::Press January 2, 2004
HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. HOSTS RADIO SERIES
EXPLORING AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORIC LANDMARKS
NATIONWIDE
Washington D.C., January 2, 2004 – Moments to Remember, an award-winning public radio series kicks off Black History Month with Moments to Remember: African-American Destinations. Each two-minute segment takes listeners on a journey to historic African-American neighborhoods, homes, monuments and other cultural landmarks. The entire series highlights over 270 people and places that helped to build the foundation of our nation from the 1800s to the present. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., award- winning author and chair of the Afro-American studies department at Harvard University is the host of this radio series. In February, Dr. Gates will also host the PBS television series “America Beyond the Color Line.”
“For hundreds of years, black communities have made rich contributions to the overall growth of the United States. We’ll give listeners a glimpse of these fascinating communities and landmarks, past and present,” said Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
“We hope to create more awareness about the importance of visiting and preserving the numerous historical treasures in African-American communities nationwide. African-American heritage tours are becoming very popular among travelers worldwide. Our goal is to encourage radio listeners to visit these sites because they are a very important part of our history and culture,” said Donna Limerick, Executive Producer.
30 cities…coast to coast...from Boston to Seattle are featured on Moments to Remember: African-American Destinations. Some of the stops along the way are:
Historic Neighborhoods, including Africatown (Mobile, AL) established in the 1800s; The Pleasant Hill Historic District (Macon, GA), built by black carpenters and brick masons in the late 1800s; the Auburn Historic area (Atlanta, GA) featuring the birthplace, church and gravesite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Important Cultural Landmarks, including The Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center (Baltimore, MD); The Apollo Theater (New York, NY); 18th and Vine in Kansas City, MO; the Motown Historical Museum (Detroit, MI) and the Lorraine Hansberry Theater (San Francisco, CA).
Historic Homes of famous people, including The Marion Anderson, Paul Robeson, John Coltrane and Pearl Bailey residences (Philadelphia, PA); the Medgar Evers residence (Jackson, MS); The Scott Joplin House (St. Louis, MO).
Moments to Remember is also featured on Africana.com. Africana’s web-site on AOL provides extensive content about black culture, news and the arts.
Moments to Remember was created by executive producer, Donna Limerick. Limerick is the former producer of Horizons, National Public Radio’s award winning documentary series. Under her direction the series won more than 125 major broadcasting awards. The Moments radio series is produced by North Star Communications, a radio production and syndication company based in Washington, D.C.
Moments to Remember is currently broadcast on 125 public radio stations and via the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRN) in 17 foreign countries. Check local public radio station listings for air times. Major funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
::Press January 15, 2003
HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY WITH A PUBLIC RADIO SERIES
SALUTING AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN IN HISTORY
Washington, D.C., January 15, 2003 - Moments to Remember, an award-winning public radio series that celebrates Black History throughout the year is returning for a second year, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In 2003, the series begins with "Black Women: Great Moments in History." What did they contribute to American history? Why are they significant today? Each segment provides answers to these questions and more by profiling the achievements of 30 black women-past to present. Over 100 public radio stations nationwide currently air Moments to Remember. The radio show is also featured on the Africana.com website.
This first of its kind public radio series features stories about legendary women, such as Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919), the first female millionaire, Lucy Terry Prince (1730-1821), the first slave to argue a case before the Supreme Court and contemporary writer Maya Angelou, the first woman to produce a screenplay. Unknown heroines have also played a vital role in American history like Mary Fields (1832-1914) the first female stagecoach driver for the postal service and Susan King Taylor (1842-1912) the first army nurse. Behind these women's stories are countless other women, whose untold contributions are the foundation upon which we all stand.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., award-winning author, host of the acclaimed PBS series "Wonders of the African World," and chair of the Afro-American studies department at Harvard University is the program host. "I'm excited about the continuation of this radio series. It's important for us to remember the role of African-Americans in American History throughout the year and not just during Black History Month. " said Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Donna Limerick, Executive Producer of the series said, " African-American women have played a vital role in American society. Many of these women have remained invisible in our history books because society refused to value their work as writers, singers, educators, journalists, politicians and more. This series heralds the contributions of women, presents their achievements and brings great personalities of the past to life."
Moments To Remember has received awards from The New York Festivals, which recognize the world's best work in news, information, entertainment, programming & promotion and from The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for its programming excellence.
Moments to Remember was created by Executive Producer Donna Limerick. Limerick was the producer for Horizons, National Public Radio's award-winning documentary series from 1979-1996. Under her direction, the series won more than 125 major broadcast awards. She has produced many radio documentaries about jazz legends past and present, such as Jazz Is…In The Arts, hosted by Jon Hendricks.
Moments to Remember is produced by North Star Communications, a radio production and syndication company located in Washington, D.C. Its national productions, distributed by National Public Radio, include "Paul Robeson: A Tribute to My Friend," produced in cooperation with WBGO-FM and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Other recent productions, distributed by National Public Radio, include "From Rhythm and Blues: Crossing the Color Line," and "Civil Rights Profiles," both hosted by author and civil rights activist Julian Bond.
Africana.com, an AOL Time Warner Company has emerged as the nation's premiere website devoted to worldwide black culture, news and arts.
Funding for Moments to Remember is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Check local public radio station listings for air times.