AALCI in NYC

From June 23 - 27, the AALCI Fellows, institute founder/director Joycelyn Moody, and I spent time in New York City. We visited the Museum of the City of New York, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the African Burial Ground, and the Strand Book Store, among other places. We also, as always, walked, explored, and talked about what we were seeing and thinking.

Visiting the Strand Book Store

On June 27, the Fellows visited the Strand Book Store. We spent an extended amount of time perusing and discussing books and ideas in the store.

Related:
• AALCI in NYC
• Visiting the African Burial Ground
• Touring Harlem & the Schomburg with Doris G. Lango-Leak
• AALCI 2016   

Visiting the African Burial Ground

On June 25, our group visited the African Burial Ground. The visit gave the group a chance to consider aspects of New York City that had previously remained hidden.

Touring Harlem & the Schomburg with Doris G. Lango-Leak

Doris G. Lango-Leak discusses the Schomburg with AALCI Fellows.

On June 24, our group received the special opportunity of an impromptu tour from guide extraordinaire Doris G. Lango-Leak. She guided us around the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. And she made us aware of notable people and important historical landmarks.


I've met Sister Lango-Leak for years during annual visits to the African Burial Ground. She let me know that she gave tours of Harlem and various other locales in New York City. So what good fortune we had by bumping into her at the Schomburg.

Sister Lango-Leak is deeply knowledgeable about black history and particularly about people, places, and culture in Harlem. We'd take two or three steps, and she was informing us about some little known fact, or some useful bit of information, or a reminder about someone special who had walked the same streets that we occupied.

 

All our Fellows agreed that one of the highlights of our trip to New York City and perhaps for the summer was getting the opportunity to learn from this fountain of knowledge known as Doris G. Lango-Leak.

Related: 
• AALCI in NYC
• Visiting the Strand Book Store 
• Visiting the African Burial Ground 
• AALCI 2016  

2016 Poster Session

Today, our Fellows presented aspects of their ongoing research projects at our annual poster session.

Related:
• AALCI 2016

Meeting with Dean Agbenyiga

Fellows meet with UTSA, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Brenna LaFa Agbenyiga.

On June 21, we met with DeBrenna LaFa Agbenyiga, Vice Provost and Dean of the graduate school at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). It was an important opportunity for the Fellows to converse with a university leader and get first-hand information about pursuing graduate studies at UTSA.

During our time with her, Dean Agbenyiga discussed specific programs offered by the graduate school at UTSA. She discussed funding and professional support, and she responded to questions about various processes and opportunities of graduate study at the university.

She also talked about her on journey from student to professor to assistant and associate dean positions to Dean. The Fellows and I were quite impressed. Dean Agbenyiga's leadership, thoughtfulness, and accomplishments are inspiring.       

Related:
• AALCI 2016

Harriet Kelley: A treasured art collector

Harriet Kelley gives an overview of the McNay

What a wonderful time we had. On June 21, the Fellows, Institute founder/director Joycelyn Moody, and I spent the morning touring the McNay Art Museum with one of our country's most important African American art collectors, Harriet Kelley.

Beginning in the 1980s, Kelley and her husband Harmon Kelley devoted themselves to learning as much as they could about artworks by African Americans, and they began collecting.  And collecting. Since that time, they have loaned pieces from their collection to museums across the country, making it possible for thousands and thousands of people to view magnificent works of art by black people from the late 19th century through the 20th century. 

Harriet Kelley meets with AALCI Fellows and Joycelyn Moody

When the Kelley's began collecting, she informed us, there was no Internet with images of rare paintings by black people. So she and her husband wrote to people in places where paintings were, and in return, they received Polaroid images of works by artists that they were seeking. Sometimes the images were of such poor quality that the Kelley's had to struggle to confirm whether they were viewing authentic pieces.

But they persisted. They traveled the country collecting works and attending exhibits. Along the way, they became increasingly knowledgeable and greatly respected for their contributions preserving African American artistic works. 

Harriet Kelley discusses a work by Jacob Lawrence.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed the benefits of Kelley's expertise and generosity. She walked us around the museum and showed us a variety of paintings and sculptures, some of which were donated by the "Harmon and Harriet Kelley Foundation for the Arts" to the McNay. 



Related: 
• Art collector Harriet Kelley & AALCI
• AALCI 2016
• The Harmon & Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper
 

Response to Tyehimba Jess

Re: Tyehimba Jess's "When I Speak of Blues Be Clear"

When Tyehimba Jess "Speaks of Blues Be Clear" about a few things because he is clear about them. For one, the blues are infused with an undeniable historicity, they synthesize legends and folktales, and they are about good feelings just as much as bad ones. Once you acknowledge all that the blues mean and bring to the fore for its creators, black folks, then you'll hear yourself in them Jess seems to say--and neither you nor they "will ever die."

