- Playing
- StoryCorps Griot MLI: Ruth Ballard
- From
- StoryCorps
91-year-old Ruth Ballard was born and raised in New Jersey. When her husband was drafted during World War II, she moved to an airbase in Tuskegee, Alabama. "In the South I learned how to adjust," recalls Ballard, "to expect the worst at anytime." She remembers the lengths to which she went to feel secure. "We had our driveway made of gravel so that we could hear any car approaching." StoryCorps Griot is an initiative to record interviews between everyday African Americans across the United States. In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller who preserves cultural identity and passes it on from generation to generation. The StoryCorps Griot booth is traveling from coast-to-coast collecting these interviews, which will be archived in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Also in the StoryCorps series
StoryCorps: Van and Shirley Harris
(00:02:17)
From: StoryCorps
Van Harris and his wife, Shirley, remember being young in Brooklyn during the 1940s.
StoryCorps: Theresa and Dennis McLaughlin
(00:02:16)
From: StoryCorps
Theresa McLaughlin speaks about raising her son, Dennis, who was born with spina bifida, leaving him unable to use his legs.
StoryCorps: Ricardo Isaias Zavala and Ricardo Javier Zavala
(00:02:32)
From: StoryCorps
Ricardo Isais Zavala remembers his grandfather, Vicente Domingo Villa, in an interview with his son, Ricardo Javier Zavala.
StoryCorps NTI: Kate Musick and Harleé Patrick, Jose Catalan and Carlos Vizcarra
(00:02:50)
From: StoryCorps
Two stories about teachers who went beyond the classroom to help their kids.
StoryCorps: Marco Ferreira and Wendy Tucker
(00:01:54)
From: StoryCorps
Marco Ferreira talks to his wife, Wendy Tucker, about surviving a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2008.
StoryCorps: Lisa Combest and James Hanson-Brown
(00:02:25)
From: StoryCorps
Lisa Combest and her ex-husband, James Hanson-Brown, talk about how their marriage ended.
StoryCorps Griot: Karen Slade, Eric "Rico" Reed and Arthur "Sonny" Williams
(00:02:28)
From: StoryCorps
Karen Slade, Eric "Rico" Reed, and Arthur "Sonny" Williams of radio station KJLH remember the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
StoryCorps: Kenneth and Gaye Honeycutt
(00:02:03)
From: StoryCorps
Kenneth Honeycutt tells his wife Gaye about witnessing the New London School Explosion of 1937.
StoryCorps: David Plant and Frank Lilley
(00:02:34)
From: StoryCorps
Frank Lilley interviews his stepfather, David Plant, about approaching the end of his life.
StoryCorps NTI: Clairene Terry and Raul Bravo
(00:02:00)
From: StoryCorps
Raul Bravo tells his former high school automotive teacher, Clairene Terry, how she inspired him to stay in school.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
91-year-old Ruth Ballard was born and raised in New Jersey. When her husband was drafted during World War II, she moved to an airbase in Tuskegee, Alabama. "In the South I learned how to adjust," recalls Ballard, "to expect the worst at anytime." She remembers the lengths to which she went to feel secure. "We had our driveway made of gravel so that we could hear any car approaching." StoryCorps Griot is an initiative to record interviews between everyday African Americans across the United States. In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller who preserves cultural identity and passes it on from generation to generation. The StoryCorps Griot booth is traveling from coast-to-coast collecting these interviews, which will be archived in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Broadcast History
NPR News and Notes 7/24/07
Transcript
RB: My husband was the physical training officer for the fires.
RL: For the Tuskegee airman
RB: For the Tuskegee airman ‚yes, he would have these guys out on
Tuskegee's football field going through all their exercises. And then
on Sundays he would have them running and they would be running through
the community, you know, the community was so small. And sometimes my
friends would call and say, ' The boys have gone by. You better fix
dinner 'cause he's going to be hungry.' We bought a piece of property
and started to build our home. And the situation was such that when we
built our home, we had our driveway made of gravel so that we could hear
any car approaching. We had lights on all four corners of our house.
Spotlights which we, with a single switch, we could light up the area.
So you were always thinking and preparing. And in the South I learned
how to adjust, not to expect...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:It's time now for StoryCorps Griot. Each Tuesday we bring you a story from this project that's recording Black Americans across the country. 91-year-old Ruth Ballard <
Ruth Ballard with her minister, Ramonia Lee in Silver Spring, Maryland. The StoryCorps Griot booth is currently in Chicago. It's next stop is Oakland. All the Griot initiative recordings are archived at the Library of Congress. A copy of each interview will also go to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. To find out how to record your interview, and to hear more from StoryCorps Griot go to NPR News and Notes dot org.
Related Website
Of 3 purchasers of this piece...
- 3 also bought:
StoryCorps: Theresa Burroughs (00:01:50) - 2 also bought:
Jeff in Boston: Halfrican (00:13:12) - 2 also bought:
Living Flag (00:04:02) - 2 also bought:
StoryCorps: Isabel Beaton (00:00:54) - 2 also bought:
StoryCorps: Billy Collins (00:01:30)
