Who are you? Where do you come from? These are the basic questions at the core of the new 10-part PBS series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Join KCPT at the Black Archives of Mid-America on Thursday, March 15th at 7pm for a sneak peek of Finding Your Roots. The Archive’s Executive Director Dr. Doretha Williams and a panel with scholars from area universities and colleges will discuss the importance of race, genealogy and community as well as tools for discovering your own family’s history. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Reserve your seat at here.
“School is a safe spot, not a hate spot” and “Bullying is an act of insecurity #beyourself” are some of the messages from anti-bullying PSAs created by students at two local high schools. As part of the national Public Media initiative Not In Our Town (NIOT), KCPT asked local high school students to create anti-bullying PSAs for use on-air and in area classrooms.
Both PSAs will premiere around the February 13, 2012 broadcast of the latest NIOT documentary, Not In Our Town: Class Actions, which showcases how university and school campuses across the country have found positive ways to stand up against hate and bullying.
Students at FL Schlagle High School in Kansas City, KS decided to focus their PSA on cyber bullying. They polled fellow students to find out how social media is used to bully and then came up with ways to handle it. Throughout the spot, masked students hold signs with hash tagged messages like “Once you tweet it, it’s there forever #thinkbeforeyoutweet.”
Fairfax Learning Center’s student council came up with the slogan “School is a safe spot, not a hate spot,” designed a poster, and scripted a bullying skit. Because Fairfax Learning Center does not have a video production class or equipment, KCPT’s production crew went to film the skit and then edited it together.
The PSAs will continue to air on KCPT for the next year and will also be available to area teachers along with classroom resources from Not In Our Town. Educators are encouraged to sign-up to receive these resources and updates from the initiative here.
Join the local violence prevention project Aim4Peace on Thursday, February 9, 2012 for special screenings and discussions of the upcoming Frontline documentary The Interrupters. The film tells the amazing story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who place themselves in the crossfire to stop the cycle of violence and protect their communities. Representatives from the Aim4Peace Violence Prevention Project will be at the screenings with more information about the anti-violence work being done in our community, which is modeled after the Chicago programs profiled in the film. Screenings will take place at 9am, Noon, 3pm and 6pm at the Biery Auditorium 2400 Troost Ave. KCMO 64108. The event is free and open to the public.
Thai Place, Henry’s Tea Room and Antiques, and The Westside Local
Reviewers recommend the Thai cuisine in Overland Park, Kansas; the home made treats in a tea room in Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and the local food stylings in the Westside Neighborhood of KCMO.
