The Essay Workshop

So far I've had two meetings of the Mart High School Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition Workshop.  Both went surprisingly well.

In all of my work with young people, I often utilize Drama-Based Instruction, a collaborative arts-integration method that we often use in the Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities program.  During our first Essay Workshop session, I asked students to enter an improvised scene in which my character, a representative from UT’s Museum Studies program, holds a meeting in Mart to announce the creation of a museum themed:

“The African American In Mart:  Past and Present” 

In our fictional scene, I asked students to play imaginary but honestly portrayed community members. Once the scene began, my character asked the students, in role, to brainstorm the museum’s intended audience:  Who needed to hear these stories? 

Answers varied.  One character thought that African Americans in Mart needed to hear the stories, to know where they came from; another said the museum should be aimed toward African Americans everywhere.  A third character suggested that children of all races living in Mart could benefit from knowing the history of African Americans in Mart.  A quiet freshman raised his hand: “This museum should also be for the elderly African Americans in our community, so they can see how the changes they fought for are really happening.”

The conversation went on.  In discussing African American history in Mart, students, in role as other community members, spoke of slave plantations, segregation, the Civil Rights movement, and sports stars.  They talked about the importance of acknowledging both the negative and the positive of the African American experience in Mart; they also discussed the importance not just of documenting the past and present, but of envisioning the future.

        
This future, I have discovered, lies in these students, both in their ability to listen and their willingness to speak up.  Mart’s young people are, in many ways, the most forward-minded members of the community. They have strong opinions, and they care about their community.  If these kids are the future of Mart, I think the town is headed in a very exciting direction.  

the pitch

On Monday, Melanie, Anna and I ventured out to Mart to meet with students at Mart High School.  Our first stop was the school library, where we met with students in the Leadership Class.  After the three of us introduced ourselves, we went around the room to give each student a chance to tell us his or her name and year in high school.  As we went around, the makeup of the tables where students sat looked showed a greater degree of integration than I had anticipated:  there were definitely groups of all white girls, or all white boys (white football players was my guess), and there were a few kids who sat alone at tables; however, several tables included both black and white students.  Not perfect, but definitely a change from some of the attitudes I had felt from adults in the community.

Interestingly, none of the students knew who Barbara Jordan was; I watched their teachers cringe.  A few claimed to enjoy learning about history; when asked why, one student explained that history "helps us learn from our mistakes."  A very quick storytelling activity, which required students to tell personal stories based on artifacts they happened to have on their persons, yielded spotty results; however, I think I managed to hook a few students in.  I left with quite a few names and email addresses on my sign-up sheet.  After my pitch, Melanie and Anna talked to the kids about the Arts Co-op, which garnered quite a bit of interest from several of the more creative kids.

The day went on in this fashion, as the three of us gave mini-pitches during each class period.  During lunch, we set up shop in the cafeteria.  I got one sign-up during lunch from a student who had heard about the Essay Workshop when other members of our class had visited previously.  Otherwise, however, we didn't get too much attention at lunch; most of the kids seemed too busy or too nervous to approach us.

As Melanie, Anna, and I headed out, feeling a little unsure whether we had made an impression at all, a girl stopped us on our way to the parking lot:

"You're leaving?  When will you be coming back?"

And then I remembered:  with kids, you never can tell.

I'm headed back to Mart High School next Monday.  I'll only have half an hour--from 8:45-9:15 am--but if I can get kids to show up for at least that long, maybe I can get a commitment from them to come a little earlier next week (a promise of donuts might help my case).  I'm crossing my fingers.  If even just three students who showed interest actually follow through, the early-morning trip will be well worth it.

Research: Interviews and Surveys

In discussing how social change takes place in the research stage of community-based arts work, Schwartzman and Knight instruct the community-based artist to "conduct interviews and survey, attend meetings, meet community leaders"(159).  The surveys we conducted with the girls involved with the Sisters of Nia project were incredibly telling in a lot of ways.

Like I mentioned, the older girls we met with during our initial orientation--girls between 12 and 17 years old--answered the question "How do you think other people view black women?" with incredibly negative responses.  Interestingly, I noticed that the younger girls who joined us during our second meeting--girls between 9 and 11 years old--  answered this question a little more positively.  One 9-year-old had some trouble writing her own answers, so I wrote them for her; when asked this question about other people view black women, she replied "The think they're pretty."  What happens to these girls once they reach middle-school age that alters their views so drastically?  I am excited to hear from class members still working on Sisters of Nia how the program influences both the younger and the old girls, and whether the impact is different for each group.

