Diversions at UMFK: Iron Weed Film Series, Volumes 40-79

Includes:
- Running Dry: seek to raise awareness of the worsening global humanitarian water crisis. Running dry looks at water quality and quantity around the world.
- The American Southwest : are we running dry? looks at water problems in the American Southwest that have resulted from severe drought, urban development, agricultural uses, and population growth. Both films draw upon a wide variety of expertise, from former prime ministers to local activists, and not only describe the problems but outline a clear agenda for solving them.

Includes:
- Asparagus! : stalking the American life, Michigan asparagus farmers must find creative ways to save their livelihood in the face of unfair competition supported by government trade policies.
- A Growing Season follows Ontario farmer John Gorzo Jr. from the spring planting through the fall harvest, revealing how incredibly hard farmers work to produce our food.
- Good Stewards shows how the entire community must contribute to ensuring agricultural survival and success.

Includes:
- Food matters: Examines the deficiency in both our nutrition and the medical industry that thrives from the lack thereof. Also scrutinized are the agricultural practices that encourage a lack of nutritional value in the commercial foods available to us. Provides evidence that we have the power to prevent disease and heal ourselves of many common ailments through our diet and lifestyle choices, and provides simple suggestions for how to do so.
- A thousand suns: Explores the concept of sustainability, looking to the people of Ethiopia's Gamo Highlands as a model of agricultural practices that work in harmony with nature and with the people of the land.

Includes:
- Percy Schmeiser : David versus Monsanto: Imagine that a storm blows across your garden--and that now, without your knowledge and without your consent, foreign and genetically-manipulated seeds are in your vegetable patch which you have nourished and maintained for many years. A few days later, representatives of a multi-national corporate group pay you a visit at home, demand that you surrender your vegetables and file a criminal complaint against you requesting a fine a $20,000 USD against you--for the illegal use of patented and genetically-manipulated seeds.
- Sekem : born of the sun: Born of Dr. Abouleish's ambitious vision, the Sekem Farm is an ecological paradise in the middle of the Egyptian desert -- both a thriving business and a close-knit community. In this oasis, nothing is lost, and a delicately balanced relationship between workers and nature is established. With predictions of the world's population rising to 9 billion by 2050, the Sekem community may well be the future of farming.
- My father's garden: In less than fifty years agriculture has been transformed by synthetic chemicals which have had a serious impact on the environment and on the health of farm families. This film tells the story of two farmers. Herbert Smith, championed the new miracle sprays of the 50's in his orange grove in Florida, while Fred Kirschenmann of North Dakota, steered his land through the transition to organic farming to prove, 20 years later, that sustainable organic agriculture is a viable economic alternative for any size farm.

Includes:
- Sprawling from grace: Our modern infrastructure is built to suit a car-centered lifestyle. It is proposed that unless we begin to develop our cities and towns with a focus on pedestrian and public transportation access to civic and commercial places, we will ever be dependent on personal transportation, perpetuating over-consumption and making conservation next to impossible.
- Reds go green: China, now surpassing the U.S. in energy consumption, is racing to find ways to balance their desire to industrialize with pressure to reduce carbon emissions. A solution that seems to address both necessities comes in the form of the electric car, a market that Chinese car manufacturer, Build Your Dream (BYD), hopes to dominate in the near future.
- Green Nirvana: Utilizing a host of alternative energy options, the inhabitants of the Danish island of Samso are providing an example for the rest of the world of how to become carbon neutral with the integration of many different energy alternatives best suited to the specific locale.
- Fragile day: A music video for the song "Fragile day" by Wilderland whose lyrics speak to the consequences of pollution. The song was inspired by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and all proceeds from the sale of the song go to organizations aiding in Gulf Coast restoration.

