Borrowing the old Black colloquialism meaning “ordinary” or “same old”, Drylongso: An Ode to the Southern Black Landscape is an acknowledgment and celebration of Black everyday life in the American South. This multi-generational collection of recorded phone conversations from Hackett’s family in rural Prospect, VA comprises a rich array of the under-recognized yet customary ways Black folks maintain and care for land, space, and people. Presented as an audiovisual collage, Drylongso asks what can be learned by documenting ordinary Black existence, as told in Black folks’ words.

While these conversations hail from families in rural Virginia—nearly 200 miles from Washington, DC—Drylongso invites you to discover your own personal connections to the stories’ underlying themes of family, identity, and perseverance.

Conversation with Claudette

curryhackett