In thinking about the Essay Workshop that I plan to carry out, I am curious what kinds of perceptions the students have of the role of African Americans in the history of Mart.  Also, how do black students feel that other people--adults in the community, white students their age, their teachers, their history books--portray the role of black citizens in the history and development of the town?  How might students' perceptions be shifted through the course of interviewing older black citizens of Mart?  Perhaps even more importantly, how might students work to shift other people's perceptions?

Interviews and Listening

When describing how research takes place in a learning-based community initiative, Knight and Schwartzman encourage the community-based artist to "explore various ways to collect information, including interviewing.  Develop listening skills"(159).  In the context of the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition Workshop, these skills--interviewing and listening--are ones that I am hoping to develop in myself as well as in the young participants in my program.  I am excited about this program not only because I could give a student from Mart a chance to win a college scholarship, but also because I truly believe in the power of really hearing another person's voice and story.

Initially, I was very focused on opening the Essay Workshop program to black students only.  However, recent developments--namely, a possibly partnership with Mart's high school, instead of the black churches--lead me think that the program should be open to students of all races, with the stipulation that over half the participating students be black students.  So why has a change of partnership create this shift in my hopes for the makeup of the group?  Well, for one thing, I feel pretty uncomfortable walking into Mart High School and talking about programming with a financial benefit that is only open to black students.  Personally I think it would make sense to work with a homogenous group while discussing their own culture; however, I also acknowledge that while it's easy for me to say my piece and then leave, the black students will have to face the repercussions of any animosity that arises as a result of the (perfectly understandable and possibly beneficial) exclusion of white students from the program.  

Beyond my fear of stirring up racial tensions, however, is a glimmer of hope that opening the program to students of all races could actually result in a rethinking of race and race relations on everyone's part.  The mission of the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition is to encourage students to interview older African Americans in their communities in order to learn more about African American history in Texas.  What kinds of important shifts could arise when a young white high schooler from Texas takes the initiative to learn more about the history of the black experience in Mart?  How might the usual power dynamic change when all participants are discussing the history of African Americans in Mart?  How will this history--gathered through story and discussion--differ from the one told in students' history books?

I'm really excited about the possibilities of the Essay Workshop.  Through interviews and listening, I think some real transformations could occur.

Aziza

"Aziza" is the Swahili word for "precious."  I learned this yesterday when a group of young black girls from Mart, TX chose this as the title of their group as part of the Sisters of Nia program that my colleagues and I are working to implement in Mart.

Sisters of Nia is an Afrocentic intervention program designed for African American girls ages 10-15. The goal of the program is to "bring out the natural strengths of girls, while encouraging them to live their live with a purpose" (sistersofnia.org).  Our launch of the Sisters of Nia program in Mart began when Dr. Gilbert, Amie, Camille and I hopped in a minivan last Saturday and headed to Mt. Pleasant Church.  When we arrived, we were met by a vanload of 7 girls, ages 12-17, driven there by Mrs. Sandra Hurth, the wife of the pastor of the church.  We sat on the church pews and introduced ourselves.  The girls giggled and whispered to each other.  We talked about the program.  We played games:  a storytelling activity based on an object the girls had with them; Two Truths and a Lie.  The girls began to open up.  Toward the end of the session, we asked the girls to answer a few questions; this would serve as an assessment, so that we could compare the answers at the beginning of the program the girls' answers once they complete the 7-week program.  Then everyone (excluding this vegetarian blogger) enjoyed chili-dogs so graciously provided and prepared by Mrs. Hurth.

On our way back to Austin, we read through the girls' responses to the assessments:  

Question:  

What do other people think of when they think of black women?  

Answers:  

They're poor; they have lots of kids; they don't take care of their kids; they're dirty.

Clearly, there was plenty of work to be done.  I wondered about the extent to which the girls' responses were influenced by media, and how much had to do with the history and culture of segregation in Mart.  This also made me wonder what role segregation plays in these girls' lives, and whether things are changing at all over time.  At least one girl mentioned to me that she had "a white friend" who she had invited to the Sisters of Nia meeting; we had to let her know that the program is meant specifically for black girls.  I do think the nature of the program makes it very necessary for the group to be homogenous; I continue to think critically about my role as a white woman helping to facilitate a program that centers so much on black identity.  I feel like there's a lot I can learn from the structure and philosophy of the Sisters of Nia program.  I'm also curious about how an integrated youth program also dealing with race might function in Mart, if at all.

