Registration
Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media and the Council on Foundations are holding a reception, film screening and follow-up discussion at the newly opened Newseum in Washington, DC. This will be the culminating activity celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Council on Foundations Film & Video Festival. The centerpiece of “40 Years of Impact: Foundation-Funded Media” is a film that has tremendous potential to serve as a point of departure for the long overdue national conversation on race and privilege in America—that film is Traces of the Trade: A Story of the Deep North. Following the screening, Harvard Law Professor, Charles Ogletree, and esteemed NewsHour journalist, Judy Woodruff, will lead a dialogue with a panel comprised of some of the greatest thinkers of our time.
Traces of the Trade chronicles the journey of descendents of the largest slave-trading family in America as they uncover their ancestors’ history, explore the economic history of our nation, and begin a quest for personal and national reconciliation. Our event is an effort to use the past to propel us into a better future and Traces exemplifies the power of media to bring about change. (The film has already served to move the Episcopal Church to pass resolutions at their national convention to address their role in perpetuating American slavery.) www.tracesofthetrade.org
The bicentennial of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade is January 1, 2008. We believe Traces of the Trade: A Story of the Deep North could not be a more appropriate and timely film to feature along with a follow-up dialogue with the philanthropic community, members of Congress, and other Washington influentials. Traces of the Trade is joining a long list of foundation-funded films that have been able to move individuals, communities, and even our nation. The screening of this film and the dialogue that will follow are designed to be the beginning of a process of healing that the film and its engagement campaign will then carry across the country.
For more information contact Kelly Pino: kpino@gfem.org