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.