Dropout to professor
Film details tragedy, victimization, grit and resilience
Documentary ‘The Pushouts’ tells the tale of one man’s efforts to help forgotten youths
Victor Rios was a high school dropout and gang member.
By the time he was 15, he was a three-time felon.
But when a teacher’s quiet persistence, a mentor’s moral conviction and his best friend’s murder converge, Rios’ path takes an unlikely turn, eventually becoming a college professor.
Rios’ story is woven into the PBS documentary “The Pushouts,” which will air nationally on Friday, Sept. 20, as part of the “Voces” series.
Filmed over more than 25 years, “The Pushouts” weaves Rios’ inspiring dropout-to-professor narrative with stories of YO!Watts, a youth center in Los Angeles serving 16- to 24-year-olds who are out of school and out of work.
A then-and-now story of unusual intimacy and depth, the documentary trades narratives of tragedy and victimization for true stories of grit and resilience, highlighting the vast potential of young people to thrive when given access to meaningful opportunities and connections to adults who care.
There will be three New Mexico screenings leading up to the national premiere.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the film will screen at the 2019 Attendance Team Support Conference in Albuquerque. At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the film will screen for free at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas. Then, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, it will screen at the Embudo Valley Library in Dixon.
Martin Flores, a gang consultant who is part of the film, will be in New Mexico for the screenings and talks.
Flores got involved in the project through Rios.
“I met Victor when I was working with the young people in Watts,” Flores said. “I talked to him and he told me about the project. About a year later, I was on board getting it done.”
Flores began working with youth in 1994 after his brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. That’s when he started a nonprofit.
“In my neighborhood, kids were below average in school,” he says. “They were in danger of being pushed out of the system. In 1995, I developed ‘Si Se Puede,’ which would help out high school
students.”
It was important for Flores to get involved.
“When we lose young people to the streets, it’s because they were pushed out of the educational system,” he said. “When we lose them to the system, then we lose them when they get incarcerated.”
Flores is looking forward to coming to New Mexico for the public events, so he can see what the situation is in the state.
“I’m looking forward to learn and share what I know,” he says. “How are they the same and different? How can we address the issues? And I hope we have an audience that consists of everyday residents and community. Young people are always at the risk of being pushed out. We can help deter that.”