The University of Georgia Libraries has a new addition-a statuette awarded at the 2010 Southeast Regional Emmy Awards June 26 in Atlanta.
Andrew Young Presents: How We Got Over was recognized for technical achievement, one of three Emmys it received. The documentary is largely based on historical news footage made available through the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection. It aired on Georgia Public Television as part of the Andrew Young Presents series.
Young and producer CB Hackworth were recognized, along with UGA Libraries employees P. Toby Graham, deputy university librarian; Ruta Abolins, director of the media archives; Margie Compton and James Benyshek of the archives; Craig Breaden of the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies; Barbara McCaskill, UGA English professor, in addition to student employees and other members of the production team.
The raw news footage, from WSB in Atlanta and WALB in Albany, form the centerpiece of the Civil Rights Digital Library.
“The Civil Rights Digital Library initiative is the most ambitious and comprehensive effort to date to deliver educational content on the civil rights movement via the Web,” said Graham, also director of the Digital Library of Georgia, based at the UGA Libraries. “It is national in scope, and there really is nothing else like it.”
Held by the libraries’ media archives, the moving images-about 450 clips-cover a broad range of key civil rights events.
“We never expected our archival work to be honored, so this award is very special to us. The award will go into the new special collections building when it is completed in September 2011,” Abolins said.