Unveiling the Ancestors By Ann Hoffman
Welcome to “Unveiling the Ancestors,” a radio special that sheds light on who we are today by looking at WHO came before us. I’m your host, Anne Hoffman-Freedman. Throughout the next hour, we’ll explore five stories. Five stories that…you could say… act as a portal from our current reality…into the past. These stories come from a group of women who began as strangers. After weeks working together, supporting each other, asking important questions, and finally, returning to their normal lives… we all felt changed somehow.
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The end of the hours closes with a Short 5 minute Musical Tribute By Christina Aanestad.
From the pacifica radio archives….
Mary Elizabeth Bessie Jones born in 1902 was an African American gospel and folk singer
credited with helping to spread folk songs, games and stories that she learned from her
grandfather, a former slave born in Africa.
A founding member of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, Bessie Jones performed April 9, 1977 at
The legendary Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley California, and recorded by the
Women’s Recording Group of KPFA at Pacifica s flagship station, KPFA and was produced by
Martha Oelman and Joan Medlin. She died in 1984.
Her story is as interesting and incredible as our previous performer, Flora Molton. Here we have
the privilege of hearing a live concert
Flora Molton was a blind, singer and slide guitar play who performed on the streets of
Washington DC… singing what she called “Spiritual and truth music,” starting in 1937. She
travelled the world, and was featured in two documentaries. Born 1908, she passed way in
1984.
Flora Molton…
The interview is conducted by Natalie Reuss of Sophie’s Parlor Media Collective at WPFW our
Pacifica station in Washington D.C.