Yesterday, Amie and Camille and I headed back to Mt. Pleasnt Church, this time in the company of Karen, a recent School of Social Work grad who would also be working on Sisters of Nia.  We were greeted at the church by an even larger vanload of girls.  It was a beautiful day outside, so we decided to set up a circle of chairs in the parking lot and hold the program there.  As soon as we had set up, a tan sedan pulled up, and and 7 more girls piled out.  These girls were younger; most were between 9 and 11 years old.  They marched into the church, returned carrying chairs for themselves, and joined us in our circle.  Our group had nearly doubled in a manner of minutes.  Sisters of Nia Session #1 commenced.

The girls seemed to have a great time overall.  One disappointment for me was that, out of 15 girls, we only had one high school student show up.  Earlier in the week, I had sent flyers to Mart publicizing a program I was hoping to run alongside Sisters of Nia:  The Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition Writing and Oral History Workshop.  The competition is open to high school students all over Texas.  The focus is on African American history in Texas; applicants are invited to interview older African Americans in Texas and then write an essay based on what they've learned.  First prize is a $2500 college scholarship.  I had put together an entire lesson plan for Saturday and was really excited to get the program running; unfortunately, no one showed.  I was pretty excited about the program, so I'm disappointed that I might have to let go of the idea.  At the same time, I'm definitely getting a lot out of my experience with the Sisters of Nia program; if that remains my focus for the semester, it will still be well worth it.

In their book Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts, Keith Knight and Matt Schwartzman discuss strategies for making initial contact with a community.  In regard to projects that deal with social change, the authors suggest that a community-based artist "connect with group sin the community working on related issues and initiatives"(159).  Paula recently informed me that the high school in Mart has a leadership program which, I would imagine, might have some goals similar to those of the Essay Workshop program.  When Melanie recently sent the principal of the school an email mentioning my program, she sounded really excited about it.  I also know that Dr. Stephen Sloan from Baylor University has done quite a bit of oral history work with teachers and community members around Mart in the past; I will be contacting him shortly to discuss the idea of maybe partnering with some of these folks on the Essay Workshop project.  As a community-based artist, I can sometimes get so caught up in my own vision of a project that I forget the usefulness of partnering with organizations that already exist within a community; most of the time, folks are happy to have someone join their cause.

Blog Assignment #1

This week, our class was assigned five articles that view development on a global scale and/or in an urban context.  Our job was to compare these development projects or issues to observations we made in Mart, TX, a rural town in the US.

Karvelyte-Balbieriene’s article, “The Present State of the Built Historic Enfironment of Lituanian Rural Settlements and Its Potential for Sustainable Socioeconomic Development,” outlines several renovations of Lithuanian historical buildings.  The authors point out five major causes that historic buildings fall into disrepair:  “1) abandonment, lack of maintenance, and low quality repair works, 2) preservation problems of wooden buildings, 3) inappropriate use, 4) inaccessibility to society of the built heritage objects, and 5) ownership problems”(Karvelyte-Balbieriene 62).  A few of these same factors play into the current state of the Masonic Hall, which is badly in need of repair in Mart, TX.  Specifically, “lack of maintenance and low quality repair works” have allowed the 100-year-old building to slowly become nearly uninhabitable. 

Yet many of the root causes of the current state of Masonic Hall differ from those outlined in this article.  While a chart shows than many of the Lithuanian historic sites have been used as storage, Mart’s Masonic has continued to function as a meeting place for Masons.  The Masonic Hall is owned by the Masons and belongs to them, tax free, so “ownership problems” as such are not an issue.  Perhaps, though, the real “ownership problem” that Mart’s Mason Hall faces is that the owners happen to be black and mostly low-income.  The white folks in Mart have their own Masonic Hall across town.  Perhaps if the black and white Masons of Mart would embrace the true Masonic brotherhood and join together in one group, then the citizens of the town at large might take a greater interest in ensuring that this historic site be preserved.  The fundamental difference between the Lithuanian historic buildings and Mart’s Masonic Lodge is the existence of deep-rooted racial divisions within the town of Mart.

