Annenberg Classroom’s documentary “Juneteenth: Exploring Freedom’s Stories” has won a Bronze Award in the 3rd Annual Anthem Awards.
“Juneteenth: Exploring Freedom’s Stories” explores the history of Juneteenth, America’s newest federal holiday, and illustrates how and why freedom and citizenship were intertwined. The short historical documentary includes interview with scholars and other experts and explores how the fight to end slavery remade the Constitution and expanded freedom and citizenship to all Americans.
The film, produced by The Documentary Group, was awarded a bronze prize among entrants to the Education, Art & Culture area as a Film, Video, Television or Show in the Awareness & Media Categories. “Juneteenth” is the latest addition to the collection of free, high-quality, nonpartisan civics education resources offered by Annenberg Classroom and the Civics Renewal Network, both projects of the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics (LAIC) at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.
See the film here on Annenberg Classroom.
This year’s Anthem Award Winners were selected from a pool of over 2,000 submissions from 44 countries by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Anthem judges are intellectually diverse leaders from across the impact industry with expertise that spans across the Anthem cause areas. Launched in 2021 by The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide across seven core causes: Diversity; Equity & Inclusion; Education; Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment & Climate.
Andrea (Ang) Reidell, LAIC Director of Outreach and Curriculum, and Gabrielle Tenenbaum, executive producer for The Documentary Group, accepted the award at a reception for winners of this year’s Anthem Awards. In a brief videotaped acceptance message, APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson said: “Learn from history, celebrate Juneteenth, and right the nation’s wrongs.”
The film has been screened for over 1,000 participants in free programs, including four workshops specifically for educators. Audiences have responded enthusiastically to the film and discussion programs, and teachers said they learned many new things about Juneteenth and planned to use the film in their classrooms. In conjunction with the film’s release, three educators were selected to write lesson plans to accompany the film.
The film and accompanying lesson plans developed by three winning educators are available here.
