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Naturi Naughton-Lewis hopes ‘Black Girl Missing’ will raise awareness of disappearances

Naturi Naughton-Lewis hopes ‘Black Girl Missing’ will raise awareness of disappearances

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Photo: Life sentence

After the success of 2023 Black girl missing movie Lifetime reveals another fascinating part of the series. Kidnapped from an HBCU: A Film About the Disappearance of a Black Girl premieres Saturday on the network. Naturi Naughton-Lewis stars as Ellen, a dedicated guidance counselor who seems to be the only one concerned when one of her students, Shannon (Tanyell Quian), mysteriously stops attending classes.

“Ellen is someone who is fighting for this girl’s life, and she is not her family, her blood relative, or her mother,” Naughton-Lewis said in an interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “It shows that we can all make a difference if we pay attention, if we step in, if we say something when we know it’s not looking good.”

Despite Ellen’s best efforts, her concerns are dismissed by Shannon’s professors, campus administration, students, and even her boyfriend. Instead of offering support, Ellen is met with dismissive comments about how “girls like that” from underprivileged communities often drop out of school. Determined to find Shannon, Ellen, who Naughton-Lewis describes as a “vigilante,” inadvertently stumbles upon a human trafficking ring that targets students like Shannon. With the clock ticking, Ellen must rally support to rescue Shannon and dismantle the trafficking operation.

The film’s setting on an HBCU campus enhances the story. “It was interesting to set it in an environment where almost everyone is black; all these students are part of this university, and yet somehow we see that she (Shannon) is undervalued,” Naughton-Lewis said.

She further emphasized the importance of advocacy within communities of color: “I think we need to advocate more, especially in our own communities at HBCUs or in any community of color. We need to step up and stand up for each other because the rest of the world may not do that for us.”

Naughton-Lewis hopes the film will give viewers a sense of empowerment and motivation to address the issue of the disappearances of black men and women, who are not treated with the urgency they deserve. “I hope it awakens people’s sense of community and I hope people get more involved,” she said.

Kidnapped from an HBCU: A Film About the Disappearance of a Black Girl is executive produced by Garcelle Beauvais, who starred in the 2023 prequel. Naughton-Lewis expressed her admiration for working with Beauvais, saying, “I really enjoyed her passion for this project.”

As diverse as her roles are, Naughton-Lewis is deliberate about her impact in acting, producing and directing. Her production company, Take Two Entertainment, was an executive producer on the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival smash Coloring book.

Naughton-Lewis described her approach to selecting roles this way: “I love studying people and seeing all versions of black women, because there are so many layers to who we are. I love throwing myself into characters that challenge me and show me that one minute I can be a gangster, the next minute I can be a sweet, caring mother, the next minute I can be a loving, supportive girlfriend, the next minute I can be a hip-hop rapper, icon, Lil’ Kim.” She added, “I just try to pick things that are important to the culture.”

Kidnapped from an HBCU: A Film About the Disappearance of a Black Girl premieres this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

Source: Blavity