Rebecca Sanchez and Kellee Coleman are both organizers with Communities of Color United (CCU) and work to advance racial and economic justice in Austin, Texas. When Winter Storm Uri swept the South in February 2021, it put a spotlight on inequities in communities from Austin to Jackson, Mississippi, and towns and cities across the region.
While some communities had resources and infrastructure to withstand the worst of the storm, many neighborhoods that are home to people of color and those farthest from economic opportunities were left without clean water, heat, or power for days and in some cases weeks. The health impacts of climate change are wide ranging and can be felt in very different ways in different regions of the country, including extreme and unpredictable cold weather.
Learn more and watch other videos in the series about health, climate and equity at http://www.rwjf.org/climatehealthstories.
This video is the second project we animated in a blackboard style for StoryCorps. And like this other video, our goal was to elevate the familiar format by keeping the frame moving and colorful while maintaining a hand made feel. We even managed to sneak in some limited hand drawn animation — tough to do at this budget level. Why do we do it? Because these are labors of love.
What do you think? Did we succeed in telling this story with the heart it deserves?
By the way, this is one of 10 stories we produced in 2021 for StoryCorps and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. StoryCorps has been recording and preserving inspirational and profound stories since 2003. And we have been fortunate to be one of their main providers of visual content. In 2021 alone, we have delivered more than 60 videos to them.
Have a story you need to bring to life? Give us a holler! Our costs can fit your budget.
contact: info@pipsqueakanimation.com
