Project Coordination

PBS Learning Media "brings the world to your classroom," through a collection of free, state and nationwide standard-aligned discussion topics, lesson plans, and additional resources made accessible to teachers across the country.  After the premiere of the documentary Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America in October 2020, Steeplechase Films teamed up with classroom teacher, writer, humanitarian, and social activist Vivett Dukes, to develop lesson plans to accompany short clips that summarize major themes from the film including resisting the Jim Crow status quo, the growing pains of progress, highway development, and importance of mobility as a human right. 

Listen to Everyone, a Humanities New York grant-funded project from 2017, culminated in the production of a user-friendly conversation-based community program guide. Utilizing clips from The Cooperstown Graduate Program's rich Community Stories archive of over six decades of oral history collection, my colleague Kate Webber and I created prototypes, tested, and developed a framework to spark meaningful conversations with loved ones. Many, many thanks to the wonderful residents, staff, especially Director Barb Sullivan at Woodside Hall for welcoming us with open arms and open minds. 

To conclude the project, we had the opportunity to organize, and lead multiple workshops with students, community members, and caretakers in Cooperstown, NY, sharing our observations, successes, and reflections. 

Supported by CityLore and The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience,  Race, Space & Mobility in America is a national public engagement and educational outreach initiative intended to foster and enhance public awareness, civic dialogue, and historical understanding issues of race, space, and mobility. 

Facilitators Sarah Pharaon of Diologic Consulting & Dina Bailey of Mountain Top Vision in collaboration with the team at Steeplechase Films, created the toolkit and educational materials. The framework is based on dialogue programs and educational resources developed by The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. For eighteen years, project partner, ICSC has helped museums and historic sites become dynamic centers for community engagement through personalized training solutions and resources grounded in the work of thought leaders, educators, and human rights advocates.