Terrific teens: young achievers showcase exceptional talent

Ebony, Oct, 2006 by Tracey Robinson-English

Keri Davis

Move over Spike Lee. Keri Davis, 17, of New York, recently directed A Girl Like Me, a short documentary exploring the standards of beauty imposed on today's Black girls. "Ever since I was little, I planned out what I wanted to do," she says. "Through a number of frank interviews with girls from my high school, I wanted to give a voice to how these standards of beauty affect our self-image and self-esteem. I wanted to see how we have progressed." In the film, for instance, Keri conducted the famous "doll test" with several 4-and 5-year-old boys and girls. They preferred a White doll over a Black doll, similar to the outcome of a 1950s experiment conducted by psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark. The experiment was used in the historic desegregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. A Girl Like Me, which Keri completed in 2005 as part of Reel Works, a teen filmmaking program sponsored by HBO and the YMCA of Prospect Park, N.Y., has received critical acclaim. Shown at film festivals as far away as Spain and the Netherlands, the film has earned several awards, including honors at the San Francisco Black Film Festival and the Media That Matters Diversity Award.

Farre Nixon

The movie, Lorenzo's Oil, touched Farre Nixon's heart and sparked a creative surge. The movie tells a true story about the life struggles of a young boy who has adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare illness that affects the nervous system. The story chronicles the frustrations and successes of the boy and his parents as they research treatments. To help parents like those portrayed in the movie, Texarkana, Ark., native Farre, now 18, created the first comprehensive database to track information specifically to study leukodystrophy, the umbrella term for seven rare diseases affecting the nervous system. Farre's achievement with specialized technology--she used Apple's FileMaker Pro 8 software management system--is earning her national recognition and thanks from many patients. "The best part about it is that I got a call from a lady who actually had the disease that my database features," says the teen. "She was very happy that someone knew about the disease and was able to share information." Farre recently began her freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with $187,000 in scholarships.