Becoming Black Lawyers

When these five Black lawyers set out on their journeys to receive a professional legal education, they did not realize that they would have to struggle against additional battles even more challenging than the rigors of learning the law in a hypercompetitive environment. They discover the contradictions of studying in an institution that idealistically represents "justice" for all.

  • Evangeline Mitchell
    Director
  • Evangeline Mitchell
    Producer
  • Jalene Mack
    Producer
  • Veronica N. Dunlap
    Key Cast
  • Alexi Thomas
    Key Cast
  • Marcus Sandifer
    Key Cast
  • Natasha M. Nurse
    Key Cast
  • Paula T. Edgar
    Key Cast
  • Evangeline Mitchell
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 7, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Paris International Film Awards
    Paris
    France
    Best Short Documentary
  • BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival
    Cary
    United States
    October 7, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Idlewild International Film Festival
    Idlewild
    United States
    August 28, 2021
    Official Selection
  • New Haven International Film Festival
    New Haven
    United States
    October 27, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Golden Short Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    September 5, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles Black Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 9, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Hollywood South Urban Film Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    August 25, 2021
    Official Selection/Best Short Documentary Award
  • Montreal International Black Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    September 22, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival
    Cleveland
    United States
    September 9, 2021
    Official Selection/Outstanding Short Documentary
  • Queens Underground International Black and Brown Film Festival
    Queens
    United States
    October 23, 2021
    Official Selection
  • SABIFF 2021 - San Antonio Black International Film Festival
    San Antonio, Texas
    United States
    September 30, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Detroit Black Film Festival
    Detroit, Michigan
    United States
    August 23, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Urban Film Festival
    Miami, Florida
    United States
    September 3, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Black Legacy Film Festival

    United States
    Official Selection
  • International Social Change Film Festival

    Official Selection
  • Black Feedback Film Festival

    United States
    August 7, 2021
    Official Selection/Best Film
  • The IndieFEST Film Awards
    La Jolla, California
    Award of Merit Special Mention, African American
  • Robinson Film Awards International Film Festival

    Italy
    Honorable Mention
  • World Film Carnival - Singapore
    Singapore
    Singapore
    August 27, 2021
    Official Selection and Outstanding Achievement Award Winner - Documentary Film
  • Toronto International Women Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    August 22, 2021
    Official Selection
  • International Diversity Film Festival

    August 25, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Baltimore International Black Film Festival
    Baltimore, Maryland
    United States
    Baltimore/Maryland Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Twin Cities Black Film Festival
    Minneapolis, Minnesota
    United States
    Minnesota Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Paris Play Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    Finalist
  • FLICKFAIR Film Festival

    Official Selection
  • London Shorts
    London
    United Kingdom
    Nominee - Best Short Documentary
  • Sweden Film Awards

    Sweden
    Semi-Finalist
  • Soul West Fest
    Phoenix, Arizona
    United States
    Official Selection
  • The Hollywood First-Time Filmmaker Showcase

