Yvette Martinez,
Project Director

Mailing Address:
Television Race Initiative
KQED 2601, Mariposa Street, 3rd floor
San Francisco, CA 94110

Phone: 415-553-2841
Fax: 415-553-2848
tvrace@pov.org

"KQED is very proud to be the home of the national offices of the Television Race Initiative. Through our partnership with TRI, we have been able to leverage the power of national PBS programs with local dialogue and expand our connection to the communities we serve."
-Mary Bitterman, President and CEO, KQED San Francisco.

• Facing History and Ourselves
• Grace Cathedral’s GraceCom
• SF FAITHS Initiative
• Youth Radio

Activity Highlights

• TRI collaborated with Youth Radio on the production of a monthly radio program that contributed to the discussion around the SAT and race on KQED FM on September 26, 1999. TRI contacts gave "FRONTLINE" producers the opportunity to show a clip of the program and testify before the State of California's Senate Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach on October 13, 1999. A screening was held at the journalism school at UC Berkeley followed by a discussion with a panel featuring admissions officers and prominent academics.
• TRI worked with KQED's producers on a local production inspired by "An American Love Story," BAY WINDOW: Other Colors, which was broadcast on September 15th, 1999. The program explored issues of being a multi-racial person living in the Bay Area. Three local women were profiled – each with rich mixtures of racial and cultural backgrounds. Also KQED-FM Radio produced a "Forum" special around the program that was broadcast on September 13th.
• On September 8th, 1999, TRI partnered with Piedmont Unified School District's Appreciating Diversity Committee for a one-hour sneak preview screening and community dialogue with special guests, Barbara Ludlum, Executive Producer of "An American Love Story" and David and Maxine Gilkerson from "Interracial Bridges." "Interracial Bridges" is a local project that displays the daily lives of Bay area interracial families through a traveling photo exhibit. Over 150 citizens participated in the lively discussion, which touched on issues of diversity in public schools, bi-racial youth and the changing demographics of the San Francisco Bay Area.
• On September 17, 1999, TRI partnered with the Alameda Multicultural Community Center on a post-broadcast community forum to discuss the "An American Love Story" series. TRI's Director of Training, Elaine Shen facilitated a conversation between an audience of approximately 50 adults and parents and a panel of five biracial/multiracial youth. Rev. Mike Yoshii from the Buena Vista United Methodist Church encouraged participants to use the Community Center facility as a regular meeting space for screenings and community discussions on controversial issues.
• On July 6, 1999, TRI, NAATA and KQED co-sponsored a broadcast premiere event at which a diverse crowd of nearly 300 gathered, networked, and celebrated the contributions of filmmaker Emiko Omori, poet Janice Mirikitani and local community leaders. KQED’s locally produced BAY WINDOW:“Common Ground: Reflections of Rabbit in the Moon” was also screened. “Common Ground” was a half-hour special that overlayed segments of “Rabbit in the Moon” with poignant testimonies of a Native American, Latina, Jew, Afro-Cuban, Caucasian and South African, each of whom found personal connections to Omori’s documentary.
• The San Francisco Bay Area was home to several sneak preview screenings and community discussions In September and July 1999. Piedmont Unified School District’s Appreciating Diversity Committee hosted an event that convened over 300 residents to screen and discuss the program with “Rabbit in the Moon” filmmaker Emiko Omori. The conversation continued for weeks after the event via several letters to the editor of the local “Piedmonter” newspaper.
• Other organizations participating in sneak preview screening events included Berkeley Dispute Resolution Services, the Alameda Multicultural Group and the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. These screenings were used as volunteer diversity training tools, a first time collaboration between two local organizations, and a faith-based effort to learn more about civil rights, Japanase American internment and healing.
• On March 26, 1999, a sneak preview screening of “Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers” was held in Buriel Clay Theater at the Center for African and African American Art and Culture in San Francisco. Following the screening there was a community discussion with South African and American historians, experts, religious leaders and community activists. This event was sponsored by the Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, the Committee for South African Solidarity (COSAS), The Forum at Grace Cathedral, the Television Race Initiative and the Center for African and African American Art and Culture. In follow up to this event, Grace Cathedral opened its doors to the community to view the full program during broadcast on March 30, 1999.
• TRI worked with KQED's producers on a local production BAY WINDOW: Making the Grade, which was inspired by "Beyond Black and White: Affirmative Action in America," and was broadcast on March 23, 1999. The program explored the uneven playing field of college admissions through the lives of two Bay Area high school students. This program was one of the most popular of the Bay Window Series, eliciting a strong response from viewers.
• A sneak preview screening of “Beyond Black and White: Affirmative Action in America” was held on Tuesday, March 16, 1999 in Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Public Library. The event was titled "Youth Perspectives on Affirmative Action and Equality." Teens participated in a panel discussion moderated by journalists from Youth Radio and Youth Outlook. This event was sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Intergroup Clearinghouse, KQED, the Hearts and Minds Collaborative and the Television Race Initiative.
• In October, TRI and KQED organized a special ‘braintrust’ meeting to help develop ideas for BAY WINDOW, a series of four half-hour programs to complement the national broadcast of the PBS series, “Africans in America.” Braintrust participants included local historians, young journalists from Youth Outlook, and civil rights and community leaders.
• On September 10, 1998, an additional event was held in Piedmont (Oakland) after an active, Asian American community member heard about TRI and expressed a need for her white community to begin to engage in tough conversations. An audience of 250 parents, students, Oakland residents, local elected officials and educators packed into a community room to screen “Family Name” and converse with Macky Alston.
• On September 9, 1998, TRI, KQED and Grace Cathedral hosted a sneak preview screening of “Family Name,” which featured a discussion with filmmaker Macky Alston. The dynamic discussion, among a racially mixed group of approximately 100 community members, as well as the responses on the evaluation forms distributed by TRI, revealed a deep desire for follow-up and continuing opportunities for such dialogue.