Angel Dye


Related:
• AALCI 2016

Responses to Kevin Young

Re: Kevin Young's "Bling Bling Blues"

“Bling Bling Blues” examines how one changed their situation and is now rich, but still suffers from the ills of being black. How refreshing is it for someone to acknowledge that no matter how much money you have, you cannot pay off the ill wills of racism? I would like to hear a poem about the downsides to being rich as well; like the old saying goes, “Some people are so poor all they have is money.”

Nia Brookins
Fort Worth, TX, June 8, 2016
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Re: Kevin Young's "Bling Bling Blues"

How much does black skin cost, and will it be a fair trade?

Courtney Harris
San Antonio, TX 2016
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Re: Kevin Young's "Femme Fatale"
Always attracted to what Toni Morrison terms "outlaw women" in her foreword to Sula, I am no less fascinated by Kevin Young's persona Delilah Redbone in his poem "Femme Fatale." There is an intentionality about her appeal and awareness of her sexuality that makes her powerful. And as I hope to explore further in literature with other characters, Redbone also embodies a connection between sexuality and spirituality: "in these merciless heels, / I reach & inch that much / closer to heaven."

Angel Dye


Related:
• AALCI 2016

Response to Robert H. Frank's "Why Luck Matters..."

Re: Robert H. Frank's "Why Luck Matters More Than You Might Think"

I agree that it is important to acknowledge luck when talking about our life achievements, but at what point can one be considered self-made? I believe that it is possible to work for what you earn so much that you deserved to be in the right place at the right time; so with that in mind, one may be able to earn their “luck”.

Nia Brookins
Fort Worth, TX, June 17, 2016

Related:
• AALCI 2016

Responses to Toni Morrison's "Sweetness"

Re: Toni Morrison's "Sweetness"

Toni Morrison, in this excerpt "Sweetness", tells the story of a light skinned woman so ashamed of her daughter's dark complexion that she raises with a cold shoulder and the two become estranged. Morrison not only highlights the issue of colorism in the black community but the tension created in relationships between children and parents who act distant. This reader hopes that readers who are parents and children alike will take heed and avoid developing such relationships.

Zari Taylor
University of Virginia

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Ms. Morrison,

Each time you write about the position of race and skin color, why is it only for black women?

Questions for Kincaid and Morrison:

• Why is the relationship between black mothers and black daughters always a disaster?
• Why do black women in literature always accept the injustice in the world?
• Why do black women authors never write about present-day sexuality, injustice, womanhood? Or acknowledge that the world is changing when writing about relationships?

Miela Fetaw,
Milwaukee, WI
Friday, June 17, 2016

Related:
• AALCI 2016

Response to Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl"

Jamaica Kincaid

Re: Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl"

Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" reads like a catalogue, a list of dos and don'ts for a proper and socially acceptable young woman. The familiarity of the warnings and underlying critiques lets me know that even though girlhood and prescribed womanhood vary by culture some of the coming-of-age experiences are similar. Most of us don't get to be women without being told what a good one or bad one constitutes...and just how important it is to decide early on which label you're going to wear.

Angel Dye

************************************************

Ms. Kincaid,

I am sorry your mother’s bitterness became your problem. And that your life was her blame.

Questions I thought about:
• If the title was called “Mother” would that change the voice of the poem?
• If the Mother was speaking to “Boy” how would this poem look?
• Were there any benefits to the lessons your mother taught you?

Miela Fetaw,
Milwaukee, WI
Friday, June 17, 2016

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If girls have to constantly hold their tongue, cover their bodies, silence their thoughts; imagine how many years they will have to expose when they finally open up and talk back.

Courtney Harris
San Antonio, TX 2016


Related:
• AALCI 2016

Response to Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys: A Requiem"

Re: Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys: A Requiem"

Though "The Lost Boys: A Requiem" resembles the form of an ordinary list, Harris' poem is one of the most moving pieces I have read in a while. The narrative this poem presents is one that I know many other African Americans living in predominantly black, urban spaces can also identify with having a list of "lost boys". All who read this, whether they identify with it or not, should feel compelled to further investigate the whereabouts of all the missing men.

Zari Taylor
University of Virginia

Related:
• AALCI 2016

Responses to Common's Freestyle

Re: “Common's Freestyle for American Black Film Festival”

Like a majority of conscious rap today, this freestyle speaks on “black America” and tells its audience what it’s like to be black and the things that being black consists of. While deciphering this I often wondered who your audience was. When you say things like “the color of my skin, they comparin’ it to sin” and “we kill each other, more than the cops” next to each other, it becomes hard to tell.

