Recognitions of Place

Produced by the Southern California Library

When words aren’t enough, you find a way to love anyway – despite the brokenness.

The Story

Nine-year-old Darrell and his little sister Dominique transform a librarian’s perspective of her organization’s role in the community.

The Back Story

The Southern California Library is a vital community resource in the heart of Los Angeles dedicated to education for social change. The library offers unique and accessible collections and programs on Southern California's social and progressive history. The library engages people across generations in using history to advance social justice.

The library’s four full-time staff members participated in on-site training. The organization produced several shorts, including “Connection” a personal/political piece about a father/son connection, “Charlotta Bass 1952 Speech” a historical piece culled from documents in their archive about Charlotta Bass, a little-known civil rights activist and “Recognitions of Place.”

Outcomes

In addition to these stories, the library has begun several additional digital storytelling projects as a result of their participation in the Digital Storytelling Institute, including another piece about one of their children, the first in a series of their own digital storytelling workshops and facilitated productions with two partner organizations.