Andrew Feiler is a fifth generation Georgian. Having grown up Jewish in Savannah, he has been shaped by the rich complexities of the American South. Feiler has long been active in civic life. He has helped create over a dozen community initiatives, serves on multiple not-for-profit boards, and is an active advisor to numerous elected officials and political candidates. His art is an extension of his civic values.
Feiler’s photographs have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, Architect, Preservation, The Forward as well as on CBS This Morning and NPR. His work has been displayed in galleries and museums including solo exhibitions at such venues as the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, NC, and Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C.
Andrew documents the history of the Rosenwald schools program which transformed education for African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century. The founders were Julius Rosenwald, born to Jewish immigrants, who rose to lead Sears, Roebuck & Company and Booker T. Washington , born into slavery, who became the founding principal of Tuskegee Institute. In 1912 the two men launched an ambitious program to partner with Black communities to build public schools for African American children. Andrew examines the role of education as the onramp to the American middle class as well as the past, present and future of the Black/Jewish progressive alliance.
Hear Andrew discuss:
- What was most innovative about how Rosenwald and Washington structured the schoolhouse construction program?
- What was the impact of the Rosenwald schools program?
- How he developed his approach for telling this story visually.
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Luis Martinez-Fernandez is a Professor of History, University of Central Florida teaching Latin American and Caribbean history. He is a multiple-award winning author who has recently reinvented himself as a syndicated columnist at Creators Syndicate.
CEO Bettie Kirkland, has led Project Return for 10 years. Founded in Nashville in 1979, Project Return is a Tennessee nonprofit dedicated to helping people successfully return to the community after incarceration and avoid recidivism. It has helped thousands of men and women find employment and establish stable lives, all while maintaining its inclusive, productive relationships with its program participants, employment partners and supporters. In 2021, Project Return program participants had an 82% job acquisition rate with only a 13% recidivism rate compared to state and national averages exceeding 50%.
When Project Return, recently opened a new office in Chattanooga, the milestone was celebrated with a reception featuring these remarks its CEO.
Eileen Koteles is an actor and choreographer. Raising her three sons, she realized the gift of teaching through the Arts. Now returning to the stage, Eileen performs as Dr. Ruth, an iconic sex therapist who lost her family in the Holocaust.
Jed Mescon is a relationship builder, brand ambassador, dynamic speaker, creative thinker, persuasive communicator, veteran fundraiser, and community advocate. He is well known in Chattanooga having served as the host of the radio talk show Chewin the Chatt and as the morning news anchor for WRCB-TV.
Rudy J. Ortega, Jr. is the Tribal President of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. Rudy steers the continuing efforts of the Tribe’s missions of protecting the rights of Fernandeño Tataviam as Native American people and plays a supportive role with the Tribe’s non-profit, Pukúu Cultural Community Services (Pukúu) to provide community programs to Native Americans living in the Los Angeles County.
Dr. Nagwan R. Zahry is assistant professor of communication at U. of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Originally from Egypt where she was a Sr. Program Manager for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Midwest Universities Consortium, Nagwan got her PhD from Michigan State U. in media and information. After graduation, she became an assistant professor of communication and in 2018, she joined UTC where she teaches social media marketing, public relations, media and diversity. Her research focuses on science communication, health communication and persuasive messaging.
Real American Families
Sedruola Maruska is an Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice consultant focused on tapping into the power of individuals to transform companies and industries. Her areas of special interest include: Race & Ethnicity , Gender & Orientation, and Disability.