Josephine Martin (L) and Edna Turner (R).

Edna Turner came to StoryCorps Griot through a partnership with the Birmingham African American Genealogy Study Group. She recalled how attending a workshop at Clark University in Atlanta sparked her interest in the role quilting played during slavery. As Ms. Turner explained, because slaves were kept from congregating, they had to find alternate methods to communicate. One tool they employed was code. The patterns, symbols, and even knots woven into quilts were used to guide people through the Underground Railroad. Ms. Turner described ten patterns depicted in her “Freedom Quilt” (pictured above), a sample quilt she’s been taking to middle schools, universities, and other groups for seven years.

Edna Turner says she shares her knowledge because, “We didn’t get this information when I was growing up. If I knew that we built the pyramid, that we did the first brain surgery, that the world once went to Timbuktu to be educated, then I would believe that Harriet Tubman got 300 people to Canada. But, I have to know that we are a people who were capable of this before. So, I try to share that with my students. I don’t want them to live in darkness as I have, and imagine that one group is less endowed than another.”

Many thanks to Ms. Martin, Ms. Turner, and all the other members of the Genealogy Study Group who came and interviewed at the StoryCorps Griot booth.

Last week, StoryCorps Griot was visited by members of the Birmingham African American Genealogy Study Group. They shared stories of segregation and prejudice, discovering their identities, and uncovering their roots.

For the group’s founder, Josephine Martin (pictured right above), it was her hard work and courage in uncovering her roots, a taboo topic in the family, that helped her gain a stronger sense of identity. “Children just didn’t ask those questions, but I felt like a part of me was missing. I had a right to know,” said Ms. Martin. She traced her roots back to a great-great-grandmother from Nigeria, who was sold into slavery in North Carolina. She learned her grandfather was a white man from Alabama. She was given a picture of a cousin she always heard about, but had never met. And, she learned new details and stories about her many relatives.

“It made the connection stronger for me,” Josephine said of the information she gathered by researching census records and talking with family. “It really made things much easier, the more information I found out about my family— it gave me more of an identity. This is a family I really am part of.”

StoryCorps Facilitators, Naomi Greene and Mike Rauch, were invited to the Montgomery premiere of the film Honeydripper, starring Danny Glover and Charles S. Dutton. Filmed in Greenville, Alabama, Honeydripper tells the story of Tyrone Purvis, a juke joint owner trying to keep his failing business afloat during the 1950s.

After the screening, writer/director John Sayles talked about how his love of soul and blues artists inspired the film’s story and setting. Producer Maggie Renzi gave thanks to local residents who helped in the production of the film. In fact, the film’s extras are local Alabama residents. The facilitators even recognized a group of Alabama State University students who participated in a StoryCorps interview on opening day. At the close of the evening, Naomi was delighted to receive an autograph from young actor Nagee Clay, who attended the event dressed like a star. The poster now hangs proudly in the StoryCorps GriotBooth.

For the past month StoryCorps Griot has been zigzagging through the red clay roads of Dixie. This week we spent a couple days in Boykin, Alabama in a community known as Gee’s Bend. The women of Gee’s Bend have become famous for their quilt work. Despite the attention they have received it seems like little has changed in this small community. My co-facilitator John and I were deeply touched by the hospitality we received. Out in the country far from stores and restaurants, the women of Boykin took good care of us. For two young men on the road, far from home, nothing comforts like good home-cooked treats. I had as many slices as I could of the best sweet potato pie I’ve ever tasted. If I had to choose between Mary Lee’s sweet potato pie and Mary Ann’s cake, it would be a hard decision. I would have to try both again and again!

Mayor Sam Jones of Mobile, AL

After weeks of wandering along the rambling roads of the Deep South we rolled into the port city of Mobile, Alabama. The stories shared by Griot participants revealed the day-to-day dynamics of a semi-industrial port community. They also reflected the collective experience of systematic exclusion from the electoral process and city government. African Americans in Mobile did not achieve any representation in city government until 1985. It was taxation without representation. Griot participant Sam Jones is Mobile’s first African American mayor. He was elected in 2005 and is currently serving in his first term. The Honorable Samuel Jones owes his accomplishment, in part, to men like James H. Finley and others like him who gave their lives for the health and well being of their community, setting a bold example of possibility. Read the rest of this entry »

After work, Mike and I hit the streets of Mobile for a little Mardi Gras fun. Think Mardi Gras and New Orleans immediately comes to mind, but Mobile proudly lays claim to the first Mardi Gras. The party began in 1703 after French soldiers survived a bout of Yellow Fever. The advent of the Civil War postponed the tradition for years, but it was revived in 1866 when Confederate veteran Joe Cain marched the streets of Mobile dressed as the fictional Chickasaw Indian Chief Slacabamorinico in tribute to that tribe’s sustained resistance to federal troops. Others joined and history was made. A considerably smaller, family-oriented affair, Mobile still manages to fill the streets with floats, people, beads and moonpies. Joe Cain may have died in 1904 but his legacy is celebrated each Mardi Gras with “The People’s Parade” on Joe Cain Day.

