Night School (2016) - full transcript

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[electronic warbling]

[funky music]

[water trickling]

Whoa, what are you doin'?

Ooh, that's nasty.

[Greg]

It's nasty? [laughing]

My daughter is somethin' else.

She's a mess.

[slurping]

[Khloe] Stop.



I didn't pray.

[Greg] Yeah, you did,

we did pray.

I didn't.

[Greg] Yes, you did.

No, I didn't.

Oh, I'm pretty!

[woman speaks indistinctly]

She conceited.

- Her daddy was conceited at
- one point in time in his life.

[Khloe] Daddy, I'm pretty.

- That was back
- when I had all the good looks.

[car engines humming]

[slow, gentle music]



"A" through "J."

[speaking indistinctly]

- Right here. This line
- to have your voucher taken.

Mr. Lee told me

to grab a code.

[photographer]

One, two, three.

Okay, thanks.

[woman]

What obstacles and variables

did you face getting here?

- -[Greg] Getting here?
- -Or, like, why--

Like, you know, what kept you

from getting

your high school diploma?

[Greg] Back then, I dropped

outta high school just to, uh...

just-- just--

just to hang out, sell drugs.

I know if I go get a job,

you know, my criminal record,

you know what I'm sayin'.

That's already

one strike against me.

You know what I mean?

You already feelin' like,

'cause I'm--

I'm a black young male,

- you feel like that's
- the second strike against you,

you know what I'm sayin',

- then the third strike is
- you don't have any education.

- -Right.
- -You know what I'm sayin'?

- So it's
- like nine times out of ten,

if I apply for a job, it's gonna

be a job not payin' nothin'.

I don't want a job,

I need a career.

I'm too old

to be just working a job.

[Brent] All right, welcome.

[woman] Welcome!

- [Brent]
- How are you guys doin' today?

[crowd murmuring]

You guys have

a special opportunity

that across the country

people don't have:

to return to high school

as an adult

and pursue your education.

So it may have been

a job application

when you needed certain skills,

it may have been

about your children,

proving to them

that you can earn this.

The biggest question

I'm gonna ask of you is,

why are you here?

[Khloe and Greg]

♪ Leave me there alone ♪

♪ To gaze upon your glory ♪

♪ To sing to you this song ♪

-[clapping]

-Good job, baby.

That's a little, uh...

taste of, uh, my little star.

♪ This girl is on fire ♪

Comin' soon to the world.

Y'all gotta watch out for her.

♪ This girl is on fire ♪

[giggling]

- When the judge granted me
- sole custody,

I cried.

I remember my cousin sayin',

"G-Money, man, what you

cryin' for, man?"

I said, "Cuz, 'cause

what am I gonna do

with a whole newborn baby?"

you know what I mean?

[Khloe laughing]

I see you don't wanna

hold my hand today.

[woman on TV] We'll have

more Colts coverage coming up.

Mike Berman will have

more from the Patriots

live from Foxborough.

[Greg]

Being a single father,

I struggle

with it on a daily basis.

I'm just, like, stressed out

with the way my life is being,

- but I'm just lookin' at her,
- lookin' at her,

lookin' at her, lookin' at her.

I gotta get my shit together,

you know what I mean,

but how am I gonna do that?

- [teacher] When I say what
- genotype you have,

I'm talking about what

allele did you get from Mom

and what allele did

you get from dad.

In this case...

My name is Melissa Lewis,

and I'm 53 years old.

I've been outta high school

for 37 years.

[interviewer]

Does it feel like 37 years?

Yes,

it feel like 37 years.

[Melissa]

I come in here,

take my little--

get my little dinner goin'.

I was gonna have me

some fish and spaghetti.

I won't have any more chances

to get this high school diploma.

I'm gettin' old.

If I know what I know back then,

I woulda never quit.

I didn't get

to have a child life.

I was a adult very young.

I had that first one

when I was 14 years old.

That's why I dropped

outta school.

When I go out to go to school,

that helps me, you know,

to get out this house.

Come to class on time

Monday and Tuesday.

I would go visit

him real quick first,

and just see if he has

a moment today.

[Megan] Melissa came in

about a year ago.

She's taken Algebra five times.

I jumped onto them.

It was like four of 'em.

- It's something that she set
- out to do a long time ago,

and a chapter she

wants to close.

I think it's just something

she wants to prove to herself.

[soft electronic music]

[Randall] To my knowledge,

we were one

of the first schools ever

to really offer a high school

diploma to adult students

versus a GED.

[Brent] For so long, when folks

only had GED as their option,

there was a ceiling.

A GED is only slightly

better than a dropout

in terms of long-term earnings.

- [Gloria] Every student comes
- in at a different level.

- We look at what credits
- they still need.

Right.

[Gloria]

In order to graduate,

- a student does need
- to obtain 40 credits,

and they need

to pass their ECA.

The ECA is

an end-of-course assessment

that is necessary

from the State of Indiana

for a student to graduate.

[Bryan] This is one of the

rougher areas of Indianapolis.

The point in coming here

is to get your diploma,

get a certification

to go to work,

break that cycle of poverty.

It's gonna be

a lot harder for them

- because they have the
- expectation it's gonna be quick

and easy here. It's not.

And then we have the cholesterol

molecules in between here.

They look like four fused rings.

So here's your phospholipids,

and they're forming a bilayer.

Then you have your

transmembrane protein,

so this allows materials

into and out of the cell.

My name is Shynika Jakes,

and I am 26 years old.

I've been outta school

for seven years.

- I wanna be a nurse,
- and nobody's gonna accept me

- in their program
- without a high school diploma.

[man] Number six, and can

I get a Mountain Dew with it.

When I applied for the job,

I made sure it fit

around my school schedule.

Like, I--

That was my main thing.

Like, I told 'em I needed

to have one set schedule.

My boss was like,

"Oh, well, your job's

not important to you?"

- I'm like, "Yeah
- my job's important to me,

but my school

is more important."

Maybe I'm pushing

myself too hard,

but it's just like,

Hurry the fuck up,

because if you don't,

you gonna keep goin'

through the same stuff

over and over and over again.

- [tutor] So you're just gonna
- multiply by two, that's five.

So now...

- [Shynika]
- School does give me hope,

'cause I feel like

I'm getting somewhere.

[bluesy piano music]

[students and staff

[speaking simultaneously]

[teacher] I might include it

as part of the story,

'cause it was first...

[conversing indistinctly]

Soon. I was gonna

forget about that one.

- [man]
- All right, number two says...

[tutor] It's subtraction,

so you just wanna

keep the denominator the same.

Here, walk me through.

What did you do first?

[woman] Okay, I did

Y equals negative 2/5X

minus six, then you

rewrite it, you flip it.

You do X equals negative 2/5Y.