Includes:
- Back to the garden: In 1988, filmmaker Kevin Tomlinson filmed and interviewed a group of back-to-the-land "hippies"--living off-grid, insultated from mainstream culture. In 2006, he tracked down his subjects again to find out what had become of their families' utopian plans and dreams. This film captures a time-lapse view of these back-to-the-landers and shows that what seemed a fringe movement of extremes in the 1960s was actually a prescient foretelling of the green revolution.
- A circle and three lines: The peace symbol unifies people around the world, crossing language barriers and inspiring hope. This short film follows its history from the 1950s through today, challenging us to remember its past and take responsibility for its future.

Includes:
- Summer crisis: Takes a look at what is happening across Europe to small businesses and common people when national debts become too big to support and the flows of money run dry.
- China slowdown: As demand for manufactured goods declines around the world, many people who make those goods lose their jobs. This problem is felt very strongly in China, a major source of the world's manufactured goods, where many rely on manufacturing as their sole source of income.

Includes:
Mine: Hailed as “absorbing,” “a must see,” “Oscar material” and “the best movie at SXSW,” MINE is a feature-length, independent documentary about the essential bond between humans and animals, set against the backdrop of one of the worst natural disasters in modern U.S. history: Hurricane Katrina. This gripping, character-driven story follows New Orleans residents as they attempt the daunting task of trying to reunite with their pets who have been adopted by families all over the country, and chronicles the custody battles that arise when two families love the same pet. Who determines the fate of the animals—and the people—involved? A compelling meditation on race, class and the power of compassion, MINE examines how we treat animals as an extension of how we view and treat each other.
- Best Friend Forgotten: A compelling documentary which explores the crisis of pet overpopulation by following a dog named Clover and a cat named Oreo. Clover and Oreo provide the audience with an inside look at the reality of the overpopulation problem. The on camera host, David Duchovny (from The X-Files) narrates this journey with compassion, humor, and hope.

Includes:
- Beyond Belief: Susan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands’ lives were trained: Afghanistan. Over the course of two years, as they cope with loss and struggle to raise their families as single mothers, these extraordinary women dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression – factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. From the ruins of the World Trade Center to those of Kabul and back, theirs is a journey of personal strength and international reconciliation, and a testament to the vision that peace can be forged… one woman at a time.
- The Imam and the Pastor: The Imam and the Pastor depicts the unlikely partnership between a Muslim fundamentalist preacher and a Christian evangelist from Nigeria. In the 1990’s, Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye led opposing militias dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria. Now the two men are co-directors of the Muslim-Christian Interfaith Mediation Centre, leading task-forces to resolve conflicts across Nigeria. The Imam and the Pastor is both a moving human story and a ground-breaking case-study of grass-roots action to rebuild communities torn apart by conflict.

Includes:
- Fuel: A comprehensive and entertaining look at energy in America: a history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil. Rousing and reactionary, FUEL is an amazing, in-depth, personal journey of oil use and abuse as it examines wide-ranging energy solutions other than oil, the faltering US auto and petroleum industries, and the latest stirrings of the American mindset toward alternative energy. Interviews with a wide range of environmentalists, policy makers, educators, and "green" celebrities such as Barbara Boxer, Richard Branson, Sheryl Crow, Woody Harrelson, Robert Kennedy Jr., Willie Nelson, Julia Roberts, and Neil Young, offer serious fuel for thought.
- Unlimited: A documentary about renewable energy and other alternatives to fossil fuels. It highlights a group of passionate 6th graders who call on adults everywhere to take action and address global warming. Their voices are supported with those of global warming and energy experts who discuss promising technologies such as solar, wind, and tidal power, as well as the issues of transportation and food sustainability. To demonstrate the here-and-now practicality of these technologies, the film includes on-site footage of solar panels, wind turbines, low and zero-emissions vehicles, tidal generators and much more.

