King Studios Nonprofit

King Studio’s mission is to celebrate and educate the public about King Records' role in American history, specifically the history of post-World War II Evanston, Ohio.

 
 

Our Mission

King Studio’s mission is to celebrate and educate the public about King Records' role in American history, specifically the history of post-World War II Evanston, Ohio. King Records was the birthplace of racially inclusive Rock & Roll and a place with a diverse and integrated in-house business model that served as a recording studio, production house, and record distribution center.

We aim to:

  • Leverage King Studios assets for community programming

  • Offer opportunities for youth to participate in the organization’s leadership as well as artistic programming, learn public speaking skills, and understand ways to successfully advance their education.

  • Collect oral histories with Evanston community elders documenting the history of the neighborhood and King Records.   

  • Collaborate with the Evanston Community Council, Urbanist Media, and other community organizations and initiatives.

 

King Studios supports the work of the King Legacy Committee, which is focused on the King Records Building on Brewster Avenue.

Board Members

Christine Anderson (President): Xavier University History Department (Retired)

Tim Riordan (Secretary): Volunteer Consultant, Dayton City Manager (Retired)

Karim Tiro (Treasurer): Xavier University History Department

Sean Rhiney: Xavier University Government Relations Director

Beverley Lamb: Director Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Adult Public Programming Director Cincinnati Art Museum (Retired)

Deqah Hussen Wetzel: Columbia University PhD candidate, Historic Preservation, Founder Urbanist Media NonProfit

Mich Nyawalo: Xavier University Race, Intersectionality, Gender & Sociology (Chair)

Pamela Smith: St. Ursula Academy Social Studies (Retired)

Jason Snell: SnellBeast Art & Design (Founder, Director)

Russell Hairston: Executive Director, Avondale Development Corporation

Paul Colella, Xavier University Philosophy Department (Retired), Blues musician

Diamond Crowder, Survey & National Register Mgr. Ohio Historic Preservation Off.

Recording Music & Recording History

An after-school program presented by King Studios

“Recording Music and Recording History” will be a weekly after-school program meeting in two Evanston schools, Academy of World Languages and Walnut Hills High School, from August to December 2024. It will leverage the legacy of the iconic King Records Company that operated in Evanston from 1943 to 1971 to encourage young people to reclaim local history and acquire skills in arts and academics. Two reasons that academic subjects fail to attract a robust audience among young people are: (1) Youth do not see the practical value of skills. (2) Middle and high school students cannot connect academic subjects with their own lives. Rather than approach arts, history, and culture as impersonal, prescribed learning outcomes, this program will empower participants by offering them opportunities to investigate how people like themselves were historical actors and by showing them ways they can use academic skills. 

Participants will learn how to create a compelling narrative, how to communicate effectively orally and in writing, as well as how to conduct oral history interviews and how to create a website and a podcast. They will conduct oral histories with elders in the neighborhood, and videos of the oral histories will be permanently saved as part of the Cincinnati Public Library’s digital history collection. At the end of the project, participants will collaborate to create a polished podcast to be placed on the Urbanist Media website. 

King Studios has received a grant of $17, 500 from Ohio Humanities for “Recording Music and Recording History.” We also received $1,950 from the W.E. Smith Family Foundation to pay a Xavier University intern to support the program. Fall after-school workshops (August-December 2024) will be conducted at the Academy of World Languages and Walnut Hills High School.