[Greg] Goin' back to school,

been a minute, you know,

so that's why I know

I'm a little rusty.

7X plus 16.

This-- This--

Oh, my God.

[students conversing]

[Greg]

When I was in high school,

school was not a priority.

There was endless possibilities

of how much money that

I could make in the streets.

[teacher] That would be

the Lewis structure for this.

The Lewis structure only shows--

[Greg] School was

like the long route,

and I wanted money now.

- [man] He was one of our number
- one big cousins, you feel me?

- [Rick] Yeah, number one,
- you know what I mean,

he was number one.

Out of cousins,

he was the number one.

- [Rick] All through school,
- he had A's and B's,

and he had honor rolls,

- and he was goin',
- he was goin', he was there.

- He quit and only had to get,
- how many credits?

- [Greg]
- I quit my junior year.

- My brothers looked up to me,
- looked--

- I mean, for real,
- you know what I mean?

I'm talkin' about,

they follow me.

- You know what I mean, they
- follow me out into the streets.

- [Rick] In fourth grade,
- my teacher asked me

what I wanted to be,

and I told her I wanted

to be a drug dealer.

Literally, told her.

I appreciate what Greg doin',

- gettin' everything together,
- goin' to school,

but I have made

my success without it.

Literally, without it.

My daddy didn't think

he was gonna do it, either.

- He told me, "Greg ain't
- goin' through with that."

- He said, "He ain't never
- went through with nothin'.

He always go all the way

to the end and quit."

[overlapping conversations]

There's mud and water down

there, boo, you hear me?

It's mud and water down there,

and you'll sink into it,

straight up.

Bein' a father is challenging.

They need, you know

what I'm sayin', daily.

[Khloe] Don't push hard.

Don't push hard?

[Khloe]

Wow, this is fast.

That's it, that's the best

y'all are gonna get.

[Judy] She needs

to see her daddy more.

For real, he's never here.

And when he's here,

he's sleeping.

I think she needs

some of his time off.

[hip-hop music playing

[in background]

Nah, I've been goin' to school,

niggah, with hangovers,

but still I'm in there,

on everything,

makin' it happen.

Shit.

Whassup with you, brah?

[men laughing and conversing]

[teacher] No one has ever

heard the word omniscient?

[woman] No.

[woman 2]

To whom is it referred?

One of the things

we discussed was attendance.

You still came in tardy.

Why were you late?

Uh, yesterday?

Yesterday, uh,

I really didn't have any excuse.

- I mean,
- 'cause it was cold outside.

- Bottom line,
- I know it's real life.

I'm Jamaican.

I'm Jamaican, I'm the one

who should be complaining,

so those excuses

just won't cut it for me.

[Bryan] We are going

through the purge process.

We're gonna lose another

like, probably 30, 40.

[woman] Yeah, we are.

If we worked our butt off,

and we've taken

every single measure

to make sure

that they're successful,

if we've done all of that

and the productivity

still is low,

then, okay, so be it, but we've

done what we needed to do.

[woman 2] I send out

the list that we have now,

- ask for teachers
- to, like, highlight students

that they want taken off.

[Gloria] We can't want

somebody to graduate

more than they want

to graduate for themselves,

so during that purging process

- it kind of gets
- those individuals

who really aren't

ready to be here, out.

- He was doing word problems
- today and that's

your biggest problem....

[Randall] They come in

with good intentions,

but their intentions are

just that, they're intentions.

There's not full commitment

to the action.

You know you supposed

to be in class.

You don't wanna be in class.

We help put you

back in the class,

and we help rearrange

the schedule because you work,

and you know I've helped you.

You know that.

- But I'm out here
- wastin' my time,

so you do what you need to do.

You make the choice.

You decide to be a man,

- because you the one
- that has to be the man, not me.

I'm already a man.

I handle what I need to handle,

but I'm tryin' to help you,

and you won't let

nobody help you

- because you keep runnin'
- from what you need to know.

Stop runnin', man.

Stop runnin' away.

I'm not,

'cause it's like thug life.

All in 100.

[soft music]

I make sure

the clothes are straightened

and picked up off the floor,

- and that's
- what I do basically all day

until it's time to clock out.

These are cute.

Every day I come to work,

believe me.

I'm lookin' for somethin'

for my house or my grandkids.

[laughing]

It was somethin' to do.

Okay, goin' back on in.

Growin' up, in school,

I was thinkin', like,

I felt myself,

it's right there in the back

of my head all the time.

I wonder if I never had my son,

if I woulda

ever finished school.

[Melissa]

I'm scared to look at mine.

[woman] Can we take

our makeup for it today?

[Melissa] Aah!

- [woman] Can we take a makeup
- on the exam?

[teacher] Uh, no,

I haven't made it up yet.

[Melissa]

It's gettin' harder.

As the time go longer,

it's gettin' harder.

I'm feelin' it.

Algebra, and that's it.

That's all I got left to do.

That be

the only class I have left.

[coin clanking]

After I get through washing,

I know I'm gonna go back

to this boring old house,

clean it up.

[soft piano music]

[TV playing]

If I could turn back 20 years,

I'd graduate from school now,

- I'd have me a nice crib,
- a nice car,

and probably be

married and be happy.

I can't turn that time back now.

I'm sad when I'm alone.

I don't have nothin'

here with me.

I do everything alone,

and I hates that,

see what I'm sayin'?

So, I gotta long way to go

before I can get outta that one.

[students conversing]

[teacher] So I have

six X and negative 18 X.

If you put a negative five

in front of that Y,

you tell me, is that right?

[students] No.

- [teacher] No, it's wrong,
- the whole things wrong.

Okay.

- [Shynika]
- I really enjoyed middle school.

I had my head on straight,

- and I was
- an honor roll student.

And I went

to Arlington High School.

Arlington,

it was just, like, haywire.

Everybody was everywhere.

The teachers, they didn't care.

I started gettin'

into a group of people

that I shouldn't

have been around.

- [teacher] You want
- to put your Xs first.

Then after that,

I just stopped goin'.

The last step

is to take your X and your Y

and puttin' it as a point,

as a coordinate.

Zero, bring down that six.

[Shynika] And that would be...

My mind is still

at work and not on, oh.

- [tutor] Yeah, I understand,
- I'm just like that.

Okay, so three times,

what times three

gets you six, right?

[Shynika]

I am currently homeless.

I don't have anywhere to live.

A couple of nights,

I've been sleepin' in my car.

I have friends

that let me stay with them,

but it's just like,

how long is it gonna be

before this person puts me out?

It probably smells

like a lot of bleach in here,

like mop water.

I've been workin' for this

for, like,

two years now,

- and I still
- haven't gotten it together,

and I feel like, I'm never

gonna get it together.

I see the light,

like, it's flashin',

- and I see the other people
- that have made it.

