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Shepherd’s Student Center to host celebration of Storer College

By Staff | Feb 15, 2013

The Shepherd University Student Center will host a celebration of the history of Storer College on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Storer Ballroom. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Dr. Dawne Raines Burke, associate professor of education at Shepherd and author of “An American Phoenix: A History of Storer College from Slavery to Desegregation. ” A reception will follow the film and discussion. The event is open and free to the public.

The program will feature the Shepherdstown premiere of filmmaker Midge Flinn Yost’s documentary “Storer College: A Legacy of Light and Learning.” The film tells the story of Storer College from its founding in Harpers Ferry in 1867 as a school educating newly freed slaves through its closure in 1955.

Storer College, the first institution of higher learning in West Virginia open to African Americans, played a vital role in both education and social change.

The film features interviews with Storer College alumni and regional historians, and dramatic recreations staged with Jefferson County residents. Yost wrote, directed, and produced the film over seven years through her production company Fillmore Digital Media with the support of the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Yost was a producer for the Maryland Public Television’s documentary on the War of 1812 and a consultant producer for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s “Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student” educational media program. She served as a producer and editor on documentary films for Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first intercollegiate fraternity and sorority established by African Americans. Yost has collaborated on more than 400 videos and films spanning a 20-year career in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area. Her production company Fillmore Digital Media, LLC, develops documentaries and promotional media projects for broadcast, government, corporate, nonprofit, education and online clients.