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ETV to Broadcast Southern Lens Film "The Clinton 12"
Emmy and Tony Award-winning Actor James Earl Jones Narrates Historical Documentary Thursday, Nov. 1 at 10 p.m.
For Immediate Release
October 15, 2007
Columbia, SC...On Thursday, Nov. 1 at 10 p.m., ETV will broadcast “The Clinton 12.” Narrated by award-winning actor James Earl Jones, the Southern Lens documentary tells the compelling story of the integration of the first public high school in the South two years after the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. the Board of Education.
This powerfully-told account shows the courage and determination of 12 black teenagers in Clinton, TN and the community that fought alongside them to uphold the law. From the devastating civil unrest galvanized by white supremacist John Kasper, to cross burnings and death threats, to the 1958 bombing of the high school, this film tells of not only the bravery of those who faced violent racial opposition, but the determination of a sleepy, predominately white southern town to stand together to defeat racism and intolerance.
“This story gives us an opportunity to share the real lives of these 12 courageous individuals that walked down a hill, to go to school to abide by the law,” said current Clinton, TN Mayor Winfred Shoopman. “And the other side of that story is...a small town came together to say ‘Yes, we will protect you and will help you and we will put you in an environment that you can feel safe...”
Recipient of the 2006 ETV Southern Lens Award, “The Clinton 12” features interviews with 11 of the Clinton 12 students and other residents who played pivotal roles in the events following the integration of Clinton High School. Viewers will also see archival footage that includes scenes from the historic morning in December 1956 when Reverend Paul Turner, the white Baptist pastor of First Baptist Church escorted the students to their first day of school.
Ironically, recalls white Clinton High School student Jerry Shattuck, “...It was a success story -- as ugly as it was. The victory’s even greater because that high school remained desegregated from the first day to the present day, despite that mob violence of that first week.”
Southern Lens airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. Each film in the series comes from independent filmmakers living in Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and, of course, South Carolina. The stories they tell reflect the uniqueness of Southern culture as told by people living in the South, with genres ranging from gripping documentaries to humorous stories to suspenseful dramas.
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.
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