Shea

I spent a great portion of this year traveling the northeast region speaking at high schools and colleges throughout the United States, during a time where race relations and teen struggles are topics that are of concern amongst students. During these moments, I began to understand the power of mass/social media and its ability to create narratives that we submit ourselves too. The ability to consume content is at the tips of our fingers and as a storyteller, I understand that it is my duty to share stories and truths that not only go untold but will encourage, uplift and represent today's generation.

On June 13th, 2019, I suffered an unexpected injury. I endured a complete rupture of my right Achilles tendon. Preceding this moment, I've had the honor of being a motivational and inspirational speaker for over 13,000 students within 45 schools in the past two years. On June 16th I made the decision to go through with surgery and two days later I was on a table worried about what life for me would be after this very moment. Following surgery, I was on bed rest for weeks. During a random moment while on bedrest, I recalled a few of the conversations I had with students causing me to ask myself the question, “ How can I, How can we, use media to address societal issues in America, through a lens that would not only teach and educate but remain tasteful and attractive to a younger demographic?” Four months, sixteen short term disability checks later and Shea was birthed

Set in 2018, inspired by the surge of untold narratives in media, the intention to document race in America through a twisted lens, aligns itself with the personal and emotional connections explored by network television shows such as Atlanta, 13 Reasons Why, Insecure, Dear White People and Euphoria.

I wrote Shea because I've learned through the years that much of society will forget that each person has a story. We all come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs and in a country that prides itself on individuality and inclusiveness these values will often be neglected on an individual and community level. When I walk through the hallways of high school and college campuses, I notice homogenous friend groups and communities that lack diversity on the surface level. Causing me to ask the question, “how can we break barriers and bring more inclusion to our world. I’ve learned that a story is a bridge to friendship, memories and the road to understanding. Although we may never get the chance to walk in someone else's shoes, media grants us the opportunity to view and tell the stories of individuals who are walking those journeys.

Shea is that narrative, that story that allows viewers to walk that bridge of understanding, the bridge that evokes identity and connections as we relate our personal lives to the life of the on-screen characters. The story of Shea can be compared slightly to “Black like me”, a book about a journalist who in the 1950s took medication to darken his pigmentation and documented his experience daily as a black man in the Jim Crow South.

Cinematic, controversial, reflective, and rooted in character, Shea is the union of three worlds, Empathy, Understanding, and Denial.

Shea is a story told never before, birthed for such a time as now.