PHIT
is a non-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) research, publishing, and media
production organization that brings to life the stories of ordinary
people and significant social and political movements. PHIT was founded
in 1975 by five women including a writer, an elementary school teacher,
a librarian, and two graduate students. PHIT's first project in 1976
was the Women in Texas History Calendar, one of the first compilations
of Texas women's history facts, published for the Bicentennial.
Their research uncovered stories of women workers and activists who
organized labor unions in the 1930s and l940s. With funding from the
National Endowment for the Humanities Youth Grants Program and the
Texas Committee for the Humanities, they collected oral histories
of Texas women labor organizers and produced "Talkin' Union"
(1979, 58 mins., b/w film/video), an oral history of four women who
participated in the pecan shellers and garment workers unions. In
addition, they published Women in the Texas Workforce: Yesterday and
Today (1979), essays on women's work for wages.
PHIT operates on a project basis with no full-time staff. All PHIT
project deliverables were completed and funds received were expended
as stipulated. PHIT's projects include:
-
"Samuel Gompers Celebration/Labor Day 1982" (l982, two 28-minute
videos), for the Texas AFL-CIO
-
"What is the Texas Literary Tradition?" and "Who is
the Texas Writer?" (1983, two 25-minute videos), for the College
of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
- "Faulk for Congress" (1983, 20 mins., video) and "Where
the Lucky Kids Stay" (1983, 15 mins., video), for public access
television
- "Boom Times" and "The Hot Oil War" (1984, two
28-minute videos), on the history of the 1931 East Texas oil boom,
funded by a grant from the Texas Committee for the Humanities
- "Montopolis" (1985, 28 ins., video), an oral history of
an Austin neighborhood, funded by a cultural contract with the City
of Austin
- "Texas Writers" (1986), a series of video programs on
Texas writers, funded in part by a grant from the Texas Committee
for the Humanities, the University of Texas, and Tarleton State University
- "Power of the Heart: The Laurie Wade Story" (1988, 30
mins., video), award-winning documentary about the life of a child
dealing with rubella syndrome, funded by the Texas School for the
Blind
- "Texas City" (1989), an oral history about the hazards
of the chemical industry in Texas City, initial collection of oral
history interviews completed funded by the Texas Committee for the
Humanities
- "Peace in the Garden" (1990, 20 mins., video), documentary
on Isamu Taniguchi, master gardener and creator of the Zilker Oriental
Garden, funded by Austin Parks and Recreation
- "Progressive Pioneers: The Legacy of Texas Liberalism"
(1993), an oral history of activists in the Texas Democratic Party
from 1952 - 1972, funding for collection of oral history interviews
and script development from the Texas Committee for the Humanities
