City Lore Inducts Frisner Augustin into Its People's Hall of Fame 19 November 1998
Channel: The Frisner Augustin Memorial Archive
Date: 27/07/2019

City Lore, an organization founded in 1986 by folklorist Dr. Steve Zeitlin to foster New York City’s living cultural heritage through education and public programs, established its People’s Hall of Fame, or PHOF (http://citylore.org/urban-culture/peoples-hall-of-fame/) in 1993. To date, sixty-four individuals or organizations representing diverse communities have received the award: an 18.4 cm-wide classic New York subway token sculpted in bronze and mounted on a Plexiglas base bearing the honoree’s name and mark of distinction. (Frisner’s reads, “Frisner Augustin, for artistry as a Haitian Vodou drummer.”) City Lore calls these trophies “Tokens of Esteem.” More importantly, however, the recipients receive a night of honor, with distinguished guests invited to present the awards. Artists from the honorees’ communities add to the acclaim with performances. A reception following the ceremony gives audience a chance to mingle with the honorees.

City Lore inducted Frisner Augustin into PHOF on Thursday, November 19, 1998. Besides Frisner, the following grassroots individuals and organizations comprised the list of honorees: The Amato Opera (a home for opera on Manhattan’s Lower East Side), Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (Yiddish poet, songwriter, singer, and teacher), Shaheen Foods and Sweets (South Asian cuisine in Jackson Heights, Queens), and Jane Weissman (advocate for community gardens and casitas). A group of New York City devotees working with City Lore’s Board of Directors selected the awards. The 1998 award ceremony took place in the New York Academy of Medicine, a 1926 Art Deco building on the Upper East Side’s Museum Mile. Audience crossed the street to the Museum of the City of New York for the reception that followed. The ceremony, hosted by Isaiah Sheffer (founder of Symphony Space), had a person conversant with the honoree’s art present the award; the honoree or representative gave a speech; and he or she capped it with a performance or demonstration of artistry. (Shaheen did this by providing appetizers and sweets for the reception.) The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, whom City Lore honored in 1997, performed a program of swing dance at the reception.

The video, shot by Frisner’s drum student Annie Sessler, makes it clear that the award touched Frisner from the bottom of his heart. He arrived at the event early, dressed in a suit bought especially for the occasion. He conversed with City Lore staff and Board members about his humble beginnings. Memories of his mother and her struggle during his childhood occupied his mind, and this presented itself powerfully when he accepted his award on stage. “Thank you very much, to my family, to my mother, to my spirit, God. To all my friends, my entourage, all my students… All of us.” Frisner wept through the presentation. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who had just used Makandal music for the soundtrack of his film Beloved, presented the award, dubbing Frisner “the Arnold Schwarzenegger of transcendental drumming.” A performance by dancers of Tonèl Lakay Dance Theater, a company for children and one that Frisner fostered along with Director Marie Edith Jean, ended his award presentation appropriately.

For more on the story, see “Tales from the Archive, The People’s Hall of Fame” blog entry at https://makandal.org/2015/11/04/tales-from-the-archive-the-peoples-hall-of-fame/. 

Source Identifier: MAK_LW_PUB.002_0001mi_ma_19981119
Creator: Annie Sessler
Rights: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0
Date: 19 November 1998 (exact)
Source format: Video 8 cassette
Language: English