Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary
of Brown v. Board of Education

ACTIVITY FIVE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Broadcasting/Internet Web-Cast Details OF THE MAY 17th Commemorative Event

Preparation, set-up, and filming of the Commemorative Event for the satellite broadcast and Internet web-cast combined the talents of the university, government and private sector individuals and organizations. The cooperation and "can-do" spirit of those involved in this unique collaboration suggest that all viewed it as a “labor of love” to produce a first-class product. The value of in-kind donation of television equipment, specialized television personnel, and broadcast services alone is estimated to be more than several hundred thousand dollars, according to statistics provided by Chicago City Colleges’ (CCC’s) Maria Moore General Manager, WYCC-TV 20, CBS 2 Chicago staff, and NBC 5 Chicago personnel.

Broadcast Facilities and Satellite Link Equipment

The Commemoration Event broadcast could not have been made possible without the extraordinary in-kind donations of production facilities and satellite link equipment provided by CBS 2 Chicago, NBC Chicago, Chicago City Colleges WYCC-TV 20, and Chicago State University . The broadcast production booth, a Trio Video mobile unit, was supplied by CBS 2 Chicago , which is the same state-of-the-art facility used to broadcast major events such as Bears football games. NBC 5 Chicago provided an in-kind donation of the equipment and connectivity of an Analog Ku-Band satellite (video channel amc-9) for the broadcast. Each of the broadcast organizations provided skilled technicians and personnel.

The Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE’s) best estimate was that there were approximately 100 to 150 districts across the state capable of receiving the signal directly. The satellite connection was announced and advertised by the state and the ISBE to schools that have the equipment to view the session in this format. The majority of other schools in the state were able to view the broadcast by way of conventional broadcast and cable TV from the PBS television stations listed above.

Internet Web-Casting

The satellite link also was used by Illinois Central Management Services (CMS) and ISBE to connect with the web-cast server so that the event could be viewed over the Internet. The CMS server, with a capacity of approximately 1000 simultaneous users, took the lead role. The ISBE server, with a capacity of 160 users, served as a backup in case of overflow. Connections were made around the state and across the nation.

Archiving

The event was archived and saved to a DVD disk and distributed to schools and other organizations. Also, selected excerpts of the DVD were re-edited (by students at the facilities of Columbia College ) into smaller and more manageable segments for use by schools and at public events.

Separately, ISBE used the satellite feed to archive the entire event then posted it on the ISBE website to advertise it for viewing after the event. In addition, the Illinois Brown Commission website linked to the ISBE website for enable viewing of the event.

E-Mail Website for Q&A

ISBE provided an e-mail address prior to the broadcast (and also during the broadcast) to allow viewers to ask questions of the panel on a real time basis. Ricardo Tostado of ISBE staffed the e-mail website and coordinated the webcast from the event location. He received questions, printed them out, and gave them to the producers for the moderator of the panel discussion. As a result of the lively discussion, only a few e-mail questions could be used.

Pre-Event Planning and Organization

CMS and ISBE provided a web address and a web-cast test site. The site was up and running a week before the event to ensure that schools could test their Real Player connections beforehand. Schools were sent announcements and were encouraged to test their web-cast connections, firewalls, network filters, and browser settings in order to avoid last-minute problems at their sites. The ISBE provided technical help to schools through its regional information technology personnel.

Marketing to Schools, Colleges, and Universities

An invitation was sent via e-mail to the Illinois Century Network of participating organizations as well as to all schools through the ISBE. The invitation was posted on several websites, including but not limited to the following:

• http://www.illinoisbrownvboard.org
• http://www.isbe.net
• http://www.lincoln.net
• CMS website
• State of Illinois website as an Icon-link on the front page

Further, the following media outlets provided their services as in-kind donations to the Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v Board of Education:

Table Two

In-Kind Donations

Following the re-enactment, several distinguished individuals participated in a symposium entitled, “Fifty Years Later... Where Are We Now?” Some of the panelists included: State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-3); Dr. Barbara Sizemore, DePaul University; Antonio Mora, CBS 2 News; Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Trinity United Church of Christ, and Attorney Nancy Hall-Walker, Vice President for Legal and Labor Affairs, Chicago State University. Moderators for the day’s event were: Diann Burns, CBS 2 News; Allison Payne, WGN News; Harry Porterfield, ABC 7 News; and Warner Saunders, NBC 5 News.

The commemorative program was the second in a series of Brown v. Board educational events that took place over an eighteen-month period as part of a statewide initiative outlined in Senate Joint Resolution 40.

Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Co-Chairs
Illinois Senate President - The Honorable Emil Jones, Jr.
Illinois House Speaker - The Honorable Michael J. Madigan
Vice-Chairs
Senator Mattie Hunter
Judge Arnette R. Hubbard

Contact: Executive Director Ollie McLemore
Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Chicago State University
9501 S. King Drive, ADM 300
Chicago, Illinois 60628-1598
v.773/995-3608 f. 773/995-4470

Email Ollie McLemore