In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to abolish affirmative action, this film thoughtfully looks back at the largest class of Black students at Yale in the 1990s, the dining table that bonded them, and how their story informs our future.
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Those in the minority – no matter what the defining trait associated with that might be – often find comfort, support and camaraderie in the company of kindred spirits when surrounded by others who don’t share this commonality. For African-American students at Yale University in the 1990s, this could be found at “the Black Table,” a gathering spot for those similarly situated within Commons, the university’s legendary cavernous dining hall, a venue resembling a setting out of the “Harry Potter” movies. The Black Table served as an oasis for students of color in the midst of a predominantly White (and not always particularly tolerant) student body, a place where they could share ideas, swap stories, engage in discussions (sometimes heated) and find common ground. The experiences of students who availed themselves of this era’s version of a social network thus provide the basis for this documentary from writer-directors John Antonio James and Billy Mack. The film examines what the students gained from their interactions with one another and how they collectively faced the sometimes-challenging conditions that prevailed on campus and in society at large at the time. It also serves as a springboard for explorations of an array of other subjects, such as the impact of affirmative action on minority admissions (a controversial program that was undergoing change at the time) and how their tenure at Yale prepared them for life after college. However, “Black Table” works best when it focuses on the aspects associated with its core premise, its offshoot tangents frequently getting somewhat off-track and acting more like filler. And, because of that, the end result here inevitably reveals that there may not have been enough material in the first place to build a full feature film around it. Indeed, this release likely would have made a better extended short or episode of a PBS series. The alumni’s time at the Black Table obviously meant much to them, but those experiences would have made for a better film with greater depth and attention focused on them than what this release ultimately offers.
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