For me, the film crushed the stereotype that poor black kids are unpredictable sub-human predators to be feared. The kids in the film beautifully articulate the fact that economic poverty does NOT equal social poverty! They are children with values, talents and dreams!

I thought the one scene with the mother talking about how it was good for her kids to see “another lifestyle” indicates the attitude that I commonly encounter when I am in a non-impoverished group that is confronted by the impoverished. The youth in the film eloquently explain the tragic circumstances (parents murdered or in prison) of their “lifestyle” that they had no control over and certainly did not choose. I see many justifiably angry children who are upset by the confusing adult responsibilities thrust upon them (due to their “lifestyle”) that effectively cancel their childhood. The film captures, like never before, this loss-of-childhood anger flaring up on the lacrosse field as well as the struggle to control/redirect the anger.

The public perception of poverty is often that it is somehow deserved, that the victims brought it upon themselves and have only themselves to blame. How can we blame children for the circumstances that they find themselves in, that they had nothing to do with and have little, if any, control over? Yet we do. We believe the myth that poor people, including children, are lazy and have no ambition to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” The children in the film destroy this myth.

The teacher in the film warns: “if you do not give a 7 or 10 year old a chance to do what they do best . . .” To me, this is about the necessity of joy to positive youth development. Even the simple joy from striving to master a strange game (that is just about fun) is somehow a profound and crucial experience.

City Lax is a powerful documentary about restoring childhood.

proud of what people are doing to make real education happen in the USA!