When Arab American Stories first aired, Detroit Public Television initiated a national program designed to increase public understanding of Arab American history, culture, diversity and contributions to society. The program, called “Arab American Stories – A National Dialogue,” encouraged local PBS stations, as well as other community partners around the country, such as library systems, to host events, forums and dialogues to bring the television content to life through community conversations. This campaign was endorsed by the American Library Association.
Although the formal program has come to an end, community partners are still encouraged to host interactive dialogue sessions. Materials developed by DPTV used to help organize events and guide discussion can be found below.
HOST YOUR OWN DISCUSSION
The following is a list of resources for holding a discussion around Arab American Stories in your community.
—DISCUSSION TOOL KIT: For Individuals, Community Groups and Organizations (PDF)
—Series Descriptions (shorter and longer)(PDF)
—Episode Guide and Descriptions (PDF)
—DPTV Press Release Announcing AAS Outreach Campaign (PDF)
—AAS Filmmaker Bios (PDF)
—AAS Funding Credits (PDF)
—DPTV Outreach RFP for PBS Partners (PDF)
—DPTV Outreach RFP for Libraries (PDF)
—DPTV-PBS Logo-PDF black-and-white (PDF)
—DPTV-PBS Logo-PDF Color (PDF)
PAST DISCUSSIONS
The following events took place in 2013 while the national dialogue program was active:
—San Francisco Arab Film Festival, San Francisco, CA, August 29: event details
—WHUT Screening, Washington, D.C., September 15: event details
—ideastream Educators Event, Cleveland, OH, September 17
—Miami-Dade Public Library Event, Miami, FL, September 21: event details
—Queens Public Library Event, Queens, NY, October 8: event details
—Cleveland Public Library Event, Cleveland, OH, October 9: event details
—Studio City Library Event, Studio City, CA, October 10: event details
—Los Angeles Central Library Event, Los Angeles, CA, October 12: event details
—Jacksonville Public Library Event, Jacksonville, FL, October 16: event details
—PBS SoCal Event, Costa Mesa, CA, October 17: event details
—KUHT/Houston Public Library Event, Houston, TX, October 23: event details
—Maryland Public Television Event, Owings Mills, MD, October 24
—Studio City Library Event, Studio City, CA, October 24: event details
—WILL Event, Urbana, IL, October 24: event details
—WNPT Event, Nashville, TN, October 25: event details
—Providence Public Library Event, Providence, RI, October 27: event details
—WEDU Event, Tampa, FL, October 28: event details
—Detroit Public Library Event, Detroit, MI, October 29: event details
—San Francisco Public Library Event, San Francisco, CA, October 29: event details
—WJCT Event, Jacksonville, FL, October 29: event details
—KQED Event, San Francisco, CA, November 2
