'Soul of a People' being shown at The Waterworks on May 1

Ty Hinton, St. Augustine Record
·2 min read
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A special free screening of "Soul of a People" will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at The Water Works, 184 San Marco Blvd.

"Soul of a People," presented by the St. Johns County Public Library System, St. Johns Cultural Council and the Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine, looks at the Federal Writers’ Project from 1935.

FWP was a program from the Works Progress Administration that was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 27, 1935. The program hired more than 6,000 unemployed writers to tell the story of America during the Great Depression.

This photograph, circa 1898, shows the Water Works building shortly after completion.
This photograph, circa 1898, shows the Water Works building shortly after completion.

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"Soul of a People" features writers including John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, Stetson Kennedy, Studs Terkel, Jim Thompson, Richard Wright, Anzia Yezierska and others. The film won the CINE Golden Eagle award in 2010.

Author Kennedy, who lived in St. Johns County for many years, was the last known surviving writer employed in the Project. Kennedy died in 2011 at 94.

The Federal Writers Project created American guides.
The Federal Writers Project created American guides.

The Federal Writers’ Project created the American Guides. The project recorded roughly 10,000 oral histories, including thousands of interviews with formerly enslaved people.

Before this screening, which is made possible through an agreement between the Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine and the producers of the film, speakers will take a look at WPA projects in St. Johns County.

The film was produced and directed by Andrea Kalin. Co-writers are Kalin, David A. Taylor and Olive Emma Bucklin. The Water Works, which was built in 1898 as a pumping station for the City of St. Augustine’s first water utility, is being leased to the St. Johns Cultural Council. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The program is free and seating will be limited. Refreshments will be provided. For information, call 904-827-6928 or email hgeorge@sjcfl.us.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: 'Soul of a People' screening free at The Waterworks on San Marco