Purpose
To gather and disseminate video recordings of African American residents of the Wiregrass who lived through the era of the Civil Rights Movement and racial desegregation.
Project Description
Supported by a generous grant from the Society of American Archivists Foundation, the Wiregrass Archives and Troy University joined with the Wiregrass Black History Channel (on YouTube) to produce, edit, and display nine video interviews from Black residents of the Wiregrass.
Principals in the project are:
- Mit Kirkland, well-known, long-time, award-winning Wiregrass videographer who created the Wiregrass Black History Channel on YouTube, at https://www.youtube.com/@WiregrassBlackHistoryChannel.
- Marty Olliff, professor of history and director of the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University Dothan (AL) Campus: https://www.troy.edu/wiregrassarchives.
Community Meetings
Kirkland and Olliff will arrange two community meetings in the Spring of 2025 to report on progress and promote the project to potential narrators.
Meetings:
February 22, 2025: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Black History Month Workshop, Troy University Dothan Campus, 10am-12:45pm
Project Publicity
Links to online promotional materials about the project
- "Wiregrass Archives Receives Selective Catalyst Grant to Help Collect Community History," TroyToday (blog), October 15, 2024, https://today.troy.edu/news/wiregrass-archives-receives-selective-catalyst-grant/
- "Wiregrass Archives to Document Civil Rights Era," Troy Public Radio's In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson, November 20, 2024, https://today.troy.edu/podcasts/in-focus-with-carolyn-hutcheson/wiregrass-archives-to-document-civil-rights-era-tprs-in-focus-nov-20-2024/
Video Snippets
Robert "Cookie" Potter and Dorothy Muhammad Taylor, October 2024
Elmaree Gordon and Delois Daniels Lee, October 2024
For more information, contact project director, Dr. Marty Olliff, at molliff@troy.edu
Partners:
