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ETV Presents "The Penn Center - A Legacy of Change"

New "Carolina Stories" Documentary to Air Thursday, May 22 at 9 p.m.

For Immediate Release
April 21, 2008

Columbia, SC...On Thursday, May 22 at 9 p.m., ETV will broadcast the new Carolina Stories documentary "The Penn Center - A Legacy of Change."  Airing one day before the 22nd Annual Gullah Festival kicks off in Beaufort, this 30-minute program takes viewers down to the South Carolina Lowcountry and back through time for a look at the history of the legendary Penn Center. 

Viewers will see the pivotal role that Penn Center played in the Civil Rights movement supporting desegregation laws and serving as a place for work and respite for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Also included is a look at how the center influenced the establishment of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act which seeks to preserve the endangered Gullah/Geechee culture. 

According to Rosalyn Browne, Penn Center director of history and culture, "We have a vision for the future that entails making Penn Center a premier national site for cultural and educational enrichment -- particularly teaching and sharing resources of our history and of our people’s legacy."

Additionally, through interviews with former Penn Center students and administrators, the program offers a revealing look at how Penn School started as part of the Port Royal experiment to teach slaves on St. Helena Island how to read and write in 1862 and how the center continues to serve the community today.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.