The Trailblazers Program presents a unique opportunity for young people
by Mark Koenig | Special to Presbyterian News Service
Participants in the Trailblazers Program will learn about video production from Brelin Tilford and others. (Photo by Samuel Cardine, Jr.)
LOUISVILLE — Monday morning saw conference rooms 1A and 1B at the Presbyterian Center transformed into a movie location. About 16 young people gathered to work on creating videos as part of the Trailblazers Program.
The Trailblazers Program is the realized dream of Brelin Tilford, the chief executive officer of Media Pros Production, a Louisville-based production company. Tilford, who has helped with audio-visuals at General Assembly and other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) events, conceived of Trailblazers as an environment where young people can work with creative adults to build a vision and to learn about expressing that vision in video format.
In addition to Media Pros Production, Louisville’s Roots 101 African-American Museum and the Louisville Central Community Center are co-sponsors of the program. As Ruling Elder Kathy Lueckert, president of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation notes, “Working as a partner in the Trailblazers Program provides another opportunity for the Presbyterian Center to engage with the Louisville community. We are delighted to host and support this important event.”
The program will look at five key events from 1963: the assassination of Medgar Evers, the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C., the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Chicago School boycott, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Participants will be asked to reflect on these events on their 60th anniversaries and make connections to more recent events in Louisville such as the March 13, 2020, killing of Breonna Taylor and the protests and calls for accountability that followed and the April 10 shootings at the Old National Bank.
Creating at the Trailblazers Program involves some young people in rehearsing the content and some young people in working on the production. (Photo by Samuel Cardine, Jr.)
Focusing on those events, the young people will create a video. The younger participants will be the actors. The older participants will serve as the production crew.
For Tilford, the Trailblazers Program is a family matter. It builds on the legacy of his grandfather, who also worked in video production and mentored young people.
The week-long program will help young people connect with one another and with Black creatives in the Louisville community. Tilford hopes the program will inspire the young people about the importance of telling their stories, to encourage them to tell their stories, and to provide introductory tools and techniques for telling their stories.
Who tells the story matters. This week at the Presbyterian Center, the Trailblazers Program will equip young people to be storytellers.
The Rev. Mark Koenig is communications specialist for the Administrative Services Group.
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