Algiers, America

The Edna Karr High School football team is the pride of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, earning four state championships in the last five years. The predominantly Black team and coaching staff are among the nation’s best. Every year at least a dozen seniors from the school receive full scholarships to play football at division one colleges. And then there is the most important distinction: almost all the players have lost teammates, friends, and family to gun violence or prison.

To Coach Brice Brown, whose father was murdered on the streets of Algiers, winning is not the most crucial part of his job. His priority is keeping his players alive until they graduate – filling in as the father many players are missing, instilling a team spirit, and guiding them through their lives in a dangerous and fragile environment.

As guns become the country’s leading cause of child deaths, Algiers, America provides a rare and authentic, candid, and captivating portrait of a community fighting to stem the tide. This series will at once break your heart and inspire you with its unforgettable characters and tribute to possibility.

CAST:
Head football coach Brice Brown, an Edna Karr alum and Algiers native, is the team’s inspirational leader, counselor, father figure, and mentor.

Algiers native and Edna Karr alum Dr. Ashonta Wyatt is the founder and Executive Director of Mother2Mother – a New Orleans non-profit organization against gun violence. She is a regular presence helping guide the student-athletes and the community.

Coach Norman Randall is a powerful presence everywhere he goes. As Coach Brice’s trusted lieutenant, Coach Norm – as he is fondly known – puts the safety and maturation of every Cougar first and foremost.
Team captain Tygee Hill was the number one high school defensive tackle as a junior. His family helps him navigate head-spinning recruitment process, as well as the streets of Algiers.

After losing three friends in two years to gun violence, senior All-American wide receiver Aaron Anderson found renewed hope in the sport he loves and plays so well.

Jawin Newman, the top running back on the best team in Louisiana, plays with a bullet lodged in his leg.

Highly rated AJ Samuels carries the team’s success in the throwing arc of his arm. Supported by loving and doting parents, the junior quarterback found the right balance between the pressure of being a star athlete and dealing with the specter of violence that looms over his community.

FILMMAKERS: 

• Director: Jackson Fager
• Executive producers: Raina Kelley, Jackson Fager, Jeff Fager, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist
• Co-Executive producers: Marquis Daisy, Joe Langford, and Durado Brooks, Jr.
• Producers: Kristen Lappas and Raza Naqvi