International Reception
The International Reception this year was held just down the street from the Park Plaza Hotel, and across from Boston Common at Emerson College. While walking there, I was struck by the sense of history which pervades almost everything in this part of the city. I stopped to take a closer look at a shopfront, and noticed a plaque bolted to the brick wall above. It informed me that I was standing at approximately the spot where Edgar Allen Poe was born...and just a few streets over, he published his first collection of work. This put me in somewhat of a thoughtful mood as I made my way to the reception.
The keynote speaker for the evening was John Marks, the president and founder of an organization called the "Search for Common Ground".
http://www.sfcg.org/
His group focuses on exploiting the media as a resource for greater understanding between peoples of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In several globe-trotting examples, he displayed how community media was being used to mediate ethnic and cultural conflicts around the world, from Albania to Nigeria to Israel and Palestine. Some of his statistics were rather startling.
In one recent study of a project done in Albania with Albanian and Macedonian teens, Search for Common Ground asked the combined group how likely they would be to invite a member of another culture into their homes for a friendly visit. The number who replied "yes" was about 30%. After another group of Albanian and Macedonian teens worked to produce a television program about ethnic relations between their two cultures, the positive reply doubled in the sample group. 60% of those teens replied they would now welcome someone of a different cultural background into their home as a friend.
While those numbers, and the other examples Marks talked about during his speech were very positive, I began to question their overall relavence to our community in Salina. After all, we don't have separate ethnic groups acting in openly hostile ways to one another. Violent conflict isn't about to erupt on Santa Fe any time soon.
But that plaque about Edgar Allen Poe got me to thinking. What IS our history? How do we venerate it in ways that are meaningful to as many people as possible?
That train of thought led me to a rather unsettling destination. Out of the total population of business owners in Salina, how many are black? How many are Latino? How many are Asian?
From conversations I've had with volunteers in the past, getting minority programming on the air has been problematic because very few in our minority communities want to risk stating their views in such an open and public forum. Why is that?
And more importantly, how does it relate to what we do as an access center?
I think the answers to some of those questions might be very interesting for us to consider.
The International Reception this year was held just down the street from the Park Plaza Hotel, and across from Boston Common at Emerson College. While walking there, I was struck by the sense of history which pervades almost everything in this part of the city. I stopped to take a closer look at a shopfront, and noticed a plaque bolted to the brick wall above. It informed me that I was standing at approximately the spot where Edgar Allen Poe was born...and just a few streets over, he published his first collection of work. This put me in somewhat of a thoughtful mood as I made my way to the reception.
The keynote speaker for the evening was John Marks, the president and founder of an organization called the "Search for Common Ground".
http://www.sfcg.org/
His group focuses on exploiting the media as a resource for greater understanding between peoples of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In several globe-trotting examples, he displayed how community media was being used to mediate ethnic and cultural conflicts around the world, from Albania to Nigeria to Israel and Palestine. Some of his statistics were rather startling.
In one recent study of a project done in Albania with Albanian and Macedonian teens, Search for Common Ground asked the combined group how likely they would be to invite a member of another culture into their homes for a friendly visit. The number who replied "yes" was about 30%. After another group of Albanian and Macedonian teens worked to produce a television program about ethnic relations between their two cultures, the positive reply doubled in the sample group. 60% of those teens replied they would now welcome someone of a different cultural background into their home as a friend.
While those numbers, and the other examples Marks talked about during his speech were very positive, I began to question their overall relavence to our community in Salina. After all, we don't have separate ethnic groups acting in openly hostile ways to one another. Violent conflict isn't about to erupt on Santa Fe any time soon.
But that plaque about Edgar Allen Poe got me to thinking. What IS our history? How do we venerate it in ways that are meaningful to as many people as possible?
That train of thought led me to a rather unsettling destination. Out of the total population of business owners in Salina, how many are black? How many are Latino? How many are Asian?
From conversations I've had with volunteers in the past, getting minority programming on the air has been problematic because very few in our minority communities want to risk stating their views in such an open and public forum. Why is that?
And more importantly, how does it relate to what we do as an access center?
I think the answers to some of those questions might be very interesting for us to consider.
posted by Paul Green at 7:31 PM
2 Comments:
Having read some articles written by Alan Smith from St. John's Missionary Baptist here in town, it seems to me that Salina probably has a greater emerging problem among the youth of the city than we may think. And there have been supposedly race-related incidents at the schools.
I think kids are a big key here. Here are some wild ideas that I am throwing out without much thought on the full implications.
1) Work with the NAACP to develop a youth program with them that involves Access.
2) Connect with any 'Multi-Cultural committees' on high-school campuses, and try to get them to use Access as part of their activities.
3) Encourage some kind of student film-making class.
Now that we've talked about kids, let's talk about adults. What they need is integration, one person at a time. Suggestions -
1) Work with local ethnic groups (actually groups, like the Hispanic League, or the NAACP) to produce shows that promote their organizations.
2) Encourage 'minority' filmmakers.
3) Have a 'ethnic history month' where programs showcasing the history of their culture are shown.
4) Maybe there is someway we could encourage a volunteer to produce an 'anonymous viewpoint' show where they ask tough questions of shadowed people, maybe then people would feel more comfortable talking.
Ultimately, personal interaction is the key. I think the mission of Access in this area is to do the best we can to foster that interaction in a non-threatening setting.
I have attempted numerous times, through letters and phone calls, both at his home and work, to contact Dr. Trent Davis, the current president of the NAACP. Despite my having left messages for him to return my calls, he has yet to do so. Needless to say, this is quite frustrating.
It may be we have to go through churches to reaches these populations, but the drawback is that might place limitations on program topics (at least initially).
The Hispanic community, especially newer immigrants, is very insular, and from what I have been told will not try anything new unless those who are considered "leaders" tell them it's a good thing. Also, anecdotally I have been told perhaps only 10% of Hispanics in Salina have cable. Most of the rest have satellite so they can get Mexican TV. Therefore, there is little interest or even understanding about public access in that community.
This is not to nay-say by any means; rather, it's just to point out the obtacles that need to be overcome. I think they can, eventually; we just have to come up with a plan to do so. I hope we can work together to come up with some effective tactics.
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