JEM Professor's Documentary Receives Award of Excellence

JEM Assistant Professor Bob Legg, along with former JEM student Tre Berney, have just received the Award of Excellence in The Accolade Competition, in the international videography category for their documentary "The Tent Cities of Tennessee".

The 27-minute work premiered March 31, 2009, at the University Center Auditorium where it was used as the focal point of the Baker Center for Public Policy’s “Tent City Celebration & Voting Rights Symposium: The Pursuit and Power of the Vote."

The documentary deals with a struggle for African American voting rights near Memphis in the early 1960's.  During the event, many African Americans were displaced from their homes and forced to set up a tent city.

The documentary also won an Indie Award and has recently been accepted into the Golden Gate Film Festival.

Tent City Symposium Web Promo from tre berney on Vimeo.