Paper Clips: Changing the World - One classroom at a time, Saturday

The Visionary Edge will host a screening of the award winning documentary Paper Clips at the Johnson House Depot, a 7:30pm on Saturday June 14th.

Something amazing happened in the town of Whitwell, Tennessee; a town where the population peaks at about 2,000 people and where the word “skyline” is epitomized in breathtaking views of the rustic Smoky Mountains.

The citizens of this rural Tennessee community are almost exclusively white and Christian; the town was not accustomed to cultural diversity. But in 1998 that all changed with a classroom project at Whitwell Middle School. The “Paper Clips” project sparked one of the most inspirational and profound lessons in tolerance, in one of the least likely places.

Linda Hooper, the school’s principal, created the project out of her desire to help students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley. What ultimately happened changed the lives of the students, their teachers, their families and the entire town forever, and by the end, they had a new goal: to open the eyes and hearts of people around the world.

Paper Clips is a moving documentary about these students and their emotional journey as they learn about the horrors and tragedies of the Holocaust.

In the second year of the program, one student mentioned that he could not conceptualize 6,000,000 - the estimated number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Since Norwegians wore paper clips in remembrance of their Jewish neighbors who were being persecuted, the class decided to collect 6,000,000 paper clips to try to better understand the scope of the terror. They sent letters to everyone they could think of: actors, politicians, authors and athletes. They received paper clips from many people including actor Tom Bosley as well as Presidents Clinton and Bush, but they were far from achieving their goal of 6,000,000. It was not until the press picked up their story in the US and Germany that paper clips began to pour in.

To their surprise, these paper clips came one at a time, each with a letter telling the story of the person that it represented. Each paper clip held the memory of a soul - a loved one. The paper clips were no longer a tool to comprehend the scale of the Holocaust. Each one was a living memorial, a testament to a beloved family member. They needed to be honored as such. After much research, an original train car used for transporting Jews to the death camps was brought from Germany to house the paper clips and letters and to serve as a memorial.

As inspiring as the paper clip project is, what makes the film so moving is meeting the people - the children, the teachers, the community members. The visit of the survivors from the Greater Five Towns Y Holocaust Survivor Group, based in Cedarhurst, New York, yielded some of the most heartbreaking, unforgettable and extraordinary moments of the film.

In watching, it is apparent that this project was a catalyst for change in the students, the teachers, indeed the entire community of this small Appalachian town. It was a transformation that ultimately grew to include people from all over the world. The film serves as another layer of outreach bringing viewers to Whitwell, Tennessee to be touched by their paper clip project, their learning and transformation, and their dedication to sharing the teaching of tolerance with the rest of the world.

One day soon, all the Holocaust survivors will be gone, but what remains in Whitwell, Tennessee is a monument and ongoing program that serves as a testament to the lives of all those who were lost to the world. Every year a new class of students moves into the role of docents of their Holocaust memorial. Whitwell Middle School invites other schools to come and learn about tolerance.

A legacy of teaching tolerance and understanding has been established in this most unlikely of places and continues to draw thousands of visitors each year. It is a reminder that we are all alike and that every life matters. This inspirational documentary blesses all who see it, for we are witnesses to an awakening, the dawning realization that all lives - not just ours and those of our loved ones - are sacred. And it is testament to the power of good teachers to open the hearts and minds of our children, creating caring and connected individuals who will move forward with deeper wisdom because of it. Audio and video support for this event will be provided by Spider Ranch Productions of Pescadero. The event will be held on Saturday, June 14 at the Johnson House Depot. Doors will open at 7:00pm, event begins at 7:30. Advance tickets $10, door $15. Call 650-560-0200 for information and reservations.

Located in Half Moon Bay, The Visionary Edge produces events to inform and inspire us all to create a wiser, sustainable and more compassionate world.