Not In Our Town is one of three films highlighted in Social Issue Documentary: The Evolution of Public Engagement, a recent Center for Social Media report by Barbara Abrash, Director of Public Policy Programs at the Center for Media, Culture, and History at New York University. Abrash uses the Not In Our Town films and campaign to show how innovative approaches in community outreach, social networking, multimedia, and civic engagement are breaking new ground in the realm of public media.
Here are a few excerpts from Abrash’s report:
“The evolution of [Not In Our Town] demonstrates how a documentary about the experience of one small city inspired cities and towns across the U.S. to adapt the NIOT model to local circumstances, and led to a loosely-structured alliance slated to become a sustainable virtual community.” [...]
Blog
February 19, 2009 - 9:00pm
February 16, 2009 - 9:00pm
After the recent beating of Brandon Manning, a 24-year-old African American resident, the Richmond chapter of the NAACP called a vigil in El Sobrante, CA on Feb. 5, 2009, to support Manning and his family.
Two dozen community members joined city and religious leaders who huddled together in the rain at the park where Manning was attacked.
“I’m here to give my support to the Manning family,” said Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. “Ultimately I want to say Richmond is a place that welcomes people of all races, creeds and cultures, all sexual orientations — and at times like this, we come together to support each other and to strengthen our resolve and ability to respond and to just come back stronger.”
February 16, 2009 - 9:00pm
Tune into Independent Lens on PBS this week (February 10, 2009) for “Tulia, Texas,” a powerful film by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen about a terrible miscarriage of justice in a small West Texas town.
January 21, 2009 - 9:00pm
On the Sunday before the presidential inauguration, thousands of people celebrated the upcoming presidency of Barack Obama at the “We Are One” concert, featuring performances and speeches from a wide range of celebrities. The festivities, held in front of the Lincoln Memorial, were launched with a powerful opening prayer by Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop.
Bishop Robinson’s invocation unfortunately was not aired during HBO’s live broadcast of the event.
You can watch the entire “We Are One” concert, with the invocation included at the beginning, at HBO’s website. Below is a video of the invocation by itself and the text of the invocation:
January 21, 2009 - 9:00pm
In the aftermath of the police killing of Oscar Grant and the riots that ensued, Oakland residents are demonstrating the strength in their communities. Here’s a collection of stories from our town showing how Oakland is resisting violence:
Oakland School for the Arts Students Participate in Walkout
On Friday, January 9, fifty students at Oakland School for the Arts, located in the Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland, mobilized in a walkout. The protesters marched and chanted in resistance to both the execution of Oscar Grant and the continued occupation and active aggression toward Gaza and all of Palestine. The procession moved from OSA, on 19th and Telegraph, to 14th and Broadway, an intersection that has seen much dissent regarding Oscar’s murder.