StoryCorps Facilitator Weblog » GriotBooth

StoryCorps Griot comes to Montgomery, Alabama

GriotBooth — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:59:31 +0000

StoryCorps Griot Opens in Harlem

GriotBooth — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:58:34 +0000

Photos courtesy Melvin Reeves

Memphis community collage

GriotBooth — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:54:03 +0000

Pictures courtesy Melvin Reeves

Where the Blues is born

GriotBooth — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:55:00 +0000

Even the kids learn to play the blues at the Delta Blues Musuem.

Opening day in Oakland, CA

GriotBooth — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:22:00 +0000

Pictures courtesy Melvin Reeves

Honoring our Ancestors

GriotBooth — Sun, 27 May 2007 16:20:00 +0000

Shirley Talibah D. Touchstone-Garnett came to the Griot Booth to honor the family matriarch, Mary Dunn. Dunn was taken from Africa at the age of 12 in the early 19th century. Upon arrival in America, she was separated from her family and enslaved. Mary had 14 children and after she passed away in 1914, her children began a tradition of annual family reunions. Today the gatherings bring together as many as five hundred people.

Shirley paid hommage to the strength of her Great-Great Grandmother Mary Dunn, and the importance of family and keeping alive the connections we have to our ancestors.

A Detroit Visionary

GriotBooth — Sun, 20 May 2007 16:37:00 +0000

As a child, Tyree Guyton knew that he was destined to make an impact on society. One day his grandfather gave him a paintbrush, and it changed his life forever. In 1986 Tyree began using art to transform a two-block stretch of Heidelberg Street, which was suffering from neglect, into a beautiful creative space, using the ruins as his palette. Two decades later, the Heidelberg project (www.heidelberg.org) has become world renowned, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. Tyree says that Heidelberg is a calling, and for 20 years he has devoted himself to the project, demonstrating in the process that art can be a force for transformation and healing.

Tyree Guyton shared his remarkable story with Jenenne Whitfield the Project’s executive director.

The Mothership launches

GriotBooth — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:08:00 +0000

On the footsteps of the Capitol, Principal Griot LeAlan Jones welcomed the press to the national launch of the StoryCorps Griot INITIATIVE.

Esteemed Congressman Charles B. Rangel kicked off the morning’s remarks. Mr. Rangel was followed by StoryCorps’ fearless leader Dave Isay, CPB President Patricia Harrison, and NMAAHC Deputy Director Kinshasa Holman Conwill.

Perhaps the most moving words came from lawyer, activist and humanitarian Marian Wright Edelman. Edelman is best known for founding the Children’s Defense Fund.

Before heading out of town for the next chocolate city, the Griot team stopped off at the D.C. staple Ben’s Chili Bowl. Known for famous clientele like Bill Cosby, the hot dog joint has been honored with the naming of the alley adjacent to the building: Ben Ali Way. Ironically, we had a celebrity sighting while we were in the restaurant when Mr. Cosby himself stopped in for his favorite chili half-smoke!

Photos courtesy Rob Lowell