Filmmakers Challenge RNC on Lack of Outreach Efforts to Urban & Minority Voters

SHAMROCK STINE PRODUCTIONS LLC

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN

NEWS

 

January 4, 2013 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
                                                                                       

                            

filmmakers challenge republican national committee
on its lack of outreach efforts to recruit minorities

Diversity Issues in GOP & Two-Party Political System Not Being Addressed

Trenton, NJ - Director Kevin J. Williams and Producer Tamara E. Williams are challenging the current Republican National Committee leadership to announce its plans for Party outreach in Urban and Minority communities before its Winter Meeting in Charlotte, NC later this month. The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers are also challenging the Republican National Committee to require all of its candidates for Chairman or Co-Chairman to publicly present their plans with stated goals for Party outreach to Minorities and Urban voters during their term if elected. The Republican National Committee's members from around the country will be voting to select a new Chairman and Co-Chairman during its annual Winter Meeting from January 23-26.

The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers stated, "So far, there has been little to no action from the Republican National Committee showing us that it has learned from its poor results in 2012. It is incredulous that after nearly two months, no answers have been provided to Republicans and Conservative activists around the country. What is particularly disturbing is that the message being sent to the public is that "all is okay here and nothing needs to change." The Election results say otherwise and anyone leading our Party into the future must acknowledge this and have solid ideas on how to win while gaining more Urban and Minority votes. Writing off these voters is not working."

 

Director Kevin J. Williams continued, "Our experiences as Republicans in an Urban area inspired us to make our film and try to help make the GOP a better Party. While we captured the life experiences of Black Republicans, Urban Republicans and others struggling within our political system... we found that many people of all political stripes and demographics are being ignored by both political Parties. This situation must change and change now. The Republican Party at the national, state and local levels must stop being afraid and start working now to improve its standing with Urban voters and Minority voters. Our Party cannot lose in 2014 and 2016. If it does, then it will just be a matter of time until it goes out of existence and joins the Whig Party on the ash heap of history."

 

To learn more about the filmmakers or view the film's trailers, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.  For interviews or stories, please contact the film's Producer via e-mail at producer@fearofablackrepublican.com.
The filmmakers are also on Twitter (#FearOfABlackRep) and Facebook (Fear Of A Black Republican).

Film Distribution Information & Synopsis:

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN has been seen by thousands of Americans and has screened before diverse audiences in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte & Greensboro, NC; Wilmington, DE; Kansas City, MO; Buffalo & Rochester, NY; Trenton, NJ; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Montgomery, AL; Jackson, MS; Dallas & Waco, TX; Tucson, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Salina KS and Chicago, IL. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attended both the New Jersey and Washington, DC Premieres and participated in Q&A sessions with audiences lasting over ninety minutes each. More screenings of the controversial documentary feature film are expected nationwide in 2013. The trailers for FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN can be viewed on the film's own website www.fearofablackrepublican.com, as well as the YouTube, Apple iTunes and Vimeo websites.


Synopsis: Filmed and edited over a six year period, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN examines why there are so few Black Republicans (and by extension, other Minorities) and how this affects the U.S. political system. The film begins with a simple question... Does the Republican Party really want more African Americans? To get an answer, independent filmmaker Kevin J. Williams takes a non-partisan journey over two Presidential Elections to find out why there are so few Black Republicans and what that means for the future of the Two-Party Political System in America.

From the Civil War to the Great Depression, the GOP was the Party for many African-Americans, but today, barely 10% of African Americans consider themselves to be Republican and Urban areas are no longer considered competitive parts of America's Election map. Beginning in his hometown, Williams speaks with BOTH Democrats and Republicans as he takes a personal and humorous look at his own Republican Party's efforts in urban areas versus the suburbs, the Democratic Party's success in retaining the African American vote, the seeming phenomenon of Black Republicans and what this all means for America. FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN gives audiences of all Demographics and Political Persuasions a ground-breaking and moving view of current American Politics.

During the film's journey, Williams speaks with scholars such as Professors Cornel West and Howard Taylor; and newsmakers such as Michael Steele, former Chairman of the Republican National Committee; Presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain; former Governor Christine Todd Whitman; Commentators Tavis Smiley and Michelle Malkin; political leaders, including past RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, Congressman Peter King and Governors Jim Gilmore and Sonny Perdue; Conservative thinkers such as Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Ann Coulter; and the first and last Black Republican Senator popularly elected since Reconstruction, former Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, amongst others. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator and President-Elect Barack Obama, President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney also appear in the film, along with very rarely seen archival footage of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and the great baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. The film also examines the History of the Republican Party since its founding.

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN is available on DVD at its own website and Amazon.com and also on VOD streaming via its own website and Apple iTunes. It is also available for Education use and has screened or is currently being used on college campuses such as Northwestern University, Portland State University, Tuskegee University, Loyola Marymount University, Jackson State University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The film has received Print, TV and Radio coverage from the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Current TV's THE WAR ROOM WITH JENNIFER GRANHOLM, HUFFINGTON POST LIVE, Christian Broadcasting Network's The Brody Files, Al Jazeera's INSIDE STORY, the Mark Davis Radio Show, Steve Deace Show, Michael Eric Dyson Show, Chris Stigall Show, Victoria Taft Show, The Voice of Russia and many others.

APPROX. 111 MINS   Printed in U.S.A. 4:3 aspect ratio

THIS FILM HAS NOT BEEN RATED

 

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