"In Jackson, Mississippi--a city only grazed by Hurricane Katrina--thousands of African-Americans face conditions familiar to the people of New Orleans. This NBC News documentary looks at problems that persist in Jackson and other American cities, despite progress, decades after the civil rights movement. Following several students at an inner city Jackson high school over the course of an academic year, the program demonstrates how drugs, poverty, teen pregnancy, and the absence of a father shape the lives of many young black people. Parents, educators, Jackson's mayor, and wealthy African-Americans are also interviewed about the difficulties in their community. In addition, the film explores ways in which whites have or have not helped."--Publisher description.