The Great Migration profoundly enriched the cultural and civic tapestry of Philadelphia, but the institutions built by Black migrants to Philadelphia do not receive the city wide attention that they deserve. Scribe Video Center is a community based multimedia school that teaches communities to tell their own stories. The Free Library and Scribe proved to be ideal partners to connect communities across the city to local history and documentary art forms.

The Central Library hosted opening and closing screenings which prominently featured films that Scribe commissioned from prominent artists, including Julie Dash. The neighborhood libraries hosted screenings of short documentaries on neighborhood institutions built by the Great Migration. In every case, scholars and film makers led community discussions of both the history of the institutions, as well as the art and technique of film making.

We connected hundreds of Philadelphians to their unique local history as well as opportunities for art education, and have nurtured the connections to build future cultural and educational programs with the Scribe Video Center.