"Separate but Equal"

As I began reading “The Warmth of Others Suns” I found myself highlighting different themes of the birth of segregation (1). For the undergraduate students who are not reading the book, when the slaves were freed society had not yet formulated segregation, it came after the realization from whites that they would be disrupted by the possibility of stepping on the same stairs as blacks, using the same seats as blacks and so on. They were not equal in the eyes of the whites even if they were freed. I wondered about this concept in relation to my project.

“Separate but Equal” that was the term they used in Plessy v. Ferguson. I began to envision how it must feel to be homeless, and wondered if they were in fact being treated as “separate but equal”. More and more we are finding public space to be a question of controversy. We post signs in store fronts “Bathrooms for customers only”. We find that pan handlers are standing on medians so we try to pass bans on panhandling in medians (2). We know that homeless people enjoy congregating in public parks because it is one of the only places they cannot be kicked out of for loitering. As a result the rich try to privatize the public parks like Congress Square (3). What message is society here in Portland, Maine one of the most northern states in the country sending to our homeless population.

I listen to people who chose to disagree with my view points and say “they are not my problem”, “they need to go out and get jobs like the rest of us”, “the park would be so much prettier if they cleaned it up and privatized it.” I wonder if those same lines were spoken by the plantation owners in the south about the African-Americans. How can someone who does not know the struggle that one faces being constantly discriminated against understand their situation. Many homeless people are dehumanized. We see them in the street and do nothing. For example, please watch this video the entire way through. This was not filmed in the US but the likelihood of a similar response here is unfortunately likely: http://youtu.be/SGPjUyVtTQw.

I think the question or better yet the quest of what home means to a homeless person is not just in tangible things such as a roof or a toilet or a shower but in the privilege of use in those items. In “The Warmth of Others Suns” Pg.41, two little girls asked “why they couldn't play on a swing like the white children or had to sit in a dirty waiting room instead of the clean one”. In this example the father responded, “The measure of a man’s estimate of your strength is the weapons he feels that he must use in order to hold you fast in a prescribed place” (1).

Home means acceptance, safety and worthiness. My belief is we will find similar answers from our interviewees.

1) Wilkerson, I. (2010). The warmth of other suns: the epic story of the America’s great migration. New York, NY: Random House.

2)http://www.pressherald.com/2014/02/12/federal_court_says_portland_s_panhandling_ban_is_unconstitutional_/

3) http://bangordailynews.com/2014/06/10/news/portland/opponents-of-congress-square-sale-hold-early-lead-in-portland-vote/

Learning New Stories

Hey everyone, So after doing some research about Scarborough Maine History, I learned that I am related to Hattie Carter. She was my Great Great Grandmother, who posed for Winslow Homer at Prouts Neck a number of times. The photo above is called the Fisher Girl (1884) She got paid a dollar a day for posing whether she worked or not.  I guess you never know what you will dig up by interviewing and researching. Thanks -Patrick

More on stories and how we tell them...

http://wellandoftenpress.com/reader/to-be-vulnerable-and-fearless-an-interview-with-writer-warsan-shire/#.U7nXIJv__60.facebook

The Little Rock Nine

As I've been reading The Warmth of Other Suns and thinking about the power of personal narrative to bring history alive, I can't help but recall one of the most powerful places I visited during my road trip last summer: the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in Little Rock, Arkansas, symbol of the desegregation of American education.

A photo I took during my visit to Little Rock Central High School in June 2013--it looks pretty much the same today as it did in 1957, when it was thrust into the national spotlight, along with the black students who would become known as the "Little Rock Nine."

Before I went there, I could only vaguely recall learning about Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that determined "separate but equal" was not at all equal, and that African American children would be allowed in "white" schools. Honestly, my stop at this place was almost an afterthought--something I thought I should do but didn't have strong feelings about one way or another. I figured I'd make a quick stop, pick up a brochure, and move along.

Imagine my surprise at being completely captivated, and spending a few hours there riveted by the stories of how our nation had arrived at the boiling point that day in Little Rock in 1957 when nine black teenagers, all motivated by the desire to gain a quality education and live a better life than the one the previous generations had, made their way through shouting, angry mobs of white residents.

What made this museum so riveting for me were the personal stories, told through video and audio interviews, newsreel footage showing how the story was covered in 1957, and other memorabilia. Hearing what the experience was like from people who actually lived it was incredibly powerful, and sometimes gut-wrenching. I had no idea, until that day, that these students had all volunteered to be the first, even knowing the challenges and dangers that lay before them--as I watched their video interviews, I tried to imagine, as a 15-year-old, having that kind of courage. I could not.

Here are links to a couple of the videos from the visitors' center:
State and Federal Involvement
Little Rock Nine Attend Classes

Source:
States. National Park Service. (2014, June 4). Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service). National Parks Service. Retrieved July 4, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/chsc/index.htm

If you ever find yourself in Little Rock, don't miss this amazing NPS site.

(As an aside, later in the day I was visiting the Clinton Presidential Library; on the downtown shuttle, I met a woman whose father was one of the National Guardsmen sent in by Pres. Eisenhower to escort the Little Rock Nine safely to school--she told me it was such an important part of his legacy, and she was so proud that he was on the right side of justice. Talk about history coming alive! I wish I'd had more time to hear the story she almost certainly had to tell.)

Hey all

Hey guys, Just a quick note. I found some info from the Penn Historical & Museum Commission that may help or give some insightful ideas with outlines and research. Have an awesome and safe 4th! Thanks -Patrick

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/oral_history/4351/designing_an_oral_history_project/445228

http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices/

Unheard voices

Hi all,

Perhaps this film clip is even more fitting on July 4th.

Check this out:
http://vimeo.com/languageoftheunheard


Over the weekend I will email a consent form and USM talent release form for your projects the Office of Research folks provided me. I have to tweak it fro our class - and our class IRB was approved. See you Wednesday!

Finding a Voice

I was extremely inspired by reading " The Warmth of Others Suns" On page 205 author Isabel Wilkerson describes Robert Joseph Perishing Foster driving through Arizona. He is tired, hot, frustrated, and looking for a place to stay in a new unfriendly location. While reading I was struck by how much empathy a common experience could evoke in me. I could not understand the entirety of the difficulties he faced but his story resonated with me. It helped me frame how potent oral history could be in understanding each other and influencing change.

For most of my life I have been trying to help others find their voices……..literally. My mother is Deaf. 4th generation Deaf. My great-great-grandmother and great grandmother could not speak, my grandmother can say a few words, and my mother is fluent in spoken English. Like many Deaf throughout history, their stories are not heard because they use their whole bodies to tell them. They use sign language. The author of " Oral History in Social Work"(1995) quotes Norton (1978) on the topic of adaptive capacities of an individual left operating in two systems. Norton states "According to this (dual) perspective if there are broad areas of incongruence between the two systems, then individuals are prone to difficulties in functioning."(p.23) Entirely different languages between two systems could definitly cause a certain amount of incongruence. In my project I would like to explore the experiences of three Deaf women in a hearing world. What adaptive strengths they used and created over their lifetime. Where they found resources to help them thrive. How they grew to accept or reject common mainstream practices. How they nurtured resilience in the face of oppression and how they live today.


Wilkerson, I. (2010). The warmth of other suns: the epic story of America's great migration. New York, NY: Random House.

Martin, R. R. (1995). Oral history in social work: research, assessment, and intervention. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Norton, D. G. (1978). The dual perspective: inclusion of ethnic minority content in the social work curriculum. New York: Council on Social Work Education.