POV

Point of View: Watching Boys of Baraka

For Devon, Montrey, Richard and Romesh, two years abroad at the Baraka School represented a make-or-break dash to exit the cycle of poor education, incarceration and poverty. POV asked three education advocates to respond to the themes and characters in the documentary.

		Nancy Boyd-Franklin "Their year at the Baraka School is a life-changing one for all of the boys. They learn conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, the ability to believe in themselves, the value of cooperative teamwork, academic skills and the will to make a difference in their world. We see their transformation from scared, homesick boys to strong, Black young men." Read more »

		Bill Cosby "Everybody is indicted for not thinking and not doing and pretending that they don't know. This movie requires that people get up and save these children. That's the requirement. The children are telling you in this movie: 'We want to be saved.'" Read more and watch video »

		Alex Kotlowitz "'The Boys of Baraka' suggests to me that we can't rely solely on programs which take kids away from their families and their neighborhoods if we're unwilling to do anything to reinforce and rebuild those same families and neighborhoods." Read more »