WASHINGTON — What About Me is a documentary that shines a light on how African-American men are portrayed in media.
The documentary was co-produced by Washington, D.C. resident, Taroue Books, and features several Black men who live in the D.C. region.
“What About Me stands for what ultimately I hate about just society, in general, trying to put people in their boxes,” Cirilo Manego, a D.C.-based activist, said in the film.
This documentary gives Black men a stage to tell their stories and share their experiences so others can hear firsthand how they think and feel.
“We are typically known as entertainers, athletes, or criminals,” Brooks told WUSA9. “While those are real line items. That's not all we are.”
“It was James Baldwin who said that to be a Black man in America is to live in a constant state of rage,” Terrance Woodbury, who owns a research firm in the District stated in the documentary. “To have expectations of you -- expectations of Black men, expectations of strength, of courage, of resilience but have representations that never showed that.”
Brooks explained there are psychological impacts that current portrayals have on African-American men.
Brooks asked, “How many times are you pulled over just because you're black? How many times have you walked on the elevator as a black man? You get on the elevator, there's a white woman, how often does she not grab her purse and pull it closer to her as though we want something from her?"
He said there is work people living in today’s society can begin doing in order to help Black men be seen through a more inclusive lens.
“We have to stop repeating some of the negativity,” Brooks explained. “I think that it’s important that we really begin to tell our stories and document. We have to combat these negative stereotypes.
Brooks added that while there are men within the community who are criminals and who perpetuate negative stereotypes, those individuals do not represent the full scope of who Black men are.
Some of the men featured in the film include actor Marcus Scribner of ABC’s “Black-ish,” actor Timon Kyle Durrett of OWN’s “Queen Sugar,” actor Roshon Fegan of OWN’s “Greenleaf,” attorney Todd Belcore of Social Change, and Civil Rights Attorney J. Wyndal Gordon, The Warrior Lawyer.
The other executive producers for the film include D. John Jackson and Darryl Pitts.
The documentary is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.