Jay Rosenstein
Introduction (2-3 lines)
Jay Rosenstein is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning independent producer, writer, and teacher who has been writing, producing, and editing documentaries since 1991.
His newest film, the Peabody Award-winning The Lord Is Not On Trial Here Today tells the story of Vashti McCollum and her lawsuit that leads to the landmark 1948 Supreme Court decision that establishes separation of church and state in public schools. The film is narrated by former M*A*S*H television actor David Ogden Stiers.
In 1997, he completed the seminal In Whose Honor?, a 47 minute, nationally broadcast documentary that takes a critical look at the practice of using American Indian mascots and nicknames in sports. Among other awards, In Whose Honor? was one of only 19 programs selected for outstanding and distinguished coverage of race in broadcasting by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Jay has also lectured and written extensively on the subject of American Indian mascots in sports, and has contributed a chapter to a book on Indian mascots called "Team Spirits," published in 2000 by the University of Nebraska Press. His companion radio piece to In Whose Honor? was named the best local documentary by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters in 1999.
Other documentaries include the personal short Erased, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, was broadcast on the Independent Film Channel, and won awards from the Ann Arbor and the Black Maria Film Festivals, and The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out, a profile of the Champaign, Illinois lesbian/feminist chorus "Amasong", which aired nationally on the PBS series "Independent Lens" in June of 2004.
Jay holds a a Master of Fine Arts degree and a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana, where he is now retired as a Professor of Media & Cinema Studies. He is married to fellow New Day-er Kelly Anderson.
