“For the Sake of Old Times”
Presented in association with NPR
Should 2020 be forgotten?
As always, the first moments of the upcoming new year will be spent singing “Auld Lang Syne,” which opens by asking how one should respond to memories of the past: to remember or erase?
Folks will soon gather to celebrate, many in surgical masks, eager to leave this year behind with a song whose melody is known more than its meaning. But then what? Where does the collective trauma of 2020 go, despite the optimism that better days are magically ahead?
It’s in this historic moment of reckoning with the past that we measure the weight of our journey together. And in Birmingham, Alabama, a place that dismantled its Confederate monument this summer, a group of Black community singers reimagine “Auld Lang Syne.” The traditional Scottish poem, usually associated with booze and beads, is paired with archival imagery from the year and recorded in a church that refused to seat any Black visitors during the city’s Civil Rights Movement.
Now, in a strange New Year’s season of quiet refrain, the song honors a time of progress and struggle that deserves to not be forgotten any time soon.
To preserve these memories with a cup of kindness.
We two have run about the hills,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
Since auld lang syne
About the Singers
This group of local singers are performing together for the first time, coordinated by Carrie Davis. Because of COVID-19, rehearsals were not possible, so it was recorded live on site spaced throughout the sanctuary. The first two singers featured are Jaxon, age 11, and his mother, Ebonee. The oldest singer, Eloise Ford Gaffney, was a voting rights activist and freedom song performer during the Civil Rights movement who was jailed for protesting in Gadsden, Alabama. Two of her classmates, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, died in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham.
About the Location
South Avondale Baptist Church is located in Birmingham, Alabama and was built in 1914, later closing in 2000. During the city’s Civil Rights movement, its white board of deacons “issued a letter saying that they would not seat African Americans attempting to attend services at the church” (Bhamwiki), so the film features each singer seated as a subtle reference to this history. The location is a few miles east of downtown where the city removed its public monument to the confederacy in June, which is shown being dissembled by crane in the film. Archival footage depicts other nearby southern cities, including Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.
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Singers
Allison Sanders
Carrie Davis
Ta Misa Booker
Fatima Battles
Meredith Pearson
Jill Gray
Jamise French
Justin Davis
Eloise Gaffney
Ebonee Elliot
Jaxon Moore
Meliah Capers
Julianne Chaney
Lori Rayne
Ingrid Richardson
Wisdom Bibbs
Alton Mitchell
Ron Alexander
Production
Tyler Jones, Director and Editor
Mark Slagle, Producer
Sean Patrick Kirby, Director of Photography
Alexandra K. Kirby, Production Coordinator
Jay Galloway, 1st AC
C. A. Jones, 2nd AC
Jon Champion, Gaffer
Mike Falco, Key Grip
Matthew Henton, Grip Assistant
Kayla Gladney, 1st AD
Carrie Davis, Choir Director
Thi R. Denerson, Production Assistant
Corey Scogin, Audio Engineer
Nateka Scogin, Recording Assistant
Andi Rice, Photographer
Caleb Chancey, Music Supervisor
Abigail Workman, Musical Coordinator
Jocelyn Zhou, Archival Coordinator
Joel Blount, Mix Engineer
Archival
C. A. Jones
LionArt Media
Kevin Henderson/Live Storms Media, LLC
Sliced Bread/shutterstock
Impetus Photo/shutterstock
Kelly Lacy/makebeautiful.co
Special Thanks
James Kling
DeWinn Tibbs
Dr. Reginald Jackson
Nick Michael