Finding Aid to the Indivisible Project / CHALK Collection 1999-2001 SFH 66
Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Greenwood, San Jose State University Intern, with San Francisco History Center staff.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
2013
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Title: Indivisible Project / CHALK Collection
Date (inclusive): 1999-2001
Collection Identifier: SFH 66
Photographer:
Greenfield, Lauren
Interviewer:
King, George
Physical Description:
1 box, 1 shoebox, 1 oversize flat box
(3.0 linear feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Photographs; slides; and interview audiorecordings, transcripts, and logs documenting the Indivisible project conducted in
San Francisco with the youth organization CHALK, featuring its Youthline telephone hotline program. Included with the San
Francisco materials are postcards, a CD-ROM, a book, and an inventory documenting the Indivisible project as a whole, which
consists of projects conducted at 12 community sites across the United States. George King interviewed and Lauren Greenfield
photographed Youthline and CHALK staff for The Indivisible project.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
Audiocassettes are available on a limited basis, depending on their digitization status. A listening copy of each will be
made as they are requested and added to the collection for future public use.
Rights, title, and interest to Indivisible interview recordings, logs, and working transcripts belong to the Center for Documentary
Studies at Duke University and may be used for non-commercial, public service, and educational purposes only, or to publicize
and promote these non-commercial and educational activities. All requests to copy, reprint, or republish recorded interviews
or printed materials for any other purposes than those described above shall be submitted in writing to the Center for Documentary
Studies.
Rights, title, and interest to Indivisible photographs are held by the photographer and the Center for Documentary Studies.
Permission to copy, reprint, or republish these photographs for anything other than non-commercial, public service, or educational
purposes must be granted by the photographer and the Center. Requests for such permission shall be submitted in writing to
the Center for Documentary Studies.
[Identification of item], Indivisible Project / CHALK Collection, (SFH 66), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public
Library.
The Indivisible project donated the materials to the San Francisco Public Library in 2001.
The book
Local Heroes Changing America—Indivisible has been transferred to the San Francisco History Center book collection.
Indivisible “Indivisible: Stories of American Community” is a documentary project that explores community life in America through real-life
stories recorded in photographs and interviews. The project was organized by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University
in partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona, and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Twelve diverse communities across the country were selected to be photographed and interviewed. The project’s co-directors,
Tom Rankin of the Center for Documentary Studies, and Trudi Wilner Stack of the Center for Creative Photography, chose a diverse
group of artists who would contribute a variety of perspectives and styles. The documentary teams included renowned photographers
and highly regarded folklorists and oral historians from around the world.
The areas that were chosen represent local yet typical American communities. The interviewers and photographers were encouraged
to approach them individually, without a standard formula, to portray the uniqueness of each one. At the same time, audiences
throughout the country would see their own communities reflected in the people whose locales were recorded in this project.
"Indivisible: Stories of American Community" was presented to the general public via two traveling museum exhibitions, a website,
and a book called
Local Heroes Changing America—Indivisible.
The complete Indivisible project is housed at the archives at Duke University and the University of Arizona, where the public
has access to the historic collection. In addition, each of the 12 communities included in the project received a set of interview
tapes as a result of their participation in the initiative. (The San Francisco version of the interview tapes is part of the
collection here.)
CHALK/Youthline San Francisco’s Communities in Harmony Advocating for Learning and Kids (CHALK) was selected for inclusion in Indivisible.
A program of Bay Area Community Resources, CHALK provides information, resources, and support to youth in San Francisco through
outreach, community organizations and events, and after-school programs. Indivisible focused on Youthline, a toll-free hotline
that is staffed by young “listeners” who provide support, information, and crisis intervention. Sometimes such support is
as simple as conversation and encouragement; other callers need more in-depth, experienced help.
CHALK’s Youthline listeners are paid, trained in social work and communication, and taught to assess a caller and offer the
right kind of support. Supervisors are available to talk them through challenging exchanges if needed. Youthline serves a
variety of callers, but the staff comes from the diverse communities it serves. CHALK hires youth between ages 16 and 22,
an age group that can develop valuable skills to be used as a springboard to college or other jobs.
The Artists George King interviewed and Lauren Greenfield photographed Youthline and CHALK staff for The Indivisible project.
Born in the United Kingdom, George King moved to the United States in 1979. He specializes in telling the stories of rural,
low-income, and African-American communities through documentary filmmaking. In 1997, he was the producer, project director,
and primary interviewer on the 13-hour series documenting the civil-rights movement,
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? King’s 2001 documentary
Goin’ to Chicago aired on PBS and earned him accolades, in particular for his interviews, which went beyond simple recollection to draw the
spirit of the time from the people who shared their memories.
Lauren Greenfield has dedicated her career to chronicling youth culture and was named one of the 25 most influential photographers
working today by American Photo in 2003. Her photography work is featured in major collections in museums and galleries all
over the country. Greenfield’s first feature-length documentary,
THIN, aired on HBO in 2006 and was accompanied by the book of the same name and a traveling museum exhibition. Her short film
kids + money won prestigious awards and has been licensed to broadcasters around the world.
Photographs; slides; and interview audiorecordings, transcripts, and logs documenting the Indivisible project conducted in
San Francisco with the youth organization CHALK, featuring its Youthline telephone hotline program. Included with the San
Francisco materials are postcards, a CD-ROM, a book, and an inventory documenting the Indivisible project as a whole, which
consists of projects conducted at 12 community sites across the United States.
Photographic materials consist of a set of twenty-one 20" x 16" color photographic prints and 35 color slides. Interview materials
consist of 32 audiocassettes containing 17 interview sessions with CHALK and Youthline workers, together with interview logs
and a set of transcripts printed from two 3.5-inch floppy disks. The set of 60 postcards is from the traveling postcard version
of the museum exhibition,
Indivisible: Stories of American Community; there are five postcards for each of the 12 community sites. The CD-ROM contains the 2001 version of the Indivisible website.
The collection is arranged by format.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communities in Harmony Advocating for Learning and Kids (Organization) .
Community life--United States
Hotlines (Counseling)--California--San Francisco
San Francisco (Calif.)--Social conditions
United States--Social conditions
Youth--California--San Francisco--Interviews
Youth--California--San Francisco--Photographs
Box 1, Folder 1
Contracts and Agreements
Box 1, Folder 2
Interview Logs
Box 1, Folder 3
CHALK and Indivisible inventories
Box 1, Folder 4
Interview Transcripts 1-9
Box 1, Folder 5
Interview Transcripts 10-17
Box 1, Folder 6
Slides
Box 1, Folder 7
Box 1, Folder 8
CD-ROM of Indivisible website and floppy disks of transcripts
Box 2
Interview audiorecordings
Physical Description:
32 audiocassettes in 1 shoebox
Box 3
Photographs
Physical Description:
1 oversize flat box