Dear Bridge to Freedom Team,
As we bring the Bridge to Freedom Oral History Project to a close, I want to thank each of you for your diligence, support, and steady commitment to this work.
FunTimes Magazine launched the Oral History Diaspora Advisory Council on October 1, 2025, at the Nigeria Flag Raising Ceremony in Philadelphia. We chose that day and that setting with intent. Lincoln University, a few miles from the city, educated Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah, the student nationalists who returned home to lead Nigeria and Ghana to independence, and it shaped a generation of African students who carried the same fight to their own countries. The Council was formed to honor that lineage by recording the memories of the elders who live among us now, before those memories are lost. Seeing that purpose come to life through so many dedicated people has been deeply fulfilling.
My sincere appreciation goes to Professor Tiffany Davis, Professor Tiffany Pennamon, and Lori Danley of Lincoln University for their partnership and guidance throughout this initiative, and to Mr. David W. Brown, Dr. Diane Turner, Serkaddis Alemayehu, and the entire team at the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University for their archival expertise and collaboration. The Blockson Collection will house the interviews, and I can think of no better home for them.
To our outstanding student team, thank you for the professionalism, curiosity, and care you brought to every stage of this project. Our Student Interview Leads, Carrilee Bryan and Tamar Davis, both doctoral students, guided this effort from planning to execution. Gracina Ogebe, Teyanna Crump, and Avery Reed carried the research and preparation that allowed each interview to be conducted with the respect it deserved. You came to us from Temple University, Lincoln University, and American University in Washington, and each of you helped ensure these interviews reflected the significance of the lives entrusted to us.
Read also: Behind the Scenes of the Oral History Project
To our remarkable elders, Oliver St. Clair Franklin OBE, Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe, Hon. Gordon Linton, Dr. Elizabeth Soremekun, Carol Black, Esq., William Barber, and Dr. Dwight Murph, thank you for sharing your time, your experiences, and your testimonies. Seven full interviews now exist because you were willing to trust us with your memories. They form a historical record that will serve students, scholars, and communities long after these conversations end.
I also want to recognize Joi’ C. Weathers, whose leadership as Project Lead carried this initiative from concept to completion. She developed the operational framework, recruited and onboarded the student cohort, coordinated stakeholders, scheduled the interviews, managed logistics, and kept every moving piece on track.
None of this would have been possible without the organizations that stood behind the work. The Peoples Media Fund, through its Community Voices grant, provided the seed investment that allowed us to begin with the care this project deserved. The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Press Forward, The Pivot Fund, and Campaign for Working Families offered partnership, collaboration,
and continued support. Thank you for treating the memories of our elders as worth the investment. The recordings are now being processed. We will release them, along with accompanying articles, so that these testimonies enter public memory rather than remain in a vault. We are doing our part to preserve our heritage and honor those who came before us. That is something worth
celebrating.
Read also: Documenting the Diaspora: The Bridge of Freedom Launch at Mother Bethel
Dr. Eric John Nzeribe is the Publisher of FunTimes Magazine and has a demonstrated history of working in the publishing industry since 1992. His interests include using data to understand and solve social issues, narrative stories, digital marketing, community engagement, and online/print journalism features. Dr. Nzeribe is a social media and communication professional with certificates in Digital Media for Social Impact from the University of Pennsylvania, Digital Strategies for Business: Leading the Next-Generation Enterprise from Columbia University, and a Master of Science (MS) in Publication Management from Drexel University and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Temple University.
