by John Geraghty
Andre Robert Lee, film director of The Prep School Negro, visited the UNC Chuck Stone Program to offer a workshop encouraging students to embrace their diversity. Lee spoke about the challenges that minorities face when growing up and what it means to not be white in America.
“Have you ever felt invisible?” Lee said. “That’s what I call feeling like an “other,” something I faced throughout my childhood.”
Lee travels across the country offering workshops to college and high school students. He encourages them to pursue their dreams and to overcome the adversity in their life. Lee wants students to appreciate their family and themselves.
Lee said he understands what it means to overcome limited opportunities because he was in one of the poorer sections of Philadelphia. When he was a child, his family knew he was different – he desired success. Fortunately, he was offered a full scholarship to Germantown Friends School (GFS), one of the finest prep schools in the nation.
At GFS, a predominately white school, he learned the racial differences between being black and white. He realized that black students like himself had to earn the respect of others, while white students were privileged. He did not learn until later in life how much his experiences at GFS impacted him.
“I am blessed to have gone to GFS,” Lee said. “However, I would still be standing here today strongly whether I had the foundation from GFS or not.”
Ultimately, PSN was a concept Lee created when he was in ninth grade. He knew he eventually wanted to publish a project called PSN and share his experiences as a black student in a white school.
PSN finally came to life when Lee graduated from Connecticut College. Even though the idea was created when he was in prep school, the project did not begin until much later.
“It took three years to raise funds, then production took about 24 months,” Lee said. “I’ve been doing educational workshops with the film since the fall of 2009, but the final extended version has not yet been released.”
After watching the documentary, I can only imagine what the extended version must be like. PSN was both moving and inspiring. Not only did the film encourage young black students to embrace their differences, but it taught all people to embrace who they are.
I may not be a prep school Negro, but I can relate to Lee’s project. I have felt like an “other” many times in my life. It’s not the easiest being an aspiring singer in one of the nation’s highest ranked high school sports program. Prior to seeing the film, I never considered being white in America a privilege or realized the challenges so many people face everyday. No one should ever have to be subjected to inequality or racism; we should be respected as equals.
“This film saved my life in lots of ways,” Lee said. “I reconnected with my father. I never imagined that could happen.”
Ultimately, Lee’s goal is that the film will also touch the lives of students who face the same challenges that he did during his years at school.
For more information visit: http://www.theprepschoolnegro.org