Hollywood Black Film Festival 2009

Before 1960, the Weequahic section of Newark, NJ, was largely an enclave of first-generation working-class Jewish families. During this era, Weequahic High School was one of the top public high schools in America. One of its more famous graduates is Philip Roth, who has made his career using the Weequahic environs as the backdrop to many of his novels. Life in Weequahic changed abruptly after the 1967 Newark Riots. The Jewish families moved out and were replaced by poor African Americans. For the next 30 years, a culture of discipline was replaced by a culture of crime as academic performance plummeted and the Bloods and Crips ruled campus and the streets. It was not until 2001 that Weequaic High School saw a glimmer of hope with the arrival of a new principal, Ron Stone, who vowed to return the school back to its former glory. Stone created an unconventional conflict resolution program in order to work with the school's gang members who the local police considered fated criminals. Stone, who watched students engage in a mass brawl upon his arrival to the school, was able to make a truce with the gangs and even establish the school as a “non-violence” zone. Principal Stone partners with the Jewish and African American alumni to raise funds for college scholarships and adopts familial relationships with students, inspiring gang members to leave the comfort of the streets and attend college, in this unusual tale where past meets present and adolescents strive to overcome adversity.