The ‘American Creed’ on L.I.

Freeport Library will launch PBS conversation project

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The Freeport Memorial Library was one of 50 libraries selected by the American Library Association, Public Programs and the Public Broadcasting Service for the “American Creed: Community Conversations” project.
The Freeport Memorial Library was one of 50 libraries selected by the American Library Association, Public Programs and the Public Broadcasting Service for the “American Creed: Community Conversations” project.
Herald File Photo

Freeport Memorial Library has been awarded a special grant by the American Library Association, Public Programs and the Public Broadcasting Service to take part in the documentary project “American Creed: Community Conversations.” It is one of 50 libraries across the country to receive the $300 award.

Librarian Al-bert Tablante applied for the grant earlier this fall in an effort to raise awareness of civic engagement in the village. “I’m really excited,” Tablante said. “Now there is more work to be done.”

“American Creed” was developed by two Stanford University professors, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Kennedy. The first documentary was viewed by more than 700,000 people when PBS released it through WTTW, PBS’s flagship station in Chicago, in February. On Nov. 25, PBS re-released the program with three new segments.

“We want to do this because we want to remind Americans of what unites us and not what divides us,” Rice said during a February interview with Brandis Friedman on PBS.

Because of the grant, members of the Freeport community will have an opportunity to participate in conversations that feature Freeport’s history and address local concerns. The project, Tablante said, seeks to answer any number of questions: What does it mean to be an American? What is your American creed? What is your family’s American story?

“I didn’t know [we] were going to get the grant,” Tablante said via email. “This is going to be about diversity, empowerment, civic engagement, tolerance and what it means to be an American citizen.”

The project is designed to “unify national identity based on shared ideas and ideals,” according to the “American Creed” website. Rice said the project emphasizes the importance of telling a “single narrative on how we became Americans; the ancestor that made the risk in coming here and the what aspiration unites us.”

Locally, the project will launch on March 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Freeport Library with a group discussion led by Dr. Salvatore LaGumina, a Nassau Community College professor who has also written 15 books, some which have included Long Island’s Italian history.

“It would be extremely instructive and beneficial to examine the history of some of the most virulent instances of American polarization,” LaGumina said about the “American Creed” project, “to compare and contrast them with contemporary divisiveness and further to learn how the country confronted such crises.”

The series includes discussions on political and community awareness and involvement. Tablante has also invited the Freeport Herald Leader to lead a workshop to discuss community journalism, the Leader’s coverage of the Freeport community, and how Freeporters can tap into hyper-local media relevant to their neighborhoods and schools. Other programs will be announced at a later date.

“Through this project, I want to share with the community what options they have to get involved,” Tablante said. “For example, our own hometown paper has been a medium we can use to share resources and information that directly affect our home.”