As some of you already know, The Civil Rights Project, Inc. (CRPI)
is in the process of research and development for a major multimedia
education and outreach project revolving around a 6-hour prime-time,
documentary television series that chronicles the history of land ownership
in the United States. BLACKSIDE, INC. -- the company that created Eyes on
the Prize, the renowned PBS series about the civil rights era, The Great
Depression, named by Time Magazine as one of the top three television
programs of 1993, and America's War on Poverty, described by USA Today as
"...five trenchant hours of social history," - will produce this major
television series.
(ALL OF THIS IS CONTINGENT UPON CONTINUED FUNDING.)
Themes on which we are focusing include:
-Lockean notions of private land ownership vs. notions of land
stewardship.
-(Related) Race and ethnicity in the history of American
landownership; the story of the struggles and innovation of different
peoples as they band together to create new solutions and to secure
their stake in the social contract.
-Thomas Jefferson versus Alexander Hamilton: Small, widespread
landownership as the basis for democracy versus centralized ownership
as the basis of national and international power.
-(Related) The impact of land ownership on civic involvement, and
in turn on the development of strong democratic and economic
institutions.
Key to the success of the project will be the participation of
national and local partners such as the internationally recognized Land
Tenure Center of the University of Wisconsin in the development and
distribution of an aggressive EDUCATION and OUTREACH campaign. The
education component will use the programs from the series, print materials
and new media initiatives to support ongoing work and build consensus at
every level of the land tenure debate. Specifically, the goals of our
Public Engagement Campaign will be to:
*encourage the local and national debate about land ownership,
development and conservation by providing opportunities for people to
engage in a historically informed dialogue;
*highlight success stories in urban, rural and suburban settings
where communities are finding solutions that defy traditional public or
private approaches and borrow the best of both.
*diversify the kinds of people concerned with these issues and
engage them in dialogue;
*promote viewership of the series.
HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN!
Tell us:
-What kinds of outreach initiatives have been developed in the past
with respect to these themes and stories?
-What are the key issues/themes and key perspectives that would be
important to bring about in an OUTREACH effort?
-What sorts of groups should be engaged in dialogue? Which groups
and organizations hold opposing points of view and should be brought
to the table?
-What kinds of materials, technology and support do you think would
be most effective in launching and supporting this kind of outreach
effort?
-What sort of outreach effort would be effective in advancing the
goals of your institution or organization or those of your
affiliates?
-If you would like us to keep you informed of the nature of our
effort as it takes shape.
So that we don't clog up the mail list, PLEASE SEND YOUR RESPONSES
TO CRPI DIRECTLY!!! You can email us at;
paulm@crpi.org
or call at;
617-536-6900, x260
or fax at;
617-536-1732
or write at;
The Civil Rights Project, Inc.
486 Shawmut Avenue
Boston, MA 02118.
We're anxious to here from you soon. Thanks.