William Henry Murphy, Sr., speaks on his 94 years of life to his great-grandson. Murphy reflects on childhood, civil rights activism, life in Memphis, migration to Detroit, his relationship with B.B. King, the Black Lives Matter movement, and much more.
Vhian Murphy
director of photography
Our grandfather was and is full of wisdom. This project has meant the world to me, because I never really spent time with him like I should have, and I feel like God got me with my cousins on purpose, so I could hear him speak and spend time with him and my grandma before they left to rest. I am beyond grateful for my cousins thinking about me and bringing me along in this journey. One thing about it is I’m always gone be his “Boogaloo”
Love you forever granddad! 💗
William Reese, III
producer, interviewer
My great-grandfather had an incredible photographic memory, even in his last days. He was an intellectual genius and I treasured every moment he spoke to me. We both shared a deep love of history and would often engage on issues related to the Civil War, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. Later, while working on my senior thesis at Wayne State University, I desired to discover more personal files of his civil rights activism while in Memphis. I remember vividly, I spent many days ringing up the cell phone of my great-grandmother to learn more of their civil rights activism. My great-grandparents informed me that most of their personal files, which consisted of newspapers, letters and photographs- were damaged in the flood of their basement at their old home in Detroit. It was then, when I became inspired to conduct an oral history documentary for our family and the future generations.
The taping would take place on August 9th during the 2020 pandemic. The conversation would happen just as any other conversation I would normally have with my great-grandfather. However, this time it would be recorded for the first time–for us to remember forever.
The film is for listeners to engage with a human being who took the worst of his situations and turned it into something constructive for the betterment of soul, self, and society.
