All American: Homecoming is Inspiration for Black USC Students

African American students here at USC should watch the new television series All American: Homecoming because it serves as an inspirational outlet to promote our presence at the university.

The young adult drama series follows a group of college students attending Bringston University, a HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) in Atlanta, Georgia. They all must learn to navigate through personal challenges while managing the highs and lows of college life.

The show is inspirational because, even though it takes place at a historically black university it embodies the specific values of leadership, perseverance, integrity, and intelligence- all of which are key principles supported by African American culture.

“I definitely think it’s a show that specifically African Americans should watch because it can honestly spark and inspire a lot of people to do something with their voice,” said Brianna Lashay, a third-year broadcasting student at USC. Being an African American student at a predominantly white institution can have its challenges, and sometimes one of those challenges is feeling unheard or unrecognized.

There should be more organizations aimed toward black students as well as more black student leaders here at USC. Watching All American: Homecoming is like adding fuel to a fire. The fuel serving as motivation to those students with creative ideas and passions to be seen and not shadowed.

Characters in All American: Homecoming have many scenes in which they share their stories and try to make change and achieve greatness for their school “I think it helps the black community here strive for better,” said Alyse Rhue, a third-year broadcast journalism student.

There are so many topics that are discussed, causing the plot to continuously change. When watching it’s so easy to want to be in the space of the characters, joining in on their times of enjoyment, and success as young black leaders.

While the series follows the ideals of black excellence, it also shows several moments of happiness and excitement. Being able to play music and host events to highlight the black experience should be a must for all black students at USC especially. “Whatever school we go to doesn’t make us less black,”  said Ever Curry, a second-year biological sciences major at USC.

There is so much to learn from the individual characters and their backgrounds specifically. Their stories are relatable and serve as great examples of daily issues experienced by young African American adults.

“It very much just makes me happy that there is even a show like that for me to watch,” LaShay said. “For us, that just means that we have to continue to be unapologetically black.” African American TV adds a more personal touch to the feelings expressed by other black people.

“Just because we’re a predominantly white institution doesn’t mean we can’t embrace the black community,” Rhue said “We can bring more influence and ideas to the university.”

The show is full of surprises and the characters always come together to deliver an amazing story with great moments of accomplishment, while navigating the highs and lows of college life; but in the end, they all manage to come out on top.

Two other series suggestions would be Prime Originals Riches and Harlem. They are both very different from each other and All American: Homecoming, but they all represent black excellence as their way of life as should African American students at USC.