All American: The Black Youth Experience Is a Must Watch

Review by Lillian Washington. Photo courtesy of The CW.

All American is currently my favorite show on TV. It teaches its viewers how to take accountability for their actions while making sure they still care for others around them. The show is about football and how two families from vastly different worlds in Crenshaw and Beverly Hills begin to collide. It is inspired by the life of pro football player, Spencer Paysinger. 

The show’s main character, Spencer James, is a rising high school football player and straight-A student at South Crenshaw High, but when coach Billy Baker recruits him to join his team in Beverly Hills, Spencer's mother, Grace, and his best friend, Coop, convince him it's an opportunity he has to seize. Spencer and Grace extend their family with Billy and his family. What I like about the All American storyline is that it is specifically about the Black youth experience in America. 

The show does a good job of highlighting the small joys and positive moments in a young person's life, and in particular, a young black man's life. This series addresses classism, racism, and bullying. All American is an intriguing teen soap that is also mature and interesting.

All American is a great show, especially for teens that need real world examples of the high school football experience and class issues in the real world. I rate it a 5/5! You can watch it on The CW, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. 

Lillian Washington is a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.