How the life of Benji Wilson Sparked my Documentary Filmmaking Journey

It was 1984, and Benji Wilson - a high school senior from the Southside of Chicago - was the top basketball player in the nation. He led his team to their very first state championship in 1983, dawning number 25. The same number Derek Rose and Jabari Parker would wear in honor of Benji. On November 20, 1984, he was tragically shot outside of Simeon High School and would succumb to his injuries on November 21st. The night before his season opener. Benji was speculated to be The Goat over MJ …. for context.

Ben “Benji” Wilson

Now, in 1984, I wasn’t even a thought of a thought. In fact, my older brother wasn’t even born yet. Nor was my family in the City of Chicago.

So how does my story connect with Benji’s? I’ll try to keep it brief. Impactful. But brief.

In 2012, I was a senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia preparing to take exams. The date was October 31st and I drove to St. Louis to drop my daughter off with my parents for the weekend. My best friend rode with me and we were staying overnight with plans to head back to campus in the morning. My parents were notorious for recording something on DVR so when I grabbed the remote, I headed there to see what I could catch up on. ESPN’s 30 for 30 on Benji Wilson had aired a few days before and we decided to watch for the evening.

“It’s so sad what happened to that boy.” - My mom.

“Angie, don’t spoil the episode. Let them watch it.” - My dad.

Now I’m intrigued.

(If you haven’t seen the episode, I believe you can rent from Amazon Prime. It’s 30 for 30, Season 2, Ep.3)

Chicago is a basketball-dominate city and Benji Wilson was regarded as THAT DUDE. “Magic Johnson with a jump shot.” He just had a son one month prior and was gearing up for his season opener, which many presumed to be his launch year to the league. It was normal for students to leave campus during lunch, so while Benji and his girlfriend were walking to a local corner store, he had an encounter with two young men named Billy Moore and Omar Dixon - 15 and 16 years old.

This altercation can truly be summed up as a moment of pride and miscommunication. After an exchange of words, Billy flashes his gun, Benji lunges towards him, and Billy shoots him twice in the abdomen. Benji was rushed to the hospital, but due to that hospital not having a trauma center, he lost a lot of blood and was declared brain dead. His mother made the decision to pull the plug.

Many assumed, but no, Billy didn’t know who Benji was at the time.

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The director’s, Coodie and Chike, did something I had never seen done in a documentary before. They interviewed Billy to share his side of the story of what happened 30 years prior. In all of the trailers and the previews, there was no sign that Billy would be apart of the film so when he appeared on the screen, I was at 10 and 2. I was paying attention to the film prior to, but now, I was engrossed.

Billy and Omar (who was not involved in the altercation) served their time in prison and Billy also apologized for his actions (then and now), and has went on to do amazing work.

Again, I cannot express enough. If you have not watched the film, please do so.

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At the time, my friend and I were researching the impact of Black athletes at PWI’s who DON’T end up playing professionally and the lack of support post-graduation AND I was immersed in fatherhood advocacy work - specifically in the Black household AND I got pregnant at the age of 18 by my high school sweetheart who was also regarded as one of the top athletes in the city. I found a lot of alignment in Benji’s story between my actual life and my studies and I wanted to know more. This film sparked a journey that to this day, I can’t believe happened.

Hold tight.

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My friend and I went into research mode.

What happened to Benji’s girlfriend and son?

What was Billy up to since getting released from prison?

How are his siblings?

The anniversary of his death is coming up. I wonder of they are doing anything in his memory…

We found out that his brothers were hosting a vigil in his memory on the anniversary of his death and we made a decision to drive to Chicago.

We found Benji’s bestfriend (Mario) on Facebook AND we found Billy on Facebook. We reached out to both of them, expressing how we just watched the film and how we were impacted by it. This is what we expressed to Billy:

“Mr. Moore, A close of friend and I recently watched the 30 for 30 on ESPN this past week and were moved beyond measure. Our hearts were compelled to reach out after watching it. We couldn't let this opportunity pass us. Benji's story in itself was moving but the fact that you were able to speak and tell your story is amazing to me. To see how God has worked in your life through redemption warms my heart to see my heavenly father at work. Basically what I am getting at, my friend and I are graduating this december and pursing our masters this january. I have a passion to work with fathers and reconstruct the black household. She has a passion for working with underprivileged youth. We have major plans for our passions to merge and want to use Benji's story as a platform. We see ourselves implementing a program tailored toward high school athletes to teach the importance of skills OUTSIDE of their athleticism. Character building, financial discipline, and incorporating parents to help build today's youth. With you working in the non profit sector and with your experience, we would love the opportunity to speak with you. My friend and I will be in Chicago on the 19th and 20th of November. I hope this message finds you and finds you well. God Bless you Mr. Moore”

Billy responded.

