The Porch is a collaborative initiative between the Department of City Planning and the Department of Parks & Recreation to preserve Atlanta’s cultural history by collecting stories from senior citizens through workshops and oral recordings. The stories highlight how infrastructure projects, such as highway construction, divided and displaced Black communities. The collected stories will be presented as a public sound installation at City Hall.
The program, funded by an AARP Community Challenge grant, was developed in several phases. In September, professional storyteller Shannon M. Turner of StoryMuse led story creation workshops with seniors at local recreation centers. Appreciation events were held in October, during which participants recorded their Atlanta narratives with oral history archivists Nedra Deadwyler and Susan Coleman. A theatrical porch was created for the recording sessions, featuring a painted backdrop and rocking chairs to foster a welcoming atmosphere.
About the AARP Community Challenge Grant
AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. Now in its ninth year, the program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for all residents, especially those age 50 and older.