Includes:
- Beyond Borders: Beyond Borders moves past the headlines and takes an in-depth look at the hot-button issues of legal and illegal immigration. The film explores the forces driving the immigration controversy from both sides of the debate. Anti-immigration activists demand we stop this "illegal alien invasion,” while some pro-immigration forces speak of a Reconquista, a reclaiming of the American Southwest by Mexico. In search of a middle ground, Beyond Borders travels across the U.S. and beyond to give voice to those on the front-line of the issue, including candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, radio talk show celebrities, demographers, the Minute Men, potential migrants, and a host of experts including Noam Chomsky (Distorted Morality) and Gustavo Arellano (Ask A Mexican). Beyond Borders is an entertaining and enlightening film that asks: Is migration a basic human right?
- Escapeland: Escapeland follows a love story that develops against-all-odds between Eshel, a young Israeli woman from a kibbutz and Adel, a Sudanese Muslim, a UN refugee, who is not allowed entry into Israel. The couple has two children, and for years now Eshel is forced to constantly travel between a remote beach in Sinai (Egypt) where Adel lives and works, and her mother's home in Kibbutz Ein-Shemer. The family shifts between hope for a future together, and despair about the economic and bureaucratic obstacles.

Includes:
- For My Wife: Addressing a timely and critical issue, for my wife... chronicles the making of an activist for Marriage Equality. Charlene Strong was thrust into the spotlight after the tragic death of her wife, Kate. After facing this loss and the heartless humiliation of hospital and funeral home staff, Charlene decided to take a stand. Her dramatic congressional testimony is credited in passing Washington state's historic Domestic Partnership laws. As Charlene finds her voice to speak out against injustice, her journey takes her across the country, finally meeting with President Barack Obama and securing his commitment to equality for all LGBT Americans. for my wife... tells Charlene's story against the backdrop of the national debate on Marriage Equality. It is one of courage and determination and inspires the activist in all of us.
- Shades of Gray:"Shades of Gray" is a documentary that focuses on the lives of five ordinary people leading normal lives in Lawrence, Kansas who happen to be gay and lesbian. When the Lawrence City Council is approached with a proposal to add the words 'sexual orientation' to its discrimination policies, a struggle ensues between the citizens of Lawrence, outside anti-gay influences, religious organizations and activists. "Shades of Gray" illustrates how homosexual women and men are very much a part of the moral fiber that comprises American society.

Includes:
- The End of Poverty?: Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates The End of Poverty?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which reveals that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries. The End of Poverty? asks why today 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate?
- Banking on Change: Two-thirds of India’s population of a billion people live in the nation’s 600,000 villages. Despite India’s economic growth, the disparities between wealth and poverty are enormous. Many villagers migrate to the cities in search of work and end up begging on the streets. South Indian bank manager J S Parthiban set out to do something to help their economic circumstances. He encouraged beggars to open bank accounts in New Delhi, and pioneered micro-loans to villagers in his home state of Tamil Nadu. This is his story—and theirs.

Includes:
- The Corporation: Provoking, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative, The Corporation explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Part film and part movement, The Corporation is transforming audiences and dazzling critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?" The Corporation includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change.
- The Story of Citizens United V. FEC: The Story of Citizens United v. FEC explores the history of the American corporation and corporate political spending, the appropriate roles of citizens and for-profit corporations in a democracy and the toxic impact the Citizens United decision is already having on our political process. It ends with a call to amend the U.S. constitution to confirm that people—not corporations—make the decisions in a democracy.
- Overcoming The Odds: Overcoming the Odds tells the dramatic story of how countries of the global south, non-governmental organizations, and activists challenged the tobacco industry--and won. The filmmakers traveled with Corporate Accountability International to the United Nations in Geneva to record the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first global health and corporate accountability treaty. As a leader pushing for a strong treaty, Corporate Accountability International worked closely with the World Health Organization, government negotiators, public interest organizations including members of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT), and activists from around the world in the campaign to secure passage of the treaty.

