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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 It poses refreshing and provocative questions about outdated definitions of race and culture, and warns us against idolizing multiethnic people as an antidote to our painful history with race.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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