‘Algiers, America’ shines light on Karr football program
24th April 2023 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
Rarely has a devastating tragedy united a community, fought back against racial stereotypes, and countered the crippling effect of government neglect and poor urban policy as much as at Edna Karr High School in the Algiers section of New Orleans.
Already still struggling to recover from the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina, the Karr football team and its supporters suffered an emotionally and psychologically crushing blow in 2016 when legendary former Karr wide receiver Tollette “Tonka” George was shot and killed in the Algiers neighborhood after returning home from Alcorn State University in Mississippi, where he was a five-year member of the Braves football and from which he graduated in May 2016.
George’s murder stunned the Algiers community and the Karr football family. However, long-time Karr football head coach Brice Brown – a Karr alumnus himself who started coaching at the school in 2006 and who lost his own father and best friend to gun violence – and his staff used the tragedy as a catalyst for the gradual development of a gridiron powerhouse.
With the full support and involvement of the Karr school administration – including with community activist, Dr. Ashonta Wyatt, another Karr alum – Brown and his staff molded the Cougar team with grueling practices, exhausting workout programs, and one-on-one mentoring that encouraged academic success and made sure players stayed away from the temptations and dangers that ruined the lives of George and several other Cougars.
The result was four Louisiana state championships in five years for the Cougars, making them the first predominantly Black school to win four consecutive state championships.
Karr quarterback A.J. Samuel said his team succeeded through unity and accountability.
“Karr’s program survived and thrived because of the people who are there on the inside,” Samuel told The Louisiana Weekly. “The key is always being there for one another but we call it brotherhood. With that many things fall under that umbrella like holding each other accountable, having each other’s back, and being able to do one’s job no matter if it’s on the field or off.”
Now, the country and the world can follow the story of Karr football by watching “Algiers, America: The Relentless Pursuit,” a new docuseries available on the Hulu streaming network that examines and celebrates a team of players, coaches, administrators, family and community members that can serve as a model for creating a movement that combats teenage gun violence, hopelessness and tragedy through dedication, love, discipline and self-pride.
“Edna Karr, as an institution, mirrors the surrounding community,” Wyatt told The Louisiana Weekly. “Our children are multifaceted, resilient, fearless, vulnerable and ambitious – much like Algiers. It is beyond important to strengthen the Algiers community through this project because the success of ‘Algiers, America’ reflects success upon the faculty, staff and student body of Edna Karr, the football program and the broader community of Algiers.
“This project amplifies the pain, beauty, strength and fragility of children navigating the harsh realities of poverty and violence while collectively chasing championships and scholarships,” she continued. “Success for our children often means living long enough to bask in the glow of their achievements – that’s the ultimate win.”
“Algiers, America” which premiered on Hulu on April 19. The series spends two-plus years following the Karr team and providing an intimate look into the lives of the Cougar coaches and players.
The debut episode shows the Cougars on their quest for a fifth state championship while also examining the social, political and economic factors that, over time, turned Algiers into a decaying, violence-torn area struggling to overcome its condition. The death of George and the impact it had on the community are portrayed as a critical turning point for the program.
In the episode, Brown states the goal of the Karr football program, and how challenging that goal is to achieve: “The relentless pursuit of saving a child – easy to say that, harder to do it.”
Karr assistant coach Norm Randall told The Louisiana Weekly that the football program works by placing faith – especially faith in the players’ potential – at the forefront. He said the team has survived and succeeded “through the grace of God and our community sticking together and always putting the children of Algiers first.
“One great key to our success has been the players we have been blessed to have in our program and Algiers,” he added.
That spirit and message shine through in the first episode of “Algiers, America,” which enjoyed an advance screening at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans on April 15, with scores of Karr players, coaches and administrators in attendance. The packed theater not only got an exclusive look at the groundbreaking series, but also heard from Brown and the people behind the series in person.
One of the people who spoke to the crowd at the Orpheum was series director and creator Jackson Fager, a Connecticut native who previously spent several years in New Orleans filming and covering Big Easy football as a cameraman for WWL-TV, a role through which he fell in love with the passion and energy of high school pigskin, especially at Karr.
“I’ve never been so proud of anything I’ve done and had something as rewarding as this,” Fager said. “I’m honored that [the Karr community] let me do this and tell their story. For the first time, we’re celebrating these people and not just covering the negatives in the community.”
Andscape editor-in-chief and “Algiers, America” executive producer Raina Kelley, in a statement to The Louisiana Weekly, said “Algiers, America” offers New Orleans and all of the world an inspirational story that shows how athletics can save lives and develop kids’ character and commitment.
“The story of Coach Brice, his Edna Karr Cougars, and their families in Algiers, paints an unflinching but always loving portrait of daily life in a community battered by race-based urban neglect and their relentless pursuit to save their children,” she said.
Fager said “Algiers, America” “is a story about love, about a group of people who love these kids and would do anything to help them. This is a story about overcoming adversity, about people deciding to be the good people they are against all temptations, and succeeding at the highest level.”
Those portrayed in the docu-series are thrilled with how the project ended up, saying that it perfectly captured the story and essence of the Karr football program.
“The film series is phenomenal,” Randall said. “I think it turned out just the way it was supposed to. I am happy the kids were able to tell their story and express themselves to the world.”
As one of the key characters portrayed in the series, Samuel said Fager and the rest of the production team succeeded with “Algiers, America” by getting to know Karr players – dozens of whom have gone on to play Division 1 college football – not just as great athletes, but also as great people and individuals who are committed to redefining what it means to be young Black men in a strife-torn urban setting.
“This film series is really special to me because of the bonds I’ve created with the crew … [who] have been nothing but great friends and would consider them family,” Samuel said.
He added that the series provides a view of the love the Karr players and coaches have for each other and for the sport of football.
“I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for the group of guys I got to be a part of this with … [a]nd being the ones in this story is huge because hopefully one day this could help us in the future.”
Samuel said he hopes younger generations can be inspired to succeed by watching him and the Cougars persevere. He said community enhancement and pride remain vital goals to the Karr football program.
“It’s important to me to strengthen [the community] because I want my younger teammates and people who aren’t there yet to be the next greats,” he said. “I want them to make it out of the city and make millions one day. [He wants] to show others in the city [and] others in the world that New Orleans doesn’t just breed killers and drug dealers. They need to know we breed intelligent, athletic young men that can be something one day.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct a previous listing of Dr. Wyatt as principal of Karr. Dr. Wyatt is, in fact, a community activist and supporter of the school.
This article originally published in the April 24, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
