Dream Job: Video Legacies

National Visionary Leadership Project board member Dale Mason Cochran interviews Earl Barthé, a fifth-generation Creole building artisan whose family''s work helped establish the look of New Orleans'' architecture. The interview was captured using a Sony DSR-500.

For Cheryl Clarke, her job is about legacy — that of African-American history as a whole and that of her family. As chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C.-based National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), Clarke says she not only helps preserve the stories of African-Americans who have made significant contributions to U.S. history but also continues the work of her father, Larry Still, a journalist of the civil-rights era and the cofounder of the Howard University School of Communications.

“I'm paying honor to him because he was committed to telling the story of African-Americans through his journalism and teaching,” Clarke says. “Now, I feel I have the responsibility to make sure this information that helps reveal the complete picture of U.S. history is captured and distributed.”

The NVLP—which was cofounded by producer and educator Camille Cosby and journalist Renee Poussaint—records African-American elders speaking of their childhoods, education, struggles, and achievements and preserves these videos in the nonprofit's repository. The organization has completed 250 interviews so far with acclaimed leaders such as Maya Angelou, John Hope Franklin, Quincy Jones, and Coretta Scott King.

“The stories are firsthand, and they are very in-depth,” says Clarke, who notes that interviews last anywhere from 2 hours to 7 hours. “They have so much to tell and are very excited to share their stories.”

Related Links

Shoot Tools: Sony HXR-MC1 The latest low-power CMOS chips and solid-state storage offer flexibility to camera designers. Case in point: Sony's HXR-MC1. The compact point-of-view... Shoot Tools: Arri camcorder accessories Anyone searching for quality camcorder accessories such as matte boxes will want to check out the new line of gear from Arri the storied Munich manufacturer... Shoot Review: Sony PMW-EX3 It''s virtually unprecedented for a manufacturer to release a follow-up product hard on the heels of the original, which highlights the fact that the Sony PMW-EX3, despite a successive product number, is not a successor to the PMW-EX1 but rather its matched complement....

The NVLP has donated the original camera masters from 75 interviews to the Library of Congress, and Clarke says the organization is working on preparing more for submission. Interviews with national visionaries are captured using Sony DSR-500 and DXC-D130 DVCAM cameras. NVLP Fellows use a variety of cameras, including Sony and Canon digital camcorders. All interviews are edited in Apple Final Cut Pro and made available on the NVLP's website.

For Clarke, this is all part of a much-needed intergenerational conversation between young present-day leaders and those who have gone before them. Clarke says she hopes that upcoming projects, such as a documentary about how African-American pioneers helped prepare the road for Barack Obama's historic win, will add to this discussion.

“This [archive] gives us the chance to highlight the first, the brave, and the courageous who laid the yellow brick road in order for him to get to that Emerald City,” she says.

For more information about the NVLP, visit www.visionaryproject.org.