VHS videotapes of The Alabama Experience programs may be purchased for $21.00 each with Master Card, Visa, or Discover by calling 1-800-463-8825. Please specify program title when ordering.

The Amazing Story of Kudzu
There's so much of this fast-growing vine in the Southeastern U.S., you might think it was a native plant. Actually, it has taken a lot of hard work to help kudzu spread so widely. Now that it covers over seven million acres of the deep South, many people consider it a pest, but kudzu is used in ways which might surprise you. An online press release is available.
Producer: Max Shores

Dance of Identity: The Choreography of Dyann Robinson
The director of the Tuskegee Repertory Theater was an original cast member of "Bubblin' Brown Sugar" and taught dance at Howard University, Brandeis, Boston University, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. But Dyann Robinson came home to Alabama to bring classical arts to rural Macon county. This program shows the challenges she's faced and includes several dance performances by her. On line study guide available.
Producer: Dwight Cammeron

Every Time I Feel The Spirit
Remembering the late William Dawson, a professor of music at Tuskegee University, who is regarded as one of America's foremost black composers. This program features some of Dawson's traditional arrangements, performed by the Tuskegee Singers.
Producer: Dwight Cammeron

"FA-S0L-LA-MI": The Sounds of Faith
Shaped-note singing by blacks in southeast Alabama, a unique and distinctive style of traditional music that may be lost with the passing of this generation. Singers tell how they learned the unusual music and why it’s important to them.
Producer: Dwight Cammeron

Gather Unto Thy People
In the rural South, summer means a season of church fellowships. City-dwellers return to country cemeteries to remember their ancestors; generations of families swap stories over "dinner on the ground." Decoration Days and Homecomings are uniquely Southern traditions, and Alabama is one of the last places they're faithfully practiced. On line study guide available.
Producer: Shannon Livingston

The Ghosts of Selma
"History Lives in Selma," says a local Chamber of Commerce brochure, and some folks there say they have seen people from Selma's history come alive in the form of ghosts. Hear the stories of ruined banker John Parkman who opens doors at Sturdivant Hall; Miz Eliza, who greets guests at Grace Hall Bed and Breakfast; and Jeffery, who haunts Kathryn Tucker Windham, a Selma resident and author of ghost stories.
Producer: Max Shores

Jerry McCain's True Blues
For half a century, songwriter and harmonica virtuoso Jerry Boogie McCain has been singing the Alabama blues, blending humor, romance, social commentary and personal world view. McCain's lack of commercial success reflects the all too common exploitation of African American musicians by the music industry. Yet at age 64 his energy and enthusiasm remain undampened, shining through irresistibly in Jerry McCain's True Blues.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

Lift Every Voice and Sing
The Stillman College Choir continues the long tradition of touring choirs at the nation's historically black colleges and universities. It may be one of the best ensembles of its kind in the nation. Hear this acclaimed choir in concert and meet its dynamic conductor, James Arthur Williams.
Producer: Brent Davis

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Second Version) 26:40
This program does not include the interview with James Arthur Williams but does have two more songs than the original version. It was produced for broadcast outside of Alabama.
Producer: Brent Davis

A Message from Margaret
Tommie Stewart performs a one-woman play that examines being black, a woman, and living in the South. Ms. Stewart starred as Aunt Etta Kibbee in "In the Heat of the Night" and is chairperson of Alabama State University's Theatre and Dramatic Arts Department. The material for this television play is taken from the writings of Alabama native Margaret Walker Alexander.
Producer: Delores Chestnut

Miller's Pottery -- Turning For Generations
The Miller family has been making pottery in Alabama since the end of the Civil War. They supplied much-needed churns, jugs, and pots to customers of the past, and now their products appeal to collectors of folk art. Follow Eric Miller and his son Steve through the process of making Southern Stoneware, from digging the clay to firing the kiln in Brent, AL.
Producer: Max Shores

No Detours in Heaven
The Sullivan Family of St. Stephens, Ala., has been playing old-fashioned string band and bluegrass music for half a century. These self-described "country people" see their music not simply as entertainment or art, but as a ministry, one started by the Pentecostal preacher Arthur Sullivan, who mobilized his siblings and children to provide music at revivals and brush arbor churches he pastored in the 40s. Though today the Sullivans play at major festivals, their repertoire still contains only gospel messages -- no "worldly" songs. "No Detours In Heaven" explores the cultural values embodied by the family's music and lifestyle.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

The People
Conversations with Native Americans who are dedicated to learning about and preserving the histories, arts, and spirituality that are essential to their heritage. Those featured belong to the Cherokee, Creek, Shawnee, and Choctaw tribes. The interviews were recorded at the 1993 Native American Festival in Moundville and the Southeastern Native American Celebration at the Red Mountain Museum in Birmingham.
Producer: George Smith

Prescribed By Nature
Herbal remedies are the world's oldest and most widely used method of treating illness, with 80% of the world's population relying on them. Yet as interest blossoms, a debate about the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicine also grows. In Prescribed by Nature, several Alabama herbalists describe their experience with medicinal plant use and voice their opinions in the debate over regulation. Doctors, scientists, and public health officials also weigh in on the controversy.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

The Sounds of a Southern Christmas
Celebrate the season with music that's found here and nowhere else. Includes spirituals, shaped-note singing, an Appalachian ballad, a slave shout song, string band music, and an urban a cappella quartet. An online press release is available.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

Still Holding On: The Music of Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes
Birmingham's Dorothy Love Coates is a vibrant performer and prolific composer who played a major role in shaping contemporary African American sacred music and worship services. During her 50-year career she wrote and published over 300 songs, recorded 20 albums, and her music has been recorded by musicians, including Mahalia Jackson, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, The Blackwood Brothers, Rev. James Cleveland, Buddy Rich, and the Statesmen Quartet. The Rolling Stone Record Guide called her "one of the great writers of gospel's golden era." This program shows how her singular, assertive, shouting style perfectly accompanied by the Original Gospel Harmonettes influenced and inspired generations of sacred and secular musicians. (Please note: Videotapes of this program are not available for sale.  For more information about the program, contact the producer: dcammeron@cpt.ua.edu.)
Producer: Dwight Cammeron