AAHGS Nashville supports several projects to promote Afro-American history and research. For more information about any of our projects, please contact us.
AAHGS NASHVILLE PROJECTS
150 Sounds of Freedom – honors Nashville’s buildings and other structures/locations named for people of African descent. Keeping in mind that uncared for buildings often last only 30 to 50 years, and that many of the historic buildings in Nashville, such as Goodwill Manor, have been demolished, we pledge to keep these structures in our thoughts, encouraging their lasting legacies.
HBCU Newspaper History Project – first-of-its-kind research that documents student newspapers at America’s historically black colleges and universities one era, one editor at a time. While the primary objective of the initial research is to ascertain connections between the teaching environment administrators and advisers create in the newspaper extracurricular activity and the learning editors acquire and apply in their careers, the overall project also aims to avail historical HBCU newspapers and documentation of editor and staff member experiences to the public for industry advancement, social context, general knowledge, genealogy research, and other purposes.
Slave Grandchildren Remember Project – a community outreach and humanities education program that uniquely serves the general public, especially youth and elderly adults in the Nashville community. It pairs a youth as oral history interviewer and an elderly grandchild of a slave as interviewee to develop a video oral history for compilation into an interpretive video exploration of the slave grandchildren’s memories. For the slave grandchild it also includes DNA test and 1940 U.S. Census record. For the youth it also includes training, a service opportunity, and an innovative way to learn family and broader history. For the general public, it provides ongoing source material to interpret, critically analyze, and discuss both in person and online. You can view example videos on YouTube.
AAHGS FRIENDS & MEMBER PROJECTS
These projects/activities are not officially part of AAHGS, but represent just some of the work being done in the area to preserve and capture African American history.
Black Male Archives – curating, promoting and capturing the stories of the Black Male experience across the world!. Project by AAHGS Member Rodney E. Freeman
Fort Negley Descendants Project – documenting stories from descendants of Fort Negley soldiers & laborers
From Slaves to Soldiers and Beyond – Williamson County, Tennessee’s African American History – blog by AAHGS Nashville friend, Tina Cahalan Jones
Greenwood Project – a project to catalog burials in the historic African-American Greenwood Cemetery here in Nashville; by AAHGS Nashville friend, Kathy Lauder.
Jefferson Street Museum – highlighting the musical legacy of Jefferson Street
Perfect Memoirs – personal family history writing services by AAHGS Nashville member Deborah Wilbrink
Nashville Zoo – the Zoo is working to honor the African Americans that contributed to the Grassmere Farm property.
National Museum of African American Music – located at 5th and Broadway here in Nashville; a tribute to the influence African Americans have had on the national and international music scene.
AAHGS Nashville 