The upper school Black Leadership Awareness and Culture Club members attended a pre-screening at Fox Studios of “The Hate U Give” on Sept. 30. Movie director George Tillman and actor Lamar Johnson, who plays Seven Carter in the film, spoke after the screening.
“The Hate U Give” describes the life of 16 year-old Starr Carter, an African-American girl living in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood, who attends a predominantly white private school.
After watching her best friend get shot by police, Starr has to decide which part of her life she identifies with the most and whether or not she is going to speak up about what she saw. Attendees said they enjoyed the movie screening because of its message, in addition to the ability to discuss their opinions with other members of BLACC.
“I think it’s cool because it gives us a chance to support black-created movies which are really important especially in the world today,” Natalie Ayeni ’21 said. “It provides a really fun way to have a bonding experience for us to have fun and be together. It also helps spread awareness on the issue that the movie may be portraying, like ‘The Hate U Give,’ which is about police brutality, and it just gives us something to talk about. ”
The screening served as BLACC’s first event of the school year, with about 35 out of the invited 46 members in attendance. As of now, the screening is expected to be one of the biggest BLACC events of the year in terms of the number of students in attendance.
Members of BLACC, as well as students from Larchmont Charter School, attended the screening event.
“Honestly, I just want everyone to understand that the feelings depicted in the movie aren’t fake,” BLACC leader Nya Beckham ’19 said. “They are real, this is how we feel all the time in these scenarios and to just be compassionate enough to know that these things to happen to us, these things do happen to people who don’t live here and to us it is extremely important to be there for one another, to unite with one another, especially in the world that we live in today. I hope that everyone kind of understands that.”
The event was followed by a discussion with Tillman and Johnson about what it was like to work on the film and how the movie’s message pertains to the life of high school students in today’s world.
