Race Relations/Diversity

Films

All for the Taking: 21st-Century Urban Renewal This timely and thought-provoking documentary provides an insightful case study of the uses and abuses of the power of eminent domain by the city of Philadelphia as it attempts to redefine itself through "urban renewal" and planned gentrification.

Backbone of the World Set amid the majestic splendor of the northern Rockies, this innovative and inspiring documentary interweaves two compelling parallel stories: film director George Burdeau's journey home to live and work on the Blackfeet Reservation, and his tribe's determined struggle to protect its sacred lands and forge a new identity.

Beyond Our Boundaries This engaging documentary explores a wide array of issues faced by international and American students when developing working relationships and friendships with one another. It serves as an excellent discussion-starter on interchanges between students of varying nationalities and ethnicities, as well as a thought-provoking illustration of how intercultural contacts help break down cultural stereotypes and ethnocentrism.

Blink This powerful and thought-provoking documentary examines the dramatic story of one-time white supremacist leader Gregory Withrow, and in so doing explores the underlying themes of violence, racism. and domination in American life and culture.

Boomtown This fascinating and thought-provoking documentary chronicles the many challenges faced by Suquamish families in the fireworks business and explores the complex and often thorny issues of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness in Indian Country.

Brownsville Black and White This poignant and powerful documentary explores the complex history of interracial cooperation, urban change, and social conflict in Brownsville, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, from the 1930s to the present.

California and the American Dream This incisive, thought-provoking four-part series explores the dynamics of culture, community, and identity in California, one of the most diverse places in the world. Each film provides a trenchant and highly discussible case study of divergent California social trends that are keenly evident all across America.

California's "Lost" Tribes This remarkable documentary explores the conflicts over Indian gaming and places them in the context of both California and Native American history. The film examines the historical underpinnings of tribal sovereignty and the evolution of tribal gaming rights over the last 30 years.

Can You See the Color Gray? This unique and provocative documentary examines the development, expression, and communication of racial and ethnic prejudices and stereotypes.

Confederacy Theory This powerful and thought-provoking documentary explores the complexities of a controversy steeped in American history and racial divisiveness: the debate over the Confederate flag in South Carolina, the last state to fly the flag on its capitol.

Contrary Warriors This widely acclaimed documentary chronicles the Crow Indians' century-long battle for survival. In spite of every effort by the U.S. government to assimilate the people and acquire their tribal land, the Crows have persisted -- their language, family, and culture intact.

Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice This thought-provoking documentary explores the life and achievements of a man who felt the sting of injustice while growing up and later, as a lawyer, judge, and educator, fought for more than five decades to eradicate discrimination and inequality in American life.

Displaced in the New South This remarkable documentary explores the cultural collision between Asian and Hispanic immigrants and the suburban communities near Atlanta, Georgia, in which they have settled.

Festive Land: Carnaval in Bahia This perceptive and engaging documentary examines one of the largest and most extraordinary popular celebrations in the world, the week-long Carnaval that brings more than two million people to the streets of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil.

Flag Wars This profoundly compelling and thought-provoking documentary is the best case study available of the social and human consequences of urban gentrification in contemporary America. Filmed over a four-year period in Columbus, Ohio, "Flag Wars" explores with eye-opening candor and unforgettable poignancy the effects on a long-established black neighborhood when gay white professionals move into and begin to transform the area.

Forgotten Fires This riveting exploration of the devastating consequences of racial hatred shines a profoundly revealing light into the darkest reaches of America's heart and soul. The film investigates the burning of two African American churches in rural South Carolina by a young convert to the Ku Klux Klan.

Laid to Waste This acclaimed documentary is the best case study of environmental injustice and racism available on video. It exposes the ugly underbelly of environmental racism and provides an excellent illustration of grassroots organizing and networking.

Madres Unidas: Parents Researching for Change This unique and inspiring documentary follows five immigrant mothers who became involved in an effort to start a new small school for their children, and later became researchers and videographers to document their journey.