    United States
    Official Selection
  • Urban Mediamakers Festival
    Atlanta, Georgia (Gwinnett County)
    United States
    October 11, 2021
    Official Selection/Best Social Impact Documentary Short
  • Sunnyside Shorts International Film Festival 2021
    Sunnyside, Queens, New York
    United States
    September 25, 2021
    New York Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California (Virtual)
    United States
    September 12, 2021
  • Stockholm City Film Festival
    Stockholm
    United States
    September 12, 2021
    Best Short Documentary
  • Gary International Black Film Festival
    Gary, Indiana
    United States
    October 8, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Topaz Film Festival Presented by Women in Film Dallas
    Dallas, Texas
    United States
    October 18, 2021
    Official Selection/Audience Choice Award
  • 22nd AAWIC (African American Women in Cinema) Film Festival Special Online Edition
    Virtual
    United States
    November 4, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Amsterdam Lift-Off Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    October 10, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Paris Lift-Off Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    October 24, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Melbourne Lift-Off Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    November 21, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    November 21, 2021
    Official Selection
  • London Lift-Off Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    December 1, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Kwanzaa Film Festival 2021
    Harlem, New York City
    United States
    December 26, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    October 10, 2021
    Amsterdam and Netherlands Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Paris Lift-Off Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    October 24, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Capital City Black Film Festival
    Austin, Texas
    United States
    December 3, 2021
    Austin Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    September 12, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Newark Short Film Awards
    Newark, New Jersey
    United States
    October 8, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Norwalk Film Festival
    Norwalk, Connecticut
    United States
    December 17, 2021
    Connecticut Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Montreal International Black Film Festival
    Montreal
    United States
    September 22, 2021
    Montreal Premiere, Canada Premiere
    Official Selection/Jury's Award - Best Documentary Short
  • Visions of the Black Experience
    Sarasota, Florida
    United States
    November 12, 2021
    Official Selection
  • The South African Independent Film Festival
    Cape Town
    South Africa
    November 24, 2021
    South African Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Dunedin International Film Festival
    Dunedin, Florida
    United States
    January 13, 2022
    Dunedin Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Black Film Festival Atlanta!
    Atlanta, Georgia
    United States
    February 1, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Black Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    February 9, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Denton Black Film Festival
    Denton, Texas
    United States
    North Texas Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Halifax Black Film Festival
    Halifax
    Canada
    February 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Queens Underground International Black History Month Festival
    Queens, New York
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Broad Street Film Festival
    Sugar Hill, Georgia
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Black Art & Film Festival
    St. Petersburg, Florida
    United States
    February 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Djarfogo International Film Festival
    Fogo
    Cape Verde
    November 9, 2021
    Official Selection; Honorable Mention
  • Wake Forest Film Festival
    Wake Forest, North Carolina
    United States
    March 4, 2022
    Official Selection
  • The Black Film Summit
    Naperville, Illinois
    United States
    March 18, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Huntington Beach Cultural Cinema Showcase
    Huntington Beach, California
    United States
    March 24, 2022
    Official Selection; Best Documentary Film; Jury Selection - Special Honor
  • North Carolina Black Film Festival
    Wilmington, North Carolina
    United States
    March 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Ottawa Black Film Festival
    Ottawa, Ontario
    Canada
    March 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Black Film Festival of New Orleans
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    United States
    March 25, 2022
    Louisiana Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Indie Movies Spark International Film Festival
    Utrecht
    Netherlands
    Netherlands Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Rhode Island Black Film Festival
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    April 6, 2022
    Providence Premiere; Rhode Island Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The Massachusetts Independent Film Festival
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    United States
    April 14, 2022
    Worcester Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Boston International Film Festival
    Boston, Massachusetts
    United States
    April 14, 2022
    Boston Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Las Vegas Black Film Festival
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    United States
    April 21, 2022
    Las Vegas Premiere; Nevada Premiere
    Official Selection
  • San Diego Black Film Festival
    San Diego, California
    United States
    April 27, 2022
    San Diego Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Seattle Black Film Festival
    Seattle, Washington
    United States
    April 28, 2022
    Seattle Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Calgary Black Film Festival
    Calgary, Alberta
    Canada
    May 26, 2022
    Calgary and Alberta
    Official Selection
  • Greenwood Film Festival
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    United States Minor Outlying Islands
    June 8, 2022
    Tulsa and Oklahoma
    Official Selection
  • The 20th Annual Women of African Descent Film Festival presented by The Brooklyn Chapter of The Links
    Brooklyn, New York
    United States
    June 11, 2022
    Official Selection
  • San Francisco Black Film Festival
    San Francisco, California
    United States
    June 16, 2022
    San Francisco
    Official Selection
  • The Film Collective. Short Film Festival
    Bensalem, Pennsylvania
    United States
    June 17, 2022
    Bensalem and Pennyslvania
    Official Selection
  • Filmteenth International Film Festival
    Bethesda, Maryland
    United States
    June 18, 2022
    Bethesda
    Official Selection
  • Charlotte Black Film Festival (Charlotte, North Carolina) – June 23-26, 2022
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    United States
    June 23, 2022
    Charlotte
    Official Selection
  • Roxbury International Film Festival
    Boston, Massachusetts
    United States
    June 23, 2022
    Official Selection
  • International Black & Diversity Film Festival
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    June 25, 2022
    Official Selection
  • The Micheaux Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    July 11, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Accra Indie Filmfest (AiF)
    Accra
    Ghana
    August 2, 2022
    Accra and Ghana
    Official Selection
  • The RSF Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival – August 5-13, 2022
    Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
    United States
    August 5, 2022
    Martha's Vineyard
    Official Selection
  • 24th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival
    Birmingham, Alabama
    United States
    August 22, 2022
    Birmingham and Alabama
    Official Selection
  • Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    United States
    August 26, 2022
    Indianapolis and Indiana
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • N/A
Director Biography - Evangeline Mitchell

Evangeline M. Mitchell is a lawyer, author and publisher, social entrepreneur, non-profit founder, and documentary filmmaker. She is a graduate of HBCU Prairie View A&M University, the University of Iowa College of Law, and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She recently earned her Certificate in Documentary Arts from The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas, she currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her family.

