Green Shall Overcome
Green Shall Overcome is a documentary feature that that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the green-collar job movement. The main character is Van Jones, an African-American civil rights lawyer who envisions green jobs as a pathway out of poverty for low-income Americans while simultaneously solving the challenges of environmental destruction. When Jones get appointed to be the “Green Jobs Czar” in the Obama Administration our film explores what it takes to make change effectively, and how our individual choices mesh with change in the greater world.
We’ll interweave Jones’ national efforts with the local stories of men and women enrolled in the Oakland Green Job Corps training program. We’ll follow them during the 16-week program, where they will gain green construction skills that they hope will change their lives. The trainees are primarily African-American and Latino men who struggle with common barriers to employment: lack of formal education, lack of job skills, and history in juvenile/criminal justice system.
Project Update
Green Shall Overcome was one of eight films selected by The Good Pitch to present our film at AFI/SILVERDOCS. The response was tremendous. There was a unanimous sense of excitement about Jones’ work, the trailer, and the incredible timeliness of the conversation. One of the funders sitting at our table was so inspired they made a contribution of $10,000 in the middle of the presentation.