Little-Known History Revealed at Brooklyn College

You know those great old family photos hidden somewhere in a basement or attic? The Brooklyn College Community Partnership (BCCP) has joined forces with award-winning filmmaker,……. journalist, educator and Harlemite Thomas Allen Harris (Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela and E Minha Cara/That’s My Face) to use these treasures to unlock family secrets and connect New Yorkers to their own family histories. Harris, who draws heavily on family archives for his own films, has been in residence at Brooklyn College, teaching students, alumni, faculty and the public to become their own family documentarians. The program, Harris’s Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) Roadshow, is sponsored by the Brooklyn College Community Partnership and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation NYC Cultural Innovation Fund.

The Grand Finale will see a few of the participants guided by Harris through storytelling around curated photographs from their family album projected onto large screens; the presentation will be used to provoke an interactive narrative between guests and the audience. The audience will also be invited to make comments and ask questions to create an unfolding, communal storytelling experience. Portions of the event will be available on social networks and online. The program will also feature short videos, footage gathered on campus and photo slide shows from the photos/stories from the audience/participants giving a portrait of not only Brooklyn College but the entire borough. Soon these stories will become webisodes on www.DDFR.tv.

Members of the public have been asked to bring a copy of one family photo that can be pinned on the wall—or held up on a digital device—to create a mosaic image of the DDFR experience at Brooklyn College.

Thomas Allen Harris; Dean Maria Conelli, Founding Dean of the School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts, Brooklyn College; Larry Patterson of the Brooklyn College Black Male Initiative; Micha Tomkiewicz, Professor of Environmental Studies and Physics at Brooklyn College and Holocaust survivor; Penelope Terry, Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment, Office of Admission, Brooklyn College; Student Olujimi Otulaga; Vanessa Greene, Assistant Dean for Student Development, Brooklyn College; the Brooklyn College community; and the public

Thursday, October 25, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, press check-in at 4:00 pm

Brooklyn College Student Union Building, 2705 Campus Road, near E. 27^th Street. Call Steve Ausbury at 512-797-5247. Backup: text Gregory Warren, Jr. at 917-312-1433. Transportation: Q train to Avenue H or 2 train to Flatbush Avenue/Brooklyn College. Need parking? Please let us know in advance.