Drugs 101

Drug 101 is a story of an African American family who tries to use the illicit drug trade to free themselves from poverty and provide a safe haven for their children. One night the foolishness of this approach comes crashing down on them and sends them into a self-destructive spiral that takes years to stop. The father, the son Chip and the baby all die on the same night. The mother begins her dependence on crack and alcohol. The remaining two sons, Jamal and Malcolm take two opposite roads...one becomes a drug dealer the other has the opportunity to take 'the road less traveled by' and use his academic gifts to escape, but he is torn. Jamal took the blame for his thoughtless act years ago and even after being imprisoned, reaches out to save him one more time. The daughter falls in love, gets pregnant and leaves the family. Both she and Malcolm try to free the mother from the ravages of her addiction. Ultimately, the story is one of redemption. The triumph of the human spirit, the saving of a family, the healing of a community, the freeing of a people are all embodied in this story. The seed money from the All Road Grant will help to produce the beginning flashback sequence of the feature film. It is a complete short story in and of itself. It has the potential of a powerful short film on the ravages of drugs to the family and community. That is the strength of this endowment; it will help to complete the feature while providing a short film that will stand on its own while also providing a promotional opportunity for the feature. All behavior has consequences and the consequences of drugs to the African American community plays out nightly on the news. We live in the best of times for our community in that we have the best role model, an African American President of the United States. Yet we still live in the worst of times for those of us who still live in poverty, in drug infested communities seemingly separate from the promise of America. The $10,000 endowment will allow Seven Lights Productions to shine a light on a path to promise, to success, to healing that is available to all of us if we pull together to encourage the next generation.