Includes:
- Chemerical: Chemerical explores the life cycle of everyday household cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in sea of toxicity. The film is at once humorous, as we watch the Goode family try to turn a new leaf by creating and living in a toxic free home, and informative, as director Andrew Nisker works with many experts to give audiences the tools and inspiration to live toxic-free. Chemerical tackles "the toxic debate" in a truly informative and entertaining way, not only by raising awareness, but most importantly by providing simple solutions.
- The Story of Cosmetics: The Story of Cosmetics examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. Produced by Free Range Studios and hosted by Annie Leonard, the seven-minute film reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

Includes:
- Rethink Afghanistan: Rethink Afghanistan is a feature-length documentary about the war in Afghanistan. According to Arianna Huffington, “It should be required viewing for everyone in the White House, the Congress and the Pentagon.” The film fosters discussion, debate, and dissent, and is often described as the work that “laid the tracks” for public opposition to the war. The documentary is part of Brave New Foundation’s contribution to the movement to change the misguided policy in Afghanistan.
- Koch Brothers Exposed: Koch Brothers Exposed is a multi-media multi-platform creative campaign to expose the billionaire Koch brothers and the ways they harm our democracy. From their hundreds of oil spills, to their efforts to dismantle any social net for working Americans, the Koch brothers have launched a large network to attack our most crucial American values. Brave New Foundation presents a series of video exposes focused on the many issues the Koch brothers attack. They have creatively pulled them out of their secrecy, to show Americans what they are up to and how we can collectively fight back.
- Cuéntame: Cuéntame is a non-profit organization that unites the Latino activist community through media. Featuring short video, docu-series, and interviews from the Cuéntame studio, the streets, or sent in by supporters, Cuéntame’s video material ranges from unjust immigration laws to exclusive features on Latino arts, music and film.

Includes:
- Vanishing of the Bees: Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables. Vanishing of the Bees follows two commercial beekeepers as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill nationwide pollination contracts. Filming around the world, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth.
- Pollen Nation: In the last 30 years, the number of honeybees in the US has been cut in half. The beekeepers say it takes more and more work to keep their bees alive as they battle new problems wrought by pesticide use, destruction of habitat, the stress of trucking them around the country, and epidemic infestations of mites and viruses. This film follows the journey of one commercial beekeeper – third generation beekeeper Jeff Anderson -- from the honey harvest on the High Plains to the warm winter-feeding grounds of California. It also explores the history of human interaction with bees, a story that reflects the development of agriculture.

Featuring 7 Short Films:
- The Ecological Footprint: Accounting for a Small Planet: Ecological Footprint founder explores the implications of ecological deficits and provides examples of how governments, communities, and businesses are using the Footprint model to improve their ecological performance.
- IDEO Does Sustainability: IDEO is one of the world’s leading Design and Innovation companies. See and hear what IDEO employees are doing to integrate sustainability throughout their professional practice & personal lives.
- Nom Tew -- Man of the Soil: Créole for Man of the Soil, Nom Tew traces Jerry Makawest, a modern Rastafarian who makes a living in the jungle by employing traditional techniques of foraging, taught to him by his family.
- One of the Last: Evoking a simplicity and equanimity seldom seen in our contemporary lives, this special film presents Mauro, an Italian farmer who has never severed his relationship to the land and its bounty throughout the rhythm of his days.
- Living Lightly: In a corner of New Brunswick, Canada, the craft of scything is practiced as a meditation in action. Living Lightly poetically explores a way of relating to the land, and the bounty that comes from such devotion.
- Girl Stars: Suryamani the Environmental Activist: Suryamani is about a young Indian woman who became a national folk-hero. From joining the Save the Forest movement to fighting for the rights of her community to live in forests, Suryamani has inspired thousands of girls in India.
- For the Next Seven Generations: The Grandmothers Speak: The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers meet with the Dalai Lama to discuss issues facing humanity and the planet.

