Best friends Daria (Breeana Travis) and Ryder (Nicole Delorme) confront grooming abuse
In my forthcoming short film, Alpha Centauri, I highlight the experiences of a young Black girl protagonist and aspiring aerospace engineer in foster care who is being preyed on by an older male trafficker in her neighborhood. The older man constantly praises her for her intelligence and uniqueness. Part of the grooming process involves flattery, attention and emphasis on how “special” the young target is. As a filmmaker, educator and mentor, I wanted to illustrate the nuances of grooming for African American girls who are consistently told, either implicitly or explicitly, that they are undesirable, disposable and “ghetto”. In the absence of other forms of adult (and especially adult male) affirmation, the groomer’s seemingly benign, “positive” attention can play an outsized role in boosting the young person’s sense of self-esteem. Mainstream media focus on high profile sex trafficking cases involving disgraced Black male music icons like R. Kelly and P. Diddy often obscures the everyday ordinary drivers of sex trafficking. Black girls who come from foster care, incarceration and precarious living situations with minimal parent or caregiver support are the most vulnerable to abuse, depression, and, ultimately, suicidal ideation.
The young protagonist’s close relationship with a nonconforming Black female friend who identifies as queer provides her with a path toward healing and recovery. The friend pushes her to question the predator’s motives and hold space for her own dreams and aspirations, challenging the limited expectations that adults have projected onto her.
