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CLIENT: WVIZ/PBS Ideastream
Ed Services
PROJECT: Freedom Quest Ohio Video Conference
LENGTH: 6 Wks
VERSION Project Description
DATE: 2/11/05 |
Freedom Quest: Ohio |
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IDVL Conference Concept:
WVIZ/PBS Ideastream’s Educational Services is going
to give you and your students the opportunity to enter
a dialogue about freedom. Over a century ago the United
States was asked the question “How could America,
the “land of the free,” still allow slavery?
Today we ask ourselves questions of how can slavery still
be alive and well in America and throughout the world?
How can people still be trapped in a system that perpetuates
poverty and disillusion? Lately, freedom is a word that
has been tossed about with reckless abandonment; to some
it’s a political platform, to others it something
for which they will die and yet for others, it is just
an idea and not a part of their reality. What do your students
think about freedom? Is freedom something precious and
worth persevering? Do your students embrace the legacy
of men and women who first came to America in search of
political and religious freedom, and those who were brought
here against their will and endured unimaginable abuses
and injustices, and still were willing to risk everything
to be free?
Join Joan Southgate, a noted author and African American
woman in her seventies, as she and Terry D. Peterson award
winning producer in his 40’s make their way across
Ohio. Using the “Underground
Railroad” as a very visible and viable illustration
of freedom, the series of interactive video distance learning
sessions will explore what freedom means to the individual,
why is it important, what role does it have in democracy
and why does it matter to us. Students will be transported
to historic places which they have never heard of and to
the homes and cities of people they have never known. interviews
and documentation of locations along the original path
of the Under ground Railroad will be gathered and incorporated
into a powerful exploration of freedom that will resonate
in the hearts and minds of young and old alike. Real stories,
from real people, people who walked the trail, people who
fought for their way of life and have experienced the hardships
and savored the victories.
This is a one of kind program that teams up an unlikely
duo to deliver a message
of unity and tolerance. Their differences in age, race
and physical characteristics illustrate the new America
where diversity and multiculturalism are today’s
new reality. Students will have the opportunity to BLOG
(stands for weB LOG) with Joan and Terry and see photos
and clips from the trip as they make their way across Ohio.
A special interactive website is being developed with links
to vast sources of historical information, including resources
about the leaders of the Underground Railroad and the myths
and codes slaves used to seek freedom in the North. During
the series of distance learning sessions students will
have the opportunity to discuss issues of important, to
publish their own work, and
to review the
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of
others. The combination of technologies (IVDL, web, and
video) utilized in this project will provide an environment
for students to discover
the places, the people, and the conditions that supported
many dangerous journeys to freedom.
Conference Itinerary:
The conferences are scheduled to take place once a week.
Each Wednesday beginning April 13th and finishing May
18th, interactive visual distance learning sessions that
will originate in five different regions in Ohio, will
be conducted in the morning and then again in the afternoon
to give schools more of an opportunity to be part of
this extraordinary project.
You may learn
more about this project at: http://www.wviz.org/edsvcs/FreedomQuestOhio/Project.htm |
April
13th – Cincinnati, OH: The National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center is the perfect
place to kick of this unique journey along the Underground
railroad across Ohio. Author and historian Joan Southgate
will give students an overview of the Ohio River region
including a visit to the Rankin House in Ripley, the
Parker House and a virtual tour of New Richmond.
April 20th – Xenia/Wilberforce, OH: After
departing Cincinnati and visiting Harriett Beecher
Stowe’s home and Heritage Village a 19th Century
re-creation designed to visitors a real sense of life
during the 18oo’s. In Wilberforce students will
find themselves on location in the National Afro-American
Museum and Cultural Center. Here Joan will be joined
by noted historians who will shed light on the special
role that Xenia and Wilberforce had in the original
Underground Railroad.
April 27th – Columbus, OH: Before
heading east the team will make its way west to the
historic home of poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar who’s
works reflect his observations of 19th century society
and his parent’s experiences as slaves. Then
we pass through Yellows Springs where we’ll visit
several sites including the Springboro Historical Society
Museum, Springboro Underground Railroad Stations, Haveryburg
Black School and the Jonathan right home. Then the
team heads east to Columbus for a stop at the Kelton
house and then over to the Ohio Historical Society
and a possibly an appearance by a very special guest.
Along the way Joan will be meeting with students and
community leaders.
May 4th – Mt Vernon, OH: From Columbus were off to Westerville and the
home of Benjamin Russell Hanby, composer of numerous songs—“Darling
Nellie Gray” and
“Up On The Housetop”. Hanby played many roles in his life; student,
abolitionist, father, teacher, minister. But it |
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was as a composer and staunch
supporter of freedom that we remember him. Then we will visit historic Mt. Vernon
home to many sites the grave of Ben & Kew Snowden who taught “Dixie” to
Daniel Decatur Emmett who penned the famous song “Dixie Land”. Then
we’ll take a jog over to Stark County for a look at the many significant
sites that played and important role in the Underground Railroad.