I see 'em at the end wavin'

at me, like, "Come on."

It's just like the tunnel

is just gettin' longer.

[siren wailing]

[somber piano music]

- [Greg] They-- They said
- he's in critical condition.

You know what I mean,

that's all I know.

- I had just got
- off the phone with him,

and then James called me,

- talkin' about Chuck
- just shot Rick.

I'm like, "What the fuck?"

Yeah.

- And you gonna take me
- out here, man?

'Cause I don't know

if my brother gonna

make it or not, man.

Damn, man.

I just got

off the phone with him,

just got off the phone with him,

just got off the phone.

He said he was gonna

call me back and see wassup.

Phew. Jesus.

- In this situation, we're
- not allowing any more visitors,

- so you guys
- are gonna have to--

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God!

[somber piano music]

[music continuing]

[yawning]

Shit.

[man] Up in the top right,

you'll go to "log in."

There'll be a green hand there.

On the left side of the screen,

there should be

"online testing log on."

[Greg] I'm fucked up

about my brother bein' shot.

I left the streets alone

- to walk away
- from that type of a life.

Every time I think about it,

- it's just fuckin' me up
- even more,

- you know what I'm sayin'?
- It's like I calm down,

- then I get all,
- you know what I'm sayin',

all over again, you feel me?

I mean, just to think

about it like, damn.

- Like, if I hadn't enrolled
- in school,

- I probably woulda been
- with Rick,

- and Chuck
- probably woulda shot me, too.

He know how I feel about Rick.

He know I'm comin', bottom line.

He know that.

I don't know, man.

It's like,

you know what I mean,

- I wanna fuck Chuck up right now,
- you feel me?

[teacher] Still label it

like it's supp--

like it actually is.

You know it's three.

[phone line ringing]

Who is this?

This Shynika.

I know this is Arby's.

I'm tryin' to--

Is Tony in?

I was seein' if Tony could

get somebody to just

take half of my shift

- for right now until I get done--
- till I get done,

Because, like, the test,

I can't rush it.

I gotta take my time.

It's like...

Okay, all right.

Thank you. Bye.

If I had a whole pack

of cigarettes right now,

I'd probably smoke

the whole pack.

I just hope I passed.

[turn signal clicking]

- -[man] Do you work here?
- -[Shynika] Yes.

- I'm with the, uh...
- the Fight for 15 Campaign.

Have you heard about it?

- -No.
- -Okay, cool.

What we are is fast food workers

that are organizing

across the country

- for better wages
- and working conditions.

Okay.

And what we do

is we go on strike,

like, day-long actions,

to try to force our employers

to pay us better wages.

Uh, I really

gotta go into work.

Okay, okay, that's cool.

I've got a little informational

pamphlet there for you.

Give me a call.

Here you are, sir.

- Here's your large fries.
- Enjoy your evening.

-[man] You, too.

-Mm-hmm.

- [teacher]
- If Jack receives his paycheck,

at the end of the week,

how many bikes did Jack sell?

You're always going

to start with this equation,

and hearing it

over and over again every day,

you should start thinkin',

"Oh, my gosh, I understand."

That's pi, period.

-That right there is pi.

-What you do with it?

[Melissa] I talk

to Corinne all the time.

She keeps me goin',

and I keeps her goin'.

We both the same age,

and we helps each other

get through it.

I'm startin' to get outta

that shell and get out.

- [Corinne] That math is
- the only thing holdin' me back.

[Melissa] Me, too.

I'm with you.

That math.

Whoo, this is so awesome.

Look at you, got food

goin' down your shirt.

I always feed my clothes.

[both laughing]

Hello?

If I got enough time,

I'll come over.

Elderly lady

that lives down the street,

and when she gets

lonely she'll call me,

- and I'll go down there and sit
- with her for a couple hours.

She needs somebody.

She's lonely.

- [Corinne] Lonely, lonely,
- she's just lonely.

[Melissa]

I know that's right.

[soft music]

- [man]
- How you doin', ma'am?

[Melissa] Ah.

Waitin' on the bus?

[man] Yeah.

- [Melissa] It's about
- to come in ten minutes.

- [man]
- Oh, you kiddin' me?

[Melissa] Yeah.

[man]

You wanna sit down?

Go ahead.

[Melissa] Okay.

[Melissa]

You know the bus been runnin'

on Saturday today, ain't it?

[man]

Today's not Saturday.

[Melissa] It runnin'

on Saturday's schedule.

They said that

on the news this mornin',

all buses are runnin'

on Saturday's schedule,

for the holiday.

Hi.

Fine.

[laughing]

[man speaking indistinctly]

-You cold.

-You are, too.

Right on,

nice meetin' you, okay.

-What's your name?

-Melissa.

Melissa? I'm Rick.

[Melissa]

I'm giving you my number.

I'll call you and tell

you what's goin' on.

[somber piano music]

- [Rick]
- Greg, I'm talkin' about, boy,

ribs and your hip

is the worst thing

you can ever get

broke on your body.

Can't breathe.

When he shot me,

the only thing I was sayin' was,

"Lord, I'm-a kill this niggah."

The only thing I kept sayin'

was, "I'm-a kill this niggah,

I'm-a kill this niggah."

As I'm turnin' to the side,

he hit me right here,

so I hurry up

and turn like that.

As I'm turnin' like that,

he hit me again right here.

-Boom, so I'm like, "Ahh!"

-What the fuck, man?"

I mean, that shit be just, man--

Every time I just think about

it, man, I just, it's just--

Man, look, this shit

is really fuckin' me up, man.

Look.

Sit down, man.

[Rick speaking indistinctly]

No, I'm sayin' sit down.

I don't want him dead.

'Cause then

I'd be just like him.

That's what's wrong

with the world now.

You are your own man,

and most people

resume they

own responsibilities.

Do you know what made you

a man in the beginning?

Did you just say you was a man,

or do you know

what makes you a man?

[child] Daddy!

Where you goin'?

[soft music]

[laughter]

[teacher] Find your slope

and then your new formula.

Remember doin' that?

That was a hard problem.

94 plus 89...

- [Shynika] I just feel
- like my life is overwhelming,

because I don't have control.

My mind's there,

but it's just like

my feet

aren't takin' me there.

- [Bryan] You're working
- during school,

you know,

like, it's killin' you

and I can just see it.

- [Shynika] If I don't hurry up
- and get done,

I feel like I'm just

gonna be, like, a nobody,

just stuck out here.

I mean, right now, I'm

only workin' minimum wages,

and that's not even literally

payin' the bills at all.

It's, like...

It's a lot, it's a lot.

[sniffles]

And I told myself

by the time I was 26,

I was gonna have

my life together.

Here I am 26, still tryin'

to get my life together.

