Stories in the 'Griot' category
“As long as there was one black child left in town, they had to keep the school open.”
Reverend James Seawood remembers how African-American families were forced out of Sheridan, Arkansas, when the schools attempted to integrate.
Recorded in Staten Island, NY, in partnership with the Sandy Ground Historical Society
share
“My father was everything to me...”
Dr. William Lynn Weaver to his daughter, Kimberly.
Recorded in Atlanta, GA
“How did you get by?”
Jerry Johnson interviews his mother, Carrie Conley, about raising six children as a single mother.
Recorded in Detroit, MI
“Let's talk about Miss Devine.”
James Ransom and Cherie Johnson remember their neighbor and Sunday school teacher.
Recorded in Sarasota, FL
“I just tried to stay in the background...”
Joe Buford tells his literacy tutor, Michelle Miller, about what it was like not knowing how to read.
Recorded in Nashville, TN
“We wanted to be treated as men.”
Elmore Nickelberry and Taylor Rogers remember why they went on strike as Memphis sanitation workers in 1968.
Recorded in Memphis, TN
“He really talked that night.”
Retired Memphis sanitation worker Taylor Rogers and his wife, Bessie, remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s final speech.
Recorded in Memphis, TN
“I couldn't understand why all the black men had signs that said 'I AM A MAN.'”
Reverend George Turks, Jr. remembers witnessing the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike as a teenager. Click here to see a photo from the strike.
Recorded in Memphis, TN
“A policeman was coming down the street...”
Ella Owens (L) tells her daughter, Lynn Reed, about participating in a march during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike.
Recorded in Memphis, TN
“When Dr. King was assassinated, I was on the air.”
Herb Kneeland (L) tells his son Martavius Jones about being a disc jockey at WDIA in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
Recorded in Memphis, TN