News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jenny Shoener

Albright Memorial Library

Phone: (570) 348-3000 ext. 3023

Email: jshoener@albright.org

The Albright Memorial Library will be hosting several programs related to the PBS film documentary, AMERICAN CREED, made possible through grant funding from the American Library Association. The Library will be collaborating with The University of Scranton for two of the programs, as part of the University’s Humanities Initiative to encourage community members and students to come together and discuss what it means to be an American for them.

The first event will be a screening of the AMERICAN CREED documentary, followed by a Community Conversation with discussion and Q&A, led by historian, Dr. Adam Pratt, a faculty member from The University of Scranton. The screening will be held on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the Library’s Henkelman Room. The snow date is Monday, April 8, 2019.

In the documentary film AMERICAN CREED, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy come together from different points of view to investigate the idea of a unifying American creed. Their spirited inquiry frames the stories of citizen-activists striving to realize their own visions of America’s promise across deepening divides. At the heart of this film, Rice and Kennedy lead a moving discussion with first-generation college students about the question: what does it mean to be American today?

AMERICAN CREED Community Conversations are film screenings and scholar-facilitated discussions that mirror the type of conversation Rice and Kennedy have in the film; one designed to engage Americans in reflection and dialogue about their own part in the American story, and in acting to shape that story for the better.

The second event will be a Political Dialogue on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the Library’s Henkelman Room, hosted in partnership with The University of Scranton through their Political Dialogues Initiative. Community members from varied political perspectives and backgrounds will break up into groups with University facilitators to share the experiences, values, hopes, and concerns that shape how they feel about our country, while also seeking to understand those who think differently. Short clips from the AMERICAN CREED documentary will introduce the dialogue.

The third event will take place during the Library’s Social Justice Book Club meeting on Monday, July 8, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the Henkelman Room. The book club will read and discuss Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. It is a collection of essays, images, and poems which recount mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first century daily life and in the media. Citizen won the PEN Open Book Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry both in 2015. The book discussion will also include short clips from the AMERICAN CREED documentary as they pertain to the themes of the book. Copies of the book are available to borrow from the Library or guests can receive 40% off the title when they shop at Library Express Bookstore, located in the Marketplace at Steamtown.

AMERICAN CREED is a co-production of Citizen Film and WTTW Chicago.

AMERICAN CREED was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen.

AMERICAN CREED COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS are supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

AMERICAN CREED COMMUNITY CONVERSATION PARTNERS:

The American Library Association is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org.

CONTACT: Colleen Barbus, cbarbus@ala.org

Citizen Film is a nonprofit production company dedicated to crafting documentaries with care and dignity. Citizen Film’s collaborations between filmmakers, grassroots organizations and civic institutions have been featured at America’s most prestigious venues and presented on television. For more information, visit citizenfilm.org.

CONTACT: Jack Sample, jack@citizenfilm.org

Facing History and Ourselves is an international education network that engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. Just as the film frames America’s promise, Facing History hopes to inspire young people to engage deeply in a conversation about who we are, and who we want to be. For more information, visit facinghistory.org

The National Writing Project envisions a future where every person is a civic writer, engaged learner, and active participant in an interconnected world. NWP is providing conversation facilitation in many parts of the country, and inviting high school students to participate. On American Creed: Writing Our Future, NWP’s Flagship Youth Publishing Site for the AMERICAN CREED Public Engagement Campaign, students respond to questions about ideals and identity through writing, media and art.

CONTACT: Christina Cantrill, ccantrill@nwp.org