Fans got a compelling glimpse into J. Cole‘s Fayetteville, N.C. upbringing when he dropped his second HBO documentary, 4 Your Eyez Only, in April. Now, Cole has produced another doc Indie Wire is calling “astounding and powerful.”
Raising Bertie will follow three Black men growing through the hardships they faced over the last six years in Bertie County, N.C. From education to religion and farm life, the docuseries promises an unadulterated look at the hurdles Black boys jump at the brink of coming into their own in rural America.
Director Margaret Byrne said in a statement, “In editing this story, there were competing pressures: to fight against stereotypes, to tell an exciting story, to tell a story of unexpected success and to prove that a filmmaker can communicate an honest story about a culture that is not her own. The truth is, I made a film about three kids I met and cared about. I knew their story needed telling. The individuals in this story are representative of their community and they matter.”
Raising Bertie is due August 28 and will air on PBS. Watch the trailer just above to see what Byrne and Cole have in store for later this month.
