Conservatives & Republicans Win This Oscar Night – No Matter What

By Kevin Williams
This Sunday night, members of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts & Sciences will gather together (along with many of their business representatives, families, agents and ex-spouses) to bestow its annual award – “The Oscar”- to the best artists, technicians and films this same Academy saw fit to nominate for said award earlier this year. The biggest Oscar award comes at the end of the night, when an Oscar is given to the Best Picture of the past year – again, determined by the Academy’s voting members.

This year, there are three Best Picture Nominees that should interest Conservatives and Republicans. LINCOLN, ARGO and ZERO DARK THIRTY are all excellent films and each of these film’s filmmakers and acting talent were at the top of their game for sure. The idea that three such films should be nominated all at the same time in this day and age is to me – flabbergasting.

In ARGO (directed by Ben Affleck), we get to experience or re-live the amazing, harrowing times of one President James Earl Carter and the tragic debacle of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. In LINCOLN (directed by Steven Spielberg), the tortuous process by which President Abraham Lincoln forced through the Passage of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery is re-told in painstaking detail. In ZERO DARK THIRTY (Directed by Kathryn Bigelow) tells the incredible story of the Central Intelligence Agency’s search for Osama Bin Laden and the Navy Seal Team 6 raid that thankfully ended his life. Can anyone tell me of another Oscar year with films showing a beloved Republican President in the best of lights; a failing and flailing Democratic President being saved by the Central Intelligence Agency’s greatest ruse; and an at-the-time maligned (but now considered forward-thinking) Republican President setting up his Democratic successor’s greatest achievement?

... (For More at Politisite.com: http://www.politisite.com/2013/02/22/conservatives-republicans-win-this-oscar-night-no-matter-what/)

Republican National Committee Still Silent On Outreach Plans To Urban Areas & Minority Communities

SHAMROCK STINE PRODUCTIONS LLC

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN

 NEWS

 

January 11, 2013                  
Contact: Tamara Williams                                                                                                                                  
IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             

republican national committee still silent on outreach plans to urban areas and minority communities
Diversity Issues in GOP & Two-Party Political System Not Being Addressed

Trenton, NJ – The Republican National Committee has yet to respond to the Outreach Challenge issued by Filmmakers Kevin J. Williams and Tamara E. Williams.  The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN documentary filmmakers recently challenged 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 in two weeks.  The filmmakers also challenged the Republican National Committee to require all Chairman or Co-Chairman candidates to publicly present their plans with stated goals for Republican Party outreach to Minority and Urban voters.   As of today, there has been no response from the Republican National Committee, its voting Members or Staff.   

The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers stated, “We have found out since issuing our Outreach Challenge last week that many other Republicans and Conservatives are as disappointed as we are in the Republican National Committee’s lack of response to our concerns about Urban and Minority outreach efforts.  In two weeks, our Party will be selecting or re-electing a national Chairman after its second Presidential Election loss and now Congressional losses.  Given the state of the economy and the future demographic challenges facing America, this upcoming RNC Chairman Election will be the most important election in the Republican Party’s history.”

In the most recent Presidential Election for example, President Obama received 81% of the vote in New York City and this is the largest vote share of any Presidential candidate in more than 100 years according to Bloomberg News and AM-New York.  The last Republican Presidential candidate to win New York City was Calvin Coolidge in 1924.  Three-thousand miles away in LosAngeles County, CA (mostly made up of the City of Los Angeles), President Obama received nearly 69% of votes versus Mitt Romney’s 29% according to the Los Angeles Times. 

 Filmmaker Kevin J. Williams stood firm in calling on the Republican National Committee to reveal its plans.  Williams said, “Each Presidential Election, the Republican Party starts out minus 127 Electoral Votes since the Party concedes the East and West Coasts every time.  With New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington State, Oregon and California automatically going the Democrats way every four years, Republicans around the country must force their Party to change its ways and reach out to new voters.  Without Urban and Minority voters coming on-board, the Republican Party’s future looks very grim.”

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 documentary film’s Producer - Tamara Williams 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 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.

 

 

# # #

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

 

# # #

Filmmakers Call For More GOP Action in Urban Areas & Supporting Tim Scott

SHAMROCK STINE PRODUCTIONS LLC

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN

NEWS

 

December 27, 2012 
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                                    

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers call for
more gop action in urban areas &
support of new senator tim scott

Documentary Examines Issues GOP and Scott Will Face in 2013 And Beyond

Trenton, NJ – Director Kevin J. Williams and Producer Tamara E. Williams are challenging the current Republican National Committee leadership to learn from the 2012 Presidential Election and change its ways.  The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers stated, “Our experiences as Republicans in an Urban area inspired us to make our film and try to help make the GOP better.  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.”

