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Your IndieGoGo contribution to WHITELANDIA is tax deductible!
Your contribution on behalf of Whitelandia is payable to The International Documentary Association - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - and is tax deductible less any monetary value noted under each Perk. If you would like to deduct the entire donation you have the option to simply decline the Perk at check out. Upon completion of the campaign, you will receive a receipt from the IDA for your records.
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10% of your contribution goes directly to KBOO Community Radio!
10% of every contribution to this Indiegogo campaign will be donated directly to KBOO 90.7 Community Radio in support of their efforts to provide diverse programming to unserved or underserved groups throughout the state of Oregon. KBOO is a volunteer-powered, non-commercial, listener-sponsored, full-strength community radio station - and is the Media Sponsor for the Whitelandia Indiegogo Campaign. ______________________________________________
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Portland, OR: The Whitest Large City in The United States
Oregon's sanctioned discrimination against Black Americans, and its historic determination to become a white homeland.
Beginning with harsh exclusion laws written into the state’s 1857 constitution banning Blacks from entering the state, the film sheds light on Oregon’s historical determination to become a white homeland. Through compelling interviews with citizens, activists, and community leaders, Whitelandia reveals a pattern of prejudice and discrimination evidenced by the state’s vast early-century involvement with the Ku Klux Klan, its strict adherence to Jim crow laws, and the calculated elimination of Black communities throughout the state’s history. Watching their homes and businesses disappear one by one, the film reveals the ongoing displacement of Black Americans as their neighborhoods succumb to a nonstop in-migration of upper-middle-class Whites. With state and city governments favoring the higher income residents for the increased tax base they bring with them, traditionally Black neighborhoods are all but gone…and Oregon’s Black communities seem to simply be vanishing. Although progressive in many ways, when it comes to race, many Oregonians prefer to look the other way. The city of Portland itself officially holds the inglorious title of whitest large city in the United States.
The story presented in Whitelandia leaves viewers to speculate whether Oregon’s original goal of establishing a white homeland may well be close at hand.
Read the film's full synopsis here
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The discrimination against Black Americans in Oregon is not just a Black story. It is not a tale to be taken out and dusted off for Black History month once a year. It is the story of a state created for white prosperity and the resulting degradation, discrimination, and violence perpetrated against its non-white citizenry. It is a story that impacts all Oregonians...and all Americans. The Whitelandia production team is made up of experienced filmmakers, artists, activists, and educators, all of whom are committed to bringing this difficult story to light. Our intention is to open an honest dialogue about race. It is our intention to ask difficult questions, engage in difficult conversations, and push through rhetoric to create a meaningful commentary as well as an honest and accurate film about race in America.
Whitelandia has been in production since August of 2013 with a completion goal of late 2015. From the beginning, the project has been produced with partnerships throughout Oregon's Black American communities, including the Oregon Assembly For Black Affairs, Portland Public Schools Family Partnerships, and regional branches of the NAACP.
Producers Matt Zodrow and Tracy MacDonald are longtime filmmakers with credits that include several documentaries for PBS which garnished 11 Emmy nominations and won 3 Emmy Awards. Matt has lived in the Northwest since 1977. He first moved to Northeast Portland in 1989 and has witnessed first hand the changing tides of racial politics and socio-economics in the city and across the state.
As a producer - director team, Zodrow and MacDonald are facilitating the production of Whitelandia with oversight from advisers and consultants, including:
• Dr. Calvin Henry, Founder and President of The Oregon Assembly For Black Affairs,
• Carolyn Leonard, Coordinator of Multicultural Education for Portland Public Schools (retired)
• Mic Crenshaw, Hip-Hop recording artist and cultural activist
• Teressa Raiford, Native Oregonian, political activist and organizer working with many groups in the Portland area, specifically Don't Shoot Portland
• Dr. Darrell Millner, Professor of Afro-American Literature and History at Portland State University (retired)
The full-time staff also includes two assistant producers, Devin Williams and Loren Kelly.
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OUR INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN GOAL
The
Whitelandia documentary is an ambitious project. The story being told spans generations and necessitates extensive research and travel to interview participants throughout the Northwest. The film's total budget will be achieved through a hybrid approach, seeking financial support through crowd-funding, local fundraising events, corporate sponsorships, large individual donations, and foundation grants.
