America ReFramed: 'Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route' Press Release
Overview
“... the inspirational figure at the film's center... Wendell Watkins offers an intimate... glimpse of a world too often reduced to fatalistic headlines and lurid sound bites.” —Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
New York, N.Y. – December 17, 2018 – Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route, a new film by Pam Sporn, explores the rise, demise and contested resurgence of America's "motor city" through a multi-generational choir of voices who reside along letter carrier Wendell Watkins’ postal route.
Detroit 48202 will make its U.S. television premiere on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. PT) on WORLD Channel as part of the new season of America ReFramed. It will also make its streaming debut on worldchannel.org, amdoc.org and all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and on PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.
Filmmaker Pam Sporn came of age in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. She has known protagonist Wendell Watkins since 1972, when they were fellow student activists at Cass Technical High School. "I began a process of discovery with Wendell and his people, and the resulting film is my love letter to Detroit," explains Sporn.
Archival footage and oral histories convey the impetus behind the African American migration northward to push against the boundaries of racial and economic segregation. The testimonials of Wendell's neighbors and friends shed light on the impacts of redlining and the fight for housing justice, the legacy of industrial and political disinvestment, the fragility of black home-ownership as impacted by the mortgage and financial crisis and a confluence of events and failed policies that resulted in Detroit’s bankruptcy.
Despite the economic decline, the community carries on a legacy of activism—urban farms, artist collectives, schools, fighting water shut offs, and more—while offering creative solutions to reimagine a more inclusive and equitable city.
"WORLD Channel is proud to highlight the resiliency and history of one of the largest cities in the U.S. with the premiere of Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route," said Chris Hastings, executive producer and editorial manager for WORLD Channel at WGBH Boston. "Audiences will hear the personal stories of Detroit, the economic anxieties the people of the city face, and their hopes for the future," said AmDoc executive producer Justine Nagan.
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Film Credits
Directed and Produced by Pam Sporn
Film Credits
Overview
“... the inspirational figure at the film's center... Wendell Watkins offers an intimate... glimpse of a world too often reduced to fatalistic headlines and lurid sound bites.” —Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
New York, N.Y. – December 17, 2018 – Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route, a new film by Pam Sporn, explores the rise, demise and contested resurgence of America's "motor city" through a multi-generational choir of voices who reside along letter carrier Wendell Watkins’ postal route.
Detroit 48202 will make its U.S. television premiere on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. PT) on WORLD Channel as part of the new season of America ReFramed. It will also make its streaming debut on worldchannel.org, amdoc.org and all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and on PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.
Filmmaker Pam Sporn came of age in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. She has known protagonist Wendell Watkins since 1972, when they were fellow student activists at Cass Technical High School. "I began a process of discovery with Wendell and his people, and the resulting film is my love letter to Detroit," explains Sporn.
Archival footage and oral histories convey the impetus behind the African American migration northward to push against the boundaries of racial and economic segregation. The testimonials of Wendell's neighbors and friends shed light on the impacts of redlining and the fight for housing justice, the legacy of industrial and political disinvestment, the fragility of black home-ownership as impacted by the mortgage and financial crisis and a confluence of events and failed policies that resulted in Detroit’s bankruptcy.
Despite the economic decline, the community carries on a legacy of activism—urban farms, artist collectives, schools, fighting water shut offs, and more—while offering creative solutions to reimagine a more inclusive and equitable city.
"WORLD Channel is proud to highlight the resiliency and history of one of the largest cities in the U.S. with the premiere of Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route," said Chris Hastings, executive producer and editorial manager for WORLD Channel at WGBH Boston. "Audiences will hear the personal stories of Detroit, the economic anxieties the people of the city face, and their hopes for the future," said AmDoc executive producer Justine Nagan.
* * * *
Directed and Produced by Pam Sporn