Director Kevin J. Williams continued, “South Carolina’s Governor Nikki Haley appointing Representative Tim Scott as that state’s junior Senator is a great start and we call on the GOP to support his re-election with all the money and resources it can muster.  More importantly though, the Republican Party at the national, state and local levels must stop being afraid to take the ball and run with it.  If the Republican Party does not begin to work now to improve its standing with Minority voters and Urban voters, we are afraid that our Party will lose in 2014 and 2016.  Then it will be just a matter of time until it goes out of existence and joins the Whig Party on the ash heap of history.”

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, 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 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.

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.

 To learn more about the film or view the film’s trailers, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.

 

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

THIS FILM HAS NOT BEEN RATED

 

# # #

Our Movie's Big Year & What We Learned...

We have learned a lot in this past year of trying and struggling to get our documentary film, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN out into the world and before audiences.  We have had some great Screenings in different parts of the country and even had former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele graciously give us a hand at our New Jersey Premiere (in our hometown) and our Washington D.C. Premiere (Michael's hometown).  Michael was awesome as expected and we had another 90+ minute Q&A discussion after the film.  Very inspiring to say the least!

This past June, we had an amazing Philadelphia Premiere with Philly’s #1 Conservative Talk Show Host, Chris Stigall, serving as our Q&A Moderator and Deputy Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, Renee Amoore, serving as our Special Q&A Panelist.  Both Renee and Chris were outstanding and made the whole event one we (and the Audience) won't ever forget.

Renee Amoore, Deputy Chairman of PA GOP Makes A Great Point

Director Kevin Williams, an Audience Member, WPHT's Chris Stigall
and Renee Amoore After the Philly Premiere Q&A

That the event went so well… was a HUGE relief after my Alma mater, La Salle University, DENIED us a rental of the on-campus theater to screen FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN.  What they were afraid of?  A race riot?  Thousands of well-dressed Republicans clogging the streets of the Gernantown Section?  An actual unbiased discussion about Politics, Race and Urban Areas?

Redacted Email which we received from La Salle University denying our rental application.  Disappointing.

We still do not have a reason why La Salle denied us after repeated requests for an explanation. Needless to say, screening our film across the street from Bill Cosby’s Temple University was a much better choice in the end.

Most recently, Tamara (our film’s Producer and my lovely wife) and I completed a nearly four-week South and West Screening Tour of the United States.  Having traveled with our kids in a mini-van (without a DVD player) and seeing the South, Midwest and Southwest as we screened FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN for audiences, we have been constantly reminded of the goodness, decency and intelligence that exists here in America.  We felt this trip would be a great challenge and opportunity to see if our little film and our work as filmmakers could play with audiences not as familiar with the material or storylines.  Particularly in the Southwest, Latinos are way more numerous than African Americans.  Even so, the many issues in our film are practically interchangeable and we’ve received requests to make a sequel called FEAR OF A LATINO REPUBLICAN.  We’ve also received other requests for sequels about Jewish Republicans, Asian Republicans, Irish Republicans and others along the way.

Dallas' Inwood Theatre, home of our
TEXAS PREMIERE on July 26/27, 2012

Inside of The Inwood Theatre (Landmark Cinemas)

We traveled from the wilds of Trenton NJ (where our current Mayor is currently under FBI investigation) to Charlotte NC, Montgomery AL, Jackson MS, Dallas TX, Waco TX, Tucson AZ, Albuquerque NM and Salina KS.  In each city, we were greeted by enthusiastic audiences made up of folks from across the political, racial and economic spectrums.  Something that we found consistently before and after each screening is that there are a lot of people searching for a new political identity in our current Two-Party political system.  And these people come in all sizes, shapes and colors. 

That being said, each city was quite different.  In Montgomery AL, we got more Republican turnout than Democrat and for the first time, had a good number of GOP officials (local and State) in attendance.  In Jackson MS, we screened at a Historically Black College and University called Jackson State University and had a moving and thoughtful academic discussion with Professors, Faculty, Students and the local community.  In Dallas TX, thanks to Talk Show Host Mark Davis, we received the ONLY pre-Texas Premiere coverage of the film (unless you count the Dallas Morning News’ Film Critic ripping us on the newspaper’s blog for being White Filmmakers).  

