Photo: Andrew Harrer-Pool / Getty Images
Congressman Jim Himes, who is Chairman of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Equity in the Growth of the House of Representatives, announced the release of the documentary Grit & Grace: The Fight for the American Dream, which presents three stories that reflect on what it means to find economic security in the country and in which a Mexican woman who sells food in California stands out.
The documentary is narrated by actress Sarah Jessica Parker and lasts for 30 minutes will premiere on December at the National Archives as part of a special event focused on storytelling and American culture.
“I really wanted to put a lot of emphasis on not just producing a sterile report, but in spreading American stories in a big way, in the service of understanding and moving away from stereotypical thinking and in the service of reducing polarization”, expressed Jim Himes.
The documentary tells three stories that prove the American dream, among them is Alicia Villanueva, a Mexican immigrant living in Hayward, California , which launched a company that made and sold tamales and has achieved economic stability.
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In addition to families from West Virginia, California, and North Carolina, the project also has committee members tea who have personally experienced financial hardship and insecurity in their lives, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Kat Cammack (R-Florida).
“This project is personal to me. As someone who grew up in a family that experienced financial hardship first hand , this was a unique opportunity for share stories of dignity and strength,” said actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
The Documentary Grit & Grace
(Determination and Grace) reflects a single approach central to the work of the Committee, which is to leave the confines of the Capitol to listen to the Americans where they live and for this they held field hearings throughout the country.
“There is immense power and wisdom in personal stories. Only so much can be learned from the dense jargon and obscure statistics that flood the Capitol,” President Himes said in a statement.
In 2022, the speaker of the House of Representatives , Nancy Pelosi, established the Committee to examine the country’s growing prosperity gap and propose analytically sound and practical solutions to Congress.
In December, the Committee will present its conclusions in a report titled Bridging the Gap: Building an Economy That Works for All.