Black Broadway on U: A Living History Experience

I recently had the opportunity to hear Shellée Haynesworth, creator and executive producer of Black Broadway on U speak at Randolph College. Her talk was part of the Sara Driver '77 Digital Filmmaking and Lecture Series, funded by Martha Driver '50 and Al Driver.

 

This fall I had reconnected with Shellée, a fellow member of Women in Film & Video (DC) and was very excited to hear about this new venture. I was very curious to learn what had sparked this multi-platform project to connect today’s audiences to the contributions of prominent and pioneering Black Washington entertainers, educators, civil rights activists, intellectuals, musicians and culturists. What I was to learn is that not only was there a family connection for Shellée, a third generation Washingtonian but also national significance of this community in Washington DC that was centered around U Street.

The heart of this project is a website, BlackBroadwayonU.com. Beautifully designed, this site reveals the level of ambition Shellée sees for this effort. We are introduced to the Story, Mission and Community. In the 1920's Washington, DC was a small southern town, ruled by Jim Crow. That meant segregation. Blacks who came North for jobs and education were limited in access to housing, education and just about everything. Ironically, it was these social barriers that was the birth of the cultural renaissance that centered just west of Howard University. Not able to move about freely in white Washington society/business/culture, black entrepreneurs opened clubs, restaurants, and other businesses along the U Street Corridor. This part of town became the intellectual, business, cultural and social hub of black D.C. 

That is the historical framework, what I found fascinating listening to Haynesworth is how her family history played into the genesis of this project. While driving down U Street with her grandmother a year or so ago, her grandmother's reaction to the changes on U Street prompted her to want to help educate others about what used to be and its significance before all physical references on U Street are gone.

I was also intrigued by some of the tidbits she shared with us at Randolph College from her research. Such gems as Cab Calloway had an older sister who was a very successful bandleader before he was and that she influenced his style. That the Spurlock photography studio had amassed 300,000 photographs of the era which the family then donated to the Smithsonian. I could tell Shellée was having a blast researching the gold mine of information waiting to be found and put together in an easily accessible format.

This is how the mission is described on the website:

• EDUCATE and ENLIGHTEN our target audience(s) about the important role that the African American culturists, entertainers, educators, activists, intellectuals and entrepreneurs (all in a little Washington, D.C. neighborhood) played in shaping American history, arts and culture, as well as our society at large.
• ENTERTAIN with compelling content and immersive user experiences.
• EMPOWER today’s African American youth (and adults) through the sharing of this rich heritage and history, thus amplifying the original message as well as support for Art, Music and Entertainment.
• ENGAGE and EDUCATE our target audience(s) and communities who historically have been under-represented in the media.
• PRESERVE, CURATE and CELEBRATE this African American community’s contributions in the most powerful city on the planet, Washington, D.C.
• REVIVE this Black Cultural Renaissance within D.C.’s U Street and Shaw corridors for generation now and next.
  
  
  A three part documentary is planned for the project, the site has numerous video clips/interviews online now. Other components planned are a mobile app, pop-up performances, an annual symposium and a significant social media presence. Shellée has also mentioned walking tours she has conducted of the area.
  
  
  

  
  If you will be in Washington DC on December 8th, join us at the Women in Film & Video Education & Children's Media Roundtable when Shellée Hayneworth, founder and creator of this robust transmedia site will talk about her project.