‘I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak’


I AM SEAN BELL, black boys speak from Stacey Muhammad on Vimeo.

On Nov. 25, 2006, undercover NYPD officers fired at least 50 rounds of bullets into a car carrying three UNARMED men of African American and Latino descent, killing one, Sean Bell, and seriously wounding the others. Bell, age 23, was scheduled to be married on that fateful day.

Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trial on charges ranging from manslaughter to reckless endangerment. All were found not guilty.

The incident has sparked fierce criticism of the NYPD as the city faces yet another murder of an unarmed African American man at the hands of those expected to protect and serve.

“I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak” is a short form documentary from Wildseed Films that highlights the voices of young Black boys between the ages of 11 and 13 growing up in New York City. They speak openly and honestly about their reaction to the Sean Bell tragedy as well as their fears and hopes as they approach manhood in a city where the lives of young Black men are often cut short, too often and too soon.

Stacey Muhammad is an award winning independent filmmaker and activist committed to using the power of media to educate, enlighten and empower humanity. Her first film, “A Glimpse of Heaven: The Legacy of the Million Man March,” screened at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore in 2005 and received rave reviews.

Since that time, the New Orleans native has relocated to Brooklyn and begun the work of documenting and preserving Hip Hop culture through film and digital media. Her projects include several short form documentaries, including “I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak” as well as “Self Construction: Recording session in honor of a movement.”

Stacey is currently working with other artists, filmmakers and activists whose mission it is to document our history, preserve our culture and tell our own stories.