The film opens with news footage of a police officer putting a Black student in a headlock at school and follows with a series of troubling statistics: Suicide rates for Black youth are rising. Federal test scores show Black students rank behind their classmates. And Black students receive harsher discipline than their peers for the same infractions. To shine a light on the challenges and offer solutions, Kmt Shockley, a professor at the University of Houston College of Education, directed and produced a documentary called “Cultural War: Focus on Black Youth.” The five-part series recently was released on the free streaming app Tubi as well as other paid platforms.

Mikel Cole