We Remember and We Recall: Oral History Listening Room

Scribe Video Center in partnership with Dr. Diane Turner presents “We Remember and We Recall: North Philadelphia Oral History Project,” an oral history event.

The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection of Temple University Libraries, with grant support from the Alston-Beech Foundation, presents: “We Remember and We Recall: North Philadelphia Oral History Project.” A community memory initiative, this project gives voice to current and former residents of North Philadelphia, enabling community members to share the rich history and culture of community life as they have experienced it and continue to live it. Featured individuals include: Lovett Hines, Karen Warrington, Louis Massiah, Stan Straughter, Robert Watts, Jimmy Oliver, Ira Tucker, Franklin Walker, Andrew & Dorothy Aaron, Denise Ripley and Rev. Joseph Williams Jr.

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About the Cultural Workers

Dr. Diane D. Turner is Curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries. Dr. Turner holds three Temple University degrees. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in art and anthropology, a master’s and Ph.D. from the Department of History. Her areas of specialization and research include African American Labor, Cultural and Social History, Philadelphia Jazz History, Independent Black Filmmakers, Oral History, and Public History. Her dissertation is entitled Organizing and Improvising: A History of Philadelphia’s Black Musicians’ Protective Union Local 274, American Federation of Musicians. Upon completion of her Ph.D., she was awarded a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Turner has taught African American history at Northeastern University, Rowan University, University of South Florida and other institutions. Dr. Turner also served as Archivist at Lincoln University, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the African American Museum of Philadelphia and Course Director of the Bard Colleges Roberto Clemente Course in the Humanities Program, Rutgers University-Camden, NJ. She has authored three books published by Third World Press that include My Name is Oney Judge (2010), Feeding the Soul: Black Music, Black Thought (2011) and Our Grand Pop is a Montford Point Marine (2018), co-authored with her father, Corporal Thomas S. Turner Sr. She is co-author with Suzanne Cloud of Images of America: Philadelphia Jazz published by Arcadia Publishing. Her writings appear in anthologies and books such as: Philadelphia Jazz Project: Jazz Stories Illustrated, and Black Panther: Paradigm Shift or Not? She has served as a consultant on advisory boards and committees such as Bethel Burial Ground Historic Site Memorial Committee, Scribe Video’s Precious Places, Third World Press Foundation, IDEA Center for the Arts, and the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. Dr. Turner is president of the Montford Point Marines Association, Philadelphia Chapter #1 Auxiliary. She is currently working on a book entitled New Music Screaming in the Sun: Interviews with Haki R. Madhubuti.

Serkaddis Alemayehu is the Instructional Design and Technology Specialist at the Blockson Collection. She has an M.A. in African American Studies from Temple University and an M.S. Ed in Secondary Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. Serkaddis’ professional and academic interests remain deeply rooted in providing rigorous, high quality, and engaging education to all learners. In addition to utilizing technology to produce websites, videos, virtual tours and other educational content, Serkaddis preserves and promotes African American history and culture through her work digitally processing the Blockson Collection’s holdings, documenting oral history interviews, and increasing access to these rich materials through exhibitions, social media posts, and public programs.

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North Philadelphia History Festival:

The North Philadelphia History Festival (NPHF) is a cultural celebration of the African American and Puerto Rican communities in North Philadelphia. Across four days, historic sites along Ridge Avenue, North Broad Street, and other locales will be transformed into living exhibits created by artists, historians, curators, and other cultural workers. These multimedia projects and events will explore the emergence and impact of these communities in the 19th and 20th centuries. All events will be free and open to the public. Learn more about the festival here.

Lead support for the North Philadelphia History Festival is provided by the William Penn Foundation.

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Know Before You Go:

Photography/Videography:

By attending this event, you consent to be photographed and/or filmed and authorize the use of your image in event-related materials. If you do not wish to be photographed, please notify event staff.