Tag: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Watch John Lewis: Good Trouble and Support the National Civil Rights Museum

Congressman John Lewis

John Lewis: Good Trouble provides an excellent overview into the life and times of the civil rights warrior and the 16-term Georgia congressman who passed away last week at age 80. This weekend, you can watch this important documentary and support the National Civil Rights Museum at the same time, courtesy of Apple. The tech company will donate their portion of the proceeds of rentals from their Apple TV streaming service to the Memphis museum, as well the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

“Representative John Lewis’ life and example compel each of us to continue the fight for racial equity and justice,” says Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “This film celebrates his undeniable legacy, and we felt it fitting to support two cultural institutions that continue his mission of educating people everywhere about the ongoing quest for equal rights.”

“The life and legacy of John Lewis, a National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award recipient, is celebrated throughout the museum,” says Terri Lee Freeman, President of the National Civil Rights Museum. “This timely contribution will help expand our digital platforms, allowing us to reach many more students, parents, and educators globally, and to continue as a catalyst for positive social change, as Rep. Lewis encouraged us all to be. We are grateful to Apple for this incredible gift honoring him.”

To stream director Dawn Porter’s timely documentary, you can click on this link or search for it in the Apple TV app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Samsung smart TV. A 48-hour rental is $6.99. 

Categories
News The Fly-By

Finding Untold Stories

When Stephen Thrasher and his mother visited the StoryCorps recording studio in the summer of 2006, they received a CD of their session. A few months later, Thrasher’s mother passed away.

“It’s an important thing for people to do for their own family history,” said Thrasher, a StoryCorps staff member. “I’m really grateful I have it.”

The StoryCorps Griot project, sponsored by the Smithsonian and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, arrived in Memphis November 1st as part of a 10-city tour. A griot is an African storyteller, and StoryCorps staffers will spend six weeks in Memphis recording conversations to capture the experiences of Memphis’ black community.

John Franklin, a project manager with the Smithsonian, is helping establish the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

“This is a national museum to help all Americans understand the role that African Americans have played,” Franklin said. “This will not just be a museum with African-American voices, because the voices of the entire community have to be represented to tell the story.”

The GriotBooth, housed inside a trailer and currently parked at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, is a cozy recording studio. Visitors are encouraged to come in pairs, and at the end of each hour-long session, they are given a CD of their interview.

“People really open up when they come here,” said Sarah Geis, one of the booth’s staffers. “It’s amazing when people who have known each other for years suddenly find out something new about each other.”

GriotBooth staffers expect to gather nearly 1,800 recordings in their yearlong tour around the country. The project is the largest of its kind since 2,000 former slaves were interviewed for the Federal Writer’s Project during the Great Depression.

The recordings will be archived at the Museum of African-American History, but some may be aired on National Public Radio or local station WKNO. A copy of all local interviews will also be given to the Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

The GriotBooth already has had a number of visitors, including the Rev. James Freeman of Humboldt, Tennessee. Freeman founded Memphis’ Geeter Park Baptist Church in the early 1970s.

While Freeman was inside, Jo Ann Kern and a group of Freeman’s close friends waited for the 92-year-old pastor to tell his story.

Kern admitted that, for many, segregation is painful to revisit. “We’ve done a good job suppressing it instead of expressing it,” she said. “But we need to [express it] before we’re gone.”

Several minutes later, Freeman was greeted with smiles and handshakes as he emerged from the trailer. When asked if the interview was worth the 100-mile journey from Gibson County, he grinned.

“It was more than worth it.”

Categories
News

StoryCorps in Memphis Thursday

CREDIT: image: Rob Lowell

The StoryCorps Griot is spending the next year traveling the country to gather the life stories of African Americans. It begins a six-week stay in Memphis on Thursday.

The initiative, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and in association with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is the largest of its kind since the WPA’s Federal Writers Project, which gathered the stories of more than 2,000 former slaves in the 1930s. In Memphis, StoryCorps is partnering with WKNO and the Memphis Public Library.

Local participants are invited into StoryCorps’ mobile recording studio to share their stories. While the initiative is aimed at getting stories from World War II veterans and participants of the civil rights movement, everyone is invited. There is no fee, but a $10 donation is suggested.

Select portions of the interviews will be broadcast on the StoryCorps’ website and on NPR with permission.

The StoryCorps mobile studio will be parked at the Central Library, starting on Thursday at 11 a.m.

For more information, go to the StoryCorps website.