Forever, After

Twenty years after the killing of Sean Bell by the NYPD, the fiancé he left behind, Nicole Paultre Bell, shares her extraordinary journey in FOREVER, AFTER -- a millennial Black woman survivor's 20-year recovery from unimaginable loss and her reclaiming of love, purpose, and peace.

When Nicole Paultre Bell’s fiancé Sean Bell was gunned down by NYPD in the wee morning hours of their wedding day, Nicole became an unwitting part of a long tradition and an unwelcomed club—survivors of police violence against Black people in America. As a 22-year-old mother of two baby girls widowed before she was officially wed, Nicole’s fight for justice happened in a time before mass social justice movements and viral social media campaigns calling for police accountability. Yet, Sean’s killing made national news and ultimately, three officers were indicted on charges ranging from first degree manslaughter to reckless engagement.

And then, they were all acquitted.

For a long time, Nicole’s struggle to harness her grief and anger was maddening and lonely. Alas, Nicole Paultre Bell is a true Queens girl—a fighter. FINDING POWER is her emotional story of life after loss and of fighting the power (systems, haters and the demon of self-doubt) for the most authentic win.