The smell of pizza wafted through the MLK room at this month’s Race Reels, where attendees watched the documentary “Being Thunder” and discussed individuality and queer and two-spirit genders on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Spanish teacher Lindsay Davis and math and Racial Awareness teacher Hayley Wells organized Race Reels, a monthly event dedicated to creating more discussions around race by watching films and then talking about the topics after viewing.

In celebration of Indigenous Heritage Month, attendees watched the 2021 documentary “Being Thunder,” which tells the story of Sherente, a genderqueer two-spirit 17-year-old from the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island. Sherente’s identity as a queer Indigenous person challenges a world that imposes binary gender roles.

Attendee and sophomore Ellie Tytell said she felt better educated on the spectrum of gender, the idea of intersectionality and the ability to have multiple identities after watching the documentary.

“I gained a greater understanding about what it means to be two-spirit, and also what it would be like to be in the [Narragansett] tribe. I think that was cool,” Tytell said. “I also liked how the movie addressed not just one aspect of a person’s identity, but both and how they intersected.”

Davis said she and Wells have been striving to include more topics of intersectionality in the films shown and that even a small event like watching a film can still make a difference for someone.

“My favorite part about Race Reels is that even if one person shows up, one person got to have a free dinner and a movie that they wouldn’t have had,” Davis said.

Attendee and sophomore Aviv Schwab-Jacobson said Race Reels is consistent in providing a positive space for students who are interested in these topics.

“I get to be with a community of people who are interested in learning, free food and fun movies,” Shwab-Jacobson said. “I’ve learned a lot of stuff that I would have never sought out information on, and now I know.”