Mittwoch, 12. Oktober 2011

Discussion of the Documentary Shell Shocked: The New Orleans Youth Story

On October 3, we had an appointment with the director of the documentary Shell Shocked: The New Orleans Youth Story. We wanted to watch the documentary and discuss it with the director John Richie. The meeting was scheduled in the APEX Youth Center, a community center where predominantly African-American children and teenagers can spend their afternoons and evenings. Since our meeting was scheduled for 6pm many children were still present and watched parts of the documentary with us. In fact, many children are part of the documentary as it deals with the neighborhood of the Youth Center.
The documentary is based on the fact that New Orleans has one of the highest crime rates in the states and has the highest murder rate in the U.S. Because eighty percent of the murder victims in New Orleans are black males, among them many teenagers, the documentary intends to look at the current situation of African American children and teenagers in neighborhoods where the murder and crime rates are significantly high. Furthermore, director  John Richie wants to make politicians and the population of New Orleans more aware of the problem of murder. His intention is also to point to youth and community programs which have tried to improve the situation for African American children and teenagers.
Since the documentary is still in its making, we were only able to see two parts of it. The first part dealt with the reason of high murder rates. Richie talked with children and adults of the community to find out why so many African Americans have been murdered. One of the major reasons has been retaliation. If a member of a family or a gang is shot, this family or gang wants retaliation for the murder by trying to kill a member of the suspected family or gang. This is a circle that continues as retaliation does not stop. The documentary is striking as it points out that already young children are aware of the mechanics of retaliation and see it as a common "practice." The documentary also looks at the availability of guns. As in most parts of the United States, it is very easy to get access to guns in New Orleans. One boy interviewed in the documentary even points out that it is easier to get a gun than to get textbooks for schools as they would need to be ordered while one can get a gun in a shop very easily. The documentary is striking as it indicates that  many children and teenagers are fully aware of the shootings and the murder in their community. It implies that these children have taken the gang violence and shooting in their community as for granted and seem to see it as part of their everyday life.
Although the documentary was already impressive and at the same time sad for us, the discussion that followed was even more shocking to us. The Executive Director of the APEX Community Center Lisa Fitzpatrick and her staff introduced us to their youth center and answered a lot of our question concerning the situation of African American teenagers in poorer neighborhoods.  APEX Youth Center provides children and teenagers with an opportunity to spend their time after school away from the streets. The staff offers tutoring, help with homework, or lessons in music, dance and art. There is a variety of things the children can do after school. Most children stay until 7pm, older children are even allowed to stay until 10pm.
The discussion with Lisa revealed how difficult the situation for the children is. Many are raised by a single-parent, often even a grandparent. Many fathers are either in jail or have been killed as a result of a shooting.
The most shocking part for us was probably when Lisa Fitzpatrick involved the children in the discussion as well. She asked how many of the children present knew someone who was involved in gun violence. Almost the majority of the children raised their hand and some even confirmed that some of their family members have been shot and killed. It is also frequent that the children need to hide and protect themselves in order not to be shot on the street. This discussion left a deep impression on us as most of us as Europeans have never even seen a gun and have never been involved in any kind of gun violence. The discussion showed the devastating situation of African American children in poorer neighborhoods. It made us realize how much violence young children are encountered with on a daily basis. However, with the work of the APEX Center and its great and supportive staff there is hope that the next generation will use more words and fewer guns to resolve conflicts.
For more information on the documentary see http://www.crescentcityfilms.net/
Katharina

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