civil rights
Behind the Scenes: Kunstler’s Daughters Reflect
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe aired last night on P.O.V. on PBS. But the conversation continued online well into the next day. Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler both logged on for a live chat with their audience immediately after the broadcast.
With America’s best known civil rights lawyer still fresh in everyone’s thoughts, the daughters fielded a wide range of questions from viewers. One participant asked how their father would have felt about the internet as a platform for activism. Both Emily and Sarah were convinced he would have been obsessed with following his press mentions through “Google alerts.” Read the full transcript from last night’s chat here.
Plus, watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the film. Here you will see how Michelangelo’s David, an inspiration to a young William Kunstler, came to life through animation.
Tonight on P.O.V. – William Kunstler, Radical Lawyer
The most hated and loved lawyer in America captured through the lens and mouths of his two daughters. Tonight, P.O.V. airs William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, a documentary directed by sisters Emily and Sarah Kunstler, that chronicles the rise of their father as an activist lawyer (check local listings here).
A self-described radical, Kunstler was one of the best-known civil rights attorneys in American history. He came from a privileged background and settled as a lawyer in Westchester County in the 1950s, setting up a small practice with his family. But Kunstler cut his teeth in the 1960s, representing freedom riders in Mississippi on behalf of the ACLU.
His daughters refer to him as a “silver tongued, pied piper,” who could charm a jury and bring national attention to underserved members of society. Kunstler passionately battled for the demands of the American Indian Movement in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, and later, the inmates of Attica prison.
It was his handling of the Chicago Seven case in 1969, however, that made him famous. Kunstler represented seven individuals charged with inciting race riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He sparred openly with the judge and prosecutor and was cited for contempt, nearly facing an unprecedented four years in prison.
Filmmaker Profile: Avon Kirkland Discusses Legacy of Sam Cooke
Documentary filmmaker Avon Kirkland didn’t follow the typical path to filmmaking – earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis and working as a research scientist and educational publishing executive before starting a career in television in 1972.
Since then, his work as a producer, director, and writer has focused on creating films that explore the rich history and culture of African Americans and their contributions.
His work has included numerous ground-breaking projects such as Up & Coming, a 25-part drama series about an African-American family struggling between working- and middle-class in San Francisco; Booker, a one-hour drama based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington; and numerous other films that aired on American Masters and public television including Simple Justice, Street Soldiers, and Ralph Ellison: An American Journey.
More recently, Kirkland played a pivotal role as executive producer of Sam Cooke: Crossing Over, on which he worked with producer/director John Antonelli to secure completion funding from ITVS. The film looks at the musical and political significance of composer, performer, and pioneering pop music entrepreneur Sam Cooke and the circumstances that led to his murder.
Check out this video where Kirkland explains the impact and importance of the legendary singer.
Remembering the 42nd Anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre
Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the most unknown tragedy in the history of the civil rights movement. On 1968, police opened fire on the campus of South Carolina State University, leaving three young African American men dead and 27 wounded. Unlike a similar incident at Kent State, the incident did not make national headlines and there has never been an official investigation into what occurred that night. The film investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Haven’t heard of the tragedy? Well, be sure to tune into public television this month to watch the ITVS film Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, where filmmakers Bestor Cram and Judy Richardson investigate the continued cover-up of the tragedy and the ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Watch an extended clip of this program below:
Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 airs in February on public television (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).
ITVS Celebrates Black History Month
Nine-year-old Pricilla from P-Star Rising, airing Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
Mine, premiering Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
ITVS and PBS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month offers a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month.
Independent Lens brings race to the forefront with four new films in February. Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, debuting Feb. 2, explores the often-overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. Then, tune in on Feb. 9 for P-Star Rising, which looks at nine-year-old Pricilla who wants to be the youngest female rap star ever and her single father who is determined to help her make it big. This film also closes out the special line-up of compelling films as part of Independent Lens’s Music Month.
A third film, Mine, premiering Feb. 16, tells the poignant and powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane victims to reunite with their beloved pets. Finally, Behind the Rainbow, airing Feb. 23, unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.
Other ITVS films airing this month on PBS include: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, and Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Get local broadcast information >>
Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal, including a special collection for Black History Month.
Watch these video clips of upcoming new Independent Lens programs (check local listings):
Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, Feb. 2 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS
Reconstructing History: Filmmakers Discuss Objective Storytelling
This is the companion piece to Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which airs in February on public television, and investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Filmmakers Bestor Cram and Judy Richardson discuss how they visually reconstructed a shocking historical event of which there is very little archival footage, without influencing the objective telling of the story.
Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 airs in February on public television (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).
Open Call Recipients: Noland Walker and Sharon LaCruise, Filmmakers of IN THE SHADOW LITTLE ROCK
ITVS’s Open Call provides finishing funds for single non-fiction or animation public television programs on any subject and from any viewpoint. Projects must have begun production as evidenced by a work-in-progress video.
Check out the clip below with filmmakers Noland Walker and Sharon LaCruise, who received Open Call funds for their film IN THE SHADOW LITTLE ROCK: The Life of Daisy Bates, which looks at the life of the African American political activist and newspaper publisher. Learn more about their film and why they thought it was the best fit for public television.
Interested in applying for Open Call? ITVS is looking for single public television programs on any subject, viewpoint or style. We fund programs that bring new audiences to public television and expand civic participation by bringing diverse voices into the public sphere. This year’s deadline is July 31, 2009.
American Experience and ITVS Explore Civil Rights in A CLASS APART
Tonight at 9:00 PM (check local listings), American Experience, in a co-production with ITVS, will present A CLASS APART, a documentary that tells the little-known story of a group of Mexican-American lawyers and their struggle to get a fair murder trial for Pete Hernandez, a Texas field hand.
Houston Chronicle: “…films about Mexican-Americans and other Latinos who struggled and prevailed against segregation and discrimination are few and far between. That scarcity emphasizes the significance of documentaries such as A CLASS APART.”
Check out a preview below:
A CLASS APART premieres tonight at 9:00 PM on American Experience on PBS (check local listings)
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