Season two of the docuseries "Now, In Color" is underway. The project explores the diverse experiences of black students at Yale University.
Season one profiled six black Yalies, including Anita Norman.
“Anita Avery Norman is definitely her mama's daughter, her daddy's girl, she's a big believer in light, and truth, and song, and jump-roping, and chocolate covered pretzels,” Norman declared in her episode. “Anita Norman loves people, loves God, and dreams big.”
In every episode of "Now, In Color," black students at Yale sit in a cozy chair in the Afro-American Cultural Center, sipping coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and answer a series of intimate questions. The students open up about their passions, their dreams, what motivates them, and where they come from. The answers are often surprising, and as diverse as the six students profiled in the first season.
Every episode starts with the signature question in the series: "What's in your cup?" Here's how Dasia Moore answered that question.
“I have lots of things in my cup. I would say I have some southern sayings in there, a few ‘bless your hearts’ and ‘y'alls’,” said Dasia Moore. “I also have my family, my six younger siblings, all the places I grew up, all of the places that I have called home, and the hope for all of the places that I will call home in the future.”
Co-creator of the docuseries, Yale undergraduate filmmaker J. Joseph said "Now, In Color" grew out of extended discussions with co-creator Clark Burnett about what they could do as filmmakers for the black community. He said the purpose of the project is to show viewers that the black experience at Yale doesn't fit into a predictable and uniform narrative.
“The main objective is to resist a monolithic representation of blackness, and to enumerate and expand representation of black voices and black stories,” Joseph said. “The series for us continues to be our way of getting more black stories into the world right now.”
Joseph said another important goal of "Now, In Color" was to connect with the wider black community, especially black youth.
“It's certainly important for the youth to see themselves in places of higher education, in the same way that it's important for them to see Anita doing poetry, or Leonard doing art, and for the youth to be able to say ‘Well, I see someone that looks likes me who's doing this so I can do it too’,” Joseph said.
Production on season two is well underway, as well as planning for season three. Joseph said his production team is applying for grants so they can bring "Now, In Color" on the road, focusing on stories from other cities and towns.
You can view the entire first season of "Now, In Color" at nowincolor.org.
