In 83 years Callye Fears Chatman’s life has undergone dramatic changes. From her beginnings as the daughter of sharecroppers (“It was my job to carry water to the workers and to ring the dinner bell”), to her educational journey at Clark College in Atlanta, to her work as an educator, to her and her husband’s decision to move their family to a white suburb so their children could attend better schools, Mrs. Chatman witnessed the social, economic, and political changes that shaped the South in the 20^th century. Yet, when Mrs. Chatman and her daughter, Faye Capers, participated in the StoryCorps Memory Loss Initiative, Mrs. Chatman did not come to talk about the social and political changes she had lived through. Instead, she wanted most to talk about her mother, who had died a month earlier at age 103.

“It was a true blessing to have five generations and everybody able to communicate with each other,” says Mrs. Chatman of her life with her mother, children, grandchildren, and grandchildren. When Faye asked what Mrs. Chatman would write in a letter to her mother, the words sprang forth immediately:

“Dear Mom, how are you doing with the saints up in heaven? I know you are still singing, especially your favorite song,  ‘How Great Thou Art.’ We really miss you but we know you are there with the rest of your family, your eight siblings, your mother and father, and all your friends who passed on before you. So we are looking forward to joining you as well.”

The East MobileBooth made its way to the Panhandle and is now parked in downtown Pensacola, Florida. Spain, France, Great Britain, the Confederacy, and the United States have all claimed the city at one time or another during its 450-year history, which is why Pensacola is now known as the “The City of Five Flags.”

Opening day was hosted by both First United Methodist Church and our friends at WUWF  88.1 FM and featured guest speakers Nancy Fetterman, a community activist and coordinator of the Public History program at the University of West Florida (UWF), and UWF Associate Professor of History, Dr. Patrick Moore. Both speakers shared their thoughts on the value of telling stories and the impact the practice has made on their lives and on the communities in which they have worked.

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March 7, 1965. It’s been almost 45 years since Amelia Boynton Robinson was beaten and tear gassed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. She was attempting, along with up to 600 other marchers, to cross the bridge from Selma to Montgomery to protest the earlier shooting of a protestor, as well as advocate for voting rights for Selma’s Black citizens. Now, approaching 99 years of age, Mrs. Boynton Robinson and her friend, Genise Kemp-Brown, came to the Atlanta StoryCorps recording day at the Auburn Avenue Research Library to tell Mrs. Boynton Robinson’s story of courage, determination, and eventual triumph.

“The air was thick with tear gas,” Mrs. Boynton Robinson remembers of the Sunday that became known as ‘Bloody Sunday.’ She said she was gassed so much that almost 45  years later her throat still burns. Front-page pictures the day after the march show Mrs. Boynton Robinson lying unconscious on the bridge. When she woke up  in the hospital the next day, Mrs. Boynton Robinson resolved, “I’m going to fight more than I ever [have].”

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Pilar Hernandez de la Rosa arrived at our East Los Angeles MobileBooth nervous about what to say. It’s a normal feeling for participants to have when we usher them into our slightly cramped—but charming—recording studio. Yet, it wasn’t long before Pilar began reminiscing about her native Tepec, Mexico telling her daughter, Loana del Pilar Valencia, about her mischievous childhood activities, her mother’s strict code of conduct, and growing up in a family of eight.

The conversation took a turn when Loana asked her mother about her love of music.

Pilar said, “Empezó cuando escuché a Elvis Presley por primera vez en Acapulco, MX.” [It all started when I first listened to Elvis Presley in Acapulco, MX.] “Mi mamá me decía, ‘¡Pilar, ni entiendes lo que está cantando por que no entiendes inglés!’ Y yo le decía que no me importaba. ¡Me gusta la música!” [My mom would tell me, 'Pilar, you don't even understand what he's singing because you don't understand English!' But I would tell her, 'I don't care. I love the music!']

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StoryCorps Historias launched its East Los Angeles, California stop with a vibrant outpouring of support from host radio station 89.3 KPCC and local supporters Farmers Insurance Group. With a picturesque backdrop of sun-drenched lawns and the glistening East L.A. Public Library pond, guest speakers took to the podium to talk about why Historias is an invaluable initiative for the Latino community in Los Angeles.

Guest speakers included KPCC reporter Patricia Nazario; Southern California Public Radio President and CEO Bill Davis; Center for the Study of Los Angeles Director Fernando J. Guerra, of Loyola Marymount University; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Director Chon Noriega; East L.A. Public Library Chicano Resource Center Librarian Daniel Hernandez; our inaugural StoryCorps Historias participant in East L.A., Luz Herrera; and your blog post writer and StoryCorps facilitator Alejandro De La Cruz.

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The Atlanta StoryCorps team conducted outreach recordings at WONDERroot, a community arts organization in Reynoldstown, an Atlanta neighborhood. Along with facilitator Lola Ibitoye, I had the pleasure of recording a few of the young people involved with WONDERroot and the Atlanta arts community.

