There’s a common thread within black communities, especially among black women, an unspoken sisterhood that bonds every woman of color together. Often a minority, outnumbered by race or population size, they’re faced with a choice - and rather than shrink to meet their circumstances, they shine despite them.
“Step,” Fox Searchlight Pictures’ new real life story, follows three students at Baltimore’s Leadership School for Young Women (BLSYW) on their journey to success, overcoming adversity and finding sisterhood on the school’s step team.
Paula Dofat, the director of college counseling, didn’t have the support system she now provides for her students. “My counselor actually didn’t really care who I was. I went to her office, and she just told me, ‘You need to go to community college.’”
Motivated by the fear that she might fail a student and what that failure would ultimately mean to the trajectory of her future, Paula’s office is an oasis for young women of color struggling to find the support in order to escape a cycle of circumstances beyond their control. At one point in the film, overcome with emotion, she breaks into tears in front of a college board, the culmination of a long road marked by tough choices and shared disappointment.
There are moments of struggle and frustration, where students, less than 30 days away from graduation, are exhausting their last hope to attend college. But more often than not, there are moments of triumph, where Blessin Giraldo, Cori Granger, and Tayla Solomon ― who founded the school’s step team, were members of the charter school’s first graduating class, and the first in their family to attend college ― finally learn to embrace their black girl magic and thrive.
HP: WHAT ROLE DID HAVING SUPPORT FROM YOUR COMMUNITY, FROM YOUR FRIENDS, FROM YOUR FAMILY, WHAT ROLE DID THAT PLAY IN YOUR SUCCESS?
CG: Honestly, support has played every role possible to help us get where we are, get where we are. Without the support from not only our parents but the people in our communities, a lot of us don’t know necessarily where we would be. And that’s because a lot of times we don’t always have the resources that we need to get to the places that we want to be. It’s also important to hold each other accountable.
BG: All of the staff at BLSYW really put their time to get to know me as a student and as a person. They always reminded me, ‘Look, you have a lot of potential, and I refuse to let you shy away from that.’ If it wasn’t for that support, I honestly don’t know where I would be ― they were there for me even when I wasn’t there for myself.
HP: CAN YOU SPEAK TO YOUR OWN SISTERHOOD AND BOND AS SISTERS IN STEP, AS FRIENDS, AND AS THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS FOR YOUR HIGH SCHOOL?
PD: When we were at the Essence Festival, it was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had. Walking past all these black women, encouraging each other, complimenting each other. I will never see these women again, but that is to me the epitome of black girl magic because there’s just something there, something unspoken, that connects us and we understand that.
TS: I grew up around black women, and they support me and I support them. In Baltimore, a lot of women are doing positive things [in] the community, and we congratulate each other and tell [them] how proud we are. That’s because we know what they’ve been through. We know how hard it is to be a black woman in society.
I didn’t have support for college. I didn’t have support at my high school. My counselor actually didn’t really care who I was. She just told me ‘You need to go to community college.’
HP: THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU CRIED FOR BLESSIN WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING AND REALEST MOMENTS I’VE SEEN IN DOC IN A LONG TIME. WHAT WERE THOSE EMOTIONS ROOTED IN?
PD: Those emotions were rooted in the frustration that I not only may not have been able to keep my word that every student would have a right fit college option, but that I might fail a student, our community and what that failure would ultimately mean to the trajectory of her life and success. I understand it from the other side, and I think that’s probably why I’m so passionate about what I do and how I do it. One, I know it’s what god called me to do, but two because I know what can happen if you don’t have those supports in place.
HP: ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, YOUR DEDICATION TO YOUR GIRLS IS JUST INCREDIBLE. AS SOMEONE ON THE OTHER SIDE, WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THE SUPPORT GROWING UP, BUT KNOW IN THEIR HEARTS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HELP OTHERS?
PD: It’s not about doing anything large. The small things will build on other things and will flourish from there. You can’t do what you’re not aware of. Instead of taking the kids to the park, take them to a college campus to play on the lawn. It’s about exposure. If the thought of college becomes a norm, then attending college will not be a foreign thought, but rather an expected normal next step option after high school.
TS: And find the support and also give support to others who may need it, because you never know what a person is going through. You never know if they just feel like giving up, or they need someone to push them or motivate them to be better.
We never once gave up on what we expected of ourselves. I never once let my outside adversities effect what I thought of myself. I want to be a positive person. I want to impact the world.
HP: NOW THAT YOU’VE ALL GRADUATED AND ARE ATTENDING COLLEGE, IN WHAT WAYS ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD FOR OTHER YOUNG WOMEN?
BG: Being a student that had a ton of mentorship and guidance, I understand the importance of paying it forward. BLSYW made me believe how much potential I truly had despite my social circumstances. I would like to do the same for others, which is why I will continue to go back to BLSYW and help out the Step team in any way that I can.
I love being black because of the spirit that we have. No matter what we went through, even as far back as our history through slavery we never once gave up on the future. And again, coming from BLSYW, which is a predominantly black school, I’m so happy to be a part of this legacy because 100% of us went to college. And we’re all from the hood, and that’s why I’m so proud to be a part of this movement. We never once gave up on what we expected of ourselves. I never once let my outside adversities affect what I thought of myself. I want to be a positive person. I want to impact the world.
To see more of their inspiring story, be sure to catch STEP - an uplifting real life story from Fox Searchlight Pictures that focuses on the tremendous power of support, discipline and how sisterhood can help anyone achieve your dreams. STEP is in theaters now.
