Story Corps' A Family Man

Do you share family stories with your child?  Today after Carter Woodson, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks have left an imprint, many young African American still do not know their history. Sharing our stories with our children is a wonderful way to empower them and spark their interest in history. This month join Story Corps in the National Day of Listening.

Story Corps' mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.  They launched the first National Day of Listening in 2008 to encourage all Americans to record an interview with a loved one on the day after Thanksgiving using equipment that is readily available in most homes—from cell phones to tape recorders to computers or even pen and paper.

A Family Man is a story that many of us growing up in urban America can relate to. In 1955, John L. Black, Sr. started his job as a janitor for the Cincinnati public school system. He regularly put in 16-hour days to provide for his wife and eleven children. At StoryCorps, his son Samuel talks with his wife, Edda Fields-Black, about his father's lasting legacy and the power of a look. The story is directed by The Rauch Brothers.