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Director Statement

“This film reveals that when it comes to anti-Black racism, prejudice and discrimination in America, the walls of law school offer no protection.” – Evangeline M. Mitchell, Director, Becoming Black Lawyers

I was shocked about what I experienced as a “Black” law student. I wondered if what I experienced was real or just something in my head because it was so hard to believe and process. I had attended a predominantly Black high school and a historically Black university in the South. So, although I was nervous about going to a predominantly White law school in a Midwestern state that wasn’t very diverse, I honestly didn’t expect to encounter issues around race. I didn’t really understand or have a true sense of what racism looked like. For some reason, because I was going to “law school,” I thought that it would be a place filled with people who believed in and wanted this ideal of “justice” and “fairness” including racial justice and social justice - for all. The fact that what I had envisioned in my mind and the reality I was faced with was so different was disheartening to me. Race was never discussed in my household or really in the educational environments I was in prior to law school, so I spent a great amount of mental and emotional energy trying to understand what I was experiencing.

This project is what I would consider “heart work” because I have long felt that the experiences of Black lawyers in White law schools were stories that needed to be told - and that the world needed to hear them. The paradox of going to a place that is supposed to represent and stand up for “equal justice,” which at the very same time, was a place where Black students were treated unfairly and with hostility, never sat right with me. It didn’t make sense to me while I was experiencing it in various law school environments (I attended at my law school, a summer law program abroad, a law school in my home city, and a semester study abroad law program which included students from a consortium of law schools), and it still didn’t throughout the years as I spoke with Black law students about their experiences. I have remained disappointed in learning that many years later – things still have not changed – no matter where you go to law school in the United States, with the exception of those that are uncommonly diverse or HBCU law schools. That desire to share our unique stories and lived experiences fueled a fire that never went away.

I wanted to do a film on this subject matter since I was a law student but never knew how I would make it happen. As time has gone by, I had a vision for this film well before I even put out a call to Black lawyers to participate. My inspiration and approach to the film came from watching HBO’s The Black List and Oprah’s Master Class several years ago. I loved the idea of people just telling their stories – transparently, directly - with minimal images and other footage to distract from their words. I felt that this pure storytelling would be effective, and would enable us to center these Black lawyers and their voices.

In talking to my own law school’s dean about my experiences, I recall him telling me that there was “nothing” that could be done about the mistreatment that Black students experienced by their White peers. I remember feeling like people didn’t want to talk about it and that it needed to be kept quiet, like a “secret” that we discussed with one another, but otherwise pretended wasn’t happening. There was an expectation that we suffer in silence. I felt the voices of Black lawyers – especially their sharing their struggles and the additional obstacles they had to overcome - needed to be heard and addressed. I wanted people to see the humanity and humility of these Black lawyers, and this particular format would enable that. Before the interviews, I provided all lawyers who agreed to participate with a general list of potential questions and only requested for them to tell the truth.

Although the film and show that I modeled my documentary after were both in full color, I really liked the idea of using a Black and White color filter and aesthetic. I felt that this look was important because this was an “old” issue of how White people treated Black people and considering the history of this country in the not-so-distant past, it would give an old school feel. I also thought that the Black and White would provide a beautiful and non-distracting look that would force viewers to really concentrate on the seriousness of the topic and focus on the person in front of them as opposed to everything else.

Through poignant, vulnerable, and honest storytelling, this film reveals that when it comes to anti-Black racism, prejudice and discrimination in America, the walls of law school offer no protection. The history of the United States has shown us that “the law” has had power in determining the status of Black people. We went from being viewed and treated as property and things to second-class citizens to citizens. The law was purposely used to enslave, subjugate, and segregate us – and then to free and give us rights. Because of this “special relationship” that Black Americans have with the law, that history and that legacy still impact the current status of Black people today. In considering the central role of the legal system in oppressing Black people in the past, do the institutions that train lawyers who will help create, interpret, and enforce the law now need to take on a leadership role in advancing diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice? This film provides a vehicle to incite greatly needed discussion about where we were, where we are now, and the next steps for positive change in the future.