Arne Duncan, Obama's Pick for Secretary of Education, on Dare Not Walk Alone

We'd like to be among the first to congratulate Arne Duncan for being President-elect Obama's pick for Secretary of Education. It is another example of the President-elect choosing to surround himself with the brightest and best.

Mr Duncan he was an early supporter of Dare Not Walk Alone. Here's what he has to say about the film:

"An important tool for showing the bravery of those who struggled for equality during the civil rights movement. But it goes far beyond past history and exposes issues that we face everyday in the continued struggle for equality, especially when it comes to the health and education of all our children."

At the time he wrote that, Mr. Duncan was CEO of Chicago Public Schools. We wish him every success in his new role as a key player in the Obama administration.

And for the record here's what some other prominent public servants have said about Dare Not Walk Alone:

"This moving film, which I was honored to be a part of, will serve as an important reminder to audiences that even though we have made advances in the civil rights arena since the 1960s, we still have a long way to go."

That was US Congresswoman Corrine Brown. Here's Florida State Senator Tony Hill:

"The documentary was so moving that, as chairman of the Black Caucus of the State of Florida, I have filed a bill for the 2007 legislative session in the House and the Senate to have all records cleared for anyone who was arrested because of segregated laws. That is how compelling the film was to me."

DNWA as Education

Just prior to the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, Director Jeremy Dean toured many of the historic black colleges in Florida to show the film to students and faculty. These viewings were facilitated by Florida Senator Tony Hill (www.flsenate.gov/legislators/Senate/S01).

ALL the viewings at the colleges were met with rave reviews and tremendous enthusiasm. What's even better, though, is the fact that DNWA gets people talking again ... whether we like it or not, racism is rampant in America and we have to expose it, show it for what it is, before we can get past it. It's like the elephant in the room that no one wants to mention. It's there. It's big. And it's leaving big turds everywhere. Somehow we, as individuals, have to find our own ways of eradicating racism. Education is definiately one of the methods we can use to start meaningful discussions.

Speaking of education, Sen. Hill is talking about introducing a bill in the Senate that would make DNWA part of the yearly school curriculum. That means that every student in Florida would be REQUIRED to view DNWA. How cool is that?

Let us know if you have other ideas on how to expand viewership of DNWA.