DECEMBER 6, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz And That’s a Wrap! The year 2023 will be upon us in just 26 days. Where the hell did 2022 go? Oh, I know, we were oh so busy the time just whizzed by. But that’s a good thing, right? What’s the saying, …
NOVEMBER 29, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Supporting Arts and Culture is Always in Season When contemplating what to write for today’s Dispatch, I considered talking about the Independent Film and Media Briefing just released by the National Endowment for the Arts and available for download HERE. You should read …
NOVEMBER 22, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Is Someone Missing From Your Dinner Table? When Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999, to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Alltson, Mass., it drew attention to a disturbing pattern that, sadly, has continued for more than two decades. Since January …
NOVEMBER 15, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Filmmakers! Time to ‘Stand Up, Step Out, and Speak Up’ for Climate Justice I love being around other creative people. This past weekend, I had the privilege of joining my colleague Eboni Johnson and our partners at the Houston Cinema Arts Society, the …
NOVEMBER 8, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Don’t Just Worry About Climate Change, Do Something! Black storytellers are invited to BPM’s first Story Summit on Climate Justice, Nov. 12 If you read this blog often, you know that BPM is hosting a Black Media Story Summit on Climate Justice in …
NOVEMBER 1, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Voting is Not Only My Right, its an Act of Remembrance By this time next week I hope everyone who’s reading this blog post has either sent in their absentee ballot or cast their vote at their local polling place. Our news, mailboxes, …
OCTOBER 25, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Our Film Festivals Need Us to Show Up Those of us who have enjoyed frequenting film festivals over the years know that Covid-19 was a seismic event for the festival scene. The pandemic forced most festivals to either cancel seasons altogether, or to …
OCTOBER 18, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Breakthrough Stories Break Down Barriers Last weekend, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to join filmmakers Byron Hurt and Natalie Bullock Brown at the Double Exposure Film Festival, where their newest film, Hazing, was on the slate. Though Hazing includes Hurt’s personal experiences with the harmful rituals, the film also includes …
OCTOBER 11, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz How Black is the Future of Public Media? Contemplating the future of public media is an evergreen activity among people in my position. We’re always trying to figure out what type of content public media audiences need and want, and then how best …
OCTOBER 5, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz New ‘Be Heard’ Campaign Addresses Gender Pronouns BPM Celebrates LGBT History Month with New Shorts Series on Gender Affirmation The National Transgender Discrimination Survey reports that Black transgender and gender nonconforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination. From their experiences …