Dear Investor:
I am cordially inviting you
to join us as a 501(c)(3) sponsor of the
historical documentary film, “Keeping
the Faith With Morrie.” The subject
of our film, Morrie Turner, was recently
bestowed the History Maker Award at the 2004
Salute to the History Makers ceremony held
in Los Angeles, California.
Since the first American comic strip, The
Yellow Kid (1895), race has played an
integral part in the comics; often
reflecting America’s ambivalent attitudes
towards its growing multiculturalism. Recent
history books celebrating the centennial of
the American comic strip have surprisingly
omitted an abundance of minority comic strip
cartoonists. This lapse in account was
either attributed to the historians’
legitimate oversight due to their ignorance
or a blatant intent to slant history to the
exclusion of minority comic strip
cartoonists. In response to this disregard,
Heaven Sent Productions has stepped up to
the fore to imbue the gaps in America’s
rather fragmented history of the comic strip
with cartoonists of “color.”
Our documentary film
“Keeping the Faith With Morrie”
celebrates the life and times of
African-American comic strip cartoonist,
Morrie Turner. In 1965, at the height of the
Civil Rights movement in America, Turner
intrepidly brought to bear the first comic
strip ever to show children of different
ethnic groups working together to solve
problems – Wee Pals. Turner’s interracial
Wee Pals comic strip bucked convention in
the comics and took the medium in a new
direction setting the pace for cartoonists
after him.
 In
an effort to recognize the accomplishments
of minority cartoonists, the National
Cartoonist Society (NCS) awarded Morrie
Turner with a Lifetime Achievement Award at
their annual 2002 Reuben Awards ceremony in
San Francisco, California. Mr. Turner is the
first African American cartoonist honored by
the world’s largest and most prestigious
organization of professional cartoonists. A
milestone in American history!
The NCS Lifetime
Achievement Award is among countless
honorary awards and tokens of appreciation
garnered from Turner’s lifelong philanthropy
and artistic offerings. The Brotherhood
Award of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews, B’nai B’rith
Anti-Defamation League Humanitarian Award,
and Lifetime Achievement Award from the
California Chamber of Commerce are just a
few distinctive honors rendered him.
Today the benevolent
octogenarian continues to draw the Wee Pals
comic strip for over 100 publications,
remains an active fixture in the advocacy
for children’s education and human rights,
and mentors aspiring cartoonists.
With Morrie Turner as the
centerpiece of the film, we will chronicle
the untold history of cartoonists of “color”
(including Henry Jackson Lewis (1800s
political cartoonist), George Herriman (Krazy
Kat), E. Simms Campbell (Esquire
cartoonist), Aaron McGruder (Boondocks),
Lela Lee (Angry Little Girls), Lalo Alcaraz
(La Cucaracha), Gus Arriola (Gordo) etc.)
and reveal their cartoon art, professional
triumphs in regards to the proverbial racial
barriers, artistic influences, and other
defining information. Moreover, the film
outlines the parallels between racial
struggles in America and ethnic images in
comic strips.
In tandem to our film project, we are
reviving and recreating the animated cartoon
series Kid Power. Kid Power was a derivative
of Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip in the
early 1970s. The cartoon series, produced by
Rankin-Bass Productions, consisted of 17
episodes and aired on ABC Network Television
stations as part its Saturday morning
program lineup. Doubly beset by dubious
management handling his business affairs and
inherent racism in the entertainment
industry, Turner was slighted from reaping
the commercial “benefits” of this offshoot.
Thus far, we have filmed
interviews with notables in the cartoon
industry such as comic strip cartoonist
Aaron McGruder (Boondocks), Jean Schulz
(wife of PEANUTS creator Charles Schulz),
the Walker Bros. (Beetle Bailey), Phil Ortiz
(The Simpsons comic book), Robb Armstrong
(Jump Start), Lalo Alcaraz (La Cucaracha),
Bill Keane (Family Circus), Dwayne McDuffie
(animator/creator of Static X television
cartoon), Floyd Norman (first African
American cartoonist for Walt Disney
Studios), and Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo). A
host of other distinguished figures in the
cartooning industry and academia are
enthused about the project and have
volunteered to interview with us. With God
truly as our impetus, this is our year to
put this production in the can to release it
for the world to see. Finally, the obscured
history of minority cartoonists will see its
day in the sun!
In January 2002, the International
Documentary Association (IDA) agreed to
become the fiscal sponsor of “Keeping
the Faith With Morrie.” All funds
received in support of the documentary
project are tax-exempt under the IDA’s
nonprofit 501 (c)(3) status.
We would immensely
appreciate your donation or sponsorship to
complete this film. Please read the
documentary
synopsis to learn more about this
film project. To select your method of
patronage, visit the
Donations Center
on our site.
You can view our 5
minute trailer on the home page. The
trailer shows footage from the rough cut 30
minute format which received general acclaim
from audiences at local film festivals. The
public approval and praise affirmed the
film’s significance; thus, inspired the
Director/Producer Angel Harper to tell more
of Turner’s life story and share the
limelight by including the passel of unsung
cartoonists of “color” preceding and
consequential to Turner’s prominence.
I would love to hear from
you. I encourage you to contact us at
info@heavensentproductions.org to
express your supportive comments and
opinions. Please join Heaven Sent
Productions in making this landmark film.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Angel
Harper
Producer - Director
Heaven Sent Productions
www.heavensentproductions.org
(323) 467-7782 hm\office
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