Includes:
- The Beautiful Truth: After the unexpected and tragic death of his mother, 15-year old Garrett, who is an animal-loving teenager, was spiraling downward and fast. Garrett's father recognized his son's interest in the dietary habits of their animals, which prompted him to assign a book written by Dr. Max Gerson. The book maintains that there is a direct link between diet and a cure for cancer. Fascinated and curious, Garrett embarks on a cross-country road trip to investigate the merits of The Gerson Therapy.
- For The Holy Grail: Curing cancer is one of the Holy Grails of medicine. Now two scientists, inspired by nature, seem to have made a real breakthrough. Motivated by a promise given to a dying colleague, Dr Brahmbhatt and Dr MacDiarmid set out to find a cure for cancer. Their first task was finding a way of treating the disease without the dreaded side effects. They became fixated on the idea that a cure could be found in nature. They created tiny nano cells which directly attack cancer cells without hurting the normal ones. Tests on animals have showed it stabilizes tumours and causes regression.

Includes:
- The Best Government Money Can Buy? The Best Government Money Can Buy? is the first behind-the-scenes, comprehensive, non-partisan examination of the system of lobbying in Washington, DC. The cost of election campaigns has spiraled out of control, to the extent that, on average, our representatives spend more than 25% of their time fund-raising. Even our Presidents regularly interrupt the nation's work in order to spend time fund-raising! Veteran documentary film-maker, British-born Francis Megahy, makes a journey of discovery as he tries to answer some questions which puzzle him: who provides the money? What effect does it have? How is it connected to the financing of political campaigns? And most crucial, is it in the public interest? The Best Government Money Can Buy? explores the issue through interviews with real Washington beltway insiders, key participants in the process - who often speak with surprising candor.
- Murder, Spies, and Voting Lies: Clint Curtis was an everyday computer programmer in Florida until he was asked to create vote-rigging software for electronic voting machines. What happens to a guy at the wrong end of a smoking gun? In Murder, Spies, and Voting Lies, directed by Patty Sharaf, hear Curtis's story about being asked by Florida Republican Congressman Tom Feeney to manipulate voting machine software. While Curtis made these charges in a sworn affidavit, and in sworn testimony to a congressional committee, mainstream media have given scant attention to his story. Join journalist/blogger Brad Friedman as he pokes at the seamy side of our democracy.

Includes:
- 2012: Time for Change: 2012: Time for Change presents an optimistic alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom. Directed by Emmy Award nominee João Amorim, the film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method. As conscious agents of evolution, we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a world that works for all. Rather than breakdown and barbarism, 2012 heralds the birth of a regenerative planetary culture where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism that has pushed our world to the brink.
- Imagine It: Imagine It! is designed to provide a forum for discussion around the power of big ideas in action and to inspire people to imagine a better world by connecting imagination and creativity with science and engineering in education. Hear from innovators, scientists and authors, such as Ray Kurtzweil and Sally Ride, who are joining a movement to get creative thinking and the arts back into schools. This film will help the public to have a better understanding of the importance of science, engineering and technology and hopes to inspire the next generation of innovators. The film reports on the promise of a new youth culture engaging their curiosity to change the world, empowered by science, technology, education…and desire.

Includes:
- Consumed: Consumerism has become the cornerstone of the post-industrial age. Yet how much do we know about it and what it is doing to us? Using theories of evolutionary psychology to underpin a bold narrative of our times, this film takes a whirlwind tour through the "weird mental illness of consumerism", showing how our insatiable appetite has driven us into "the jaws of the beast". Manipulating our innermost impulses, capitalism has begun to not only reflect our evolutionary tendencies but also to amplify and distort them. Exploring how human psychology has molded the society that is slowly destroying the world and us, Consumed takes us inside both the apocalyptic and redemptive sides of the human condition.
- E-Waste Hell: Environmental journalist Mike Anane has been investigating the effects of electronic waste in Ghana and to him the result is unequivocal: "total devastation", from stunted growth of children to cancer and chronic conditions. 500 container-loads of electronic waste arrive every month, often falsely declared as second-hand goods to overcome the problem of it being illegal to ship toxic e-waste without a permit. "They have no moral right to allow their waste to come in here", the director of Ghana's Environmental Agency says. The UN is moving slowly closer to banning toxic waste exports, yet for the local Ghanaians the nightmare will take generations to overcome.

