Skyla S. Hearn: Week Eight@The HistoryMakers

Rallying the Troops: When I write or type 'The HistoryMakers' I wonder if I'll ever be inducted into the Hall of HistoryMaker Fame. After all, I am a multifaceted individual representative of a rich cultural identity, possess a great knowledge of family history,  and within a given amount of time will make sizable contributions to the community and eventually the society at large.  I wonder the same of all of my IMLS fellow Fellows. I feel the presence of greatness when we collaborate on projects, compassionately share ideas and face challenges associated with "breaking" into our field through the training of the IMLS Fellowship. Perhaps its the high level of optimism running through my veins but I'm convinced that in due time our collective intelligence, winning personalities and commitment to our vocation will yield solutions to guide the archival world into a cohesive, sustainable,  and successful future. 

-"The entire universe depends on everything fitting together just right..." Hush Puppy   (from the motion picture "Beasts of the Southern Wild")

Beasts of the Southern Wild

After a long and challenging week by Friday at 6:48pm I resolved the internal conflict and decided to remove myself from 'work'. You see, whether I'm in the office, walking down the street or on my way to sleep my brain remains overloaded with better ways to complete the present tasks at hand as related to the projects, exercises and expectations of my involvement with being a "budding" archivist. Fortunately, I have one of the best families on the planet, co-headed by my partner, Mohamed, who decided to treat us to dinner and a movie. He'd briefed me on the film but despite the summary my mind remained stuck on the title: Beasts of the Southern Wild. While watching the film, I began to parallel my current experiences with Hush Puppy, the lead character, who worked in unison with her father and community members to keep the society, as they knew it, in tact. The film, categorized as fantasy drama, reminded me of the complexities of running a rare objects repository and acting as the representative for the sustainability of the repository as an institution as well as its objects.

                                         

Columbia College Chicago: Center for Black Music Research 

External interventions rarely recognize the importance and significance of a 'world' they are acting on and often upset the balance rather than recognize the benefits of a cohesive relationship with the existing community. Earlier Friday, the IMLS Fellows visited the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago. Some months ago, information about the potential closing of the BMRC hit various library and archival listservs, sharing with the community the threat of the loss of such a great and monumental research repository. Letters of support, protests by constituents and the community's outcry forced Columbia College's administration to recognize the CBMR as an indispensable entity of its own college body and the world at large. To someone such as myself, its hard to fathom the administration's disregard of the gem located within Columbia College. We, the keepers of information and providers of information access, strongly support the CBMR and its initiatives to keep their doors open. 

Monument to the Great Northern
Migration

Monument to the Great Northern
Migration

Commemorative of Souls Made of Soles

The week began with a Black History Neighborhood Tour through the South Side neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Kenwood, and Hyde Park. I enjoyed the tour. It's always nice to hear about the neighborhood I grew up in and now currently reside in from a historian's perspective. While listening to Mr. Tony Burroughs share his knowledge of the historical landmarks and other highlights of these areas, I felt proud of my Bronzeville community, which was referred to as "The Black Belt" before I was born and "The Low End" when I was a youth. I found it beneficial and warming to share the experience with the IMLS Fellows and NEH Scholars, most of whom are not from Chicago. 

Week eight was extremely exciting on multiple levels from creating presentations "on the fly"to treating our fellow Fellow Chaitra Powell to Bearthday Brunch to rollocking in the fruits of my labor...I'm sure I've omitted many highlights from the week but there's always room to include more juicy deets in the weeks to follow.... 

...on to Week Nine@TheHistoryMakers....