Excerpted from Nov 8 Lexington Herald Leader:
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center presents the local premiere of “Precious Knowledge” with Lexington resident and filmmaker Eren Isabel McGinnis at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the Worsham Theatre in the Student Center. McGinnis will take questions from the audience following the screening. Admission is free.
McGinnis’ documentary, “Precious Knowledge,” interweaves the stories of students in the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School. The filmmakers spent an entire year in the classroom filming this innovative social justice curriculum, documenting the transformative impact on students who become engaged, informed and active in their communities. While 48 percent of Mexican-American students currently drop out of high school, Tucson High’s Mexican American Studies Program has become a national model of educational success, with 93 percent of enrolled students graduating from high school (average over five years) and 85 percent going on to attend college.
“Precious Knowledge” is particularly timely as anti-immigration legislation is being enacted, considered or debated in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Utah, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado and other states.
In addition to other legislation, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill giving unilateral power to the state school superintendent to abolish ethnic studies classes. “Precious Knowledge” provides an insider’s perspective to the historic battle over civil rights as Tucson High students and teachers fight to save their classes as well as what they believe is the future of public education for the entire nation as the Latino demographic continues to grow. “Precious Knowledge” dramatically illustrates what motivates high school teachers and students to form the front line of an epic civil rights battle.
This screening of “Precious Knowledge” is co-sponsored by the UK Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center, the Kentucky Dream Coalition, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College's Office of Hispanic Outreach and Services. “Precious Knowledge” is a co-production of Dos Vatos Productions, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), Arizona Public Media, and Latino Public Broadcasting, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
McGinnis and co-producer Ari Luis Palos began working together in the tobacco fields of Kentucky during the production of “Tobacco Blues,” starring Kentucky native Harry Dean Stanton. While living in Oaxaca, México, they worked together to produce the soundtracks of their Global Voices and True Stories PBS series hit show “Beyond the Border.” Developing their continued interest in documenting civil rights battles, the wellspring of activism in Arizona lured them to Tucson, where they currently reside.
For more information about the Lexington premiere of “Precious Knowledge” at the University of Kentucky, contact Clarice Bales at preciousknowledgefilm@gmail.com or (520) 971-9886.