A few weeks later, we were invited back to WONDERroot to participate in Raising All Youth Voices, a youth media night. The event was a collaboration between WONDERroot, VOX Teen Newspaper, Fuel Media, and StoryCorps. The event showcased the amazing work of teens in the Atlanta area. These phenomenal teens wowed the audience with a variety of talents which included a spicy salsa dance routine, sensational spoken word presentations, and a live band. VOX, the teen newspaper, had a very strong presence in the evening’s events and distributed their periodicals to all the guests.

Among the food, mingling, and fun, guests were encouraged to visit the many stations set up throughout the Center. One included television feeds that featured debates that many of the teens had recorded with local Atlanta television channels. Another station aired video footage the teens had produced and recorded themselves. StoryCorps set up a listening booth inside WONDERroot’s recording studio. The booth generated so much interest that many of the teens asked if they could volunteer with StoryCorps in the future!

The VOX teens took a special interest in our presence that evening and interviewed Lola and I about StoryCorps and our work with youth and the Atlanta community. Overall, the evening was a wonderful opportunity to witness the depth of these young peoples’ talents and the power of the teen voice.

Two of the most memorable interviews we’ve recorded so far in Atlanta were with two of our youngest participants: eleven-year-old Danielle Dinberg and nine-year-old Noah Jernigan.

Danielle and her mother, Carolyn Dinberg, came to the Atlanta StoryBooth to record a conversation about Danielle’s unbridled equine love.

“She would rather muck stables than clean her room,” is how Carolyn laughingly describes her daughter. Danielle agreed and said she even likes the smell of a barn, including horse manure, because that means horses are around.

With such passion comes the risk of heartache. Danielle experienced this early when her pony, Cocoa Puff, developed cancer and died. “She spent two hours saying good-bye to him,” Carolyn remembers. After Cocoa Puff’s death, Danielle stopped riding and helped children with disabilities learn to ride horses through hippotherapy.

Two of Danielle’s major life lessons – patience and responsibility – came to her via her four-footed friends. Cocoa Puff helped her slow down and not rush things. Danielle says that when she cannot be with a horse, sketching a horse helps calm her down. She says she “feels” the horses as she sketches them.

While young Danielle’s passion is horses, Noah Jernigan’s passion is of a different kind: he loves all things NPR. Although he cannot get his driver’s license for another six years, Car Talk is Noah’s favorite program. The StoryCorps segments on Morning Edition are a close second.

Noah brought his grandfather, Bill Mays, to the StoryBooth to learn more about his grandfather’s military service, his marriage, his role as a parent, and what it means to be a grandfather. Bill, who says he has experienced seven wars in his lifetime, recalls how he slowly realized, “war is not the answer.” After their StoryBooth conversation, Site Supervisor Amanda Plumb took Noah and his family on an impromptu station tour, where Noah met several WABE hosts and chatted with station general manager, John Weatherford.

There are many reasons to love KALW, our local public radio partner in San Francisco. Let me count (a few of) the ways: For one, they are a community-driven radio station that really puts the public back in public radio. Two, their news magazine program, Crosscurrents, is award-winning and the best way to stay informed on Bay Area issues and events. And last, but not least, because of their support and commitment to airing locally-recorded StoryCorps clips on a weekly basis, they have become one of the most successful, long-term public radio partners in StoryCorps history!

Plus, they are all really wonderful people. Which is why it was so lovely and amazing to host them for a day at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. In January, the KALW crew came for a bagel breakfast, listening session, and discussion. While they had heard many-a-StoryCorps clips on the radio, some had no idea what actually happens during a StoryCorps interview, nor the Facilitator’s exact role in the process. We also talked about how we could make our partnership even stronger…discussing ways we can further reach out to the community and provide even more stories for the station to edit and broadcast. This radio rap session was followed by a group museum and booth tour.

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The first dance is an important part of many weddings which traditionally involves the two newlyweds. In the cases of two separate sets of participants who visited the MobileBooth in Jacksonville, Florida, however, that tradition was adjusted ever so slightly.

Tricia Jones came to the MobileBooth with her mother Gen Fields and talked about some of her favorite memories. “I will always remember us dancing because I can’t dance with anybody else the way I can dance with you,” said Tricia. “It was really special for me to get to, unscripted, unplanned, get to dance with you at my wedding party. It was a big party, but you know, it was awesome to have the opportunity to dance with you and get you to show your stuff and twirl me around the floor and make me look damn good!”

“You’re very good,” said Gen.

“Only because of you,” said Tricia.

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Can you do the Chicano Clap? No? Well, StoryCorps knows a few folks out West you can give a call…

KJZZ on-air personality Marcos Najera shared the StoryCorps experience with his parents, Ascencion “Sonny” Najera and Yolanda Najera, and his godmother, Rosie López. Earlier that day, Yolanda and Rosie marched with other locals in Phoenix, Arizona’s Stop the Hate March. Led by the National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON), one of this peaceful demonstration’s goals was to raise public awareness of the need for immigrants’ rights and equal opportunities.

The morning’s activities sparked the Najera’s afternoon conversation, bringing about memories of similar demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s when Sonny, Rosie, and Yolanda, all long-time friends, attended Arizona State University. This was during the early days of Chicanos por La Causa, an equal rights advocacy organization that Sonny initiated and helped name. Looking back on his years of activism, Sonny says, “We live in a world of many races. So, we have to be ready to help everybody. That, to me, is my goal.”

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