In Waco, where we had an older African American couple (who traveled over an hour to see our film) cry in the back row because as Conservatives – they related so much to our film’s story.  In Tucson AZ, there were White Liberals filing complaints about what we didn’t include in our film (but should have, in the version THEY wanted us to make).  In Albuquerque NM, we had a “spirited” post-Q&A discussion with a different older African American couple about the Auto Bailout, NAFTA, Bill Clinton not really being a Democrat (as opposed to President Obama), “dark-skinned” political candidates versus “light-skinned” candidates and its apparent importance, as well as their charge that our film was a “recruiting tool” for the Republican Party.  Finally in Salina KS, where we had a tough crowd of hard-core, mainly White Democrats come out of our film amazed that it was as informative, moving and balanced as it was.  We learned a lot from screening our film in so many places and before so many different audiences.

 
We also found out that when it comes to Media, be prepared for unforeseen opportunities.  Opportunities can come from Media sources that you would never expect to be interested in your subject matter.  This occurred previously when I was interviewed on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s THE BRODY FILES (expected); then later the same day - I was on a Panel about our film on Al Jazeera English’s INSIDE STORY (unexpected).  While on our Screening Tour, we caught the eye of one of cable news’ most interesting shows… THE WAR ROOM WITH JENNIFER GRANHOLM on Current TV (Al Gore’s Network).  I kid you not, dear readers.   

Governor Jennifer Granholm is the former Democratic Governor of Michigan and I am pretty sure she will not be voting for Mitt Romney this fall.  But, she and her Staff were very interested in our film – especially after seeing it.  Well, on Friday night July 6^th, I was interviewed by the Governor about FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN and several clips from it were shown to their viewers during the piece.   Admittedly, I am not a regular viewer of Current TV, but I had seen this Show before and while Governor Granholm has a focused point-of-view – she was completely professional, kind and positive about our film and our message with it.  From her Producers we worked with via e-mail/phone calls to the Production Staff talking in my ear while I sat in a satellite studio in Tucson while they were in San Francisco to the Governor herself , it was a great experience.  I would encourage any other Republicans or Conservatives to go on her Show and put forth their thoughts and beliefs.  MSNBC on steroids, this Show was not!

This Current TV interview was by far the biggest TV Media piece we have ever done and was a good momentum builder for what we hope to achieve in the coming months before the Presidential Election.  We are working to bring get to FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN to New York City (Manhattan) for a Screening/Q&A and really get our film out into the world.  As far as we know, no independent film that positively portrays Republicans (without propaganda), let alone Black Republicans has ever screened in New York City.  As NYC is the home of American independent film and especially documentary, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN would be the first independent film to do so.  

We do realize that even though we are “Mom and Pop Shop” kind of filmmakers, our film could attract some controversy.  Having no idea if Reverend Sharpton will show up with a bullhorn to protest us or if some group will picket the theatre, we go into this with open eyes and full hearts.  We feel pretty confident that not all the Big Media can or will ignore us.  If we get to New York City, maybe our little film can help get a real, honest discussion on Race and Politics going this fall instead of just the “race-baiting” junk that will likely go on. 

Tamara, our Producer, and I are Republicans ourselves and as much as some of our Friends on the Left don’t want to admit it – our Party is not racist and never has been.  Unfortunately, our own GOP has let the other Party get away with the “racist” charge for decades and Urban America and African Americans specifically have been the collateral damage resulting from this.  We think it is time to reset the clock on the whole discussion and that the best way we can do that is to keep screening our film and to now do it in New York City. 

As independent filmmakers, we can assure you that any help in bringing FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN to the Media Capital called New York City will be greatly appreciated.  Please consider purchasing a Pre-Release DVD or Movie Poster from our website, www.fearofablackrepublican.com, to help us make it all happen.  If we are able to achieve our goal, we hope to make you proud.

What Are The Chances (Part 3 of 3) or Apocalypse... Now?

