[COMPLETE] HIST The Black Experience in America, Vol 1 - rg

[BellonaTimes]

The Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century by Various (Varies - ) .

This project is now available for download! All audio files can be found at http://archive.org/details/blackexperienceamerica_1308_librivox
When the new catalogue is online, the catalogue page for this project will be http://librivox.org/black-experience-in-america-vol-1/

This is not the copyrighted work by Norman Coombs currently on Project Gutenberg but a collection of non-fiction, fiction, poetry, drama, and speeches found on PG that are by or about African Americans. Subjects range from late 18th Century epistlatory conversations between black Baptist preachers to 1930's testimony by ex-slaves. (Summary by BellonaTimes)

Volunteers outside the USA: Please check authors' death dates in this post. Some of their work is still protected by copyright in places, like Europe, where copyright is author's death plus 70 years, and Australia (author's death plus 70 years for authors who died after 1955). Note: if you live in a country which observes the Rule of the Shorter Term, you will be legally allowed to record works by US authors even if their death date is later.

1. How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here
   To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you'd like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
2. New to recording?
   Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
3. Is there a deadline? Deadline is (ideally) January 14 2013 (the day before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday). However, I'm open to this taking up to a year to record.
   We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.
   Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
4. Where do I find the text?
   Source text (please only read from this text!): http://archive.org/details/BlackExperienceInAmerica_Vol1
5. Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)!
   If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
   
   Prospective Prooflisteners: Please read the Listeners Wanted FAQ before listening! Level of prooflistening requested: standard
   
   Please don't download files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
   

   Magic Window:

   
   
   BC Admin
   Genres for the project:
   essay-short-nonfiction, history, literature, memoirs, play, poetry
   
   Keywords that describe the book:
   black history, America, slavery
6. BEFORE recording:
   Please check the Recording Notes:
   http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
   
   Set your recording software to:
   
   Channels: 1 (Mono)
   Bit Rate: 128 kbps
   Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
7. DURING recording:
   Please leave no more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of your recording!
   
   Make sure you add this to the beginning and end of your recording:
   Start of recording (Intro)
   • "Section [number] of Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century. - This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
   • If you wish, say:
     "Recording by [your name]"
   • Say:
     " Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century , by Various . [Section]"
   
   End of recording
   • At the end of the section, say:
     "End of [Section]"
   • If you wish, say:
     "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
   • At the end of the book, say (in addition):
     "End of Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century , by Various . "
   
   Please leave 5 seconds silence at the end of your recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes!
   
   Also, please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
8. AFTER recording:
   Need noise-cleaning?
   Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The new (free) version 1.3.3. of Audacity (Mac/Win) has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.
   
   Save files as
   128 kbps MP3
   blackexpamericavol1_##_.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is your section number. (e.g. blackexpamericavol1_01_.mp3)
   
   ID3 V2 tags
   (To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/What_is_ID3)
   Add the following tags to your .mp3 file (how you do this depends on which software you use – if you are unsure about ID3 tags, send me a message). Please mind upper and lower case!
   
   Title: ## - [Section title & Author]
   Artist: Various
   Album: Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century
   
   Please ignore tags for Genre and Track Number - these will be filled in automatically at the cataloguing stage.
   
   Transfer of files (completed recordings)
   Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file.
   Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
   • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader:
     http://dev.librivox.org/login/uploader
     
     (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
   • You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: ruthieg - RuthieG
   • When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
   • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.

Any questions?
Please post below or PM me.

[BellonaTimes]

Here are the sections; there are three poems that I want to appear at the beginning, middle, and end; ditto the ex-slave testimony:

22 Sections
Death of Charles, by Ida B. Wells-Barnett
3 Poems by James Weldon Johnson (Fifty Years, 'Lazy', & Nobody's Lookin' But De Owl and De Moon)
Lawing and Jawing, by Zora Neale Hurston
Here Comes A Young Man Courting, by Thomas W Talley
Reporting, by Henry Ossian Flipper
Personal Liberty Laws, by Marion Gleason McDougall
Where The Negro Lives, by Mary White Ovington and Franz Boas
3 Interviews with Ex-Slaves, by Works Projects Administration (James Bolton, Pierce Cody, and Minnie Davis)
Your Negro Neighbor, by Benjamin Brawley
Excerpt from The Future of the American Negro, by Booker T. Washington
The Ku Klux Klan, by Eyre Damer
Of The Meaning of Progress, by W.E.B. Du Bois --- as read by BellonaTimes
Sketches of the Black Baptist Church, by Various
The Passing Tradition and The African Civilization, by Monroe N. Work
The Praline Woman, by Alice Dunbar
Hot Foot Hannibal, by Charles W. Chesnutt
A Plea For Industrial Opportunity, by Fanny Jackson Coppin
The Sunday School and Church..., by D. Webster Davis, D.D.

