(NPT News) Meet Your Kurdish and Somali Neighbors at Scarritt Bennett Center

From the official NPT News Department:

Scarritt Bennett Center and NPT Invite You to Meet the Cultures of Somalia and Kurdistan That Call Nashville Home

Event at Scarritt-Bennett to Use Award-Winning NPT Documentaries to Educate and Enhance Dialogue in the Community

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – July 1, 2009 – Scarritt-Bennett Center and Nashville Public Television invite the community to view excerpts from the original NPT Next Door Neighbors documentaries “Somali” and “Little Kurdistan, USA” – and get an even better understanding of the people from those cultures when they offer their thoughts and answer questions in a follow-up panel discussion – on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Scarritt-Bennett Center (Fondren Building). The event is free, but RSVP’s are suggested 615.340.7557 or programs@scarrittbennett.org. Scarritt-Bennett Center is located at 1008 19th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.

About the Documentaries

“Little Kurdistan, USA” looks at Nashville’s Kurdish population, the largest in North America. Kurds first arrived in Nashville in 1976 and have since established a vibrant community recognized by Kurds nationally for its strong cultural and traditional heritage. As refugees, Kurds have overcome significant barriers to survive, and flourish in Nashville. But, refugees inevitably become outsiders; estranged from their homeland, and strangers in their new home.

“Somali” profiles the over 5,000 Somali refugees that now call Nashville their home. They left a war-torn country and many still have family trying to survive in Somalia and in refugee camps in other countries. For most, life in Nashville is about work, sending money back home and trying to balance Somali traditions and cultures while adjusting to life in the US. The documentary explores what life is like for a community in transition.

Nashville Public Television’s NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series, produced, written and directed by Will Pedigo, looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. The series and its associated outreach was recently awarded the 2009 My Source Community Impact Award for Engagement, created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to give well-deserved recognition to stations for their commitment and responsiveness to their communities, providing innovative services – on-air, online, and in-person – that have measureable results. Series installment “Little Kurdistan, USA” won the 2008 Mid South Regional Emmy Award for best Historical or Cultural Program Special.

The series is made possible through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s My Source initiative and The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals, and is supported in-part by the Nissan Foundation. A partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Nashville Studies provides valuable research and community outreach.

About Nashville Public Television
Nashville Public Television is available free and over the air to nearly 2.2 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky viewing area, and is watched by more than 600,000 households every week. NPT provides, through the power of traditional television and interactive telecommunications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.

About Scarritt- Bennett Center
Scarritt-Bennett Center is an independent non-profit conference, retreat, and education center devoted to addressing issues of social justice by offering programs and events that promote dialogue and cultural understanding. Included in these is the Celebration of Cultures – an annual multi-cultural festival. For more information on this and other programs, please visit www.scarrrittbennett.org