Home > Outreach Case Studies > Two Towns of Jasper

By Whitney Dow and Marco Williams

In this Case Study
Introduction
Promotion
Outreach
Website
Viewer Response

Website

Drawing over 500,000 page views in the week of broadcast alone, the Two Towns of Jasper website enabled viewers to delve deeper into the issues presented in the film, interact with the filmmakers and one another, and link to additional resources and lesson plans. POV linked on the Web with ABC News Nightline (www.abcnews.com) and a special feature on the homepage of the The Oprah Winfrey Show (www.oprah.com). USA Today chose the site as a "Hot Pick." Filmmakers Dow and Williams talked to viewers in an online chat with washingtonpost.com. Two Towns of Jasper was a pick of the PBS Program Club (www.pbs.org/programclub), a new initiative modeled after book clubs to encourage people to come together to discuss major programs.

The Two Towns of Jasper website features included:

Race in America: Beyond Black & White Expanding: The conversation beyond "America in Black and White" broadcast, Amy Goodman from Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! hosted discussions with a number of experts, academics, politicians and activists about the current state of race relations in America. Guests included: Two Towns of Jasper filmmakers WHITNEY DOW and MARCO WILLIAMS; WINONA LADUKE, Program Director of the Honor the Earth Fund and as Founding Director for White Earth Land Recovery Project; ROBIN D.G. KELLY, Professor of History and Africana Studies and Chair of the Department of History at New York University; ANGELA OH, lawyer and former appointee to President Clinton's initiative on Race; BARBARA SMITH, critic, teacher, activist, lecturer, and author; HOWARD ZINN, renowned social critic and author of A People's History of the United States; and HELEN ZIA, social justice activist and Contributing Editor to Ms. Magazine. Transcripts and audio of the 30-minute interviews were posted on the site.

Jasper Update: Site users were able to view updates on the town of Jasper, the Byrd family, and the men convicted of murdering James Byrd, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday This section explored the history of MLK Day, which became a point of contention when the Jasper school board decided to cancel the observance of the holiday.

Hate in America: Two of James Byrd, Jr.'s murderers were covered in racist tattoos, which authorities say indicated their involvement with white supremacist hate groups. This section contained enabled site users to view some examples of these tattoos and find out what they mean, as well as to find out more about hate groups in America.

POV's Talking Back Tapestry: In addition to participating in the Talking Back discussion boards, viewers were invited to create a visual representation of their response to the film. Like an electronic quilt, Tapestry is comprised of individual squares, each filled with a color or still image from the featured POV film. Viewers add their own squares by choosing a representational color and writing a brief personal response to the film. For example, someone may design a blue square with the text "I wish people would stop hating each other because of race and realize that we're all human beings." As viewers roll a mouse over the Tapestry each square reveals a written response and/or audio recording of viewer feedback. The final result is an ever-changing, ever-growing collective representation of viewers' responses — an on-line public art project in which anyone can participate.

Classroom: In this section, site users were able to download the Facilitation Guide, as well as lesson plans on Examining Prejudice and Examining White Privilege. Written for grades 9-12, the lesson plans were created as companion resources for educators interested in using Two Towns of Jasper as a learning tool in the subject areas of United States History and Government/Language Arts. Classroom activities include: learning objectives; an outline of the relevant national standards met by the plans; a list of necessary tools and materials; a notation regarding the total time needed to complete the individual lessons; a teaching strategy; assessment recommendations; and extension ideas. In addition to being available online, these lesson plans were distributed to teachers and others in the educational community by PBS TeacherSource, via their newsletter and web site, as well as by stations around the country.

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