New Lens

Featuring…
“William and Ellen Craft” is the story of the extraordinary escape of two slaves from Macon Georgia. Through disguise, perseverance and great luck they made their way north to freedom.

“The Nonviolent Fight: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts” is the story of how an African American community who decided to stop riding public buses for an entire year ignited change in segregation laws. This story describes Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King’s first act of leadership in the civil rights movement.

“The Children of Birmingham” is the story of how young people inspired courage, persistence and enthusiasm for protesting whites-only public places. Through the actions of hundreds of young people, some as young as 6, they were able to change the laws of segregation.

“Gettin’ the Vote” chronicles the protests of those who struggled for the right for African Americans to vote. In America, 100 years after the end of slavery, the battle is courageous, powerful and not yet done. Featuring footage from the National Archives.

“The Story of Hair” teaches the origin of how good hair or bad hair creates status among African Americans from slavery to today. Students learn how white society has impacted the way people feel about themselves and encourages young people to celebrate who they are and their hair! Featuring a narration by internationally renowned artist Joyce J. Scott and music by James Collins of Fertile Ground.

These animations were created by Baltimore young people ages 8-18. The first step in making these projects is to look at historic pictures. By examining old photos they learn about the people who made change, how young they were, how ordinary and extraordinary they were and what happened when they fought for equality. Learning about the past is important because it teaches us how change happened, where we came from and most importantly it gives us courage to make change today. After learning about an empowering story, young people create a series of drawings called a storyboard that retells the story through their eyes. Their pictures are matched with a script that they narrate. They draw pictures from historic photographs, paint them, cut them out and animate them. Animation takes a very long time, about 15 hours for one minute! To animate, one young person controls the slow movements of the characters while the other takes pictures with a video camera from above. Once this process is complete, the footage is edited on our computer with the soundtrack added.

These projects have helped our young people to learn and love history. They are great for adults, educators, community groups and youth of all ages. We hope you enjoy these testaments to the perseverance, will and creativity of Americans seeking justice and equality.