Friendship, family and faith in Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple'
Alice Walker's The Color Purple won...
Author Rachelle Chase shares the history of Buxton, Iowa in the Telling Our Own Stories: Black History. The Black History segment, produced by Professor Venise Berry and filmmaker Steve Berry, a brother and sister team, is part of a four-part series on Iowa PBS.
In September 2023, this documentary was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Author Rachelle Chase shares why Buxton, Iowa is relevant today in this segment slated to appear in the documentary "The African American Midwest" currently in development. As stated in “The 1539 Project: Why Black Midwest and Iowa history matters,” producers of “The African American Midwest” hope to show that the Midwest is not only America’s geographic heartland — it is the beating heart of African American history.
In this hour-long special on Buxton, Iowa produced by KYOU, Rachelle Chase provides the history of Buxton, Iowa. Rachelle also shared her research and provided sources to the producers.
Rachelle Chase interviewed family members of Jesse Cosby while viewing photographs they donated to Fortepan Iowa. Rachelle also assisted with production of the documentary by identifying interview responses to be included and providing script input and final edits. Rachelle also narrates the story of Jesse Cosby, sharing his family’s memories, along with the story of segregation in Iowa marked by redlining and limited job opportunities for Black Iowans.
This video, produced by Fortepan Iowa, highlights the life of a remarkable man named Jesse Cosby living in 1950s Waterloo, Iowa. As a Black janitor working at the “white only” Waterloo Recreation Center, Cosby set out to offer recreational activities, like golf, tennis, and square dancing for Black children in Waterloo. He also created two choirs that traveled to small, mostly white-populated towns across Iowa, bringing Black gospel and choral music to Iowans. Cosby also became a renowned square dance caller.