Iqtidar Ali Shah’s article, “People’s Participation in Rural Development Projects in the North-West Frotier Province of Pakistan:  A Comparative Review and Analysis of Sarrhad Rural Support  Programme and Integrated Rural Development Project,” compares a government-run rural development in Pakistan with a similar program headed by an NGO. In the government project, Shah explains, “traditional institutions were given due importance in the development of their area/village,” while in the NGO projecat, “traditional institutions were ignored in development activities of their area/village”(179).  Similarly, in the government project, “Religious leaders were given due importance especially in the cohesion of the organization and support in women development activities,” while in the NGO project, “socio-cultural environment studied at Religious leaders were not considered important for strengthening of the organization and women development”(179).  In other words, the government project included and traditional and religious institutions in their development planning and initiatives, while the NGO-led project failed to do so.  Given that the article repeatedly refers to the NGO-led project as having an “activist” bent, I am curious as to whether the organization excluded traditional and religious Pakistani institutions because they disagreed with some of these institutions’ socially conservative values.   In Mart—as is the case, I would imagine, in Pakistan and in many developing areas around the world—“traditional institutions” are intimately linked with religion.   By working with the institutions that already exist in Mart—the black churches, the Masons, etc.—our group can strive to integrate our work into the existing community network, instead of trying to alter or work around the existing structure of the town.

K. J. Shinew, T. D. Gloverm, and D. C. Parry’s article, Leisure Spaces as Potential Sites for Interracial Interaction:  Community Gardens in US Urban Areas,” outlines the ways in which a community gardening project can bring community members of different backgrounds together, citing a case study based in St. Louis as an example.  The authors posit that “by working towards the construction of maintenance of a community garden, residents who belong to different racial, ethnic, and class-based groups address collective concerns, such as crime and urban decline, together”(339).  Yet the heavily segregated history of Mart, as well as the very real racial tensions present in the South, mean that inter-cultural dialogue is a significant challenge.  What, if anything, are the “collective concerns” of the black and white citizens of Mart?  Does any dialogue between the groups exist right now, and how might that dialogue be built upon through the shared creation of a community garden?  How might the garden’s geographical location in the town affect the makeup of the volunteer group interested in working on the garden?

V. Jostein and M Villa’s article “Books, Branding, and Boundary Objects:  On the Use of Image in Rural Development,” discusses the process of re-branding that took place when Fjaerland, a small rural Norweigan town, was transformed into a “book town,” a place for tourists to stop and browse a strip a twelve bookstores in town.   The authors pose that Fjaerland is a “place where image construction through the branding processes has had an effect on how the place is perceived. At the same time, locally, there is a sense of optimism and positive local mobilization”(160).  In other words, the project is successful because it involves the support of the entire community.  Could the development of the co-op help to “re-brand” Mart as an arts community?  If so, how might we ensure the buy-in and support of the entire community?  How could we encourage the kind of dialogue that would be required in order to get the entire community on board?

            Chinyere G. Okafor’s article, “Global Encounters:  ‘Barbie’ in Nigerian Agbogh-mmuo Mask Context,” problematizes the popularity of the Barbie image and the way in which it is redefining standards of beauty in Nigeria, causing young women to undergo difficult and often physically harmful lengths to attain a similar appearance, resorting to means such as chemical hair straightening products, skin lightening creams, and eating disorders.   Okafor compares the problematic Barbie image to Agbogho-mmuo, a traditional Nigerian mask and idealization of Nigerian womanhood.  “In performance, Agbogho-mmuo epitomizes societal views of femi-

nine personality: communal, moral, good body shape and features, nurturing,

gentle, vigorous, and dynamic”(Okafor 40).  Okafor posits Agbogho-mmuo as a more realistic, holistic, and culturally relevant ideal image for Nigerian girls and young women to idealize and emulate. 

            How does the Barbie complex translate to a segregated rural community like Mart?  I would guess that the influence of white standards of beauty is even more prevalent in the community, since the community itself is situated within the American context.  In our global economy, prevailing white standards of beauty surely affect women of color globally, regardless of geographical location.  The question is, do the young black women have mart have an Agbogho-mmuo—do they have a symbol of their own traditional ideal of black womanhood to strive toward?    How can our work with the young women of Mart, through the Sisters of Nia program, help to cultivate such an image?