Three projects addressing vaccine hesitancy in Michigan and North Carolina are planned in time for the fall
NEW YORK — Black Public Media (BPM) has selected three projects — two short films and a podcast — for a total of more than $160,000 in funding for vaccine equity works targeting vaccine hesitancy in Michigan and North Carolina. The projects are scheduled for completion this fall in time for expected spikes in COVID and flu cases.
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Michigan-based filmmakers Eden Sadolboro and Toni Cunningham, of Reel Clever Films LLC, were awarded $60,000, for WELL, a short film and community engagement campaign that depicts the story of one Black American family across 50 years as they fight to stay healthy amidst three different crises: the Tuskegee experiment, the Flint water crisis and now COVID-19; Los Angeles-based filmmaker William D. Caballero, who was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was awarded $60,000 for A Little off the Top: Vaxxed Up!, an animated digital short that combines elements of narrative and documentary to tell the story of a group of Black and Latino barbers who offer words of encouragement to two vaccine-skeptical teenage customers; The film is the second webisode in a series, which is also funded by Black Public Media. Antonio Alanis, a Mexican-American artist from Durham, North Carolina, was awarded $40,880 for Me vacuno porque… (I got vaccinated because…), a podcast series for vaccine equity in North Carolina’s Spanish-speaking Latinx community.
The winners were among the creatives who submitted proposals after attending BPM’s March 2023 Black Media Story Summit – Michigan and North Carolina. BPM’s story summits bring together creatives, film and television industry executives, thought leaders, community stakeholders, and others to explore innovative approaches to media story development on critical issues facing Black people across the U.S. Past summits have covered such issues as mass incarceration, environmental justice, health and immigration.
BPM embarked on a three-year partnership with the National Network to Innovate for COVID-19 and Adult Vaccine Equity (NNICE) in the fall of 2021 to facilitate the creation of media stories that help boost vaccination rates within Black communities. The NNICE is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the National Partnering for Vaccine Equity Initiative. BPM was engaged through NNICE’s grantee, Michigan State University, to host virtual Black Media Story Summits on the topic of vaccine equity and award production grants to media makers who submit the most compelling production proposals. The Black Media Story Summit – Michigan and North Carolina was the second vaccine equity summit hosted by BPM. The first one in Baltimore led to BPM awarding grants to two filmmaking teams for their short-form content, Covid Conversations and Baltimore Speaks.
“What began as an effort to combat hesitancy against the COVID-19 vaccine has helped us realize that more education about vaccination against the flu and other illnesses is needed as well,” said Qiona Woffard, special programs manager of Black Public Media. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with NNICE as we work to amplify the voices of local artists who are working to bring positive change and awareness of the importance of vaccinations of all types to our communities.”
Black Public Media is a Harlem-based national media arts nonprofit dedicated to creating and producing media content about the Black experience.
“We are looking forward to seeing the projects that are being developed through Black Public Media’s Black Media Story Summits come to fruition so that we can continue to reach diverse populations with accurate information on vaccination and create healthier communities,” said Heatherlun Uphold, assistant professor, C.S. Mott Department of Public Health, Michigan State University.
For more information on Black Public Media, visit blackpublicmedia.org, and follow the organization on social media at @blackpublicmedia on Instagram and Facebook and @BLKPublicMedia on Twitter.
