Hey Black Child
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| Mr. Useni Eugene Perkins, ArtMakers |
Do you know who you are?
Who you really are?
Do you know you can be
What you want to be?
If you try to be
what you can be.
Hey Black Child,
Do you know where you’re going?
Where you’re really going?
Do you know you can learn
What you want to learn?
If you try to learn
What you can learn?
Hey Black Child,
Do you know you are strong?
I mean really strong?
Do you know you can do
What you want to do?
If you try to do
What you can do?
Hey Black Child,
Be what you can be
Learn what you must learn
Do what you can do
And tomorrow your nation will be what you want it to be.
- Useni Eugene Perkins
When I was eight, my little cousin, Tia, became my personal hero. She was four. She recited the poem "Hey Black Child" with such pride and conviction. Standing at 3 feet, she was the greatest orator I'd ever seen and heard. She moved the audience at Woodson South Elementary School to tears and received a standing ovation for her riveting performance. Although this event took place years ago, it is one that my family often recalls when discussing Tia's characteristics. She's become an intelligent, outspoken, courageous and independent adult. Her actions at four years old were a snap shot of who she would become. Our collective memory of her performance and behavior as a child has remained parallel with her development into adulthood. On Tuesday, we discussed collective memory and completed exercises to aid in our understanding of the responsibilities and challenges faced by archivists to present past and present events and individuals when creating exhibitions based on the collective memory of a community and the society at large. Some of the events and individuals we discussed included: the death of Lady Diana, Wood Allen, Sandusky at Penn State, Michael Vick and the NFL, Bill Clinton's Presidency, etc. What would be the best practice(s) to present an objective exhibition of the before mentioned events and individuals? How would one archive these collections? What type of access would be provided to the collections - restricted, partially restricted or non-restricted?
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| Mr. Leon Dash, EducationMakers |
Its safe to call me an uber dweeb. I'm easily enthralled by massive amounts of information presented by highly intelligent, patient, ethical, non-judgmental, personable, humorous et all... types of people. Especially when the information relates to my experiences and areas of expertise and is presented by persons of the African Diaspora. On Friday and Saturday, Mr. Leon Dash facilitated a two-day Oral History Training for the Increasing African American Diversity in Archives: The History Makers Fellowship, Mentoring, Training and Placement Institute and The HistoryMakers’ 2012 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on African American Political History: From Reconstruction to the Present program. The days were filled with oral training methodology and instruction, discussions about the Rosa Lee (Rosa Lee's Story, an eight-part Washington Post series for which he won the Pulitzer Prize) readings, poignant anecdotes, interactive exercises, occasional jokes and camaraderie. I feel as if I were suspended in a state of awe at how Mr. Dash related his experiences of working as a journalist and maintaining the trust and personal connections with his interviewees: Rosa Lee and her family, the families involved in the adolescent childbearing project which lead to his book When Children Want Children: The Urban Crisis of Teenage Childbearing, and the Angolan Guerrillas. I appreciated Mr. Dash's honesty about his relationships and about how despite his own convictions to his professionalism, he was 'tested' by human nature and at times lost the ability to maintain objectiveness when working with his participants. He presented us with methodology and a strong skill-set to increase our ability as archivists and educators to influence our students and patrons to actively incorporate oral history interviews and to investigate and create links to family history. Years ago I began creating but never completed a family tree from the recorded information gathered from my eighty-seven year old grandmother. After Saturday, I became increasingly aware of the realization that I need to complete this project and interview as many family members as possible. My hopes are that we, as a family unit, will develop a stronger sense of pride in knowing exactly where our elders came from, what their life experiences were and their perspectives on life.
As a side note, this morning I treated my sweet-n-sour but extremely loving Grandmother, Mama, to breakfast at Pearl's Place Restaurant on Pershing in the Bronzeville Neighborhood. As I was walking to greet friends who'd just entered the restaurant, I locked eyes and smiles with Mr. Timuel Black, one of our prized HistoryMakers, and returned his greeting---a warm 'Hello' and handshake. Before I realized it, Mr. Leon Dash, sitting across the table from him, extended his hand for a shake as well. He mentioned to Mr. Black that I worked for The HistoryMakers and attended the (Oral History) training they'd been discussing. Mr. Black then took the floor to challenge me and my generation to maintain and accept the responsibilities to 'make his generation' proud by preserving the archives, rich histories and knowledge. I graciously accepted his challenge. Little does he know, being The Keeper of records and our history is the vocation most near and dear to my heart. What a delightful surprise!
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| Mr. Timuel Black, EducationMakers |
Last week, in seriousness and jest, I asked you to wish me luck going into this week. What a bountiful blessing bestowed upon me throughout the development of the week! I don't know if it was luck but if so, THANKS!
This Fellowship has proven (and I'm sure will continue) to be a testament to my endurance, patience, intelligence, will, knowledge and skill-set. It is designed to strengthen my character, challenge my views, understanding and at times my person as related to my interpretation of theoretical and practical approaches to archival science and African American history. My adamant belief is that I am in the right place at the right time.
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