[soft piano music]

- [automated voice] When
- you are finished recording,

you may hang up or press

one for more options.

[beeps]

Hello, my name is Shynika,

and I was callin' you

concerning the Fight for 15

to get more information.

If you can, give me a call back.

I need more information,

just to see

what all I'm gettin' myself

into, that's all.

That's all,

that's it, that's all.

I'm about to go to class.

- I'm glad I know you're
- my cousin now, boy,

that's crazy.

- -Now you gotta do right.
- -Yeah.

You feel me?

You gotta do right, man,

on everything.

So what would your factors be?

And the major...

- [Greg] Ms. Kerne,
- I got a question for you.

I just wanna make sure

my steps is correct.

Oh, right on.

Did you do your homework?

Yeah.

-Did you really?

-Yeah.

- So now what I need
- to do is factor this out?

[Ms. Kerne] Mm-hmm.

Okay, so I know that's a 1X.

So it'd be, uh, 1,000...

[Randall] Four weeks ago,

you were talkin' about

how you really didn't care

about what other people thought

in some respect.

So what-- Why did that change?

Every man comes

to a point in their life

when they have to take

a stand by theirself.

I got to thinkin'

about my daughter,

- and thinkin'
- about my life and like,

"Oh, my God, you know,

I have to do this."

If I go back, this is

what I'm goin' back to.

Quittin'

is not an option for me.

One of my number one priorities

right now

is gettin' a job.

'Cause my daughter,

she's growing

out of all of her clothes

and shoes and things,

and I gotta,

I have to make somethin' happen.

- [Greg]
- Good morning, ma'am.

- [woman] Are you
- here for an interview?

-[Greg] Yes ma'am.

-[woman] Okay.

[man] At this site, we provide

work skills, work opportunities,

at that point, training.

- [woman] You ran
- a background check, correct?

[Greg] Yes, ma'am.

Okay, so, um, if something

was on that background

then we would obviously want you

- to come forward with us
- and talk to us about that.

Do you have any concerns

there that you would have?

- [Greg]
- No, I don't have any concerns.

Okay.

I'm here to be a good asset

to the company

and show y'all what I'm made of.

[conversation inaudible]

What up, Kimmy?

[Kimmy] Hi, how are ya?

I'm doin' good.

Hi.

Rick?

[slow R&B song begins]

This is Melissa.

Okay, then, that's fine.

All right, bye.

[laughing]

You know what? Ms. D--

Not Ms. Deon,

but Ms. Runtey

gave me this in class today,

and then she gone

and put on here

Melissa "Date Night" Lewis.

♪ All along I've loved you ♪

♪ Loved you so ♪

Oh, watch out!

♪ Every day ♪

[laughing]

Did you see that shit?

That's the worst

it's gonna get, ain't it?

Dropped the damn ball

before it gets to the pins.

[laughing]

♪ Whoa yeah ♪

[Melissa]

That's embarrassing.

You didn't look at the pins.

- In other words,
- you just threw the ball.

[song continuing]

[pins clattering]

[Greg]

The job that I applied for,

they told me that

they couldn't hire me

because of my criminal history.

Even though

it's been so long ago,

- it's still interfering
- with what it is

that I'm tryin' to do.

I was hurt, shitty, and pissed

the fuck off, you feel me?

Yeah, and then I jumped

my little shitty ass on the bus

and, you know what I'm sayin',

came up back to the crib.

- Y'all say y'all want
- motherfuckers out the streets.

Like, how the fuck

am I supposed to get a job?

Bottom line, I have to step

out on and take the first step.

Excuse me, sir, you wouldn't

happen to have the number

to the people

for the expungement thing?

-All right.

-There you go.

They call it Project Grace.

It's the Neighborhood

Christian Legal Clinic.

[Greg] They sayin' here

that I need to get a copy

of my official criminal history

at the City/County Building.

Daddy, where are we going?

[Greg] We goin' to go, uh,

get my records expunged.

[squealing]

I have to do it, baby,

so I can, you know,

get a stable

and reliable career.

This is the police, Dad.

Dad, you know

this is the police, Dad.

The police, you know.

Look, be quiet.

[bell dinging]

Come here, come here.

Don't press nothin'.

Was that right here at first?

Huh?

Here's mine.

- What am I supposed
- to do with it?

Get yours, too?

You don't have one. [laughing]

What you mean? You too--

You too young to have one.

Possession of marijuana,

operatin' a vehicle

without ever receivin'

a license. That was 2006.

Let me see, the theft,

receivin' stolen property.

That was 2002.

With me, it was

just bullshittin' around,

you know what I'm sayin'?

- Because I--
- As an immature individual,

you know what I'm sayin'?

- Like, I didn't have
- nothin' else better to do.

[soft music]

- [teacher] When we're
- lookin' at third person,

we are looking specifically

at the thoughts

and feelings of characters,

or the actions of the characters

or their dialogue.

This is her ECA prep class.

- This is the one that
- all the students talk about.

[Greg] I got

a bottomless pit in my stomach,

just a fear.

I have to pass this test.

[Shynika]

ECA is very hard.

I was just, like,

so ready for it to be over

so I can be out there

and get a real job

and get a real pay.

[Melissa] I wanna say that

I did somethin' with myself,

with my life.

I'm almost there.

- [Shynika] My boss, like,
- literally leaves, like...

I don't know if

I can say it,

but he's not a ass,

but he is a ass.

[speech drowned out by laughing]

When I'm sick he's like,

"Oh, we don't care,

we need you here."

- [woman]
- Yep, I hear it every day.

So it's like,

it's either you're here,

or I'm gonna replace you,

basically.

[man] We're all entitled

as working people

to a decent job,

to a decent life.

So the way that we

organize the campaign

is by doing, like,

these day-long work stoppages.

We wanna demonstrate, like,

our power on the job.

We had our banner,

our flyers and stuff,

-um, and we sat

in the middle of the street.

-Yeah.

You know, we was out there

for, what, a hour?

We go out there with a message.

Just a little

bit on the fence,

- but not all
- the way on the fence.

Like, I'm half and half.

I'm halfway off,

and I'm halfway on.

I am worried

about getting fired, I am.

[man] But, again,

use this Friday as practice.

Be sure you're

taking good notes.

I saw you guys highlighting,

underlining,

and all that, that's great.

- [Greg]
- So I've been stayin' in school

every day until, like, 8:30.

Comin' in on Fridays and

Saturdays, knockin' it out.

So Khloe's gonna

let you study tonight?

Khloe don't have a choice.

Okay, all right.

Daddy, can I go on a walk?

Daddy--

Khloe, all right, chill out.

-Look, look, look.

-Okay, look.

Girl, come here.

Let's go see what they got

down here in your size.

Daddy, I gotta go pee.

Oh, my God.

- Okay, can you hold it
- for me real quick?

