The Hornet Tribune

Issue date: 1/13/08 Section: University News

Media Credit: Bryant Magee Mike Green, one of the employees with StoryCorps Griot, listens carefully as this participant tells her story about life in the civil rights movement.

A small group of the ASU community convened behind the parking lot of the Joe L. Reed Acadome as StoryCorps Griot informed the university of the Griot's significance to the oral history of Americans.

StoryCorps Griot will travel the country for a year gathering and preserving the stories of Americans by recording the oral history of willing participants.

"We always hear about the bad things that are going on, but with StoryCorps you have a chance to tell your side of the story," said Melvin Reeves, manager of StoryCorps Griot.

The interview is a conversation between two people or more. Participants usually deal with events they feel are important in their lives.

"We take regular people who want to voice what they feel is important to them and in the end find that person has a lot of knowledge about African American culture," said Jennifer Carr, producer of StoryCorps. "Because Alabama State University is an important part of Montgomery and the Civil Rights Movement we had to stop here."

Each participant receives a copy of their 40-minute recording on compact disc. With permission, additional copies are sent to the American Folk life Center at the Library of Congress and the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

"It is so important to many people that their legacy lives on," said Ruby Sheets, outreach coordinator. "With StoryCorps that can be done exactly how you intend it to be."

The StoryCorps Griot set forth a goal to collect at least 1,750 interviews within nine states.

"If we get about 160 interviews in the six weeks we are in Alabama, we will have met our goal," Reeves said.

Griot comes from a West African tradition to preserve the teachings, customs and storytelling from one generation to another.

"When someone else tells our story so many biases come into play, but with audio recordings there are no flaws with the interview," Reeves said.

The interview facilitators offer lists of questions to get conversation initiated.

Interview conversations vary.

"People are amazed at the things they find our about one another," Sheets said. "We can know someone all of our life, but because we never took the time to really listen we miss out on a world of information."

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