ASSIGNMENT: AAMI West End ATLMaps project
Description
During the annual trip to Selma Alabama for its Jubilee celebration, members of the African American Male Initiative decided to document this trip. Through social media and film, the young men were able to show Selma through their eyes. This first digital media project led to an intense interest in this form of communication. Armed with this new knowledge and interest, AAMI applied for the State Farm Youth Advisory Board’s grant to expand their work within this field. In the grant the group would create three documentaries – the history of their high school, Booker T. Washington High School, an inside look at their community – the West End and surrounding areas, and the contributions of African Americans throughout the Southeast as witnessed during the group’s travels.
The second documentary lent itself perfectly to the ATLmaps project as the members of AAMI identified a real and immediate need to define their community for themselves. The four current video vignettes document the current and historical significance of the West End and surrounding communities. Current locations include Mr. Everything, Fire Station No. 16, West End Mosque, and the Atlanta University Center.
Having created this film & media group, Brothers United, the young men will continue to add additional places of interest to this particular map. In this way the young men hope to provide an accurate representation of this Westside community that has for many years been misrepresented in the larger Atlanta community.
Following are the site videos that will be added to ATLmaps: