Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Rhondda Robinson Thomas
Committee Member
Dr. Cameron Bushnell
Committee Member
Dr. D’Ondre Swails
Committee Member
Dr. Todd Craig
Committee Member
Dr. James Pope
Abstract
This dissertation examines how storytelling, music, and film serve as vital tools for preserving Black history, promoting healing, and strengthening community identity in Clemson, South Carolina. Central to this study is the concept of the Neo Griot, a modern adaptation of the traditional West African griot. The griot served as a community historian and storyteller, preserving genealogies, oral traditions, and cultural memory. Building from this lineage, the Neo Griot in this project uses narrative, film, and sound to document, curate, and reinterpret Black life in Clemson, embodied by contemporary storytellers who utilize media such as social media platforms, hip hop, and filmmaking to amplify Black voices and cultural narratives. By intertwining personal storytelling, historical research, and cultural analysis, this project demonstrates how creative methodologies do more than recover marginalized histories. They reveal the emotional, cultural, and political stakes of these histories and show how reclaimed memory can function as a site of healing, agency, and community formation for Black residents and Black members of the Clemson University community. Drawing on narrative theory, cinema studies, and sound theory, the research sheds light on how engagement with familial memory addresses historical trauma and fosters collective resilience. Building on the work of scholars such as Banks (2011) and Diawara (1993), this study demonstrates how memory practices emerge within specific Black spaces. For example, moments such as the community gatherings at Curtis Circle or the ancestral reflections that arose during Woodland Cemetery tours serve as case studies, illustrating how Black families utilize narrative, image, and sound to reclaim histories that institutional archives overlook. Special attention is given to #BlackClemson, a multimedia digital archive and social media platform housed on Facebook and Instagram.
Although the hashtag #BlackClemson has been used informally to reference the presence of Black students and alums at Clemson University, the archive expands its meaning by foregrounding the histories of the city’s Black communities and by curating oral narratives, photographs, and film-based storytelling. These materials capture the experiences of Black residents in the city and Black students, staff, and faculty at the University, whose perspectives are often excluded from institutional representations and historical documentation. Their voices offer firsthand insight into the experiences of belonging, displacement, labor, and cultural resilience, providing context that official narratives often overlook. More than a repository, #BlackClemson serves as a scholarly method and a community practice that preserves, circulates, and honors the memories of those who have shaped Clemson across generations. This dual focus reflects the deep interconnection between the University and the surrounding city, where histories and cultural identities are often intertwined. By blending academic inquiry with artistic expression, this work illustrates how communities reclaim power through the stories they tell about themselves. When the lived experiences of Black residents, students, families, and workers in Clemson are documented through oral history, photography, and film, those narratives challenge institutional erasure and restore visibility. This process transforms memory into a tool for empowerment, healing, and community restoration.
Recommended Citation
Durham, Jaquial D., "#BlackClemson Neo Griot: Curating Sound Minds Through Storytelling, Cinema, & Hip Hop" (2026). All Dissertations. 4282.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4282
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1197-2206
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Black History Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Film Production Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Hip Hop Studies Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, Instructional Media Design Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Public History Commons, Rhetoric Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Media Commons, Sports Communication Commons, Visual Studies Commons