A team of students and faculty at Ohio University Southern are working on a new documentary to shed light on the lives of African Americans throughout the Ohio River corridor of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
With insights from residents, historians, and community partners, Telling Our Story — The African American Experience will feature oral histories tracing the region’s African American story from its roots in the Underground Railroad through the era of segregation and integration. Participating students from a wide range of disciplines have traveled to regional libraries to gather documents and track down records, while media studies students have helped with filming production.
“The Ohio River and the hills that surround it hold a lot of stories that, instead of being written down, were passed on by word of mouth,” said Ernie Hall, adjunct professor of electronic media, who is leading the documentary. “We want to make sure we get these recorded.”
The film is part of the larger Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative, a nine-county effort to identify sites where the region’s African American history unfolded.
“Segregation was only 60 years ago. We still have people alive today who could not use the same swimming pool or drink from the same water fountain,” said Hall. “Human memory is short, and it’s important that we document this while we can.”
