“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.
DMM 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.
DMM Explores the Experience of Black Boyhood
Although David must be strong for his single mother and young trouble-making brother, he is still just a kid himself. He is constantly thrown into new problems. Nevertheless, he must still make very defining choices. Does he stay on course at his magnet school, or hang out with the drug-dealing boys in his neighborhood? Should he imitate the white students at his school or stand out in his blackness? Like the lines of David is truly as resilient as INVICTUS reads… In the fell clutch of circumstance/I have not winced nor cried aloud./Under the bludgeonings of chance/My head is bloody, but unbowed.
DMM Shows the Power of Prophytes
We all have that person that made us want to do better, be better, and even join Greek life. For David, that first mentor is Sky, an encouraging man in the Ville. Sky gives sound advice because he has a unique view into David’s vulnerability. He pushes David not to give up, and also to focus on himself. There is also his principal. She sees promise in David and decides to give him another chance after a fight. Through small and large gestures, people surrounding David help reign him in and keep him on track.
DMM Highlights the Need For Community Service
Greek life is about lifting a hand to others, and ensuring your community does not slip through the cracks. For David, where he lives is a haven of people with needs. He and his brother are raised by a single mother, and the other young boys are heading toward a life of crime. The surrounding community around his Ville is full of disdain and racial tension. David Makes Man is powerful because it truly reflects young boys that are around us. These children desperately need the programs and initiatives kept alive by the D9. For many, they are one young decision away from life-changing consequences.
DMM Has Successfully Found a Way to Tell a Difficult Story
The show has been met with great reviews by critics and HBCU students. David Makes Man has even scored a rare 100% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. On Friday, September 13th, a special screening of the pilot episode was held at Howard University. Students enjoyed watching all the twists and turns that the show offers. Afterwards, a Q&A panel was held to discuss the show and the struggles of manhood. Actors and the show’s head writer Tarell Alvin McCraney were all there to lend an ear and their personal experiences. It’s important that we continue to support shows like David Makes Man to ensure that the black experience is a story that’s authentically told.
