We give voice to American Stories that Matter.
Stories that advance equity and foster healing.
ShedLight is dedicated to lifting the voices of unheard Americans. Their stories give us all insight into each of their lives, hopes and dreams allowing us to see each others’ strengths and learn from them.
A process that promotes cultural truth telling
As qualitative researchers, we know that individual conversations allow us to get beyond stereotypes and learn important lessons about the storyteller, their culture and personal history.
History allows us to learn from other’s experiences, strengths and struggles, giving each of us a broader context for our lives and allowing us to make new connections and learn new ways to solve problems..
Recognition of the powerful role of history
Current Project:
Music and the Message:
The Legacy of Black Radio, DJs, and Cultural Power in Charleston
This project is being planned for 2027. We will document how Charleston’s Black radio station WPAL used music, news, conversation, and community connections to strengthen Black resistance, economic power, and civic engagement during the Civil Rights and Black Power eras. Our findings will connect this history to today’s media landscape, creating an oral history resource and video archive that will be preserved at Avery for future generations.
Current Project:
Information Wanted: Reuniting American Families
From our perspective, this film embodies the mission we champion at ShedLight: amplifying stories that advance equity, foster healing, and promote cultural truth-telling. Your rigorous research, compelling storytelling, and commitment to ethical integrity inspire confidence in the profound impact this film will have on diverse audiences, including educators, faith communities, museums, and the broader public. Learn more about our part in this process.
Video Archive:
Middle Class Dreams, Working Poor Reality
Americans have always worked hard so that the next generation can have a better life than the last. Economically, this has gotten harder and harder: education is no longer a guarantee of success and home ownership is no longer an expectation. Check out this video and others, along with videos capturing our annual StorySlams.
“ There's so much heat and so little light that people think to themselves, why should I bother?
So our task…is to say, okay, this is why it counts..”
— Gwen Ifill, 10/11/2011, in a conversation with NPR Wisconsin.