PBS/U.S. District Court
Brooklyn, NY
To help celebrate its 150th anniversary as a federal court founded by Congress and appointed by Abraham Lincoln at the end of the Civil War, the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn asked us to help tell its story.
The front line of one of the largest anti-Prohibition demonstrations assembled, in Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, 1931.
(PHOTO: Library of Congress)
Can a story about our turbulent democracy begin in Brooklyn?
PBS/U.S. District Court
Brooklyn, NY
To help celebrate its 150th anniversary as a federal court founded by Congress and appointed by Abraham Lincoln at the end of the Civil War, the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn asked us to help tell its story.
THE CHALLENGE
We interviewed judges, historians and legal scholars, as well journalists and citizens tracking some of the court’s landmark civil rights, organized crime and consumer protection rulings. We also licensed a wide selection of archival photographs and videos, filmed many hours of original footage and sat in on naturalization ceremonies granting U.S. citizenship to hundreds of people from all over the world. The 17-minute feature we created was shown at the Court’s 150th anniversary ceremony, attended by dignitaries including then U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“I remember when I was sworn in as a citizen in this very courthouse. And I never thought that one day, I would be a judge and be able to swear in people who were just like me; who came to this country for a better opportunity.”
Margo K. Brodie
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District
People at the Brooklyn Promenade on 9/11
OUR WORK
The video served as the catalyst for a documentary series we’re currently producing for PBS that tracks the turbulent evolution of American democracy since the Civil War.
Thanks to our Court access, each of the segments referencing the Court’s signature cases reflects its commitment to building stronger
guardrails for democracy— from the Gilded Age to 9/11. After the 2020 pandemic hit, BrandStories began work on a new segment covering the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, the nation’s prolonged struggle with the pandemic and today’s politically-motivated Court challenges to the rule of law and democracy at home and abroad.
OUR IMPACT
We’re producing a multimedia teaching guide for high school and college teachers to help students explore the Bill of Rights and the history of citizen movements for social justice since the Civil War. We’re also designing a variety of sample lesson plans for teachers to support discussion of key segments of our Series relevant to “the rule of law” and many of today’s challenges to democracy.
The 60-second “teaser” of our film marking the Court’s 150th anniversary
BrandStories interviewing the late U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein, a WWII veteran and champion of civil rights laws and consumer protection, including help for factory workers exposed to asbestos and U.S. soldiers in Vietnam exposed to Agent Orange. “Humankind has an obligation to create a just society,” he told us.