Portland, Oregon is an interesting town to say the least.  Coming from the East Coast, people tend to think of the Northwest as wet, picturesque, caffeinated, fairly “granola,” and very sleepy.  The Portland I arrived to was all of the above except for “very sleepy.”  Occupy Portland, which a few days earlier had just had more than enough interaction with local law enforcement.  The Occupy Portland folks made the ones in NYC and Philly look like Brownie Scouts and pikers.  In reading the AP Wire reports in my local papers, it seemed as if the city had the feel of the 1969 Doors concert in Miami.  All it needed was a Jim Morrison to get it really going. (For the record, I’m a huge Doors fan).  Unfortunately for our movie and me, Occupy Portland decided to have their full-scale riot on the same day as our West Coast/Northwest/College Premiere at Portland State University.  I would hear so many helicopters this day that I felt like I was in APOCALYPSE NOW and wanted to help Martin Sheen start looking for Marlon Brando.

Portland State University however, was a small oasis in downtown Portland.  A State-funded University, it is part traditional college, part commuter school, part urban office complex.  Thirty-thousand students attend PSU and the school has its own chapter of the College Republicans, led by a charismatic and energetic young woman named Julia Rabadi.  Julia is President of the PSU College Republicans and she put this screening together after one of her members, Isaiah Taylor, found out about our film from the original piece I wrote for Big Hollywood.  It took about six months to put this Screening together mainly due to PSU’s summer break.  But nonetheless, these great young students were affording us the chance to not only make our first “College” Screening happen, but also our Northwest and West Coast Premiere.  

These PSU College Republicans really busted their butts to make this happen, draw a crowd and pull it off.  Their campus community and the surrounding City aren’t really known for open-mindedness towards Republicans, Conservatives and other “non-Progressives.”  As a matter of fact, when I was interviewed by Cecil Prescod of KBOO (a very “Progressive/Pro-Occupy Portland” radio station), Cecil informed me that President George H. W. Bush called the city, “the Beirut of the Northwest.”  I did have high hopes given that we were lucky enough to be interviewed by three different talk show hosts on three different radio stations (including Victoria Taft on KPAM and Dave Bourne on KXL) and had a 4-Star Review in the African American newspaper THE SKANNER. 

We wanted a great and diverse crowd.  Having our film play in an academic setting in a completely different part of the country (2,877 miles from Trenton), I couldn’t wait to start the film for the PSU audience.  I had thought a good omen came about when I first arrived at PSU, put my bags on the ground and was promptly asked by a young man to sign his petition “against millionaires and billionaires.”  I told him that I didn’t live in Portland, but would be happy to talk to him more after our Premiere and handed him one of our FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN postcards.  He was stunned, in a good way.  I think this had to do with my telling him that Cornel West and Mitt Romney were in the same film, as I mentioned our cast.  Still speechless, he put the postcard on his clipboard and ventured off.  Twenty minutes later, I would meet a PSU College Republican named… “Michael Steele.”  Yes, his real name.

One note on the College Republicans and PSU.  From the get-go, the PSU College Republicans wanted to open this Screening up to the greater Portland community and they even tried to partner with other on-campus groups to do all this.  On my travels around the campus, it was very heartening to see our FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN posters in the windows of so many of other student organizations, particularly the various minority student groups.  Hope for the future, I thought.  Fortunately for me, Julia gave me a list of the different Academic Departments which I should visit before the Screening.  I dropped by the History, Political Science Departments and had a nice, quick meeting with Dr. E. Kofi Agorsah, Chair of the Black Studies Department.  He took some of our movie postcards to give to his upcoming class of students and said he would encourage them to attend our Screening that night.  Thank you, Sir!

The only personally negative moment of the whole trip came when I went to lunch at an interesting vegetarian/locally-grown food café at the PSU Student Union called FOOD FOR THOUGHT.  I’ve been trying to eat more healthfully for a while now and thought that I should give FOOD FOR THOUGHT a shot.  So I went to the counter and ordered my food and chatted with their Manager who, it turns out, has some New Jersey connections.  Having had such a nice conversation, I figured what the heck – I’ll ask if I could put some postcards on the counter for our Screening.  The Manager said “yes,” and I put about 20 FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN postcards next to the register.  The place was jumping with customers.  Given Portland’s image and what I heard about the lack of tolerance that the PSU College Republicans had been subjected to, I considered this little moment a positive achievement.   Well, it wasn’t even five minutes before one of their customers (a White, brown-haired hippie-chick with a hemp messenger bag and a bad attitude) went up to the counter (WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING) and slid all of our postcards into her hemp bag.  Then ran off.  God knows what else was in that hemp bag with all of our poor, little postcards.  I was standing about ten feet away from her, on the other side of the counter, when this happened and I couldn’t catch up to her.  She must have ran track in high school or ran drugs for the Latin Kings or something.  I have no idea how she even knew our postcards were on the counter as she just zipped in, swiped them and left.  Wow.  At least my lunch was good.

