Documentary Proposal II

Rebecca

Locations

Brownsville: Home of Mr. Wiley

Jackson: Home of Jewell or Liberty Garden Gazebo

Random Locations of the younger generations

Main Interview Dates

Mr. Wiley: TBD

Mrs. Jewell: March 19 (Sat) or 26 (Sat)

Focus Questions

Name, birthday, age, birthplace, current city of residence

What was life like when you were a child/teen/ young adult?

As a black person, how were you treated as a child/teen/young adult?

What was school like?

How did you view the Civil Rights Movement when it began? How did it affect you?

Tell me about major events in your life that dealt with racism or the Civil Rights.

When people hear you life story, what do you want them to take away from it? What do you want them to learn?

How are things different today compared to when you were growing up?

What are you thoughts on people who think we should not focus on the past or talk about slavery or major issues that deals with black people?

Do you think it is important for people to record their parents and grandparents’ experiences with racism and Civil Rights?

Conventions

Relies mainly on talking heads so that the focus will be on the interviewee and their connection to what is being told. Interviewer will sit off camera at eye level to prevent interviewee from looking extremely up or down.

Family photos may be used and images of specific locations.

Voiceover narration or text will accompany any photos used.

Point of View

Preserving current African American history so that the future does not forget what their own parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents experienced in order to have the freedoms that we have today; the importance of recording and remembering this history.

Voices

Dominant voices are Mr. Wiley and Mrs. Jewell, both African Americans living in the South.

Structure

Chronological or Narrative, depending on how some events inter-relates.

Subject

Not letting the past die. Preserving the struggle and experiences of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Compares with the efforts of SHOAH in preserving the life stories of people we would never expect to have dramatic experiences of major events.

Important social relevance: Those who experienced the Civil Rights Movement directly are getting older or have died. Many do not realize how important their stories are in reflecting the true nature of what those times were like. Some historians want to place a beginning and ending date to the Civil Rights despite there being little to no finite resolution to the issues.

Maker

Presence of maker will be absent except where questions will be heard to clarify an interviewee’s answer.

Location: Liberty Garden