The links are in the PDF file, but I'd like readers to include them along with mp3 and length, author name and dates of birth and death where available as usual. I'm planning to record the article by Du Bois.

[Availle]

Nice idea!

BT, could you please provide death dates for the authors? It makes it easier for us non-US MC's to see if we can pick up the project Also, you will need this info for any non-US readers in any case...

[RuthieG]

I will MC this if you will provide the author's dates as Availle mentioned. I imagine that they are mostly American writers, so it should be OK for me under the Rule of the Shorter Term anyway.

Ruth

[BellonaTimes]

Thanks, Ruthie.

Here are some of the major names:

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915)
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 - August 27, 1963)
Monroe Nathan Work (1866–1945),
Fanny Jackson Coppin (October 15, 1837 – January 21, 1913)
Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar Nelson (July 19, 1875 – September 18, 1935)
Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960)
Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 17, 1932)
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931)
Mary White Ovington (April 11, 1865 – July 15, 1951) - co-founder of the NAACP
Henry Ossian Flipper (21 March 1856 – 3 May 1940)
Franz Boas; July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942
Benjamin Griffith Brawley (April 22, 1882 - February 1, 1939)
Damer, Eyre, 1854-?
Davis, Daniel Webster(1862–1913)
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)
Thomas W. Talley died on July 14, 1952

I couldn't find the other writers.

Not sure about the ex-slaves, but I doubt they survived ala Miss Jane Pittman into the 1960's. James Bolton, 85 year old mulatto ex-slave. in 1930's, ditto Minnie Davis, Age 78. Would we have to include the WPA volunteers also?

Availle, I had you and a few others in mind when I put this together.

[RuthieG]

Magic Window is up, BT. We don't need dates for the ex-slaves, or the authors mentioned in those articles, as this was a US Government publication, and it would have been a work for hire. I have put the author down as 'United States. Work Projects Administration'.

Ruth

[Availle]

I would love to see the Ida B. Wells piece (any of her books, actually) in the catalog, but unfortunately (?) I cannot stomach reading this myself...

I would like to inform myself a bit more about the Ku Klux Klan though - but please somebody provide me with a pronunciation of the title before I start recording...

[BellonaTimes]

It's pronounced Koo Klucks Klan. Accent word doesn't matter, some accent the first word, others the second.

and sadly, they are still around.

Note: I've changed the intro verbiage to Section instead of Chapter, and request title of work and author's name after the disclaimer and before the reading.

I'm thinking that the mp3 title could be shorter also, like blackexpamericavol1 to reflect the project name. Thanks.

[BellonaTimes]

MW is updated with titles and places saved for Ava and I.


Oh, btw -- the play by Ms Hurston can be read solo or as a group. I would prefer that it be performed solo for this project, if you think you can handle the different character voices.

[gloriana]

Could I read "Fifty Years" by James Weldon Johnson and "Ex-Slave Minnie Davis"?

[RuthieG]

I'm thinking that the mp3 title could be shorter also, like blackexpamericavol1 to reflect the project name. Thanks.

You are quite right, BT. I should have noticed that. Changed in your OP.

I will move this off into Readers Wanted soon, as no DPL has materialised. It will be a good idea to advertise in Listeners Wanted when there are a few sections recorded.

Ruth

[chocoholic]

I would like to read section 11, "Nobody's Lookin' But De Owl and De Moon," please. Also if it is not too greedy of me to scoop up the short poems, I'd like 21, "Lazy."

[chocoholic]

BT, I hope it's OK to proceed, I had time tonight so here are those two poems:

http://upload.librivox.org/share/uploads/rg/blackexpamericavol1_11.mp3
1:33

http://upload.librivox.org/share/uploads/rg/blackexpamericavol1_21.mp3
1:42

I have a confession. I read the intro differently than it's written in a couple of places. I left off the first "18th-20th Century" and omitted the "by various" (since I was saying the section author's name right after that). I was not sure if the intro in the first post was automatically generated or if you had written it that way on purpose. I will be very happy to go back and add in those missing bits if you want me to.

[Snapdragon]

Offering to do Section 3.

[BellonaTimes]

Could I read "Fifty Years" by James Weldon Johnson and "Ex-Slave Minnie Davis"?

MW updated, thanks.

(I pm'd Snapdragon about Section 3)