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Posted October 1, 2005
Contact: Justin
Leroy, Director, Chasing
Daybreak
MAVIN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF CHASING DAYBREAK: A FILM ABOUT
MIXED RACE IN AMERICA, VIA NATIONWIDE SERIES OF PREMIERES
(Seattle) For over three centuries, laws forbade sex
or marriage across racial lines in North America. Census 2000 marked
the first time that Americans could identify with more than one race,
and over seven million people did so. Today, in states like California,
Washington and Oregon, more mixed heritage babies are born than any
other race except Caucasian.
Last spring, the MAVIN Foundation sponsored the Generation
MIX National Awareness Tour. "Gen MIX" sent five twenty-somethings
10,000 miles across the U.S. in a colorfully emblazoned 26-foot RV to
raise awareness of America’s mixed heritage baby boom and to jump
start a national dialogue about the changing face of diversity.
To chronicle the historic event, MAVIN partnered with independent filmmaker
Justin Leroy to develop Chasing
Daybreak, a groundbreaking, feature-length film that follows the
Tour Crew as they encounter thousands of Americans from all walks of
life - from Bubba the tow truck driver who serviced their broken-down
RV in rural Alabama to biracial U.S. Senator Barack Obama. This footage
is combined with the Crew's personal reflections and global media coverage
of the tour.
Chasing Daybreak
examines how our nation imagines mixed race identity and its place in
the American racial landscape. It poses refreshing and provocative questions
about outdated definitions of race and culture, and warns us against
idolizing multiethnic people as an antidote to our painful history with
race. Ultimately, the film reveals that mixed race people complicate,
rather than eliminate, race in America.
Beginning on November 1, 2005, Chasing
Daybreak will be available for local premiere screenings!
MAVIN Foundation is seeking organizations who wish to participate
in organizing a nationwide series of local premieres, which will conclude
with the Film's official public release on January 15, 2006, the birthday
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose words inspired the title “Chasing
Daybreak”. Screening packages include a discussion
guide and educational materials to faciliate discussion and ongoing
projects.
Chasing Daybreak
can provide your school, organization, or company with an exciting platform
to explore issues of race, mixed race and diversity. To learn more about
screening packages and how you can be a part of this historic Film's
national release, visit the Film's
official site (www.chasingdaybreak.com) or email Justin
Leroy.
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