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In May of last year, we conducted a successful
Kickstarter campaign for $20,000. Since that time, we have been moving the project forward with community engagement and historical research. Being out in the field with our film crew is expensive, mainly due to rental fees for the camera gear, lights, and audio equipment. In order to raise funds for these costs, we have been working hard on fund-raising and grant writing. But living in Northeast Portland and traveling throughout the state as we do, we see things that would be important to document for
Whitelandia everyday. Now, the many protests and community actions that have taken place in response to the police killings of unarmed Black men and the countless abuses inflicted on Black American communities across the United States, have served to convince us that we need to be shooting video on a regular basis.
That is why we are doing this Indiegogo campaign. We would like to buy the equipment we need to be out in the field shooting every day!
Up to this point, the project has been shot on a rented
Red Scarlet camera. (The "Red" camera shoots in 2k - 5k resolution and is the camera of choice for big-budget / wide release films) We chose this camera, and a cameraman with the accompanying skills and experience, because it has always been our goal to have the quality of
Whitelandia's production reflect the importance and scale of the issues the film is addressing. Making an honest film is our main priority...but we also feel strongly that making it a beautiful film will help to make it marketable to the widest possible audience.
Our plan is to continue shooting with our full film crew at specific events over the coming year and for several of the key interviews. The film's day-to-day shooting will be done by Matt and Tracy, along with Assistant Producers Devin Williams and Loren Kelly, using the equipment purchased through this campaign.
In order to match the quality of the footage shot so far as closely as possible, we would like to purchase the following equipment:
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Sony PXW-FS7 4K Camera w/ 28 - 135mm Zoom Lens - $10,499.00
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Cool-Lux LED 3 Spot Light Kit - $1774.00
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Sound Devices Field Audio Mixer - $2178.57
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Sony Lavalier Microphone System - $599.99
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Rode Shotgun/Boom Microphone Kit - $546.50
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Porta Brace Rig Camera Case - $359.99
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Wooden Sony Accessory Kit - $1094.16
- Shipping - $150.00 (estimated total)
_____________________________________________Total = $17,202.21*
- Equipment insurance: budgeted estimate - $3,500
- Indiegogo fees: 4% - 9% / up to $2700
- Indiegogo credit card - Paypal processing fees: 3% - 5% / up to $1500
- IDA fiscal sponsorship fees: 7% / up to $2100
_____________________________________________Total = $9,800.00
Grand Total = $27,002.00 _________________________*All the purchases will be from B & H Pro Video in New York or Pro Photo Supply here in Portland, depending on availability and best price. We will always purchase used equipment if and when available.![]()
YOUR CONTRIBUTION
We hope we have inspired you to contribute to this project. The Perks we are offering are all designed to keep our contributors involved in
Whitelandia's progress throughout the coming year. The citizens, activists, and community leaders that have rallied behind this project are essential to telling a true and accurate story. It is our promise to listen to all the voices that choose to contribute to making this film a reality.
Ultimately we would like to reach our funding goal of $27,002.00. If we do not reach our entire goal, we will put whatever funds we raise toward the purchase of the camera first and subsequently any additional equipment that the funds afford us. The International Documentary Association (IDA) will disperse the funds to us only for the intended purpose of purchasing the equipment as we have listed it above. We are then responsible for full reporting of all financial transactions back to the IDA for project oversight.
IN CONCLUSION
The greatest challenge we face with this project is uncovering and documenting all of the stories and personal narratives that weave together the complex history of Black Americans in Oregon. We have been working on Whitelandia since August of 2013, collecting the many interviews and historical documents that are needed in order to properly chronicle the story. From the 1902 lynching of Alonzo Tucker, described by The Oregon Journal as a "black fiend" who got the death he so thoroughly deserved, to the struggles and victories of Portland's Black Panthers through the 1970s, the Whitelandia documentary is committed to finding the voices behind the stories that will preserve this important story. A successful round of funding from this campaign will allow us to maintain our current momentum and to stay connected to the communities across the state that are contributing to the project.
LEARN MORE AND SPREAD THE WORD
To learn more about
Whitelandia and the people and stories that make this such a compelling project, visit our website at
www.whitelandia.com, or click on the links below to go directly to specific pages. If you would like to contact us with questions or comments, you can use the
Whitelandia website's
Contact us link. We are committed to answering all inquiries promptly.
