“How do we ensure that ‘never again’ isn’t an empty slogan, or an aspiration, but also a call to action?,” U.S. President Obama asked on Holocaust Remembrance Day in Washington D.C., and he offered a way in which do to that: 
BY BEARING WITNESS.

Words of Bonds has created an educational project that will do this and more by allowing New York City public and private students, teachers and parents to explore, engage with and express what they have learned about some of the darkest periods of history:
• The Nazi Holocaust of the Jews and many others during World War II
• The barbarity of the 400 year-long transatlantic African American slavery
Through visits to schools and cultural institutions, the Internet, and outreach into various communities, the Words of Bonds project allows students and educators to interact with these histories as Holocaust survivors and descendants of African American slaves tell the stories of these atrocities.

MISSION STATEMENT

History is one of the most important subjects we can teach students. It helps inform them about the world in which they live, and the vital roles they will one day play in authoring the next chapters of history.

Unfortunately, some of the pages of history, especially the more difficult and troubling parts, have gone missing from or get glossed over in today’s curricula as if the voices of the past have been forgotten and silenced forever.  Words of Bonds aims to put those pages back in, to create a space for the voices to heard for all time in an interactive, multimedia, and multidisciplinary experience. Words of Bonds artistically and creatively mixes history and current events to engage students to learn.

In 2007 Bill Tingling, the President of School News Nationwide, one of Brooklyn’s busiest multimedia educational not-for-profit organizations, created the Words of Bonds project.  It is not only a place to share stories and learn the lessons of history, but it is also a place to begin dialogue.  Partnering with various educational, religious, and other institutions, Words of Bonds, along with the involvement of more than 100 students from public and private New York City schools, is producing a full-length feature documentary film and constructing a web site that allows visitors the chance to post their stories or those of loved ones. These stories will be archived on the website.  The website will also offer a critically important collection of various educational resources, videos, articles, tools, and supplemental materials for educators to share with students.  These resources can be used as discussion aids to begin dialogue among family and friends as well.

Stressing the importance of remembering history, Words of Bonds believes education is the key to fostering dialogue, understanding, and peace to ensure these atrocities never happen again.  Focusing on the preservation of stories from survivors of the Jewish Holocaust and accounts from the descendants of African American slaves, students will be able to examine the connections between these destructive events, as well as make links to current events, some of which again threaten the stability of the world.

The documentary chronicles and blends various art, music, and performance projects with interviews conducted by students of  leading and renowned scholars, historians, researchers, and teachers as well as survivors’ and descendants’ personal narratives.  A series of public events will also be held. These events will serve as forums for communities to meet and discuss the wide variety of issues that these tragedies evoke.

DISTRIBUTION

We will duplicate one and one half million of this DVD documentary, providing a DVD in each New York City child’s hand. An outgrowth of the documentary will be the creation of three “walking museums” designed and built by participating members. These traveling presentation pieces will be available for school use and function as additional resources to extend the learning experiences for students. Included in these museums will be photographs, archival materials, and additional background information of interviewees.

Our plan is to distribute the documentary in the following ways:

  • Theatrical Releases – Debut at selected Manhattan or Brooklyn theaters
  • Submission to various local and international film festivals
  • Pursue Public Television Broadcasting, Cable and Satellite TV
  • Internet hosting and streaming of the entire documentary at our web site
  • Distribute 2 million DVD copies to all New York City schools: its libraries, its students, parents and teachers.

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