The Hail Mary

The Hail Mary opens with an intentional tribute to August Wilson before venturing into uncharted terrain in the investigation of black lives; disregarding clichés, insisting on, and lingering over the complexity of the human experience. The narrative of the absent black father has been over-flogged in the mainstream media for a long time. While this narrative is still true to some families within the black community, the issue is the media's dismissive portrayal of this "stereotypical reality." The Hail Mary, therefore, reveals the depth of a father who was absent in his son’s life due to circumstances in his own life, but who nevertheless had to make hard choices. Giving voice to Darius Johnson's reality and examining his "story" from a different perspective, I believe, would allow the world an opportunity to critically examine what certain fathers go through in life and why they make certain decisions, whether good or bad.