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Tuesday, February 27, 9-10 p.m.
What does it mean to be American? What are American ideals? How, ask Rice and Kenney, have American ideals of freedom, fairness, equiality and opportunity been shaped? How are they interpreted today? Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Kennedy's spirited inquiry frames the stories of citizen-activists striving to realize their own visions of America's promise. American Creed, written, directed and produced by Sam Ball, premieres Tuesday, February 27 at 9-10 p.m. on PBS.
“I hear more and more people say, ‘we’re coming apart, we’re not civil to one another, our institutions are falling apart’,” says Rice. “In times like this,” adds Kennedy, “we need stories that remind us of the ideals that hold us together.”
The stories in American Creed are woven together from the perspectives of unlikely activisits who creatively bridge cultural, economic and/or political divides. This documentary features baseball manager Joe Maddon, in his hometown of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, who brings together new immigrants and long-time residents after a controversial local election. Lindbergh Elementary School Principal Deidre Prevett, a dual citizen of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the US, fights for the struggling children and transient families of many different ethnicities who pass through her hometown of East Tulsa, Oklahoma. Renowned author Junot Diaz, of urban New Jersey, and Marine Sgt. Tegan Griffith, of rural Wisconsin, operate in different spheres to achieve "the dream of an America where we can be on each other's side." Seattle-based Eric Liu brings community organizers together across ideological divides. In the Arkansas Delta, where mechanization threatens agricultural jobs, entrepreneurs Leila Janah and Terrence Davenport start an innovative technology company based on what they see as America's promise of equal opportunity for all.
Adding depth and context as each story builds on the next, Rice and Kennedy drive the discussion of the question at the heart of this film forward — what does it mean to be American today? — with a group of first-generation college students at Stanford University. As they begin to embark toward full participation in American life; their commentary is insightful and affecting, in surprising ways.