Facilitators Mike Rauch and John White celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by attending a memorial service at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Dr. King was a pastor at the church, which played a central role in the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. After the memorial service, Mike and John enjoyed a parade on Dexter Avenue that included local schools, organizations, regular everyday folks and even a bus that stopped and picked up passengers along the way.

Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church built in 1914.

The Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church was formed in 1870 in a small community near Tuskegee University known today as Notsaluga, Alabama. By 1914 the congregation had bought 4 acres of land and completed building a church and the Shiloh-Rosenwald School. The school was completed with financial assistance from the Rosenwald Fund. Endowed by Julius Rosenwald CEO and co-owner of Sears Roebuck & Co., the Rosenwald Fund, was the result of a historic partnership between Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington. With design and engineering help from faculty at Tuskegee Institute, the fund paid for the construction of over 5,000 school facilities from Maryland to Texas. Shiloh’s Rosenwald School was one of six constructed during the inaugural phase of the project. It’s estimated that, at one time, the schools were capable of accommodating the needs of 1/3 of all African American school children in the South. Memories of these schools are colored with a strong sense of pride. In areas with little or no resources and zero state spending, they provided a formidable education to the children who attended.

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No trip to Alabama would be complete without a stop in Tuskegee, Alabama. Evolving from the Negro Normal School in Tuskegee to Tuskegee Institute to Tuskegee University, the school and namesake community have had an intertwining history of great achievement and intellectual prosperity. Under the leadership of Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee rose to national prominence. StoryCorps Griot participant Jimmy Johnson described the Tuskegee community and legacy by comparing Booker T. Washington to the other great luminary of his era, W.E.B. DuBois. DuBois was committed to fighting for total equality, including the right to vote, in the courts. DuBois argued the legal system was the best path. Washington, on the other hand rationalized that if African Americans could achieve intellectual and economic success through ownership and prosperity in business, science, and the trades, equality could not be denied; you cannot be denied what you have achieved yourself. Johnson explains that Washington was saying: succeed intellectually and financially and they will beg you for your vote. Communities like Tuskegee and Mound Bayou, Mississippi are bold examples. It could be argued that history proved that both ideologies were part and parcel of the same path.

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Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL

Today, on the third Monday of January, we take a holiday to observe the life and legacy of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a fitting coincidence that today StoryCorps Griot arrives at Tuskegee University from Selma, Alabama; we travel from the site of one of the fiercest battles in the long struggle for the right to be counted as equal citizens to an institution established to develop responsible citizens who would make remarkable contributions to American life.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama was the site of one of the most significant protests in American history. The incident, known as “Bloody Sunday” emblazoned the Edmund Pettus Bridge as an indelible image of violent American oppression. Bloody Sunday sparked national attention on racial discrimination in voting, eventually leading to the passage of the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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Summer Smiley in front of her restaurant, Gone Country.

StoryCorps Griot spent the week in Selma, Alabama. Selma is a charming city with a long and rich history. As we crossed the Alabama River on the Edmund Pettus Bridge into Selma, one of the first things I noticed was the number of small independent businesses lining Broad Street. Selma has suffered the same economic hardships as communities throughout the South and across the country, but somehow these businesses have hung on. Within the first ten blocks or so are four independently owned pharmacies alone. I have never seen so many mom and pop drug stores so close to one another. The ability of these small businesses to survive is a wonderful testament to American perseverance, ingenuity and community. StoryCorps Griot is proud to have the opportunity to visit Selma. We were set up at the Selma Dallas County Public Library, and could not have had a better host. Selma native Tina Smiley of the National Parks Service helped coordinate outreach so her community would have an opportunity to share their stories.

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Mount Gilliard Missionary Baptist Church on US Route 80 in Lowndes County, AL

Last week StoryCorps Griot facilitators set out on historic US Route 80 traveling from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama. Along the way we stopped for two days at the Lowndes County Interpretive Center to set-up a space for Lowndes County residents to share their stories. The Interpretive Center opened in 2006 as the first of three sites established by the National Park Service (NPS) to commemorate, preserve and interpret the events, people, and route of the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March of 1965. As stipulated in its mission, the purpose of this Historic Trail is to serve “as a reminder of the right and responsibility of all Americans to participate fully in the election process and the maintenance of vigilance in protecting the right to vote.”