Finally, the Screening at the Portland State University Multi-Cultural Center came. 

The Screening itself went great and was quite fun to be a part of and observe.  The College Republicans put out a great light refreshment and food table for everyone with lemonade, ice water and many healthy and usual “college” snacks.  Excellent job, PSU Food Services!  One funny thing I’d like to share is that in addition to the fifty or so people who came to the Screening, there were many foreign  students for whom English is not the first or second language who showed up and gorged on the free food.  While they may not have understood our film, it was neat to see that college students haven’t changed.  Free food is free food.  I remember those days well.  ; )

Technically, the Multi-Cultural Center’s screening space was very good for a wide and open conference room.  It had carpeting on the floor, a good projector on the ceiling and nice P.A. speakers in the back.  Watching the audience from the back, I could tell that they were “getting” the film and were as so many other audiences – fully engaged.  All except the one hard-core “I’m a Conservative, not a Republican” type who I guess has some kind of attention deficit issue and who kept checking his e-mail from the second row.  It finally got annoying enough about twenty minutes in, that I went up to him and asked him to do it somewhere else or consider leaving.  It is rude to do that during a movie anywhere, whether I am the filmmaker or another audience member.  He put away his I-Phone and I got thanked by several audience members as I moved to the back of the room.  Later on, he came to the very back of the room to turn on his laptop and work on it.  Weird.  Thankfully, there was a nice moment occurred just before this when a young, White female student’s jaw dropped and she blurted loudly (by accident) “Is that true?” when she found out that the Ku Klux Klan was co-opted by the Democratic Party in 1868.  I’m pretty sure that she was convinced it was the Republicans who did this.  Like so many.  Truth can be painful…

The Q&A produced some cool and moving moments like the young, White Ron Paul guy connecting with an older, female African American “99%-er” (her button said she was one of them) over the issue of whether the Republican Party should have special messages for separate demographic  groups.  She conversed with him during the Q&A from the front row about the Republican Party just showing up in her community, whether she agrees with their positions or values or not.  I think they ended up in some type of agreement on this and with the young guy saying that he wanted to bring the “Liberty” message to the urban areas.  This civil exchange of views was worth this 2,877 mile trip alone.  

I did get some good, tough questions on Michael Steele’s time as Chairman, the Southern Dixiecrats (had to correct the history presented on this by the questioner), the Media, social issues campaigning, getting our film made and “out there” into the World and how both Parties do not always know or care to know where/how they are rallying their troops.  I even got to sing a few bars of Garth Brooks, “Friends in Low Places” when I told the audience about a 2004 Bush rally in New Jersey where the organizers played Country music the most of the time we were there.   Fortunately, no one threw tomatoes at me. 

One African American lady did catch me by surprise when she spoke of how much racism existed in Portland and especially Oregon.  She said that “Oregon is the South of the Northwest.”  The “99%-er” agreed with her wholeheartedly.  I said that the state is well-known for being “Progressive.”  From these ladies, I got the sense that there are probably two Portlands and two Oregons.  Just like there is in most parts of Urban America.  One of them actually used the “n-word” in describing her treatment at times.  Obviously, I’m not knowledgeable enough about Oregon to comment, but that was a first for a FOABR Screening. 

The night ended with a number of folks wanting my e-mail address, many thank-you's for making the film and really getting these issues out there, lots of handshakes and plenty of smiles and encouragement.  It wasn’t a great crowd for selling DVDS since hardly anyone outside of downtown Portland could make the Screening.  This was because many of the streets and some of the major bridges were shut down because of the Occupy Portland riot.  I heard too many helicopters and police/ambulance sirens to expect a packed house.  But, a few of the African American supporters of Occupy Portland did show up and went out of their way to tell me they were happy that our film was “straight-up” and didn’t “Democrat-bash” the whole time.  They said they were definitely not expecting a movie or night like this night.  I wasn’t either.  Hopefully, we’ll make it back to Portland with FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN someday.

I’ll close with something from the heart, more than from the head.  Given all the challenges facing our even making this film and now getting it out there into the World, Occupy Portland and their riot wasn’t the biggest challenge we faced.  But, having “gotten through” to another very diverse audience (age, ethnicity, political affiliation) in an academic setting, this Screening is amongst our proudest.  Hope was renewed yet again, especially in partnering with the PSU College Republicans and seeing their outreach pay off against the odds.

