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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment

S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment

Nethusan Rajagunathas

Child and Youth Care, George Brown College

CYCS 3020: Community Based Practices

Cristine Yhap

September 24, 2021

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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment
Sekani is the youngest member of the Carter family and throughout the movie, he

has experienced a lot of things that a child at his age should not experience, as it can cause him

to be traumatized. In the movie, Sekani’s father, Maverick, explains what each name stood for,

as his name stands for joy. Sekani has always brought happiness to his family whether they are in

a sad mood or happy mood. I believe that throughout the movie Sekani was a young person at

risk until the end, as everything seemed to get better, and they were headed to a path where there

is a level of resilience. Throughout the movie, we were able to see Sekani’s strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Sekani’s strongest strength was joy, his weakness was

how he is still young and could not fully comprehend what is happening around him, his

opportunity is that being young, he has the power to make his community a better place, and in

the movie, his life was threatened, and he needed to be protected from the dangers and the

cruelty in his community. 

Sekani’s strongest strength is his power to bring joy to everyone around him. For

example, when his sister Starr witnessed the death of her childhood friend Khalil Harris and

when she woke up the next morning, she could not have a good sleep because what happened to

Khalil was recurring in her head, which caused her to be upset when she went down to eat

breakfast. When her mother was serving them the bacon, she told Sekani to let Starr get the

bacon first. He listened to her and then after a while he took her half-eaten bacon from her plate,

which broke the ice and made her laugh and smile which later, made the entire family laugh as

well, even though everyone was still upset from everything that happened with Khalil and Starr.

Another example is when their father Maverick reminded them what their names mean as he said

Starr (Light), Seven (Perfection), and Sekani (Joy). He said, “I gave each of you power in your

names.” which goes on to say that Sekani’s power is to bring joy to everyone around him. Sekani
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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment
might just be an eight-year-old boy, but with his name meaning joy, he carries the power that

was given by his father Maverick to use the gift he has to bring everyone happiness. 

Sekani’s weakness was not being able to comprehend what was happening around

him which caused him to be unaware of the nuances and racism that was happening in his

community. He is at an age where he could not understand the dangers, violence, and harshness

that black people go through in their community. For example, his father Maverick was treated

by police brutality in front of the family, Sekani was unaware of the reason why his dad was

treated that way and the only thing he was able to do was to cry, as he was scared from what

happened. He asked Seven why Maverick was treated that way, but he did not tell him the reason

but instead, he comforted him. Another example was that at first, he did not know that Starr

witnessed Khalil’s death, and further down in the movie, he was told that she is the witness as

their family was in danger after the King Lord was exposed for drug dealing and for having

control over the community. Therefore, Sekani is unable to be aware of certain things that

happen around him due to him being young and everything is hidden from him unless he is in

danger and that is when he finds out about what is happening.

Sekani's opportunity is that he holds the power to make adults realize how they

impact and affect the children in the community. For example, when Sekani takes the gun from

Maverick’s pants he was going to shoot King since he sensed that his family was in danger and

was constantly watching every bad thing that was happening. Since his sister Starr was the

witness, he saw all the violence and racism which he still did not understand properly. Sekani

holding the gun at King is what made Starr realize that the hate that they gave is what led to

almost making a mistake that would have also taken him from his family. After his sister stepped

in to diffuse the situation, he made the right choice which set an example for everyone in the
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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment
neighborhood and that there are other ways to handle a situation other than resulting in violence

to end a war. Sekani not only holds the power to give everyone around him joy but he also holds

the power to make the adults realize how their decisions and actions have impacted the young

children in the community. He has the ability to break the never-ending cycle in his

neighborhood and create change within the community. 

Sekani has faced threats throughout the movie, as one of the biggest threats was

when he was oblivious of what was happening around him. For example, when his family was in

danger by police brutality first, his father was pinned to the ground then Seven was going to be

arrested for not showing ID unless they go back in and Sekani was told to wait inside the

restaurant did not know what to do. He was clearly scared which left him crying as he saw his

family be harmed. Another example is when Maverick wanted Seven and Sekani to participate in

the protest to help the community, but he could not attend the protest due to the dangers,

especially by police brutality. Sekani family was in danger which also put him in danger which

his family tried their best to keep him away from. 

These factors may affect Sekani’s development internally, as he lives in a

household full of loving and caring family members. Throughout the movie, Maverick tends to

his rose garden, representing the Carter family. Even though he is constantly watering his plants

with proper care, he struggles to keep the flowers from wilting, similar to how Starr, Seven and

Sekani continue to struggle through the dangers and cruelty of Garden Heights, even with his

caring attention as a parent. There is a connection, as Maverick states that gardens need

conversation to grow, like how the conversation is of great importance in his parenting style. At

a very young age, Sekani is taught what to do when approached by the police and is exposed to

the harsh world, as Maverick is seen giving Sekani “the talk.” The constant care, effort, and love
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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment
Maverick shows for his roses, portray a vision for a young person’s black childhood, where

children will flourish because of the positive influence and impact from the adults in their lives. 

These factors may affect Sekani’s development externally, as he lives in a community

full of nuances and racism. The name of the place he lives in, “Garden Heights,” represents the

young persons, as they are like plants; in need of attention and care, as they are often tended to

and taken care of. The young persons, like plants, are the products of the area they grow up in

and are of great importance in their environment. Even though the street names that are shown

throughout the movie include the words “Carnations” and “Magnolia,” outside of Maverick’s

garden there is practically no nature in the neighborhood. Seeing that, the contradictory and the

contrasts between the soft, delicate name, and the dangers and violence in the community,

foreshadow how this environment and its condition are unsuitable for both plants and young

persons, like Sekani.

In conclusion, I believe that at first, he was at a level of risk during the movie, as he

was in a neighborhood where there was violence, drugs, and racism, but towards the end, after

the decisions that were made by the neighborhood, they were trying to move towards a life

where they can make an honest living where there is no violence, drugs, and racism. They all

worked to get King Lord arrested which got violence and drugs out of the neighborhood. I

believe that now Sekani is at a level of resilience.

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S.W.O.T. Analysis Assignment
Reference List

Tillman Jr, George (Director). (2018). The Hate U Give. Fox 2000 Pictures; State Street Pictures;

TSG Entertainment; Temple Hill Entertainment.