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Lowndes County, Alabama gained national attention in the 1960s as a hot bed of Civil Rights activity. However, before the 1960s, violence ravaged the area, leading residents to call it, “Bloody Lowndes.” One such victim was Elmore Bolling. Elmore’s six remaining children visited the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Interpretive Center to share memories of their father.

_{Left to Right: Mary Bolling Brumby, Charlie A. McCall(brother-in-law), Josephine Bolling McCall, Robert Bolling, Morris Bolling, Louis Bolling and Elmore Bolling, Jr.}

Elmore Bolling was born on May 10, 1908 to Braxton and Belle Bolling. Unable to attend the first grade until he was thirteen, Bolling was too embarrassed to complete his education and he never learned to read nor write. However, that did not deter his business dreams. In 1931, starting with only a Model T Ford, Elmore steadily built a first-rate trucking company and in time, a thriving general store. Josephine Bolling remembers her father as a successful businessman and philanthropist who gained the respect of his community. “He would walk in the room and everyone would become quiet. That was out of respect.”

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Among the bright lights and towering brick of mid-town Manhattan, the nonprofit organization Common Ground found a home for those who needed and deserved life’s most basic necessity. Another dedicated community partner of StoryCorps Griot, Common Ground seeks to transform buildings, people, and entire communities with the mission to work towards ending homelessness. By acquiring its Times Square building in 1991–a once stately neighborhood fixture fallen into disrepair–Common Ground was able to preserve the historic detail of the building and create housing for 652 low-income and formerly homeless individuals in the heart of the city. It is currently the largest permanent supportive housing project in the nation. StoryCorps Griot joined with Common Ground Times Square to help some of the residents record their stories. Many came to talk about where they had been and where they are going.

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It is estimated that during the first half of the 19th century upwards of 100,000 slaves escaped slavery along the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret network shepherding African-Americans north, away from formal chattel slavery. Professor Melvin Sylvester of the CW Post Campus of Long Island University asserts that by 1800 there were 700,000 slaves in America. In South Carolina, alone, there were more Africans then Europeans and in Maryland and Virginia the population demographic was split 50/50. Since there is little or no existing evidence of runaways, we are left with only legends, tales, and oral histories. There is no way to know if the estimate of 100,000 runaways is low, high, or close to accurate. The amount of hysteria caused by stories of the clandestine network igniting the suspicions and hope of slave society might lead one to think that maybe this number is a low estimate. There is no way to know. The hysteria could have simply been a young nation desperately trying to protect the backbone of its economy and burgeoning prosperity. Regardless we are left with only the accounts of decedents.

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Photos courtesy Melvin Reeves

The Lorraine Motel, where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, which is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum.

Stax recoding studio. Now a museum of Soul music.

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This week StoryCorps Griot concluded a six week stay in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is a city defined by proud and storied neighborhoods like Orange Mound and South Memphis (a.k.a. Funky Town), legendary musicians from WC Handy to Issac Hayes to Three 6 Mafia, triumphant moments - Dr. King’s Mountaintop Speech, and deep sorrow - Dr. King’s assassination.

Between the lines of news-makers and note-worthies stand the people whose pulse has given endless life and vibrancy to the city, its triumphs and sorrows. The news-makers and note-worthies are worthless without the shoulders they stand on. They stand on the shoulders of the people you pass on the street, stand behind in line, and celebrate with on holidays. It is the people who were driven from their rural homes by racist brutality, refugees in a strange city called Memphis. They stand on the shoulders of the first family member to attend a newly segregated school, swim in a pool or use the front door of a restaurant. History is made and the future is paved by everyone striving to eat and raise their children with love, compassion and the tools to triumph in a wicked world, and all those others who don’t quite make it but we can’t help but love anyway. So often people insist they don’t have anything to share. But anyone who has lived long enough to hold a memory has something to share. What seems mundane to you will become monumental to a relative who hears your voice years from now.

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_{Robyn R. Stone (L) hugs her mother Christine Cowan (R)}

On Thursday, November 29 Robyn Stone and her mother Christine came to the StoryCorps Griot booth in Memphis, Tennessee. In the quiet of the booth Mrs. Cowan revealed to her daughter deep reflections on her life. Like all StoryCorps participants, they left with a CD recording of their conversation.

On Monday, December 3 Christine Cowan had a stroke. Luckily, the stroke was minor, not affecting her speech or memory. But it could have been much worse.

Later that week Mrs. Stone came to the booth to share what had happened: “I learned so much about her and her past. We spoke about family, history and aspirations for the future generations. I can’t tell you the number of times I have replayed the CD and smiled. . . I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I feel having her voice professionally recorded.”

We are happy we could provide a place for Mrs Cowan and her daughter to enjoy a recorded conversation. We wish you and your family all the best and years of good health.