- -Come on.
- -[Khloe] No.

I can't hold it.

You can't hold it?

[Greg]

Khloe, hurry up, baby.

Man.

Let's go.

That one girl said

you should...

Okay, okay, okay, okay,

okay, come on, come on,

come on, come on,

let's go out of here

- and do what we came to do and
- get on up outta here, all right?

[Khloe] That one girl

said that I'm pretty.

[Greg] Yeah, okay,

let me see your hand.

- [Khloe] And they like my hair,
- and I said, "Thank you."

[Greg] Ah, yeah?

[Carlton] Mr. Henson?

Yes, sir.

- [Carlton]
- So I know that you're serious

about trying to get it together.

With that said,

I have to tell you

-the situation as I see it...

-Right.

and give you

the truth of the matter

in terms of the expungement

and where you stand.

The number one thing that I saw

that we're gonna have to--

that you're gonna have to face

is that there appears

to be a pending charge,

basically a warrant,

so if you get pulled over,

- they have a writ
- of attachment basically

- where they can take you
- and arrest you.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Boy, boy, boy.

Situation right here

has to be resolved,

- because basically this counts
- as a pending charge

so I can't--

I can't file anything--

-[Greg] Do anything

until I get this handled.

-Until it's concluded.

Well, I gotta go down here,

turn myself in.

Warrant is for drivin'

on a suspended license.

I got pulled over,

and the officer said

the probable-- his probable

cause for pullin' me over

was because the, uh...

the license plate cover

was too dark.

They sellin' these in Auto Zone,

you know what I'm sayin'?

- But yet, y'all can pull
- people over for that,

you know what I mean?

give people tickets

and citations.

I mean, you know

what I'm sayin'?

That's just like,

it's a bunch of bullshit, man.

[Greg]

What's up with you?

Well, shit, I'm down here,

- but, uh, I went to the court,
- and they told me

that I gotta go on ahead and

turn myself into the jail.

- Yeah, I'm about to go ahead
- and get it over with.

You know what I'm sayin'?

- The shit's pending anyway,
- you feel me?

- That's how I gotta study, too.
- I'm visual.

Yeah.

[Megan] Melissa definitely

is frustrated.

She just really struggles

with memorizing formulas,

- and testing seems
- to be a big issue for her.

She has

a lot of testing anxiety.

- [teacher] So you want to make
- the best possible grade

on this test,

because you've got to have

that average at the end.

If you bomb this test,

I can almost guarantee you

you're not gonna

make it to move up.

[man in movie]

The real Nexar

stolen from my servers,

stolen from me!

What's more?

You sold out my code of honor.

3 million euros.

- [Melissa]
- It's been, like, three years

since I had a boyfriend,

you know?

[laughing]

- [Corinne] Baby,
- let me tell you somethin'.

-I went eight years without one.

-Okay.

You wasn't missin' too much.

[laughing]

- -We in love. He in love
- -He in love?

[laughing]

You in love?

- -A little bit.
- -A little bit?

- -Okay.
- -Just a little bit.

- There ain't nothin' wrong
- with it.

I'm keepin' it hid, though.

Rick, I'm-a leave two

of these cigarettes for you.

[pan sizzling]

- [Melissa]
- All right, I'm outta here.

[Rick] I'll miss ya somethin'.

-Okay.

-Mwah.

-Bye, baby.

-[laughing]

Here, wanna kiss?

I wouldn't give ya

none last night.

There you go. [laughing]

- [whispering]
- Guess what you got on your quiz?

-What?

-You made a 88.

Hallelujah, hallelujah!

Thank you, Jesus!

Thank you, Jesus!

I did it girl.

I know you could.

I knew you could.

She made an 88.

Very proud of her.

And I think that's

what she needs

is that metal boost

when she takes her exam

to know that she can do it.

- To go down on the point,
- I'm not gonna go across,

-I'm gonna go down.

-You goin' down.

[teacher] I wanna see how she

does on her final on Monday.

She's gotta make a 70.

I can't move her on

without a 70 in the grade book.

[soft music]

[deputy]

Well, there ya go, all right?

All right.

- Take care of yourself,
- stay out of trouble.

[phone dialing]

[line ringing]

[Carlton]

Thank you for contacting

- the Neighborhood
- Christian Legal Clinic.

- I'll do my best
- to return your call

-as soon as I can.

-[beeps]

Hey, what's goin' on, Carlton?

This is Gregory Henson.

Um, I've got

that matter resolved,

so I no longer have the warrant,

and they've issued out me

a new court date.

Have a blessed day.

[Khloe] ♪ You can't do it

What I can do ♪

[Greg] She need to be

in a musical or somethin'.

Straight up, that's all

she does, run around...

[humming,

[imitating Khloe singing]

[laughing]

- -I missed you.
- -[Khloe] Daddy.

I can't have no hug?

[conversing indistinctly]

- [teacher]
- Just like here, you wanted

to isolate your variable.

[female student] How?

- [Brent] I mean, I told him
- to just come up there.

- [female student]
- Good, do it that way.

I like that, thank you.

There you go.

- I need another parentheses right
- there, but that is correct.

[Shynika]

I'm on my way to Chicago

to the Fight for 15 meeting.

- They're currently
- trying to get me

to go on strike with them.

I'm really trying to, you know,

get the feel of it first.

I don't know what to expect,

so it's kinda like,

open freely.

- Whatever happens, just happens,
- right now at this point.

[conversing indistinctly]

Okay, good afternoon,

everybody, good afternoon.

We got somethin' big

on the agenda today.

Fast food workers

from all across the nation

will be having

our largest strike ever.

They gonna give us what we want.

- We ain't--
- We ain't beggin' for this here.

We takin' what we deserve.

[woman]

That's right.

I'd like to kinda open

the floor up for right now

and see why some

of you guys are goin' on strike.

- Be supportive for my son,
- so he won't have

- to, you know, struggle
- like I'm strugglin' now

to take care of him

and pay my bills.

- [man 2] I see people that's been
- workin' there for ten years,

12 years, you know, they

don't get no paid weekend off,

you know, they don't get

no help on their medical.

[man 3] I've been livin' in

poverty since basically two,

and to see us

struggling in this world

that is corrupted

by power, fame, and money,

and no one givin' us nothing,

we have to keep fighting,

because if we keep fighting,

we will get our voices heard

and we will be somebody.

Thank you.

[applause]

It is a crime to live

in this rich nation

and to receive starvation wages.

You can put

some golden arches on top of it,

but it's still

a plantation, ain't it?

When the vote is called,

if you agree

to come out and strike,

you hold that card up

high as you can get it.

Should we keep that pressure on?

[woman] Yes!

Should we keep on bangin' 'em

till they give in?

Those of you that wanna

go out on strike with us

on December 4th,

I want you to hold that card up

as high as you can.

