And you're the only thing I think about
0:39:22 > 0:39:25# It's all that I can stand Can't do without you
0:39:25 > 0:39:29# And you know you're the one I dream about
0:39:29 > 0:39:32# I couldn't do without you. #
0:40:01 > 0:40:05She should probably be kicking me that I never got that interview.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08For real.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11QUIET CONVERSATION
0:40:11 > 0:40:13She going to be... She going to be...
0:40:21 > 0:40:25That's crazy, though, boy.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Just put it on her head.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39You better rub the head.
0:40:43 > 0:40:49I'm brown-skinned. She dark brown. I'm dark brown. You brown-skinned.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51I'm black!
0:40:55 > 0:40:57That's all there is to it.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01He gotta do stuff for his daughter, that's all.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04He gotta do stuff for his daughter. There's certain things he can't do
0:41:04 > 0:41:06no more, like go out, things like that.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11And think about what you gotta do now, that's all.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I'd say you gotta step up, be a man.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17We ain't young no more. I've been telling him now that...
0:41:22 > 0:41:26Although he have a child, he still is going to go to college.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29And I don't want him or they to feel like, just because they got a baby,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33they can't accomplish what they want to accomplish.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35I don't mean to cry, y'all, but I'm sorry...
0:41:35 > 0:41:37SHE SOBS
0:41:40 > 0:41:45I don't mean to cry, for real, but that mean everything to me.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48That mean everything to me, I swear.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52I know, I have friends who have lost two kids, like, back-to-back.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54You know?
0:41:54 > 0:41:57I don't understand. Like, it's hard out here.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59It's hard out here for our kids.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02And just to see your kid walk on the stage and graduate,
0:42:02 > 0:42:03that's everything to me.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05That's everything to me, just waking up,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09knowing that my child is still in the house with me.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11He has no time to lose.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Even with Harmoni, he's gotta be the best daddy,
0:42:14 > 0:42:16he's gotta be the best father for her.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19He gotta show Harmoni, "Daddy got you."
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Little Harmoni.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31You gotta do right by your kids, be a good father, I know that much.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Seeing what the next step is in life.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44For the better of her life.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48That's the next step for me.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Contemplate my next move.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14We are having a Parent-Teacher-Student Association
0:43:14 > 0:43:15spaghetti dinner,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20feeling like if, we feed our parents and community, they'll come out.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23And while they're here, we have a theme for the night -
0:43:23 > 0:43:24All Hands On Deck.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Ending a school year, we want our parents
0:43:27 > 0:43:31to really understand the need for parental involvement
0:43:31 > 0:43:32and support.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34HE HUMS A TUNE
0:43:34 > 0:43:37'So we're expecting a good turnout.'
0:43:37 > 0:43:38Ready?
0:43:44 > 0:43:48I've been sitting here thinking that the majority of people that are
0:43:48 > 0:43:50here tonight are our staff.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53We certainly should have more parents here,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55because it's their children that we're educating.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00So my comments tonight are really not reflected to you,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02because you are the ones who get it.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Looking at our children, coming into the prom,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09which had to be the best prom ever in the history of high schools,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13they looked like millions of dollars.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15You see, for our children, looking good is a priority.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Whether they had food Sunday...
0:44:21 > 0:44:23..is a different story.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25But they looked good Saturday night.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30We've got to get to a point where we align our schools to the harsh
0:44:30 > 0:44:34realities our children and families face.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37But first, they must trust. And I think that is a word
0:44:37 > 0:44:41that is missing from our children's vocabulary -
0:44:41 > 0:44:47trust - because adults in their lives have let them down so many times
0:44:47 > 0:44:49in their young lives.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53Somebody has to stand up in Orangeburg...
0:44:54 > 0:44:56..and say...
0:44:58 > 0:45:00.."This is not right."
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Somebody.
0:45:05 > 0:45:10I end tonight disappointed, as you might see on my face,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13by the empty seats in our auditorium.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17And I'm looking at the same people I've been looking at since August.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18The same people.
0:45:24 > 0:45:281,200 students, and we had six parents attend.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32It made me sick to my stomach.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37We are asked, as educators, to not only teach their children,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39but we are asked to help raise their children.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44And so it's frustrating. It makes me angry.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Very few things make me angry.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48That's one thing that makes me angry.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51And I can't do it all.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19The best I can do for y'all today is to keep y'all from going to jail.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24I have to do four to six weeks' worth of work in two hours.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26If he fails that class, he doesn't graduate.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28- Correct.- Wow! - This our graduation, too.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32Y'all chose to make a dumb decision, so y'all need to make it right.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34I've never written a speech before.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37I want to write something inspirational.
0:46:37 > 0:46:38This is a picture of my mother.