Includes:
- Ethos: Woody Harrelson blows the lid off our corrupt system in this powerful new documentary. Ethos examines the flaws in our systems that work against democracy, the environment and society as a whole. Unraveling the complex relationships between unregulated corporate power, the media and our system of government that guarantees the failure of our society at almost every level. With a stunning depth of research and breadth of analysis, this film delves deep into the inter-connected worlds of Politics, Multi-National Corporations and the Media. But more, Ethos offers a very simple but powerful solution that could change the world we live in.
- The 99 Percent: The Occupy movement has become the largest global social movement in recent history and shows no sign of slowing down. But do the protests really have the potential to alter the course of world politics? They call themselves the "99 percent" and whether in Frankfurt, Athens or New York, the tactics and demands are the same everywhere. Using social media to coordinate efforts around the globe, the Occupy movement has sought to follow in the footsteps of the Arab Spring, replacing the Mubaraks and the Assads with the IMF and ECB. Despite its success many remain skeptical, and criticize the methods of the movement. As the protests continue to develop and spawn further sub-movements, what's next for outraged citizens of the global economic crisis?

Includes:
- Children's of the Tsunami : On March 11th 2011 Japan woke up to a new and very frightening world. Through the eyes of the children who managed to survive the terrible disaster we see the pain-tinged environment in which they have to forge their futures. From the child who has forgotten how to speak to the eight-year-old who wants to become a radiation researcher, it is in turns a touching and horrifying vision of Japan's tsunami generation.
- After the Tsunami: Around the world, the Japanese were praised for dealing with the March 11 earthquake with stoicism and patience. But one year on and there is still an arduous struggle for reconstruction that prevents people from returning their lives to normality. As a proud nation, Japan watched several cherished myths crumble on that fateful day in March, not least the safely of its nuclear power plants. Japan now faces a crucial choice: suppress the events of 2011 or learn from them.

Includes:
- The Billionaires' Tea Party: from the tea parties to health care and climate change, America's conservative citizens revolted against President Obama's reform agenda. But just how real were the roots of this supposedly grassroots uprising? Was it, in fact, an example of 'astroturfing', which is the practice of manufacturing citizens groups for the purpose of delivering corporate messages? Curious to find out, Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham went undercover to investigate. What he found was astroturfing on a scale greater than he could have imagined. This film offers a look at how corporate elites are exploiting the anxieties of ordinary Americans.
- Gunsmoke: an ongoing source of controversy in America, gun laws are increasingly polarizing the Southern states and Washington. In Arizona, Tea Party supporting, heavily armed, vigilante groups are taking over.

Includes:
- The Crisis of Civilization: In this documentary, global warming, peek oil, terrorism, world food and drinkable water supply, political, economic, and military policy, are revealed as interrelated, and symptoms of a civilization that can not be sustained in it's present form.
- Eye of the Future: five children -- all born to UN ambassadors -- join together to share their collective experiences in hopes of promoting green technologies and sustainable, energy-efficient modes of transportation in this documentary from filmmaker Cat Cunningham.

Includes:
- Raising Hope: The Equal Voice Story chronicles five families whose lives were changed when they participated in a campaign to lift families out of poverty. The Equal Voice for America's Families campaign brought together 30,000 families who created and adopted a National Family Platform. Through town halls and conventions, low-income families across America came together to tackle some of society's most pressing social and economic issues. Hear from families like Charmaine Parker, whose income barely covers her living expenses, and Brandon Mitchell, raising three children on a barber's salary, about what it takes to prosper in America.
- Maria Full of Hope: an inspiring and moving story of one young woman as she reflects on her challenging past, joins a local community organization and becomes an inspiring leader battling the dropout crisis in Chicago. The story was adapted from Marguerite Casey Foundation's documentary Raising Hope: An Equal Voice Story, which chronicles the Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign to elevate the voices of low-income families.