Grounds: A Blackcast

Kwasi begins making moves. Ivan gets a publisher for his book. PJ makes a big step toward moving on. 

Everyone gathers for the wedding.

Elijah and James start makin plans. PJ and Elijah have a huge fight and Marcus talks PJ off the ledge.

Ivan decides to write a book of original poetry.

Ivan gets a rejection from the press. PJ throws herself into work and Omar. Elijah and James make a life affirming decision.

After an adjunct professor is revealed as passing as Black, Kwasi begins to question his career path even more. Elijah has a conversation with Pres. James about the dangers of going back in person. PJ is left reeling over Mal's secret and struggles with whether to tell Omar. Khai organizes a vigil for his student and Ivan makes plans to publish.

PJ and Marcus discover Mal's secret. Omar continues to process the death of his father and sister. Khai gets disturbing news about one of his students. Kwasi begins to think about leaving.

The professors meet in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Everything has changed. It's the end of the Spring semester of lockdown after teaching virtual classes. They meet in Khai's back yard for a socially distant gathering.

Mal, PJ and the kids travel to her maternal grandparents house for break. Hilarity ensues.

Kwasi and Ivan deal with the uncertainty of a school holiday break amidst the backdrop of an ensuing pandemic.

Khai returns home for a visit with his Baba and Benefactors just ahead of the pandemic.

After learning that his father is ill Elijah races back home to Georgia unsure of what he will find with the family that disowned him. Boyfriend tags along for moral support.

Kwasi has an unsettling run in with a colleague. Ivan and Eli receive their tenure review results. The boys get together at Khai’s house for a night of cigars and whiskey.

When Ivan becomes upset about an article published about the evils of interracial relationships, the group tells him that they would not marry white. He questions his relationship and his Blackness. Khai and Kwasi go out for a drink to talk about finding love in their current location.

When the town surrounding the University starts ramping up for a festival celebrating the slaveholders that owned the land on which the University now sits, Black students plan a protest. The Black Student Union asks P.J. and Khai to help and march with them. Kwasi has a visiting professor he’s trying to impress.

When the town surrounding the University starts ramping up for a  festival celebrating the slaveholders that owned the land on which the  University now sits, Black students plan a protest. The Black Student  Union asks P.J. and Khai to help and march with them. Kwasi has a  visiting professor he’s trying to impress.

When P.J. and Mal’s son has a run in with police, it sparks all kinds of reactions from the group of friends.

Misconceptions: There are always things we think Black people are supposed to like. But do they? Where does the spectrum of Blackness begin and end? If the mainstream says its not Black, does that mean you’re not Black? It’s the misconceptions that can get us.

The group tries to figure out the best way to help Elijah through this crisis. Ivan and Elijah have a tense moment. Kwasi comes in with information for the administration. Is it enough to save the day and Elijah’s career?

GROUNDS is the story of 5 Black Professors at a 4 year PWI.
A fictitious college and town in the rural south, which is the home of a predominately white 4 year college with students totaling 1700 with 15% of those self-identifying as students of color. 7% of those are Black. The story follows the lives of five Black professors. The only full time, tenure track Black lecturers who work at Morris & Wilkins University. It highlights the trials, obstacles, and joys of maintaining a Black existence within a white academic structure.

Series Premier June 11, 2020