Yeah, yeah!

So I think this thing unanimous.

-Yeah.

-[applause]

[Shynika]

I'm gonna fight.

It's somethin'

I'm proud to be a part of.

I probably won't get nervous

until we go to strike.

I have never did anything

like this before,

so it's like you never

know what it's gonna be.

Man, this shit's deep.

[Melissa] Look what our test is

gonna be on tomorrow.

This is what I gotta get on.

Just go through this and

just look at some of this shit.

I'm scared.

You ain't got to be scared.

You can do it.

You been doin' it.

I took Algebra One in school,

- and it was enough
- for me to graduate.

Took basic math--

- [Melissa] So you know
- a little bit of this, then.

Yeah, I do.

[Melissa]

Tell me how you do--

- But this is new,
- this is new, somethin'.

- [Melissa]
- Now all of a sudden, it's new.

No, some of this is new.

[Melissa]

I'm stuck like fuck, too,

but I gotta do it if

I wanna pass out this class.

[upbeat music]

[indistinct conversations]

- [teacher] Which one
- has a longer wavelength?

[Greg] Red light.

- Red light would have
- a longer wavelength,

'cause it's closer to this side.

- -Ohh!
- -So--

From vi-- From visible light--

[teacher] From gamma rays

all the way over to that side.

Okay.

- [Greg]
- Bottom line, my attendance

and my grades this term.

Okay.

- -Yes.
- -You feel me?

We'll see.

You have English 5,

and you have Geometry,

- which means you
- have to have the English 5

in order to take the ECA.

I'm-a get through here.

You feel me?

Yeah. Do I feel--

What does that mean exactly?

[Greg] Look, do you

understand what I'm sayin'?

- -Ya dig?
- -I think so.

[Melissa]

Today I get my schedule,

and I'm-a find out if I'm

gonna pass Algebra 1A or not.

So did you pass,

you passed your Algebra?

Yep, mm-hmm.

Yes!

Freedom!

[indistinct conversations]

[man]

Girl, you got a lotta classes.

- You got Biology
- third and fourth period,

and then you got Algebra 1

first and second period.

I'm tryin' to get

the hell outta this damn shit,

and they keep on puttin' me

back in the same shit.

[somber music]

- [Megan]
- I know that you're frustrated,

but I also don't wanna see you

let that frustration get

in the way of you finishing,

- because you're
- very close to the end.

We talked about this.

[Melissa] I just got

so much goin' on, you know.

My mind

just seems like it's just...

[speaking indistinctly]

I'm tryin' my best

to hold in there.

I am.

- I'm sorry
- y'all have to see this,

but sometimes

I have to let it out.

And I feel like

I'm not gettin' anywhere,

after all this

I'm goin' through.

It do, I feel it's that way.

- [Greg] So I gotta put it
- into scientific form.

- [Judy]
- Let me know what they say.

-[woman] I am.

-[Greg mumbling]

This is ECA practice,

the shit that's

gonna be on the ECA.

These are called quadratics.

- [Judy]
- Okay, but how do you do it?

Okay, look, let me show you.

Okay, 5N minus 8 equals zero,

and then 3N minus one

equals zero, all right?

- So you already
- got your answer.

Hold on, no, you don't.

- But you do got the answer,
- you just said-

No, you do not.

That's not the answer.

Get away from me.

- -Get away. Khloe, stop.
- -[laughing]

Stop, Khloe.

[soft music]

[Greg]

All I know is I was asleep,

and all of a sudden,

I hear my auntie yellin',

"Gregory, get up,

she havin' a seizure!"

My baby was twitchin' and

just starin' off into space.

I felt helpless.

[rain falling]

I mean, I felt like I was

about to lose her, you feel me?

I mean, I felt like,

just like...

like...

like I-- like I--

like I was just sorry.

[rain falling]

I got ya, baby.

Like, baby, I'm so sorry.

Like, I wish I could just

relive each and every moment

of your life all over again,

like, never takin'

nothin' for granted.

[knocking]

We've been goin' through a lot,

and I know that sometimes

I'm might push her off.

Shh.

Right now it's 3:28 a.m.

Gotta be at school

at nine o'clock.

I gotta final in first period.

- I'm waitin' to see
- what the doctors have to say

about everything.

Hopefully

it's something that's curable,

that it's somethin' that

she don't have to live with

for the rest of her life.

[somber music]

Daddy, you can sit.

You can sit right here.

I'm cool, boo,

I'm-- I'm-a stay right here.

I'm-a stay put.

No, just sit right here.

I need you to not talk crazy.

I need you to not say, "Daddy,

don't bring me here no more,"

- -and just be cool.
- -Don't bring me here no more.

- [Greg] I need you
- to just be cool, all right?

- -Can you do that?
- -Don't bring me here no more,

because I don't-- I don't have

to stay here too long.

- [Greg] You don't
- like stayin' here too long?

No.

- -Big, big ahh.
- -Ahh.

Good job.

Okay, touch my light

with your finger, mm-hmm.

Touch my light

with your other finger.

- So what do you--
- I mean, so what,

she's a epilip-- lepic--

leptic?

-[doctor] She has epilepsy.

-Epilepsy, okay.

- [doctor]
- Okay, give me a deep breath.

[doctor breathes deeply]

Good job, do it again.

- So week one, she doesn't
- get anything in the morning,

but she's gonna

get 2.5 mls at night.

That's a half a teaspoon.

[Greg] Okay.

- [doctor] Week two,
- she gets a half a teaspoon

- in the morning,
- half a teaspoon at night.

[teacher] We are doing,

if you can be here tomorrow

first period guys,

we are doing the last talk

of inequalities.

I have one new type

of problem to teach you,

and it's on the test,

so I wanna make sure

y'all know how important it is.

- [Shynika] My boss has dropped
- my hours down to 11 hours,

so I only work two days a week.

He scheduled me when he know

I'm supposed to be at school.

Like, I don't know if

he's pushin' me to try to quit,

but it's just like,

it's gettin' hard.

Are we combining like terms?

[woman] I think you do.

[Bryan] Her attendance

has kinda been hit and miss.

Right now, she has

the slightest hope

of graduating in May.

It's not gonna happen probably,

- just 'cause
- of the way the ECA tests

are gonna be rolled out.

[Shynika] My head is, like,

really cloudy right now,

'cause I still got

this test on my mind.

So I can't be frustrated

with me thinkin' about

I gotta be to work,

and then I'm still tryin'

to, you know,

stay focused for this test.

Like, this is a-- This--

This is a big test.

This is not nothin'

that you play with.

I wanna hurry up

and graduate from school,

so I can start

my nursing career,

instead of havin'

to run out for every day

to a 7.25 job.

