Name: Sumter County Voices: Revisiting a Historic Singing Community
Start: 2026-02-18T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2026-02-18T19:30:00-06:00
Location: High Dive Bham

Sumter County Voices: Revisiting a Historic Singing Community

Join authors Phyllis Biffle Elmore (Quilt of Souls) and Burgin Mathews (Magic City) for a discussion of Sumter County, Alabama's rich and historic Black musical legacies. Elmore will share personal memories of both legendary and almost-forgotten singers from the community that raised her. Archival recordings of those singers -- including Vera Hall, Dock Reed, Rich Amerson, and Elmore's aunt Annie Grace Horn Downson -- will be interspersed throughout.
Admission is free. Food and drink are available for purchase in the beautiful new High Dive Lounge.
This event is the third and final in a series of community conversations centered around Elmore's visit to Birmingham. Other events include a reading of Elmore's breathtaking memoir, Quilt of Souls (Hoover Public Library, 2/17, 6 PM) and a quilt-and-story sharing circle (2/18, 10 AM, at the United Community Center / Riley Center). Find out more at southernmusicresearch.org/events.
Enormous thanks to the Alabama Humanities Alliance for their grant support of this series.
About Quilt of Souls:
At age four, Phyllis Biffle Elmore was brought from her home in Detroit to the tiny town of Livingston, Alabama, to be raised by her grandmother, Lula Horn. Lonely and confused, she felt utterly abandoned until Grandma Lula enveloped her in all-encompassing love and a beautiful quilt. Phyllis listened intently to Lula’s epic stories of folks who had passed on and watched as her grandmother turned their clothing into breathtaking “quilts of souls” for their families.
Grandma Lula’s generosity of spirit, strong will, and creative soul animate every page of this marvelous memoir, which, like her quilts, paints portraits of extraordinary black women born before and after the Civil War—enslaved people, laundresses, storytellers, healers, and quilters whose stories have gone untold until now. Weaving back and forth in time, Phyllis stitches together true tales of racism, sexism, and colorism, but also strength and pride, creating a multigenerational patchwork honoring her family and ancestors. With significant history and mesmerizing storytelling, Quilt of Souls transforms oral tradition into a beautifully written document, powerfully presented and preserved for posterity.
Note: This project is supported by a grant award from the Alabama Humanities Alliance. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this series do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance.