The Pact

The Pact (2006)

A story of survival, the streets and the power of friendship

A gritty, provocative true-life story of three friends from the 'hood, Rameck Hunt, Sampson Davis, and George Jenkins, who made a pact in high school to find a way to go to college and then medical school. They not only accomplished this, but they're now spreading the word to inspire other inner-city kids to stay off of drugs, out of gangs and to take the educational route to a better life. THE PACT captures the pathos of the men's individual journeys, the integrity of their voices and the power of their rare friendship. Their stories affirm the values that ultimately sustained and drove them: courage, tenacity, and faith. And they give tribute to the life of the mind and its power to turn dreams into reality.

Date of release
2006-01-01
Runtime
1h 24m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Andrea Kalin

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: New Jersey

The Pact is a 2006 American documentary film directed and produced by Andrea Kalin, presented by the National Black Programming Consortium, and aired on public television about three childhood friends from New Jersey who make a pact to help keep each other in school, graduate, and all successfully become doctors. The three men now appear as motivational speakers known as The Three Doctors.

Background

The three future doctors forged a strong friendship at Newark’s University High School. During junior year, they vowed to change their lives, stay in school and become doctors, hence the making of "the pact" their promise of commitment and support to each other.

According to Davis, "the pact" was an informal agreement the three made as high school juniors when, cutting class one day, they escaped into the school library to avoid being caught by a security guard. A recruiter from the Seton Hall was giving a talk about the university's Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus Program designed for minorities interested in careers in medicine.

The three overcame staggering statistics. The high school dropout rate in Newark is more than 50 percent. Homicide ranks as the leading cause of death of African American under the age of 24. One out of three blacks is involved with the criminal justice system. All three ultimately graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Today, they practice medicine in the same city where they grew up. Davis works in emergency medicine at Newark’s Beth Israel Hospital, the same medical facility where he was born. Hunt is an internist, and Jenkins is a dentist who recently became the director of minority affairs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Andrea Kalin, the film’s director, was attracted to the compelling story of individuals who transcended adverse circumstances. "In our society, we're obsessed with people known for their fame and beauty, not for their characters," says Kalin. "But there are real heroes. These are both men and doctors who can teach us how to face inevitable obstacles with courage."

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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