New York, NY - The National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and in partnership with Blackside, Inc., is granting up to 15 historically black colleges $5,000 each (for a total of $75,000) to create original media based projects that explore contemporary issues of civil rights, American history and local and national leadership.
The "Eyes on the Prize Black College New Media Project" is part of a national outreach campaign to expand and enhance dialogue around issues of civil rights, as well as announce the rebroadcast of the landmark documentary series, Eyes on the Prize, to be aired this October.
This is the first time the program has aired in its entirety since 1993. Professors teaching at historically black colleges and universities are eligible to apply.
This web-based, multimedia initiative fosters the use of interactive technology, encourages historically black colleges to work with public television stations to learn to create and use media as a tool of civic engagement, and promotes a greater understanding of how the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement is still relevant today.
The application for the "Eyes on the Prize Black College New Media Project" deadline is September 30, 2006. All projects will be judged by a curatorial team of professional media makers, and grants will be awarded by October 15, 2006. Award recipients' work will be due by November 15, 2006, and uploaded and available for viewing on the internet.
The first six hours of the series, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement, 1954 - 1985 is scheduled to air nationally on PBS' American Experience, October 2, 9, 16, 2006. The remaining eight hours of the series will be broadcast at a later date.
"We are thrilled and honored to be a part of this national outreach campaign. We feel this project not only helps our young people learn more about the voices of the past, but also helps cultivate and encourage future media makers. Recognizing that many of today's major culture power brokers and media moguls, such as: Oprah Winfrey, Shawn 'P.Diddy' Combs, and Spike Lee attended historically black colleges, it is the desire of NBPC to foster civic engagement among our youth and help promote future generations of socially conscious filmmakers and media professionals," says Jacquie Jones, Executive Director for NBPC.
Please visit www.nbpc.tv/hbcu for complete application guidelines and submission rules or contact: hbcueop2006@nbpc.tv for more information.
About the Series
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement, 1954 to 1985, is a groundbreaking, award-winning 14-hour series that revolutionized documentary programming. The first six hours of the series originally aired in 1987 followed by the eight hour sequel in 1990. As the most comprehensive television documentary ever produced on the American Civil Rights Movement, "Eyes on the Prize" focuses on the events, issues, triumphs, and tragedies of ordinary people as they tested their power to effect change.
NBPC
The National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) is a non-profit media arts organization that commissions, acquires and funds film and video projects that reflect the complex stories of African Americans. Since its origination in 1979, NBPC has been funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to ensure that our public media remains rich with diverse and dynamic content. To that end, we have been proud to support many important and award-winning films including Malcolm X: Make It Plain, The Murder of Emmett Till and Daughters of the Dust. NBPC has awarded over $6 million to independent Black film and video projects since 1991.
Blackside
Blackside is a minority-owned documentary film production company dedicated to raising consciousness about America's social progress and history. It was founded in 1968 by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, Henry Hampton (1940 - 1998), Executive Producer and creator of the landmark Civil Rights documentary series, Eyes on the Prize. Blackside has produced more than 60 films and media projects, and is renowned for shaping the human stories behind the history into compelling films that inspire dialogue on the social and political issues at the core of American life.
The re-release of Eyes on the Prize was made possible by grants from The Ford Foundation and The Gilder Foundation. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is funding a national outreach campaign managed by Blackside that is a collaborative effort of three outreach partners: Outreach Extensions, Facing History and Ourselves, and the National Black Programming Consortium.
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source:
Bradley Burford
212-234-8200 ext. 221
brad@nbpc.tv
Jacquie Jones
212-234-8200 ext. 223
jacquie@nbpc.tv