COLORBLIND: Honoring Dr. King, The Award-Winning Doc “Colorblind” Released Nationally on PBS

MISSION VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Producer/director Pamela Peak and Detroit Public Television announced today that the award-winning documentary film, Colorblind, that touches both heart and mind, will be released nationally on PBS stations throughout January and February of 2008 in honor of Dr. King’s Birthday and Black History Month. Colorblind is distributed through American Public Television. (Check your local PBS listings for dates and times.)

Scattered to the winds by the violence of the 1967 Detroit race riots, an unusual group of almost all-white grade school students reunite in their forties to discover how each of their lives had been profoundly impacted by their beloved African American teacher, Mr. Bell.

After experiencing some mid-life tragedy, producer Pamela Peak goes on a quest to find her special grade school classmates. With the help of her third-grade boyfriend “Timmy,” Pamela locates all thirty-two members of their unusual class who are thrilled to be “found.”

Each classmate found utters the same exact words, “Where is Mr. Bell? That man impacted my life more than any other teacher.” The quest is then on to find Mr. Bell.

When Bell is found (now close to 70 years old), another miracle occurs: despite his long career as an educator and principal, he remembers each and every one of these special classmates . . . and what they wanted to be when they grew up! They were the only class he ever snapped a picture of. 80% of his students kept the picture all these years!

The violence of the 1967 Detroit race riots impacted their young lives. They experienced the embracing of new black students into their close-knit class. Through that experience they began to understand the black perspective first-hand. Bell was their “port in the storm” during one of America’s most violent decades. As surrounding violence escalated, suddenly Bell’s class was scattered, never to see each other again until thirty-five years later.

They never knew what losing each other meant to their childhoods until their childhood joy comes flooding back to them as adults when they reunite. When they compare notes at almost half a century into their lives, they realize that their favorite African American teacher (beloved “Mr. Bell”) had impacted each of their lives, guiding them personally more profoundly than they ever realized.

What started out to be a personal journey of discovery for one woman (Pamela Peak) has touched the hearts of millions when their emotional reunion is shared by PBS audiences everywhere.

Mr. Bell’s timeless lessons of love and nonviolence proved to be as pertinent today as when they were first taught thirty-five years ago.

For a film preview and JPEGs see: www.Colorblinddocumentary.com