January, 2000

Dear Friends,

In 1994, while producing a documentary series for PBS called No Time To Be A Child, I interviewed Dorothy Jackson, who talked about the despair of living in the Chicago housing projects, and her dream of owning a house of her own. Two hours after the interview, her grandson, 14-year-old Terrell Collins, was shot to death two blocks from his home. Terrell was a leader in the neighborhood, a straight-A student with a scholarship to a private high school. Everyone believed he had great promise, that he would "make it out" and become successful.

In the second program of the series, I followed Nickcole (Nikki) Collins, Terrell's cousin. I recorded what it was like for her to grow up on welfare, and what she was doing to try to change her situation. Nikki was amazing to me, as was Terrell, for they had grown up exposed to so many negative social factors, yet it was clear that they were determined to transcend them.

When the series was completed, I decided to continue filming the Collins family. I was most interested in discovering how Terrell's death would affect their lives. I wanted to know what support structures and coping mechanisms Nikki had in place for helping her to overcome the barriers of urban poverty. I also wanted to see whether, and how, her mother Alaissa could end her dependence on welfare. I had little hope for Wanda, Terrell's mother, who was heavily addicted to crack cocaine and working the streets to support her habit.

LEGACY follows the family through their grief and loss, tracing the legacy of Terrell's death as memory of him evolves from earth-shattering grief into a source of inspiration. Their story is told in five segments, representing my years of filmmaking as well as the progress of individual family members. The stories of Nickcole, Alaissa, Wanda, Dorothy and Jack (Terrell's older brother) call forth our compassion and understanding as a response to the expression of human needs.

Making LEGACY had an enormous impact on me both emotionally and artistically. Never before had I become so intimate with the subjects of a film. I became particularly close to Alaissa, Nikki and Wanda, and I know that these friendships will be long lasting. The Collinses have referred to me as a member of their family, and that is how I feel about them. It took great courage for the family to trust me to tell their story truthfully. It is a gift that I deeply appreciate.

LEGACY is a story about a family finding the strength and courage to transform their lives. No longer dependent on fate, but rather motivated by their own spirit of self-determination, they are able to utilize key support structures. LEGACY brings humanity to some of our nation's most pressing challenges, and I hope it leaves viewers with a more realistic understanding of poverty, drugs and violence in urban America.

I invite you to watch the LEGACY documentary and to participate in the comprehensive National LEGACY Outreach Campaign designed by Outreach Extensions. The outreach campaign will advance the public's understanding of the complex issues of families in poverty, the working poor and distressed neighborhoods, and the devastating impact of these economic realities on people's lives. I am hopeful that this project will encourage a more thoughtful response that will lead to reality-based solutions and stronger support structures for families and communities.

I want to thank HBO for their support in the completion of LEGACY and for bringing it to television audiences across America. I am grateful for the financial support of The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in helping to make the LEGACY documentary. Additional grants were provided by the J. R. Houlsby Foundation and Richard H. Dreihaus Foundation. The outreach campaign is made possible by generous grants from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

You'll find more about the process of making the film, the Collins family and the issues impacting their lives by reading The Making of LEGACY in this Toolbox and on the LEGACY Web site. Thank you for your interest in this story.

Sincerely yours,

Tod S. Lending
Nomadic Pictures