A song reminding us why preserving our memories of an historic year is vital

FROM THE 2020 ARCHIVE: From a church where white deacons once refused to seat African Americans, a group of Black singers in Alabama reminds us why preserving our memories of this historic year is vital. (Video by @1504.co ), NPR reports.

They’re singing “Auld Lang Syne,” which begins with this line: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind?”

That question — of whether to forget the past — is central to the @1504.co art film, “For The Sake Of Old Times.”

“It’s certainly my tendency — and maybe our natural human tendency — to want to rush forward and put this year behind us,” explains Tyler Jones, the film’s director. “But that may do a disservice, I think, to our memories and those who went before us.”

“Together in love, that’s the way we’re going to make this work. That’s the only way we’re going to move forward,” says Carrie Davis, a music director who arranged the song and appears in the film. “Not forgetting the past — remembering the past, but moving forward.”