Netflix Movie: All Day and A Night (2020)

If ya’ll are looking for more ways to learn about racial injustice, one way is to learn and understand the story of the black experience.

Netflix Movie All Day and A Night released this year, is a film that captures the typical narrative and the series of events and traumatic experiences that the black individual goes through. This narrative is not new or much different from others in the black community, however, most people do not see this. Instead, people only see the aftermath, not the harsh conditions & degrading treatment, that black people (including people of color) have to endure and face growing up outside the community & even within their own homes. The film casts include Jeffrey Wright as James Daniel Lincoln “JD”, Regina Taylor as Tommetta, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Big Stunna. Every act and character brought to life the story that is often overlooked in seeking justice & understanding of the black community.

When an individual is faced with violence in their own home, especially since the early years of their childhood into their teen years, they are forced to resort to that as a way of a survival. Studies have shown that that criminal behavior is often a result of violence and abuse they experienced growing up. Furthermore, “Children exposed to violence are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol; suffer from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders; fail or have difficulty in school; and become delinquent and engage in criminal behavior” (Justice.gov). This is what we call the School to Prison Pipeline that is not discussed in classrooms as they would be, the media, or in daily interaction! This phenomenon occurs when a series of neglect, abuse, and violence occurs in the trajectory of a person of color’s life starting from school lead that individual to engage in criminal behavior & violence. A majority of these individuals tend to be disadvantaged kids, minorities, and people of color. When a person of color does not get the proper love, care, & assistance they need, crime becomes their outlet. And this ultimately affects how these groups of people are perceived and thus becoming the scapegoat of society. As someone who cares about our society & studied it throughout college, I found this horrendous & intolerable. I am glad times are changing, and now we are being presented moments of hope & change that our society needs for the survival of both current & future generations.

Anyhow, All Day and A Night helps to depict to the viewer the tendency of the school-to-prison pipeline that is crucial for us to gain a closer understanding of the black experience. I highly highly recommend ya’ll to give the film a go & also to dedicated a small time of your day of committing to your own research– just for the sake of justice & humanity.

much love x Lo