[radio playing in restaurant]

- [Greg]
- I'm startin' to see the light

at the end of the tunnel,

and now all this stuff

just jumpin' out.

It's just like,

Oh, my God, for real?

You know what I mean?

Come on, man.

Do you find out if you're

going to get arrested or not

at this hearing,

or what is to come

of this hearing

that you're going to?

Nah, just to see how the judge

feel about everything.

This'll be my first time

standin' before the judge.

- [Gloria]
- So there is a possibility

that you could get arrested?

Yes, truthfully, yeah.

[somber music]

- [judge] The maximum penalty
- on an "A" misdemeanor

is 365 days

in the Hendricks County Jail

and a $5,000 fine.

What the law tells me

is that I have two choices.

So I can either accept

this plea deal

that you've given me here,

or I can reject it.

[Greg] For this

to be completely over,

I have to pay a total

of 218 dollars and 50 cent.

I don't have to come back

down here ever again.

It's over.

I really need to count

this as a blessing.

Gettin' this ticket paid off

is the last thing

that I have to do

in order to go

through with the expungement.

♪ Throw your hands in the air

Say you [indistinct] ♪

[laughing]

[Megan] Melissa hasn't been

here since last Tuesday.

Normally my students

are really good about

- letting me know if
- they're not gonna be here,

and normally she has been, too,

so I'm, you know,

quite concerned.

[soft music]

[Melissa]

This is my mama's plot here.

- She always wanted me to go
- back to school.

She talked to me about

that all the time.

Yeah.

I didn't never know

deep down in my heart

that it was gonna be

this much of a struggle.

I 'posed to been outta school.

I kinda wonder sometime

was it the right thing to do,

'cause I'm

the only one felt myself.

[birds chirping]

- [man] These are the folks
- that we're gonna target

with our demonstration.

The corporate businesses

that we're gonna hit,

their lobbyists, the people

that they pay to pass laws,

and then we're gonna

hit the lawmakers,

the people who pass

the laws themselves.

- [man, chanting] None
- of these workers can survive!

[strikers]

Thank you, 7.25!

None of these

workers can survive!

-Thank you, 7.25!

-None of these workers...

[Shynika] First spot

that we started out at,

I was a little nervous

and, like, quiet.

- I gotta open my mouth, 'cause
- if I don't open my mouth,

who's gonna open it for me?

[strikers]

Get up, get down!

- [man] This is
- what democracy looks like!

[strikers] This is what

democracy looks like!

Hold the burgers,

hold the fries.

Make my wages supersize.

- -What do we want?
- -[strikers] 15!

-When do we want it?

-Now!

-What do we want?

-15!

-When do we want it?

-Now!

I'm strugglin'

on 7.25 an hour,

and I believe that

if we fight long enough

and we keep fighting,

that we should push

and get to where we need.

We don't want minimum wages.

We want living wages,

so we're gonna keep fighting.

[inspirational piano music]

[woman shouting on bullhorn]

- [Shynika]
- I think it's very important

that, like, I get the word out

to other people.

There's other people

out here that's goin'

through the same stuff,

and that won't step ahead

and that won't say nothin',

but if I get ahold

to them and be like,

"You know,

you should join with us."

The more people that we have

is what's gonna

get us the change.

[cheering]

[woman] Whose house?

Our house!

[indistinct conversations]

[laughing]

You wanna see where you're

at right now, grade wise?

[Greg] Yeah.

Okay.

Right above my finger.

Okay, that's what's up.

-Mm-hmm, good job.

-That's what's up.

-Um...

-That's what's up.

I mean, just to think,

four months ago,

I didn't know a lick about it,

you know what I mean?

I'm talkin' about, boy,

it was like, whoo.

4A plus 6B minus 2C,

hold on.

[mumbling]

[teacher laughing]

For real, I was like, man.

I knew that day I had

to stop smokin' marijuana.

[laughing]

- [Greg]
- I'm here to see Carlton.

[receptionist]

And, uh, what's your name?

Gregory Henson.

- What they ended up doin'
- was just

givin' me court fees and costs.

- Well, is it still
- gonna be a misdemeanor,

or will they drop it if you pay?

- [Greg] Yeah, it's
- gonna be a misdemeanor.

- Okay.
- You know, the unfortunate news

is, since you were convicted,

that does start

the time clock back.

'Cause if you were to try

to do it early right now,

the prosecutor's just

gonna look and see,

- okay, well you were just
- convicted two months ago...

[Greg] Mm-hmm.

- but we're not gonna grant
- an expungement for you

in this case or scenario.

So, where it leaves

you right now

in terms of expungement

is at least 2018, 2019

before that's a realistic

possibility to do that.

The fact that you're here

shows that you're tryin'

to make those steps to--

[Greg] I am.

[Carlton] To clean that up.

- [Greg] I understand
- what you're sayin', man.

It just, you know,

it just hurts.

[Carlton] In the long run,

you know, you're 30,

think about 35, think about 40.

Stick with it.

[Greg] I will, I have to.

My daughter's well-being

and everything

is dependent on it.

[somber music]

I got this letter from Megan,

and it's so touching

that she even took the time out

to write this letter for me.

"I consider it

an honor to know you.

I do not want

to see you give up

because you have

to repeat a class.

I hope you know

that you are appreciated

and respected by many.

I would love to see you

continue your path to a diploma.

You are close to the end.

Respectfully, Megan."

[woman speaking from pulpit

[indistinctly]

[organ playing softly]

[pastor]

All of us who are here

at some point in life,

will have to deal

with the darkness of the night.

Look, you don't

have to run from darkness.

The Savior surrendered,

and He suffered,

and He went through it.

Faith that is born in the light

is generally

developed in the dark.

[applause]

[Melissa] When my pastor said

what he said today,

I learned not to keep

on beatin' myself up,

because long as I keep

doin' that to myself

then I'm gonna always

be that type of person.

So I learned not to keep on

beatin' myself up and move on.

[soft music]

- [Shynika] I was one of
- the people that stood out there

in the cold,

hands freezing, screaming

at the top of my lungs.

For real.

For real.

And they got it to 10.10.

[Greg] At the end of the day,

her well-being

- is not the next person's
- responsibility.

It is nobody' else's,

it's mine.

If I'm not prioritizin'

correctly,

that's like

sayin', "Forget her,"

and if I'm sayin',

"Forget her,"

then what kinda man am I?

[music continuing]

[exhales]

Good mornin'.

[speaks indistinctly]

I'm kinda nervous.

I wanna pass,

so I can get outta here.

[proctor] You have 55 minutes

for this session.

I need all phones off

and put away.

First session is with

a calculator, all right?

- Everybody have scratch paper,
- calculator,

record sheet, and pencils.

Everybody got those?

Just relax.

[proctor]

About to start in five, four,

three,

two,

one.

