“It’s like poetry on TV,” says Oprah Winfrey of David Makes Man. The show’s principal writer, Tarell Alvin McCraney has to know he’s spun gold but is still taken by surprise. Executive produced by Michael B. Jordan and Oprah Winfrey, the show is about David, a 14-year-old black prodigy torn between two worlds. Played by Akili McDowell, David attends a prestigious magnet school while living in the “Ville,” a hood in South Florida. 

DMM takes viewers on a journey filled with moments of humanity, rawness, and the masks worn to navigate between two worlds. Historically, many students at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) can relate. HBCUs are so different from students’ home environment due to the educational programs, bands, events, celebrity visits and more. This change is especially true for Greek fraternity members, who must combine school with structure and community service. The journey to manhood can add yet another layer of growth. Read below to see how all this makes David Makes Man so relatable to HBCU fraternity members.

1DMM Captures That Need to Work Twice As Hard

David knows he must excel, but there aren’t many people in his community to show him how. Wearing his uniform, he takes a long bus ride to his magnet school across town.  He struggles at school to feel like he is good enough as a black boy. Secretly, he also deals with personal struggles at home. When his mixed best friend is doing better in class, David moves quickly to sabotage him. While he later sees the error in his ways, it highlights the length David is willing to go to be that example of a “good” black boy.

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