KOCE-TV DOCUMENTARY WINS EMMY
‘Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/ParaTodos los Ninos’
Receives PBS Station’s 24th Los Angeles Area Emmy Award
It’s another Emmy win for KOCE-TV, PBS from Orange County! The station received its 24th Emmy Award for the locally produced documentary on the historic Orange County lawsuit prohibiting school segregation in California seven years before the landmark decision of Brown vs. Board of Education. Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/ParaTodos los Ninos, produced by three KOCE Real Orange news team members, delivered to television viewers a living history of one of the most important stories in the American Civil Rights Movement.
KOCE winners in the Arts & Culture/History category were Executive Producers Ed Miskevich and Maria Hall Brown and Producer Sandra Robbie. Mendez vs. Westminster took home the Emmy in a very competitive field that included FOX, NBC and KCET.
Sandra came to KOCE last year as an intern from Golden West College, the sister college where KOCE’s studios are located. As a television production major passionate for untold local stories of diversity, she proposed the idea for what became Mendez vs. Westminster.
“This Emmy brings honor to Mendez vs. Westminster, a long overlooked but important chapter of our county’s history. It is a privilege to have produced this documentary and to have worked with the talented, passionate people at KOCE. With few resources but great commitment, my executive producers Ed Miskevich and Maria Hall-Brown helped to create magic. The response from teachers and people across the country already has been beyond my dreams. I only hope that KOCE will be around in the future to help share more of the incredible, unique stories that are part of our local heritage.”
Sandra’s passion continues with her “One Year to 100 Percent: Mendez vs. Westminster” educational campaign. By May 17, 2004, the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Sandra plans to share the story of Mendez vs. Westminster with 100 percent of Orange County students from age 9 through college. “Right now, less than ten percent of Orange County is aware of the Mendez case, much less that segregation ever existed here. I want every student in our county to know about the history that happened here, through people of many colors working together, that helped shape this nation. And next spring, when America celebrates the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown decision, I want all of Orange County to stand up and say ‘Hurray Brown! We helped.’”
To drive the mission to educate Orange County’s students on the topic, KOCE will re-broadcast Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos Los Ninos on Wednesday, September 17 at 9:00 p.m. and again on Sunday, September 21 at 4:00 p.m., along with specially produced segments to raise money for continuing educational outreach. During the programs, KOCE viewers may call in their financial support to 800-995-5623 (English) and 800-278-5050 (Spanish), and speak with Sandra Robbie about the program and the “One Year to 100 Percent :Mendez vs. Westminster” project.
Mendez vs. Westminster first aired on KOCE on September 24, 2002. The 55th Annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards presentations took place on Saturday, September 6th at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre.
