Q&A following World premiere of TELL THEM WE ARE RISING: THE STORY OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES at The Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017.
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities is the first and only feature documentary and multi-platform project to research, gather, and share a rich mosaic of stories that relay the history of HBCUs.
Tell Them We Are Rising is being produced by Firelight Films and directed by master documentarian Stanley Nelson, producer of The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and other award-winning films that illuminate the rich experiences of African-Americans. It is slated to air in 2017 on the PBS prime-time series Independent Lens. The project is funded with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Lumina Foundation.
The telling of this story is long overdue. HBCUs have been at the margins of the American collective conscience despite their role in shaping Black life, dismantling desegregation and birthing and growing the Black middle class. Tell Them We Are Rising’s compelling narrative and original footage will show Americans that, HBCUs have touched all Americans—regardless of race. HBCUs deserve respect, support and a prominent place in our historical and contemporary understanding of higher education.
This project comes at the right time. HBCUs are at a crossroads. Many are in financial stress and face possible closure. Many Americans question their relevance in a post-segregated nation. Tell Them We Are Rising will provide a national forum to explore and discuss a path forward for the nation’s 100-plus HBCUs. www.hbcurising.com @HBCUrising
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