CHARLOTTE, NC (October 18, 2017) - The North Carolina Humanities Council has awarded $120,000 in grants to six cultural organizations for public humanities projects across North Carolina.

Since 1972, The North Carolina Humanities Council has worked to make the public humanities a cornerstone of life, by providing grants, awards, and specialty programs that engage people of different backgrounds and geographic locations in understanding their shared human experiences.

This spring the Council received dozens of applications. The following six Council funded projects will explore North Carolina's rich diversity, traditions and cultures and encourage audiences to think critically about our different values and ideas.

1. $20,000 to "Black Mountain College Semester" - Appalachian State University: This project will engage students and the general public in the 1930's innovative, art-centric teaching traditions of the now closed Black Mountain College (BCM). The theme of "place and change" will be addressed through a multi-sited exhibition series, special editions of the Appalachian Journal and a multipurpose digital timeline.

2. $20,000 to "The Virtual Martin Luther King Project" - North Carolina State University: Using the latest digital video and audio technology, Virtual MLK is a fully immersive recreation of Dr. King's "Fill Up the Jails" speech, delivered in 1960. Project funding will support expanding access to the walk-in, gaming, and Virtual Reality experiences of the project both in on-line and material spaces. The project will be featured in a significant public event at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington DC, October 13-15, 2017.

3. $20,000 to "Critical Thinking and Process of Discovery: Teachers Studying the Art and Chemistry of Light" - UNC Charlotte: In partnership with Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI), UNC Charlotte will conduct a seminar scheduled to include 13 Charlotte Mecklenburg School teachers from a variety of subjects and grade levels interested in interdisciplinary content and curriculum development. Teachers will create original curricula based on their research to be taught in the spring of 2019 following the seminar.

4. $20,000 to "Swords to Plowshares Memorial Belltower Centennial Tour" - Veterans For Peace Chapter 157: The Swords to Plowshares Memorial Belltower was dedicated "to all victims and veterans of war, regardless of race, faith, or nationality" and affords its visitors the opportunity to share how they have been affect by war by writing inscriptions on its plaques. Now full, Council funds will support the creation of a multi-media website, 3 short documentaries, and a photography exhibition accompanied by writings from veterans.

5. $20,000 to "At a Stranger's Table: An In-Depth Introduction to the Eastern North Carolina Latino Field Workers" - Asociacion de Mexico en Carolina del Norte Amexcan: This Council funded documentary will introduce the public to Latino field workers of North Carolina and their contributions to the production of produce and tobacco. A collection of intimate interviews will examine the role workers play in supporting our agricultural economy, their relationships with farm owners and members of local towns, and their psychological and physical health.

6. $20,000 to "The Child Character in Southern Literature and Film" - UNC Charlotte: This project will provide programming for children, college students, teachers and other community members to examine the function of the child character in Southern literature and film and to make connections between the function of child characters and the realities of Southern childhood throughout history and today.

The Council routinely offers grant opportunities throughout the year. For more information, visit nchumanities.org.