.

We pulled up to the city of Chicago on the evening of November 19th and we met up with Billy at Harold’s Chicken. He was just as calm and cool as he was on the film. Very wise and compassionate but protective. We chopped it up for a few hours and it truly felt like we had known each other for years - very familial. But the part that tripped me out, as soon as we walked into Harold’s Chicken with Billy, a flyer for Benji’s Vigil was taped to the wall. A piece of media to honor the life of one young man and I am standing next to the one responsible for the loss of his life.

This meet up marked the beginning of a new kinship and our story just kept getting better.

Me and “Uncle Billy”

My friend and I were staying with another friend who was a college admissions recruiter. The next day, he happened to have an onsite recruitment meeting scheduled at where????

SIMEON HIGH SCHOOL!

Benji’s high school.

“Y’all, I have been trying to schedule this meet up at Simeon FOR MONTHS and I just so happen to have it on the day that y’all are here?”

The meeting was on November 20th. Benji was shot on November 20th. The serendipity …..

We accompany our friend to Simeon and the staff were so kind. While our friend was working, they gave us a tour around the school and showed us the gymnasium that was recently named after Benji.

Later that evening, we attended the vigil. We got to meet Benji’s brothers who welcomed us into the fold and his eldest brother gifted us with a dvd copy of Benji’s 30 for 30 episode and a copy of his mother’s book that she wrote on Benji in 1987.

I told y’all we reached out to Benji’s bestfriend Mario but he didn’t respond, however, he did get the message. He recognized us and gave us a huge hug. He gifted us with Benji t-shirts and we spent the evening across the street from the vigil at a restaurant (can’t remember the name) and he just shared so many stories about him and Benji.

We were scheduled to leave Chicago the next day but before we left, we wanted to visit Benji’s gravesite and invited Mario to come with us. He was hesitant at first as he expressed he hadn’t been to his gravesite in years, but he obliged.

On November 21, 2012, 28 years to the day, Mario walked with us through the cemetery to pay homage to Benji. My friend and I thanked Benji for his story and for sparking a new passion within us. For bringing Mario and Billy into our lives.

Mario, Sol and I.

And back to St. Louis we went.

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Since this magical moment, we’ve kept in touch with both Mario and Billy.

We’ve gifted Billy with the name of “Uncle Billy” and we text every birthday and leave comments on each other’s posts on social media.

We were even invited to his wedding in 2017.

Myself, Uncle Billy, and Sol

To this day, I can’t really explain what it was about Benji’s story that moved us to take a trip to Chicago. To learn more about his story and reach out to the people connected to him. We even reached out to Coodie and Chike to tell them how this film impacted us and we’ve had a few zoom calls with Coodie over the years.

What I do know is, the filmmaker in me was birthed this day. I was already a writer but I always said, “I want my films to move people the way that Benji moved me. To evoke emotion and cultivate necessary conversations.”

This film also allowed me to witness forgiveness, healing and redemption in real time. To learn Billy’s story and to then meet him in person was such a pivotal moment for me. He served his time and is making the most of life not only for himself but for his community in the City of Chicago to this day. On one visit to Chicago, my friend and I even had the opportunity to go to breakfast with both Billy and Mario (Benji’s best friend). To be able to witness them together, in the same room, fellowshipping. Man…

In 2021, Billy wrote a book titled Until the Lion Speaks, about his upbringing, the altercation with Benji, his time and prison and where his life is now.

I wouldn’t walk the path of documentary filmmaking until 2016, but when I knew that this was the endeavor I would take on, I went back to this film. I watched it again to remind myself of how I felt the first time I watched it, reached out to Coodie for some insight on how to get started and what to keep in mind, and the journey began.

Thank you, Coodie + Chike.

Thank you, Mario.

Thank you, Uncle Billy.

Thank you, Benji.

Thank you, Sol.

Thank you, God.