The largely invisible and often crushing struggles of young African-American men come vividly—and heroically—to life in All the Difference, which traces the paths of two teens from the South Side of Chicago who dared to dream a seemingly impossible dream: to graduate from college. As this intimate film shows, Robert Henderson and Krishaun Branch’s determination started them on the road to success, but it was the support from people in their lives—parents, grandparents, teachers and mentors— that brought them to their destination.
Emmy®-winning producer/director Tod Lending’s film, inspired by Wes Moore’s bestselling autobiographical book, The Other Wes Moore, will have its national broadcast premiere on the POV (Point of View) documentary series on PBS on Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). Now in its 29th season, POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and the recipient of a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.
The story opens on a street corner in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. “We’ve got shots fired over here,” a first responder says over the police radio. Young men are cut down in the prime of their lives. Patricia Hurel, Krishaun’s former elementary school teacher, has heard kids in Englewood say, “If I make it until 18, I’m going to have myself a party.” But reaching 18 is only the beginning for Robert and Krishaun; they have plans to graduate from high school and go on to college.
They would be the first in their families to graduate from college. And though the odds are against them—the average high school graduation rate for black males in Chicago is 41%1—their motivations are quintessential expressions of the American dream. “I just want to make a positive contribution to the society I live in,” says Robert, while Krishaun hopes to become a U.S. Marshal and have “a gorgeous wife” and children.
Lending, whose earlier work includes the Academy Award®-nominated Legacy and the POV films Omar & Pete and The Principal Story, documents five years of hard work, sacrifice, setbacks and uncertainty in pursuit of a future many Americans consider a birthright. All the Difference is a co-production of American Documentary | POV and is part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities keep more students on the path to graduation, college and careers.
As All the Difference shows, both Robert and Krishaun faced huge obstacles growing up. Robert was just 17 months old when his mother was killed by his father. He and his six siblings were taken in and raised by their grandmother. Krishaun, like many of his family members, joined a gang.
But both also had a key asset: the Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, where mentors and teachers encouraged them not only to get through high school but to go beyond. And while family stability has not been constant, what remains plays a crucial role, especially for Robert. Grandmother Ona, who started life as a Mississippi sharecropper and never got past the fifth grade, offers calm but powerful guidance. She is assisted by their church, another bulwark against neighborhood violence.
Though Robert and Krishaun experience personal and academic struggles during their high school years, both graduate and set their sights on college diplomas. This puts them in an elite group. While the estimated national high school graduation rate for African-American men is 59%, only 16% graduate college with a bachelor’s degree or higher.2 Krishaun chooses historically black Fisk University in Nashville, while Robert decides on predominantly white Lake Forest College, about 30 miles north of Chicago.
They soon encounter typical college challenges—developing stronger study habits, getting used to living away from family and friends and eventually adjusting their goals to fit more closely with their evolving academic strengths—and challenges amplified for young men of color: cultural adjustments and the fear of having to drop out if they can’t pay their student loans. Robert, who sets aside his dream of becoming a doctor and switches to a history major, faces an additional obstacle—being one of the few black students in his classes. His white classmates, he says, “look at me like, ‘Oh what the heck are you doing here?’” But his infectiously upbeat nature, along with encouragement from a college adviser and a girlfriend, help him move forward.
Fisk University, in contrast, is “like a family” for Krishaun. It also provides numerous social distractions that don’t help his studies. From playing basketball to feeling the sting of rejection from a fraternity he hoped to join, “anything can get me off track real quick,” he says. Throughout their four-year college experiences, both face continuous pressure to maintain the necessary grade point average to qualify for financial aid.
Posted By: Tanisha Grant
Monday, September 12th 2016 at 5:16PM
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