This ‘Moonlight’ Oscar winner returned to his alma mater — and he had a message for the kids
Remi Mark got a text.
“Come upstairs,” it read.
She did. And there was a surprise: Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney was in the classroom.
“He sat down and said, ‘Ask me anything you want,’” said the 18-year-old senior at New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami.
The 39-year-old co-writer of the movie “Moonlight” visited his alma mater Monday morning to answer questions, give advice and to remind them to follow their instincts.
McCraney, Class of 1999, said his job now is “to point them back to their own resources and abilities and say to them, ‘You have everything you need, you just don’t know it or your fear is blinding you from it or some outside influence is making the voice in your head speak louder than it needs to.’”
That point struck a chord with New World senior Ronzell Stlouis, one of the students who attended the discussion from the famous playwright and future inductee into the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Alumni Hall of Fame.
“You can either choose to silence what’s happening in your head or use it to benefit you,” said Stlouis, 17.
Students say McCraney pushed the issue of determination during his talk. When asked about it, he issued a caveat.
“I do believe that determination is very necessary,” McCraney said, “but determination for the sake of, is actually quite harmful.”
McCraney added that pushing through suffering has become a second job for many black and brown people. Their real job, he explained, is to be a “full human being” who finds joy in what they do.
“Most of the time, our brain wants to jump the amygdala on and sort of animal through things,” he continued. “But in order to be an actual practicing, graceful, generous human being, it takes practice.”
It’s clear his approach has not only worked but has been influential. His seminal work, “Moonlight,” which chronicled the story of a young black man growing up in Liberty City and cleaned up during award season, has made him a beacon of light for people who look like him.
“I’ve always been a strong believer of not being a product of your environment,” said Stlouis, who lives in Miami Gardens. “I always try to not be comfortable with where I am and it’s nice to see that that type of mentality pays off.”
McCraney, who the seniors say appeared shocked when students cited him as an influence (“It’s the grace of God being lobbed back at you. What can you do but be surprised by it?” he said), explained his position simply.
“It’s imperative to make sure they know that there is community here,” McCraney said.
That’s part of why the Liberty City native never left Miami. Although he travels to Connecticut to lecture as a professor at Yale, McCraney wants Miami’s next generation of black artists to see him and know they can make it.
“We have to remind these students that they’re a part of [Miami’s] great legacy as often as we can.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 3:25 PM.
