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Loud As The Rolling Sea

Loud As The Rolling Sea Logo
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Loud As The Rolling Sea Logo

Loud As The Rolling Sea

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, created a lot of soul-searching around the country and here at WYSO. It made us think harder about the role the station should play in fighting racism in the Miami Valley. And so we committed to bringing the voices of more people of color to the airwaves so we can see racism - past and present - through their eyes and hear their ideas about our shared future. On "Loud As The Rolling Sea," you're going to listen to stories that began as a community oral history project ten years ago in Yellow Springs when citizens came together to gather the stories of the Civil Rights generation of activists, both Black and white, who were born in the 20s and 30s. Their stories have a lot to teach the activists of today.

Series producer: Dr. Kevin McGruder

Series editor: Will Davis


THE YELLOW SPRINGS CIVIL RIGHTS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

This radio series is part of a larger community-based oral history project in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The project began in 2010 when several community groups came together. They aimed to interview citizens about contemporary and historical diversity in the Village.

Yellow Springs has a long history of diversity. African Americans have lived in the Village for almost 200 years, but it has become whiter and more affluent in the last generation.

WYSO got involved with this project when Brooke Blackmon Bryan, an intern at the station at the time and a graduate student at Antioch University, stepped up to help organize it and offer WYSO’s support and assistance.

Since then, nearly 50 interviews have been recorded, and now, for the first time, WYSO is bringing this project to the airwaves, creating edited versions of the long-form oral history interviews conducted by community volunteers.

Brooke Blackmon Bryan has since gone on to an academic career at Antioch College with a specific interest in oral history. You can read her complete account of this groundbreaking community project here and perhaps learn how to create a project like this in your community.

Support for Loud As The Rolling Sea comes from the Yellow Springs Community Foundation.