"Next Door Neighbors" documentary series to highlight Nashville's immigrants and refugees

Joint production of Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies, Nashville Public Television

Funded by HCA Foundation, Nissan Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Nashville Public Television President and CEO announced in the Tennessean (here) a new partnership with Vanderbilt University to produce the "Next Door Neighbors" documentary series about the immigrant and refugee populations of Nashville:

Over the next several years, NPT will produce a series of documentaries exploring the immigrant and refugee communities that call Nashville home. Reaching diverse groups such as the Kurds and Somalis in Middle Tennessee could be a daunting prospect for NPT on its own, but through the extensive research and outreach already conducted by The Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies and its director, Dan Cornfield, preproduction is under way. Cornfield, a former member of our advisory board, will provide an invaluable introduction to, and perspective on, the challenges these communities face as they assimilate into our city.

With Vanderbilt's expertise and NPT's meticulous attention to quality, we'll present Nashville with documentaries that educate and inspire. Off the screen, our "Next Door Neighbors" series will provide a rich basis for community discussion.

Local corporate powerhouses HCA Foundation and Nissan Foundation will provide funding, according to this Vanderbilt press release:

NPT will produce, through grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the HCA Foundation, and the Nissan Foundation, a three-four year documentary series examining Nashville’s booming foreign-born population. Vanderbilt's Center for Nashville Studies will provide research assistance reaching immigrant and refugee groups, including Hispanics, Kurds and Somalis, and resources to better understand the issues they face in Nashville. This will be spearheaded by sociology professor Dan Cornfield, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies and a former member of NPT’s Community Advisory Board, who has conducted extensive research on foreign-born populations in Nashville.