FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2007
Julie Levak, Director of External Affairs, California Council for the Humanities
(415) 391-1474
jlevak@calhum.org
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Council for the Humanities announced today that it has awarded $10,000 California Story Fund grants to 17 projects across the state. The projects will tell the stories of people of various ages, economic levels and ethnic backgrounds, including Latinos who help build California’s bridges, gay veterans of war, a well-known Filipino activist and individuals in rural California involved in the disability rights movement.
The projects will make use of various media, including video and audio recordings, and feature a culminating exhibit, video or performance for the general public.
Four of the projects focus on youth, including one project in Los Angeles that will involve kids at a juvenile detention facility in writing workshops, and another in San Jose, Calif. that will enable at-risk kids to document their neighborhood through photography and interviews.
The California Story Fund is an ongoing program of California Stories, the Council’s multiyear initiative to connect Californians and foster understanding by uncovering personal and community stories that tell the true story of California. The guidelines and an online application for the July 2, 2007 California Story Fund round of funding are now available on the Council’s website www.californiastories.org.
The following is a complete list of the 17 new California Story Fund projects. For more details, visit http://www.californiastories.org/programs/story_intro.htm.
“Bill Sorro: His Life and Activism,”
sponsored by the
Manilatown Heritage Foundation, San Francisco:
Documenting the history of a Filipino leader in the San Francisco Bay area.
“The Bridge Builders: The Latino Experience,”
sponsored by the
Fund for Labor Culture and History, San Francisco:
An oral history and photography project about Latinos who helped build California’s bridges.
“Castroville Japanese School Oral History Project,”
sponsored by the Castroville Coalition:
The stories of Castroville’s former Japanese residents.
“Documenting Disability History,”
sponsored by the Freed Center for Independent Living, Grass Valley:
The story of the disability rights movement in rural California.
“FotoFolio,”
sponsored by Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, San Jose:
Kids photograph their transitional neighborhood and interview residents.
“Geographies of the Imagination,”
sponsored by the California College of the Arts, Oakland:
Mapping the geographical landscapes of Chilean immigrants.
“Life Under the Radar: Undocumented Youth,”
sponsored by La Raza Centro De Legal, San Francisco:
A filmmaker documents the realities of life for undocumented kids living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Los Hilos de la Vida: The Threads of Life,”
sponsored by Anderson Valley Unified School District, Boonville:
Mexican American women make quilts based on their stories.
“Out Ranks: GLBT Military Service from World War II to the Iraq War,”
sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society of San Francisco:
The true story of gays in the military.
“Remembering Our Manongs,”
sponsored by the Filipino American National Historical Society of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa:
A documentary on early Filipino immigrants to California.
“Dr. Shirley Kennedy: The Life of an Activist,”
sponsored by the Center for Black Studies Research UC Santa Barbara:
A film about a Santa Barbara African American activist.
“Erasing the Past. Building the Future,”
sponsored by the Economic Opportunity Commission Liberty Tattoo Removal Program, San Luis Obispo:
How removing tattoos helps individuals move on with their lives.
“Borrowed Voices: Sharing the Stories of Incarcerated Youth,”
sponsored by Pitzer College Center for California Cultural and Social Issues, Claremont:
Incarcerated youth tell their stories.
“Building a Home in Antelope Valley: What is home? Where is Home?”
sponsored by Contemporary Modern Art Projects, Los Angeles:
Exploring the idea of home in Antelope Valley.
“The Eastsiders,”
sponsored by Eighth and Wall, Inc., Rolling Hills Estates:
Preserving the memories of a once-thriving African American neighborhood.
“New Words, New Visions,”
sponsored by California Living History, Pasadena/Altadena:
At-risk students use photography, writing to express their views.
“Why We Gather: Building Community,”
sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, Los Angeles:
Capturing the traditions of Filipino Americans in Southern California.
The mission of the California Council for the Humanities is to foster understanding between people and encourage their engagement in community life through the public use of the humanities. The Council is an independent nonprofit organization and state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council has supported and created programs that bring Californians together around their history and culture for more than 30 years. For more information, visit the Council’s website at www.californiastories.org or contact the Council’s administrative office at (415) 391-1474.
As part of California Stories, the Council is now conducting “How I See It,” a new youth campaign, that will enable young people to share — in their own words and through a variety of media — what their lives are like, what they care about, and what it’s like to grow up in today’s California. Visit http://www.californiastories.org/programs/HowISeeIt_overview.htm to find out more.
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