Separate, But Equal — the film:

In this documentary, Wilson poses the question without using a single image of a fire hose, growling dog, or burning cross to help make his point.  Henry Clay Anderson’s photographs and the stories surrounding them serve to reshape the image of African Americans in Mississippi during legal segregation.  His rediscovered photographs document a virtually ignored and neglected chapter in African-American history: the proud, dignified community of middle-class blacks that existed throughout the South at the dawn of the civil rights movement.  The photographs contained in this film are works of art, but they are also historical documents.  And, thankfully, they have been acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC and will be on permanent display in 2016.

Henry Clay Anderson, a professional photographer who lived and worked in Greenville, Mississippi, established Anderson Photo Service in Greenville in 1947. Throughout the ’50’s and ’60’s, he photographed every aspect of his relatively prosperous black community, recording the daily lives of the men and women who built the Greenville schools, churches, and hospitals that served their segregated society. He photographed family gatherings, weddings, funerals, and events at the black high school. He photographed nightclub musicians, itinerant entertainers, and a wide range of professionals at work.

Program Description

Reshaping African American History and Building Community Esteem

Wilson uses his film and its subject matter as a window into the lives of African-Americans during legal segregation in Mississippi — a world that has been overlooked in the aftermath of the civil rights movement – the community of black middle class Southerners who considered themselves first-class Americans despite living in a deeply segregated society.

Through Anderson’s photos of life in Greenville, Wilson shows how a cooperative system can create empowerment in the community and beyond.  He addresses the importance of education and economic development as a means to pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps, per Booker T. Washington in Up from Slavery. Wilson also examines how the power of place can be a factor in community development and how that factor can affect other aspects of our lives. He also examines the role that news publications play in the interconnectedness of, and divisions within, society and how that has helped and hurt the African-American community.

Bios

Shawn D. Wilson (Writer and Director)
Co-author of Separate, But Equal:  The Mississippi Photographs of Henry Clay Anderson, Wilson has spent the past 10 years working as a filmmaker and producer. His clients included The Historymakers where he produced dozens of interviews with influential African Americans, including Lynn Nottage, and Marc Morial. He is also research consultant to the Smithsonian NMAAHC. “Separate, But Equal” marks his directorial debut.

Ilyana Kadushin  (Producer and Composer)
A co-founder of Lythion Music, Kadushin produced and scored “Separate, But Equal”.  She is globally known as the voice of best-selling audio book series “Twilight”, and has toured and spoken at fan symposiums and book store events as that voice. A dedicated activist for progressive causes, Ilyana and her company have written and performed their music live to benefit organizations like:  Amnesty International, True Body Project, Wildlife Federation, Hands Up Not Hands Out (Ilyana is an ambassador) and Rock’NRenew.

Tom works with organizations that want to stimulate action and involvement. His high-intrigue, high-energy programs catalyze creativity and challenge constituents to open up their thinking. Let Tom Clynes give your audience something substantial to talk about—and move them forward with an enduring sense of expanded possibilities.

Program Descriptions

Can One Person Really Change the World?

Tom’s provocative and visually stunning presentation answers this question with dramatic and inspiring stories of real people who shaped once-ordinary lives into world-changing adventures. Discover how they did it, why they did it, and why the world needs us to pursue the goals we really care about. By artfully weaving the stories of your own “heroes” with the achievements of world-changing heroes, this program is designed to boost energy, involvement and enthusiasm.

The Art of Audacity

Audacity is the missing ingredient in far too many worthy endeavors. But some people seem to have it in abundance: The explorer whose jungle expedition led to the biggest African conservation victory in three decades…the “elephant whisperer” who rescued the animals in the Baghdad Zoo…the virus hunter whose ambitious plan to stop epidemics before they start is shifting the way the world confronts infectious diseases. Via astonishing stories and photos, this program challenges audiences to believe in their boldest dreams—and energizes your meeting with an anything-is-possible spirit.

The Seven Habits of World-Changers

People who succeed in changing the world are not born—they’re self-made. In this enlightening—and surprising—presentation, you’ll discover the intriguing life lessons behind the success of people who dared to challenge and change the status quo. Expect to be entertained, provoked, and wowed by these spectacular images and stories.

Ends of the Earth

Expect to question your own personal and cultural truths during this rollicking tour of the Earth’s natural and cultural extremes. From Thailand’s Vegetarian Banquet for Monkeys, to the man who risked his life to rescue the animals in the Baghdad Zoo, to the world’s roughest sport, Tom is your guide to the world at its most thrilling, open, colorful, and alive. Audiences will be entertained, provoked, and wowed by these spectacular images and stories.

Bio

For the past decade, Tom Clynes has been a contributing editor and photographer at National Geographic Adventure, covering environmental issues, science, and adventure travel. He also contributes to Popular Science, Men’s Journal, The New York Times, GQ, and other publications, and is the author of the book “Wild Planet.” Tom’s magazine stories often appear in Houghton-Mifflin’s “Best American” series of magazine-writing anthologies.

What do all of these people have in common? Facebook

Program Description

Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit

Having recently reached a milestone of over 350 million active users, Facebook has become not only a household staple spanning generations—from high school and college students, to their parents, and even grandparents, but Facebook, and social networking in general, represents a cultural revolution and massive shift in the way people conduct their personal and professional affairs. It’s opened up an international dialogue that didn’t exist five years ago, allowing members to connect in an efficient and technologically advanced way.

But what comes of these millions of connections? How can people better use this technology to their professional and personal advantage?

In her lecture/slide program, Liebert demonstrates how Facebook, in the short span of five years, has fostered an intricate web of amazing connections, the results of which have transformed people’s lives in ways they never imagined possible:  marriages, business successes, community service victories, and more.  Liebert addresses the ways in which commerce and communication are moving from traditional settings and onto the web, and how everyday people can use these tools to not only keep in touch with friends and make new ones, but to use those relationships to enrich their lives.  

Including separate interviews with with co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and co-founder Chris Hughes, Facebook Fairytales is a diverse collection of 25 of the most inspiring stories that have resulted from these connections.  The stories emphasize the real-life characters’ personal struggles and triumphs. Audiences will be able to personally relate to these stories and, at the same time, be inspired and by the possibilities of success resulting from a few clicks and the willingness to try.

Bio

Emily Liebert is an award-winning, internationally published author, writer, and editor. Her first book Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit will publish in April 2010. She is also hard at work finishing final edits on her debut novel, Conversations with Friends.  Most recently, Liebert served as editor for Kerry Kennedy’s New York Times best-seller Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning.  A graduate of Smith College, Liebert was Editor-in-Chief of The WAG magazine for five years and, prior to that, worked for ABC NEWS’ Peter Jennings Reporting. She received the Clarion Gold Award in Magazine Journalism and has made numerous television and radio appearances.

He and Darius prove that idealism and creativity can result in tangible progress. Part revolution, part revelation, this film proves to people of all ages how life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.

In this multi-award-winning documentary, fifteen-year-old Darius Weems and eleven of his best friends set off across America with the ultimate goal of getting his wheelchair customized on MTV’s Pimp My Ride. The result is a rarely seen testament to the explosive idealism of today’s youth, as well as a vivid portrayal of adventure, of brotherhood, and of the character and strength it takes to shed light on an uncertain future.

Not only does Darius Weems bravely face his own inevitable fate with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), but through his unflinching humor and his extraordinary laugh, he sparks a revolution in the lives of everyone who crosses–and then shares–his courageous path.

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