Posted by Jonah on June 1, 2007, from Detroit, Michigan
Community Partners: Renaissance Lions Club
One of Griot’s community partners in Detroit is the Renaissance Lions Club. The Lions are the world’s largest service club organization with over 45,000 clubs worldwide. Their members raise millions of dollars each year for charitable causes.
The Griot D2D team spent the day at the Lions Clubhouse recording conversations which told of Detroit’s rich history. Thanks to Mr. Young and Ms. Phillips for making the day a great success.
Posted by Jason on May 30, 2007, from Detroit, Michigan
Tuesday May 29th, 2007. 5:30pm. Detroit, MI aka Motorcity.
After two years with StoryCorps, facilitator Nadja Middleton passes the torch during the customary Changing of the Griot Guard.
Bye-bye Nadja. Hello Johnny!
Posted by GriotBooth on May 27, 2007, from Detroit, Michigan
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.
Posted by GriotBooth on May 20, 2007, from Detroit, Michigan
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 sun is shining upon Detroit griots
Posted by Nadja on May 15, 2007, from Detroit, Michigan
Gorgeous weather, friendly people and a real life griot greeted us on opening day in Detroit, MI. Indeed, standing at the podium (next to Melvin Reeves, Manager for the StoryCorps Griot Initiative), Cardinal Mbuyi Chui explained the traditional role of griots such as himself and the significance of the StoryCorps’ Griot Initiative.
