Knox County Public Library, Knoxville, TN

Media High, five short documentaries

Installment One:  The Struggle for Integration: Clinton, Tennessee

Ask most people where the first southern public school was integrated and they will probably say, "Little Rock, Arkansas--yeah. 'The Little Rock Nine.'" Seventeen year-old Media High student Madeline Brown would gently correct this mistake, explaining that the first integrated school in the south was in Clinton, Tennessee and the twelve brave African-Americans who attended Clinton High School in 1956 are 'The Clinton Twelve.' Madeline, or Maddie as her friends call her, discovered this truth in the process of creating a short documentary called "The Struggle for Integration: Clinton, Tennessee." With minimal assistance from Media High Director David Neil Drews and his assistant, Maddie assembled a poignant and inspiring story that pays tribute to several progressive participants in the Clinton struggle, people who were pivotal players in this crucial piece of history. In the short span of nine days, Ms. Brown researched and located several key interview subjects. The quality of these interviews reflects her diligent but kind approach. A second year Media High student and recent South Doyle graduate, Maddie is interested in studying journalism in college.

View her documentary at ListenUp.org and see her outstanding piece of history, journalism, and digital video. This is the first of five student documentaries that Media High will be releasing over the next six weeks.

From novel to film: the making of To Kill a Mockingbird

As part of our recent Big Read collaboration with the YWCA, the Library hosted discussions of the book To Kill A Mockingbird and a screening of the film. Gerald Wood, Dean of Humanites at Carson-Newman College and Barbara Moore, Professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee joined us to discuss the film adaptation of the book. We recorded their remarks and you can download the recording here or use the player below.