Courtesy of UnHeardOf STL
Most St. Louisans are familiar with the Greensboro Four, who organized lunch counter sit-ins at a Woolworth department store in North Carolina to protest racial segregation in 1960. But how many know that more than 15 years prior, there were lunch counter sit-ins right here in St. Louis?
And while women's suffrage activist Susan B. Anthony is a well-known figure, how many St. Louisans have heard of Virginia Minor, who sued for her right to vote after fruitlessly trying to register in what's now the Old Courthouse?
UnHeardOf STL will tell these stories and eight other historic tales in a cinematic audio experience set to launch June 1. Headed by audio artist Adam Frick-Verdine and produced by Sonic Stories, the project features a free interactive map of downtown St. Louis hosted on its website—visitors can click on a part of the map to hear five-minute stories that took place in that location.
The pilot project covers a diverse range of topics, cultures, activists, and people, and include Native American stories, LGBTQ stories, women's rights, black history, and civil rights, all told with a fresh lens and sourced with the help of local historians, experts, and in some cases the characters in the stories themselves. Right now, listeners can find a teaser on UnHeardOf STL's website to get a taste of what's to come; in “The Legend of Stagger Lee,” a voice actor playing Lee shares his perspective of what happened the night he shot a man who stole his Stetson hat—“I did exactly what you would've done”—inspiring a folk song that has been recorded more than 400 times.
“Increasingly I think it becomes important for us to tell stories that contextualize where the city is right now,” Frick-Verdine said. “Even though you may look at problems here, and certainly there are, there's history to be proud of too and understand what people have done here.”
Aside from local historians and interviewees, Frick-Verdine enlisted the help of local illustrator Dan Zettwoch and nearly 50 artists, actors, and writers to create a more immersive audio-visual experience than what one might expect from a typical documentary-style podcast. The project was partly funded by the Regional Arts Council, and in partnership with the St. Louis Public Library, KDHX, and STL Style.
Frick-Verdine has more than 20 years of experience in sound design, including an award-winning podcast, 2018 Miller Audio Prize comedy project winner Book Club. Aside from working with projects under his own company Hugmonster Sound and local podcasting network STL Vernacular, he conceived of UnHeardOf STL as a way to give residents and visitors another way of engaging with the downtown area.
“Sound is just a really powerful way to tell stories like this,” he said. “On the one hand, consumers are used to getting entertainment and education through audio thanks to the exposure of podcasts, and at the same time hearing a story can be a really powerful way to create empathy and give people a deeper understanding of a story.”
Downtown residents can expect to see the UnHeardOf STL crew spreading the word on their debut date in spots where stories take place. Until then, the team is aiming to raise $2,500 on Kickstarter to help fund the project and “help give some of those writers a little bonus and thanks for the time they put in.” Supporters will get access to perks ranging from stickers and T-shirts to prints featuring Zettwoch's illustrations. They can pick up their awards at a celebration party at STL Style on June 6.
Already hooked? Listeners might be able to expect an expanded map and more stories relating to other parts of the city in the near future. “Any one of these 10 could be the first point in another map of its own,” Frick-Verdine said. “The goal is to make a big splash and to be able to keep telling stories, as many as there are to be told.”
For more information or updates, visit their website or Instagram at @unheardofstl.