A filmmaker tries to bring understanding to the mostly White town and championship-winning high school that helped shape her identity.

Director Biography - Cime Bruce

Cime Bruce is a writer and filmmaker. State Champions is her first documentary.

Director Statement

I chose to make this film because I’d never heard another Black person admit to wanting to be White even though I recognized it when I saw it while growing up in the super White suburbs of Silver Spring, Maryland.

There were many surprises as I spoke with a cross section of my high school to get their impression of race relations in the 80s. The first surprise was the palpable tensions that existed between the middle class Blacks and the poor Blacks who were bussed in. Another surprise was alleged bullying by our star football players. But the biggest surprise was learning we were all struggling in high school. This should not have been a surprise. We humans wrestle with our desire to divide: Black and White, rich and poor, jock and freak.

I hope this film, in a small way, helps to end historical trauma and bullying.