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.