Mi Puerto Rico This wide-ranging and much-honored documentary explores Puerto Rico's rich cultural traditions and untold history, revealing the remarkable stories of its revolutionaries and abolitionists, poets and patriots.

Monkey Dance (Director's Version) This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America.

Monkey Dance (PBS Version) This extraordinary documentary provides an illuminating and richly discussible case study of immigrant acculturation in contemporary America.

The New Los Angeles This engaging documentary explores the complexities of inclusion in Los Angeles -- the nation's largest "majority-minority" city and the city with the nation's largest divide between rich and poor.

The Price of Renewal What are the challenges in crafting a vibrant urban village from an ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse population? This perceptive documentary examines complex issues of community development, philanthropy, and civic engagement by chronicling the long-term redevelopment of an older, deteriorating neighborhood called City Heights, often referred to as the Ellis Island of San Diego.

Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger Regarded as a hero by many and a renegade by some in the Catholic Church hierarchy, Michael Pfleger, longtime pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina parish, has consistently used the power of his pulpit to battle social inequity and engage in high profile campaigns to end drug-dealing, prostitution, and the exploitation of the poor by liquor and tobacco companies.

Rancho California (Por Favor) This thought-provoking, widely acclaimed visual essay provides a troubling journey through migrant farmworker camps in suburban southern California.

Record Store As the American music industry struggles to find its place in the digital world, many music enthusiasts continue to buy and collect vinyl records, sometimes to their financial and emotional detriment. This remarkable documentary explores the various urban subcultures at an independent record store in Philadelphia, focusing on the store's owners, employees, and customers.

Roots of Beauty This richly detailed documentary illustrates the complex processes utilized by Pomo Indian weavers of northern California to cultivate, manage, harvest, and prepare the indigenous plant materials used in their world-famous baskets.

Roots of Health This thought-provoking and insightful documentary employs incisive case studies from around the world to explore how people's health and well-being is primarily determined by where they live, their educational, social, and economic status, and the degree of control they have over their lives.

Salsa in Japan: A Japanese and Latino Mix This remarkable documentary on multiculturalism explores the growing subculture of salsa dancing in Japan, where salsa dancing and salsa clubs serve as a source of interaction and cultural mingling between native Japanese and Latino immigrants to Japan.

Science or Sacrilege: Native Americans, Archaeology and the Law This provocative, in-depth documentary examines the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), its underlying moral and political issues, its practical consequences, and the prospects for science in the post-NAGPRA world.

Still Revolutionaries This compelling documentary explores the lives of two women who were members of the Black Panther Party between 1969 and 1975.

To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America This thought-provoking and powerful documentary follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as he brings his revolutionary microfinance program to the United States, establishing Grameen America. The first stop: Queens, New York, 2008, just as the financial crisis explodes and the American economy plummets.

Transnational Fiesta: 1992 Until recently, it was widely assumed that Native communities throughout the Americas would be absorbed into the mainstream or otherwise disappear. But 500 years after the beginning of the Conquest, indigenous peoples are asserting their presence and identity with renewed vigor. This remarkable video illustrates this by exploring the multicultural and transnational experiences of a family of Peruvian Andean immigrants living in Washington, D.C.

A World Without Strangers This engaging and innovative documentary explores the common misperceptions and stereotypes of one another shared by young people in the Middle East and the United States. It connects five college-age women from the United States with five from the Middle East in a media-based dialogue that illuminates and challenges cross-cultural misconceptions.

A World of Differences: Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication When we encounter people from other societies or cultures, we may fail to understand them for many reasons, including differences in language, values, gestures, emotional expression, norms, rituals, rules, expectations, family background, and life experiences. This extraordinary video, by the noted producer, Prof. Dane Archer, shows that cross-cultural communication can be successful if we manage to understand the powerful differences that separate people who come from differing cultures.

Woven Ways Filmed amid the dramatic landscapes of the Navajo reservation lands in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, this multifaceted documentary incisively explores the profound relationships between the Navajo people, their land, and their livestock, and examines how environmental issues now threaten the Navajo's health, culture, and well-being.