ABOUT
The New Standards Men is the fictional account of an inner-city black teenager as he fights for self and country during an era that defined modern American history.
Set in the Fall of 1967 and Spring of 1968, the screenplay follows main character, Martin Johnson, a smart and streetwise, high school senior and his friends as they come of age in the "jungle" of North Philadelphia and in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
SETTING
In the late 1960’s Philadelphia was rapidly losing its reputation as the “Workshop of the World”. Factory jobs were growing scarce while the inner city continued to grow more crowded with Blacks migrating from the South. There was a rising level of consciousness and militancy amongst many young blacks, making the city a hotbed for civil unrest.
Philadelphia during this time was also overrun with street gangs that menaced almost every neighborhood. The city led the Nation in gang-related deaths, prompting the media to often refer to its inner areas as “The Jungle.”
Philadelphia's Police Commissioner, Frank Rizzo countered the rise of both conscious protests and gang warfare with a siege mentality, militarizing the cops, leading to increased incidents of police brutality.
Amid this local turmoil, the Federal Government was facing a crisis of its own - escalating demand for American soldiers in Vietnam. To meet this pressure, the armed forces heavily recruited in urban areas like Philadelphia. With a goal of 100,000 new recruits, the White House promoted military service as a way out of poverty and made it easier to get into service.
The result was that blacks were drafted at rates extremely disproportional to whites. And many who found themselves caught up in the criminal justice system, were given choices by judges - prison or the military.
These conditions forced boys to become men under the most extreme conditions - fighting a foreign war for freedoms they had yet to enjoy in America.
In fact, one high school located in a gang-infested North Philadelphia neighborhood lost more students in the Vietnam War than any other school in America. 64 young men of Thomas Edison High School gave their lives. A solid bronze plaque with their names is currently mounted on a wall of school’s new building’s main entrance.
Ostensively, these boys were no different than any other youth in America. However, the circumstances surrounding their coming of age, domestically and abroad, and the acumen, ability and bravery many exhibited, despite these circumstances, was anything but typical.
After displaying uncommon valor, they returned to a Nation still unprepared to ensure their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These are the New Standards Men.