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Jail or Yale
Young, Black and out of Options?
Documentary
This project focuses on examining the problem of structural racism in the educational system and its ramifications on black males as they progress through life.
Significant data reveals that Black students are being pushed into prison through our school systems, known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline:
40% of students expelled from U.S. schools each year are black
70% of students involved in “in-school” arrests or referred to law enforcement are Black or Latino
Black students are 3.5x more likely to be suspended than whites
Black and Latino students are 2x more likely to not graduate high school as whites
68% of all males in state and federal prison do not have a high school diploma. People of color make up 37% of the U.S. population but 67% of the prison population.
Their performance is inferior to every other comparable race and sex. “Many teachers begin to systemically look at Black males as troublemakers and as less intelligent than their peers, and this becomes the assumption rather than the exception. ”
Does the bias inflicted upon Black males affect them in such a manner that they begin to view themselves in an inferior way, thus compounding the issue at hand.
I believe the educational system has been consistently oppressive towards black boys for decades upon decades, and therefore the litmus test for an effective school system should be the success of black boys.
In my experience Black boys see no other option as they grow up, than to turn to side walk high, street culture and crime to survive. Once they fail academically and disengage in the school culture, they are pushed out of school and this affects them in all walks of life. Although this oppressiveness and educational bias towards black boys is not necessarily intentional, its effects still hurt black boys the same.
Jail or Yale is an expository documentary set to explore whether black boys are being trained and prepared to enter the prison system?
Is there any correlation between the bias inflicted upon Black males as they progress through the educational system, and their over representation in the criminal justice system?
This researched film aims to educate and explore through interviews, research, voiceovers and illustrative visuals.
Directed by Christopher Spence (USA)
