The new movie Dope stars Shameik Moore as a young brilliant Black Los Angeles high school student who gets entangled in a haphazard scheme to sell drugs. Playing on the stereotype of young Black men as “dope dealers,” the film illustrates a host of obstacles faced by Black youth when pursuing educational excellence and sometimes to survive. Is the film mere Hollywood hyperbole?
Truth is, it’s not.
In the United States, Black students encounter a series of educational detours that compromise academic success.