By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jo Jo and Dave Nelson, founders of the Community School, spoke of the challenges parents face with an autistic child. Dr. William Lynn Weaver, a professor of surgery at the Morehouse School of Medicine, recalled the loving bond he shared with his father. And Kathy Anemogiannis asked Kong Ko, owner of Little Szechuan restaurant on Buford Highway, to share his experiences as a Chinese immigrant to Atlanta.

They’re among the more than 50,000 Americans who have recorded discussions of their lives for StoryCorps, a nonprofit effort founded in 2003 to document the stories of regular people. The Nelsons, Anemogiannis and Ko recently sat for interviews in Atlanta as part of a new initiative to capture Southern voices.

In late October, a StoryCorps “StoryBooth” was installed at Atlanta’s public radio station WABE, the nonprofit’s partner in the quest to document tales from the South. The small, black sound studio will remain in Atlanta for at least one year, organizers said.

“Atlanta has a huge appetite for storytelling. It’s part of our Southern tradition,” said Anemogiannis, who worked to bring the project to the area.

John Weatherford, WABE’s general manager, says the location is ideal for the venture and may bring in people from across the Southeast and beyond with a vast range of backgrounds. He was first turned on to the idea of bringing a StoryCorps booth to the region when the nonprofit launched the Griot Initiative aimed at preserving African-American history in 2007. (This year StoryCorps launched Historias, a project to document Hispanic voices.)

“At that time I thought — where better [to have a StoryBooth] than the seat of civil rights — Atlanta?” Weatherford said.

Until now, people in the Southeast had recorded their stories in other cities or when mobile booths have passed through. Now they can sit for an interview every Thursday and Saturday upon making a reservation.

Weaver of Atlanta recorded his story with daughter, Kimberly, in 2007 as part of the Griot Initiative. In their 40-minute interview, Weaver tells his daughter about his father, Thurman Stanley Weaver Sr.

“I did it so that my grandchildren, who didn’t know my father, would have an opportunity to hear about my father and my life,” said Weaver, former chair of the department of surgery at Morehouse. “My grandfather told me that if I could be half the man my father was, I’d be one hell of a man.”

Weaver said he was inundated with calls, e-mails and letters from family and friends, even those with whom he had lost touch. People resonated with his positive story about his father’s love. The experience has even motivated Weaver to write down his memories in a book, such as the time his father stayed awake until 4 a.m. learning Algebra so that he could help his son with homework.

“I think it touched a chord, and that’s why it’s been so powerful for me,” he said.

Jo Jo and Dave Nelson recently sat in the Atlanta StoryBooth and remembered the years before their son, Graham, was diagnosed with autism. They spoke of feeling isolated and alone, the regret they feel in not figuring out what was wrong sooner, and of their marital struggles. Their story and others will be edited by a WABE staffer and played on Tuesdays, beginning Nov. 17, during WABE’s City Cafe program. All StoryCorps recordings are archived at the U.S. Library of Congress.

“It’s a way of finding comfort and acceptance in something that happened to us,” Jo Jo Nelson said upon leaving the booth.

Adds Dave: “Creating the narrative helps you make sense of something.”

To reserve a booth

Atlanta reservations are open now through Dec. 31.
Additional reservation slots will be available at 10 a.m. on the first day of every month. StoryBooth hours are subject to change, but are currently scheduled for Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 1-800-850-4406 or online at www.storycorps.org .