The Ames Public Library and Iowa State Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication hosted their second virtual discussion series called “Black Lives, Black Stories.”

Novotny Lawrence, associate professor at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication, facilitated the second film discussion. His research centers around African American cinematic and mediated experiences and pop culture.

Lawrence began the night with a lecture to start off the discussion, followed by a Q&A session for participants to ask questions.

The second film discussed was “For Ahkeem: Challenges Facing African American Teenagers.”

The main focus of Black Lives, Black Stories is to educate people and show people what has happened and what will continue to happen if there aren’t people willing to make a change.

“We recognize that we continue to struggle with things like police brutality, particularly in communities that are predominantly Black and of other people of color who live there also,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said police brutality has been a major issue for the Black community for many years.

Since the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, protests have taken place all over the country. 

“It is important that we keep in mind as we watch this film, we are talking about the experiences of a segment of Black youth in this country,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said this movie should not be seen as a representation for all Black youth and discussed the impacts of the Black Lives Matter movement and how it has been sweeping the nation since summer 2020.

“It’s not about us, hopefully we get to see it, but it’s about the people coming up behind us, not about us,” Lawrence said. “So you have to find the thing that works for you on behalf of those folks, recognizing that you may not get to see it.”

The third Black Lives, Black Stories film series discussion will be held 7 p.m. Dec. 7. Registration for the event is free and can be found on the Ames Public Library’s calendar.