NPTPressroom - NPT Visits Our Next Door Neighbors in Little Kurdistan, USA

Contact Information

Joe Pagetta
Director of Media Relations and Online Strategies
Nashville Public Television (NPT)
(office) 615.259.9325 ext. 211
161 Rains Ave
Nashville, TN 37203
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.wnpt.org
Twitter: @npt8
Facebook: nashvillepublictelevision

News Archive

NPT Visits Our Next Door Neighbors in Little Kurdistan, USA

Monday, 19 May 2008

For Immediate Release

NOTE: High-resolution image available

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – May 19, 2008 – Over the past thirty years, Kurdish immigrants in Nashville have started the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States and opened businesses, restaurants, markets and bakeries, building what is now the largest Kurdish population in North America. On Wednesday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m., Nashville Public Television (NPT) introduces the city to this thriving community with the premiere of NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA, the first in a new series of documentary programs under the NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS banner.

“As refugees, Kurds have overcome significant barriers to survive and flourish in Nashville,” says Will Pedigo, theprogram’s writer, producer and director. "They arrive as outsiders; estranged from their homeland and strangers in their new home. With this documentary, and the future installments in the Next Door Neighbors series, we hope to encourage Nashville to make strides towards a greater awareness of its diversity and provide an avenue for interaction among all our neighbors.”

The first significant wave of Kurds arrived in Nashville in 1976. They have since established a vibrant community recognized by Kurds nationally for its strong cultural and traditional heritage. The half-hour NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA examines how these Kurds have adapted to life in Nashville and provides insight into the struggles refugees face as they build new lives in a new home. The documentary explores what it means to be Kurdish, and reflects on the journey Kurds make as they become Kurdish-Americans trying to assimilate into American culture and still hold on to their traditions. In addition to meeting a variety of Kurdish immigrants and Kurdish-Americans, viewers will also visit Azadi International Foods for fresh-baked Kurdish bread, go inside the Salahadeen Center, the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States, and hear about life in Nashville from younger generations of Kurds.

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. Across the United States, mid-sized cities like Nashville are experiencing unprecedented growth in their international populations. Together these communities are redefining the traditional international city on a smaller local scale.

“As our new neighbors rebuild their lives in Nashville,” says Pedigo, “their experiences, contributions and conflicts impact the city. They are also challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians. How Nashville addresses its changing demographic will be important for the future of similar communities across the country.”

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series will include in-depth web content at wnpt.net, public forums and feature a panel discussion after each of the four programs.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA is made possible through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s My Source initiative and is supported by The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals. A partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Nashville Studies provided valuable research and community outreach.

MEDIA:

http://wnpt.org/news/images/stories/may08/azadi_bakers.jpg.
Cutline: The queens of Kurdish flatbread, at Azadi Internation Foods in south Nashville. Photo by Claire O’Neill.

* * *

NASHVILLE PUBLIC TELEVISION is available free and over the air to nearly 2.2 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky viewing area, and is watched by more than 600,000 households every week. The mission of NPT is to provide, through the power of traditional television and interactive telecommunications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]