May 11th – Oberlin, OH: After
finishing documentation of sites in Massillon it’s
straight towards freedom and Lake Erie. Synonymous
with rights for slaves escaping to freedom, rights
of women, Native American and gay and lesbian persons,
Oberlin’s legacy speaks for itself. While in
Oberlin we will visit the many sites including the
newly created Underground Railroad Museum and monument.
Discussions with noted scholars will focus on Oberlin’ vital
role as an institution that worked hard to abolish
slavery and today continues to serve as a beacon of
civil rights and fairness.
May 18th Ashtabula, OH: After leaving
Oberlin the next stop is Cleveland OH where Joan Southgate
and a team of devoted historic preservationist have put
together a concerted effort to demonstrate the importance
of Cleveland to the Underground Railroad. After visiting
some of the unknown sites that soon will hold a prominent
position in the anvils of history, the team reaches its
final destination, Ashtabula Ohio situated on Lake Erie
and the final stop for slaves who risked all they had
for a chance at freedom that lied on the other side of
Lake Erie. In Ashtabula students will join the team for
a close-up look at the Hubbard House. The William Hubbard
House Underground Railroad Museum is the place that became
known in the secret circles as “Mother Hubbard’s
Cupboard” where as many as 39 slaves had received
shelter at one time. |
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| FOR
BROADCAST: September 2004 on NBC Affiliates |
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| LPFM:
The People's Choice |
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| Premise: |
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Choice:
It is what Freedom is all about. Freedom to choose our leaders,
freedom to choose our religion, freedom to choose just about everything
in our lives, where to live, what to eat, where to go, who to
see, even what to listen to on the radio or who to watch on
TV.
Choice: Today some of our choices are being taken away by the
big business interests and like minded politicians.The airwaves,
our main outlet for public expression of ideas, information
and inspiration are steadily being consumed by large corporate
giants determined to dominate the media.
Choice: People can chose to listen to mostly prepackaged, pre-recorded
nationally homogenized rhetoric and play lists that occupy
most of |
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the air today, or people can choose to join a small but mighty sector
of Americans embracing the concept of reclaiming a portion of
the public airwaves to strengthen their communities; unite people
across age, race, religion, and to give voice to the voiceless.
Low Power FM Radio is a service that was initiated by former
FCC Chairman William E. Kennard in January of 2000. It is a
low cost service designed to promote diversity and localism
and to encourage voices from the margins. It is about freedom
of the airwaves, freedom for people to express their opinions,
share their cultures, air their concerns and regain a sense
of their role in our democracy.
Low Power FM Radio is the people's choice. |
| Creative
Approach: |
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| LPFM:
The People's Choice will take viewers on an extraordinary adventure
across America following the rebirth of a public service that
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survived
the death blow of the appropriations process and intense lobbying
efforts of the NAB and other organizations that threatened the
introduction of a commercial free service with hyped fears
and inaccurate technical claims.
The story will juxtapose the building of a radio station in
Immokalee Florida, with the events that led to the creation,
and implementation of a low cost radio service that enhances
the quality of life in communities throughout America.
Beginning with the ground breaking for the new antenna, viewers
will witness the creation of a brand new presence on the airwaves
in the immigrant town of Immokalee; they will see the story
of Low Power FM radio unfold before them. They will meet the
special people who helped launch this extraordinary public service,
learn about the initiative that rocked the broadcast industry,
experience the trials and tribulations, and witness the dogged
determination that kept the idea alive. |
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Additionally,
the program will demonstrate how Low Power FM is making a difference
in several unique communities that are already |
broadcasting.
Viewers will see how the reality of what was just a dream, today
has taken hold of people and communities and has given new life
to declining communities, new strength to neighborhoods, and
new voices in the market place of ideas.
Content:
The story will include interviews with former FCC Chairman,
William E. Kennard; Exec. Dir. Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights, Wade Henderson; Media advocates, Andy Schwartzman, Michael
Bracy, Cheryl Leanza, Congressional Members, Sen. John McCain,
Rep. Ed Markey; LPFM Organizers, Pete tridish, Andrea Cano,
and people in cities across the country involved with the development,
operation and programming of new Low Power FM Radio stations. |
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Additional
proposed interviews include; FCC Chairman, Michael Powell;
NAB President Edward Fritts; Former FCC Commissioner Gloria
Tristiani; National Council of Churches General Secretary, Rev.
Dr. Robert Edgar.
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The
program will travel to multiple locations across the country
where LPFM stations have already been on the air. From Florida
to Maine, California to Washington DC, and in the heartland,
Viewers will see the stations in action; they will hear the
stories of success, struggle and transformation.
Summary:
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"As
we stood there in our winter coats shivering, gazing upward
at the low power antenna reaching towards the cold clear
sky, the leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
says "they always said it would be a cold day in hell
when the farm-workers in Florida got their own radio station."
How many other labor organizers, cultural and linguistic
minorities, religious groups, alternative artists, musicians,
and dissenting political voices are waiting for a chance
to exercise their right to be heard? |
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LPFM: The People's Choice is a story that needs to be told.
In these times of media consolidation and invasion of civil
rights, "it's time to let a thousand flowers bloom" and give
regular ordinary citizens and people who make America their
home a chance to use the airwaves for the public good. |
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Amistad:
A New Chapter
List of past projects
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