Ellis Island (a work in progress)

Abstract:: 'Ellis Island (a work in progress)' is a haunting, reflective piece on Ellis Island and the immigrants who passed through there. Black-and-white, near-static shots of actors and actresses realistically portraying turn-of-the-century immigrants are combined with color shots of a modern-day tour guide conducting a tour of the buildings. Re-creations of the medical examinations the immigrants underwent and the conditions they lived through are filmed in the run-down buildings of Ellis Island before restoration was started. "Ellis Island' was created with the New Television Workshop. Segments of it were broadcast as part of the 'Frames of Reference' showcase specials 'Landscape in Motion' and 'Dance Journeys.'

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Elma Lewis Black Poetry for Children

Abstract:: Elma Lewis reads the poem 'Sympathy' by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Program is divided into two halves: the first featuring a 30-minute in-studio poetry reading by Elma Lewis, the second of magazine-style segments. Elma Lewis, Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, seated with children around her, talks about what poetry is, what a poem can make you feel, and why people used to write in rhymes. Lewis focuses on two African American poets, Langston Hughes (who is 'of this time') and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and reads selections from each. The second half contains the following segments: a mime performance by Halim Adbur Rashid (Fred Johnson) titled 'The Writer,' 'Access' (with A.D. Saunders, who describes the Boston Jazz Society), 'The Word' (with professor and historian A.B. Spellman, who comments on Black History Week), the 'Community Calendar,' 'Information' (on Minority Recruitment Month for the Peace Corps), and 'Commentary' by Producer Marita Rivero. Original air date estimated. Directed by Conrad White.

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Abstract:: Elma Lewis, Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, reads the poem 'Sympathy' by Paul Lawrence Dunbar to a group of children and then asks them what they think the poem means.

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Abstract:: Excerpt from the program exploring three schools identified by the community as viable alternative choices to Boston's public schools: Roxbury Community School, St. Joseph's Community School (supported by the Archdiocese of Boston), and Paige Academy (a private school operating via tuition). Dr. Philip Hart, professor at the University of Massachusetts and former director of the Federation for Boston Community Schools, the parent organization for Roxbury Community School, talks about the dissatisfaction with public schools on the part of Black parents in the 1960s. Parents were pulling their children out of school and educating them at newly formed freedom schools and tutoring centers. In 1966 the New School for Children and Roxbury Community College were incorporated as private non-profit educational institutions set up as an alternative to Boston public schools.