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USA: The Apollo Project
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NORTH AMERICA
Terrell Frazier, Director of Education and Outreach from Columbia University reports on an oral history project of Harlem’s Apollo Theater, which was undertaken as the famed theatre approached its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2009.
‘In 2008 Columbia University’s Center for Oral History (CCOH) joined with the Apollo Theater Foundation Inc (www.apollotheater.org) to document and preserve the vibrant history of Harlem’s Apollo Theater and its surrounding neighbourhood in anticipation of the theater’s seventy-fifth anniversary. The Apollo Theater oral history project began with the reminiscences of prolific songwriter and Motown legend Smokey Robinson. In his interview, Robinson recalls his journey from Chicago to New York City to perform with his band “The Miracles” on the Apollo stage. (An excerpt from this interview can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/35904421)
‘Over the next two years, CCOH interviewed performers, personalities and staff, as well as local cultural and political leaders in an effort to spotlight and safeguard one of New York’s most important cultural institutions.
‘CCOH conducted interviews with many of the most iconic performers in the theater’s history – including Nona Hendryx, Quincy Jones, Gladys and Bubba Knight, Leslie Uggams and many others. Notable figures in the Harlem community such as disc jockey Hal Jackson and actor Maurice Hines were also interviewed. Completed in 2011, the project has resulted in a collection of twenty-seven interviews compromising 150 hours of interview, with more than thirty hours of interview captured on digital video.
‘Through the voices of interviewees who watched the Apollo Theater build and develop its legacy over time, CCOH was able to document the unique nature of the Apollo, which is not only an enduring African American institution, but has been a driving force in America’s music and cultural landscape.
‘In 2011 the interviews became open to the public and accessible through CCOH’s oral history portal: http://oralhistoryportal.cul.columbia. edu/. In the coming year, video interviews, transcripts and interviewee profiles will be featured in an online exhibition. Beyond the archive, the project interviews have informed the development of a program by the Apollo’s education department with primary school teachers to integrate the history of the theater and the neighborhood, as well as elements of African American art, into the school's curriculum.
‘The project was supported by generous contributions from the Edward and Leslye Phillips Family Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and the New York Community Trust.
• For more information about the project please visit: http://library.
columbia.edu/indiv/ccoh/new_ projects.html or contact: Kristen La Follette, tel (212) 854-7083, email oralhist@libraries.cul.columbia.edu
The Apollo Theater, Harlem.
Source:
ORAL HISTORY Spring 2013, pages: 29-30
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