[music]

[Shynika] If I don't pass it,

- then I don't know
- what the next step is.

So...

I don't know.

- My heart's beatin' really hard,
- really fast right now.

Like, I'm nervous,

and I'm done takin' the test.

Like, I just want the scores

to hurry up and come

so I can see if I passed or not.

[sighs]

It's so strange to have

a high school that serves adults

that it's not commonplace yet.

This is larger

than just a piece of paper

that says "high school diploma."

This is a social justice issue.

My job is similar to

a guidance counselor in that--

- [Brent] Because of the zip code
- they've grown up in,

they haven't had

a fair shake at education.

Up here, he's

always a popular one.

- [Brent]
- The individuals that are here

are capable of all

the same things

as somebody who grew up

in the affluent suburbs,

but in a lot of ways,

they just didn't

receive the same advantages

that those folks might have.

- [teacher] The answer
- is positive or negative?

- -[class] Negative.
- -[teacher] Negative, now...

[Randall] If you're

graduating from here,

you're changing

not only your life,

but you're changing

lives generationally.

It brings meaning

and value to what education is

and where it can get you.

I wasn't supposed to be here

'cause I don't feel good today,

and Mr. Bryan called

me today like,

"Are you gonna

come get your ECA scores?

Just come to school tomorrow."

And then I'm like, "Fuck it,

I'm just gonna come today."

Well, how do you think you did

for the ECA?

I mean, I believed in myself,

and I thought I passed.

[Bryan] Yeah.

Oh, my God.

[Bryan] It's

a really difficult test.

- There wasn't a whole lotta
- students who passed this time.

On this,

it says you got a 399.

Are you serious?

[Bryan] Yep.

Oh, God, thank you.

So I did pass, right?

[Bryan] You passed.

I more than passed it, right?

- [Bryan] You actually
- did really well.

Oh, my God.

Give me a hug.

- Yeah, you did--
- This was all you.

-Oh, my God.

-You did the work, so.

Yes, thank you.

I passed with 399.

[laughing]

-[Gloria] How's it goin'?

-[Greg] All right.

I decided that,

uh, we'll go ahead

and talk

about your results.

So, how do you think you did?

Okay, well,

on the first part, uh...

I didn't utilize my time wisely.

Before I know it,

I was like, oh, my God.

The time was up,

and I had, like, 12 left to do.

From what I can see here,

you passed.

Oh, my God!

Oh, my-- Aah!

[Gloria] Yeah,

you really did pass.

Jesus Christ.

So that's pretty

amazing, yeah.

[laughing]

Oh, my God.

-Yeah.

-Oh, my God.

So you

should be very proud.

I am telling you,

I done been through hell

and high water

to get here, for real.

Bottom line.

[Gloria] Yep, yep, yep.

Straight up. Oh, my God.

[indistinct conversations]

[music]

[man, on P.A.] Please stand

as the class of 2015

enters

their graduation ceremony.

[cheering and applause]

It's a big day, man.

[child] Mama, Mama!

[speaker] You're no longer

this thing called a dropout.

You're a graduate,

with all the honors

and all the privilege

that comes with that.

Their life is forever changed.

I know that's right.

[applause]

- [speaker 2] The next speaker
- I would like to introduce

is Mr. Greg Henson.

- As a single parent
- of a four-year-old daughter

who suffers from epilepsy,

he often found himself

wanting to give up.

However, he continued to excel.

[applause]

-[man] All right, Greg!

-[child] Go, Greg, go! Go!

If you want somethin'

in your life you never had,

you have to do somethin'

you never done,

and things change

when you deal with it.

I found myself

as a 31-year-old single parent,

who was tired of hardships

and struggles in my life.

I knew that the only way

to legitimately overcome this,

I had to create a solid

foundation through education.

To my daughter,

baby, I love you,

and always remember

you can and you will.

We have the ability to build

and uplift one another.

All it takes for us to do this

is to take charge,

make better with our lives,

and decide to be

a part of the change

that we all wish

to see in the world.

- It is an honor to present
- to you

the Excel Center Class of 2015.

[cheering and applause]

[soft music]

[man]

Marlanda Davis.

[cheers and applause]

Richard Michael Terry.

[words drowned out by cheering]

Shynika Jakes plans to attend

Ivy Tech Community College.

Dwayne Derek Henson.

[cheering]

Greg Lee Henson.

[words drowned out by cheering]

It is customary for graduates

to turn their tassels,

so, graduates,

please turn your tassels.

[applause]

["These Are the Words"

[by Pastor T.L. Barrett playing]

Hold on, baby,

hold on, hold on, hold on.

You did a great job.

[laughing]

[choir] ♪ These are

The words I say to you Lord ♪

♪ These are

The words I say to you Lord ♪

[lead singer]

♪ Mm-hmm-hmm ♪

-♪ Without you my Lord ♪

-♪ Lord God ♪

-♪ Without you my Lord ♪

-♪ Mm-hmm ♪

-♪ I can't make it ♪

-♪ Lord God ♪

♪ Sure can't make it ♪

♪ These are the words

I say to you Lord ♪

♪ These are the words

I say to... ♪

[speaker] Melissa K. Lewis.

[cheering and applause]

-♪ Lord Jesus ♪

-♪ Without you my Lord ♪

-♪ Oh no ♪

-♪ I can't make it ♪

-♪ No no ♪

-♪ Sure can't make it ♪

-♪ Some people say ♪

-♪ Hey hey ♪

♪ That God is dead ♪

-♪ But we know ♪

-♪ But we know ♪

-♪ That faith doesn't lie ♪

-♪ Mm-hmm ♪

-♪ We know he lives ♪

-♪ Every day ♪

♪ Every day ♪

♪ Because ♪

♪ Because he heard our cries ♪

♪ These are the words ♪

♪ These are the words

I say to you Lord ♪

♪ These are the words

I say to you Lord ♪

♪ Oh Lord ♪

-♪ Without you my Lord ♪

-♪ Lord God ♪

-♪ Without you my lord ♪

-♪ No no ♪

-♪ I can't make it ♪

-♪ No no ♪

♪ Sure can't make it ♪

♪ Sure can't

make it ♪

-♪ Sure can't make it ♪

-♪ Sure can't make it ♪

♪ Sure can't make it ♪

- ♪ Sure can't
- make it ♪

♪ Sure can't make it ♪

♪ Lord can you hear me? ♪

♪ Sure can't make it ♪

["Is There any Love"

[by Trevor Dandy playing]

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world of ours? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world of ours? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world of ours? ♪

♪ Is there any love ♪

♪ In this world? ♪

♪ Jesus left

His home on high ♪

♪ And came down ♪

♪ Came down to die ♪

♪ Shed his blood

That you and me ♪

♪ Lost in sin ♪

♪ We might be free ♪