I just wish I could get those darn helicopters and The Doors’ “The End” out of my head…

What Are The Chances (Part 1 of 3)

The past four weeks have been an incredible journey for our film and for us.  As I write this, I am at 37,000 feet in a jet airplane over Northern California.  Hopefully, we land in San Francisco in one piece.   The Beastie Boys classic, LICENSE TO ILL, is cranking on my Kelly green I-pod. 

During the last few weeks, we have screened FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN in Buffalo NY, Rochester NY, our hometown of Trenton NJ with Michael Steele  and just last night at Portland State University in Portland OR.  These screenings in these cities could not have been more different, yet similar.   Most important in the bigger scheme of things, we've kept the ball moving and are building some momentum.

After a beautiful late fall drive to northwestern New York State, we finally arrived in a cold, raw Buffalo. In Buffalo, we found a city that was mainly indifferent to itself and to our film.  It was incredibly hard to gain any Media traction in Buffalo, which was surprising since it has a good-sized African American population.  We did well gaining interest and coverage in Buffalo’s main Black newspaper, The Challenger.  Unfortunately for them and us, their printing press broke down on the day of its issue (which had a 4-Star Review of our film).  Alright, it was some bad luck.  What can you do, right?

Buffalo gave us our first share of White hard-core Liberals who couldn’t wait for the Q&A to come, for the chance to have a good argument.  When the lights came up though, they were rather muted, with very few questions and no nasty comments.   Except one woman, who came in late and was very disappointed that our film wasn’t more like a Michael Moore film (apparently, she is a big fan).  And a man who wanted to know why I don’t start a third Party.  We don’t consider that an option for us.  We want our Republican Party to do better.  Soon.   All in all, the Republicans, Conservatives, Democrats, Independents and Liberals really liked the film.  Even if they weren’t sure that they would when they bought their ticket at our screening space, The Squeaky Wheel.

The Q&As were lengthy and informative both ways (as we want it to be).  We also learned that our film plays well for the intoxicated.  At one of our Buffalo screenings, we had a few guys show up who were definitely “three sheets to the wind.”   However, they were highly intelligent and still “got” the film.  Even though they had “beer goggles,” they enjoyed what they saw and got a lot from it. 

A big, tough lesson was learned in Buffalo:  If we don’t know someone in a place or have a “built-in” audience where we are screening, the going will not be easy at all.  At our level, we don’t have the budget or firepower to make the Media and their Viewers/Listeners/Readers take notice and hear/receive our message – then come out to see our film. 

In Rochester, we had a much different experience.  We had a great ally in Chaplain Ayesha Kreutz and a “built-in” audience - the Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York.  We also got a little bit more Media interest.  It took some work and extra personal appeals, but because we had some peeps in Rochester (unlike Buffalo), we got the big newspaper (the Chronicle & Democrat) to give us at least a mention and also scored a short radio interview with the big Conservative talk show host in town, Bob Lonsberry. 

As a result, the Rochester Screening went much better for the FOABR team.  The screening went great, the Q&A was excellent and we sold a higher than normal number of DVDs at the end. Also, we got a few invites to come back to Rochester in 2012.  If these invites come through, we are there.

Post-Buffalo, we got a nice review in the student newspaper, the UB SPECTRUM.  And we made the effort to go speak with the Occupation Buffalo folks (they are following us on Twitter).  We stopped by their encampment, at a traffic circle with a monument honoring President William McKinley (who was assassinated in Buffalo in 1901), across from Buffalo City Hall.  We wanted to get a sense where some of these “Occupation Wall Street” peeps are coming from.  We agreed to disagree on most points and were glad to offer some historical perspective to them on where things are today versus the year 1968.  1968 and the events that occurred during it can teach the OWS folks a lot on what they DON’T want their movement to become in the future.  IMHO. 

No matter what... being able to say that we have met with some of OWS folks bodes well in interviews, conversations, etc. in helping to explain to those on the "other side" that we are open-minded and non-partisan filmmakers.  The fact that we are who we are and don’t try to pretend to be something we aren’t is very effective.  As long as the “word of mouth” on our film keeps building… 2012 should be a very good year for FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN.  Cross your fingers…


Next: Parts #2 (Trenton and Michael Steele) and #3 (Portland, the College Republicans and the November 17th Riots).