POV’s ‘American Promise’ Explores Race, Class and Opportunity, Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 During Black History Month

Seun Summers (Credit: Conrad Louis-Charles)

Groundbreaking Film Follows Two African-American Boys on a 13-Year Journey

American Promise spans 13 years as Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, N.Y., turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, who make their way through Dalton, one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys’ divergent paths from kindergarten through high school graduation, this provocative, intimate documentary presents complicated truths about America’s struggle to come of age on issues of race, class and opportunity.

American Promise, winner of a Special Jury Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, has its national broadcast premiere on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 at 10 p.m. on the award-winning POV (Point of View) documentary series on PBS. (Check local listings.) Watch the film on POV's website, www.pbs.org/pov/americanpromise, from Feb. 4- March 6, 2014. 

Coinciding with the documentary, Spiegel & Grau has published PROMISES KEPT: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life, by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson with Hilary Beard. Where American Promise raises provocative questions, Promises Kept delivers answers, combining insights Joe and Michèle derived from their own experiences with the latest research on closing the black male achievement gap.

American Promise is part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help communities identify and implement solutions to improve high school graduation rates. Public television stations around the country are planning events to engage their communities in dialogue around key issues and solutions raised in the film. Read more.

 

“All American families want to give their children the opportunity to succeed. But the truth is, opportunity is just the first step, particularly for families raising black boys. We hope American Promise shines a light on these issues, ” says Stephenson. Adds Brewster, “Our goal is to empower boys, their parents and educators to pursue educational opportunities, especially to help close the black male achievement gap.”

In addition to streaming the full film online, POV's interactive website, features an original video series about black male achievement, an excerpt from the book PROMISES KEPT, interviews with the filmmakers, graphics to share on social media and guides for bringing the film into the classroom and community.

American Promise is a co-production of Rada Film Group, ITVS and POV’s Diverse Voices Project (DVP). ITVS and DVP receive funding from CPB.