Recording history with The HistoryMakers

Chicago organization building oral-history archive for African-American voices

by Natalie Lance

The HistoryMakers, located in downtown Chicago, is a national and non-profit educational institution charged with capturing the histories, contributions, stories, and accomplishments of African Americans. Julieanna Richardson, founder and executive director, helped establish the HistoryMakers in July of 1999. One of it's principle projects is to record oral histories and make them available for everyone. HistoryMakers is the single largest archive project in the world. Using state-of-the-art technology, the archive allows people to obtain information on any interviewee they would like to know about. HistoryMakers seeks to reach as many people as possible through the Internet, a digital archive, and the use of other new technologies. By recording stories from contributors in society, HistoryMakers hopes to enrich the lives of the young, old, and of all ethnic backgrounds.

Besides education, the organization's goals are to: create an oral-history archive; highlight individual African-American accomplishments in different backgrounds and disciplines; present people who played a role in African-American-led movements and/or organization; and preserve all the materials for future generations. The biggest impact the institution wants to make is "to change the paradigm of the perception of African-American achievements in this country," according to Richardson.

HistoryMakers presents the contributions and stories of African Americans, past and present. The oral history project goes beyond the

HistoryMakers founder and director Julieanna Richardson interviews Reverend Jesse Jackson.       Photo courtesy The HistoryMakers.

civil rights movement, revealing the depth and breadth of African-American history. It is important for HistoryMakers to profile unknown African-American figures who have advanced American history, not just well known figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, and Ella Fitzgerald.

A "history maker" is an African American who makes significant strides in society and is associated with a particular movement, organization, association, or event that is important to the African-American community. HistoryMakers contribute to art, business, civics, education, entertainment, law, media, medicine, armed forces, music, politics, religion, science, sports, and style. So far, more than 1,500 "history maker" interviews have been conducted, yet the archive's initial goal is to complete 5,000 interviews. "This is still a work in progress, but I'm excited that people are interested in the collection," Richard said.

Potential interviewees are nominated; a candidate's background, accomplishments, and/or role in African-American history are submitted in writing to the HistoryMakers, which makes the selection. If a nominee is chosen, an interview is scheduled and conducted in a professional recording studio. Each interview is about 2 hours in length and costs from $2,500 to $5,000 to produce.

Companies and organizations work together with the HistoryMakers to accomplish the institution's goals. During Black History Month in 2006, HistoryMakers worked alongside Sprint phone company to create "Moments in Black History," a service whereby subscribers receive daily text messages or emails containing facts about African Americans and their contributions to society. HistoryMakers also collaborated with AOL Black Voices to create a six-week educational program that delivers information about African-American history via video, audio, and online articles.

The HistoryMakers' focus on teaching led to the creation in 2003 of the Education Institute, a yearlong

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program for a select group of Chicago public schools. The institute targets social studies and language arts curricula, with goals of improving teacher preparation and student learning in the area of African-American history.

For the 2003-2004 academic school year, the institute selected forty teachers from twenty Chicago middle and high schools to participate. The program interwove The HistoryMakers' resources with the schools' core curricula, giving students a rudimentary background in oral history methodology, genealogy, public history, and the value of African-American history.

In collaboration with the Chicago Metro History Fair and with the help and support from Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., the Education Institute put together Pioneers in the Struggle: The History of African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly (1877-2001), an interactive video and CD. Pioneers in the Struggle became part of the curriculum, helping students learn about African-American state legislators and the fight for African-American citizenship in Illinois. "The impact of Pioneers in the Struggle was huge," said Richardson. "It was our first educational product and project and it had an amazing impact."

Another facet of the HistoryMakers is its Speaker's Bureau, a service

Earl Francis Lloyd, the first black NBA player (left) and HistoryMakers interviewer Larry Crowe.

that encourages "history makers" to share their experiences and stories. The program's goal is to show that African-American life and culture is more diverse than commonly portrayed. Funding and promotion for the Speaker's Bureau comes from HistoryMakers' events, website, and newsletter. Speaker's Bureau applications are available on the HistoryMakers' website, www.historymakers.org.

Public programs and special events raise awareness and funds for the archive project. The public programs emphasize the importance of African-American history and reach a variety of audiences. A trademark event is An Evening With..., in which a live audience watches the featured interview and PBS records it for later broadcast. An Evening With has featured public figures such as Dionne Warwick, Harry Belafonte, and B.B. King. Another special event that honors HistoryMakers is Salute to the HistoryMakers. This ceremony honors HistoryMakers with an award for their contributions or achievements.

Richardson hopes that when the HistoryMakers' website is revised in February, students will offer feedback. Since the archive is primarily for students, Richardson wants to hear what they think about the archives and their input.

Raising money is the biggest obstacle facing the HistoryMakers, but Richardson is confident the task will be accomplished. "This is the hardest thing I've done in my life," she observed, "but now is a good time for African-American history and I'm excited for the interest."

ISHS intern and Chicago native Natalie Lance is a senior in the history program at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

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