Nia Brookins
Fort Worth, TX, June 17, 2016
***********************************************

I commend Common for his willingness to instigate discourse and raise questions on the extent to which we really mean #blacklivesmatter. In this contemporary age, however, when #blacklivesmatter is a trending topic, many artists have capitalized on the hashtag and the discussion surrounding it by incorporating it with their art. This reader wonders how willing Common would be in engaging in discussion regarding the relevance of all black lives and his participation in ensuring that we as black people actually disengage in, "a battle with us".

Zari Taylor
University of Virginia
***********************************************

You say “the hate, the hate made, I inherited from them/ but I ain’t gon’ point the finga.” Is that to say that black people perpetuate the same hate that was established against us, that we continue it, that we tend to it and keep it alive. So are we still slaves in doing the work that our master gave to us? And how can we be free?

Courtney Harris
San Antonio, TX 2016


Related:
• AALCI 2016

Photos of Fellows visiting John Peace Library at UTSA

On June 14, the AALCI Fellows visited the UTSA Libraries and worked with DeeAnn Ivie, Scholarly Resources & Social Sciences Librarian, and Agnieszka (Agnes) Czeblakow, Rare Books Librarian.

DeeAnn Ivie, Scholarly Resources & Social Sciences Librarian, assists AALCI Fellow Courtney Harris.

Agnes Czeblakow, Rare Books Librarian, introduces special collections hands-on activity

AALCI Fellows look over items from the special collection materials

AALCI Fellow Zari Taylor studies materials from special collections.

AALCI Fellow Angel Dye shares what she discovered in special collections.

AALCI Fellow Miela Fetaw shares information about the Peyton Colony items.

Related:
• AALCI 2016
• Visiting the John Peace Library

Agnes Czeblakow, special collections, and foreshadowing

Agnes Czeblakow presents information on special collections to AALCI Fellows.

Foreshadow vb to show, indicate, or suggest in advance; presage

We should've known Agnieszka (Agnes) Czeblakow, Rare Books Librarian at UTSA, had something special in store for us.

Early on during our library visit on June 14, Anges asked our Fellows were they totally committed to the projects that they had described. Would you, she asked, be willing to shift if an opportunity emerged? Or, if another, more exciting topic presented itself to you?  She was foreshadowing.

As she gave a presentation about special collections and university archives, she gave subtle hints that she had spent time working with really wonderful holdings. She mentioned in passing, for instance, the Alice Walker Papers at Emory, offering details that only a first-hand observer would know. In retrospect, when she was noting the special feeling of engaging a special collection like the Walker papers, Agnes was again, indicating in advance what the students would experience. 

Later still, she took requests from the Fellows for a topic to insert into ArchiveGrid, which she had pulled up on the large screens. The Fellows said "rap music." Many of the returns identified Cornell, because of the university's Hip Hop Collection. As we discussed the entries, Agnes spoke about the collection of hip hop materials at Cornell beyond what we were seeing on the screen. Unlike everyone else in the room, this was not the first time that she was thinking seriously about that special collection.

The Alice Walker Papers at Emory, the Hip Hop Collection at Cornell, and other collections seemed so far away. Before students could dwell on that distance, Agnes, on cue, interrupted to note that really special collections are closer than you might think. A suggestion of things to come.

Unprocessed materials on Peyton Colony

After the presentation, Agnes walked us to the Special Collections at UTSA, and introduced us to a "mysterious" unprocessed collection from a resident or residents of Peyton Colony, a town founded by formerly enslaved people immediately after the Civil War.   

Agnes Czeblakow looks as Fellows investigate Peyton Colony box.

Fellows studying materials from Peyton Colony box

A group of the Fellows excitedly investigated the contents of that one box on Peyton Colony, as they tried to address its unanswered mysteries. Who had compiled the scrapbooks and photo albums? Who was this woman on the tiny photo I.D. who was born in 1918? Was the player on the baseball card in the folder a resident of the town, as the envelope containing the card said? Who wrote the note? What was the relationship between the white and black people in the old photographs? What had become of the colony and its inhabitants? 

AALCI Fellows Miela Fetaw and Courtney Harris share and exchange notes on the Peyton Colony.

I was surprised by how excited they were about the contents of that single box. This is what Agnes Czeblakow had been foreshadowing all along.

Related:
• AALCI 2016
• Visiting the John Peace Library

A courtside seat with Joycelyn Moody

Joycelyn Moody listening to a AALCI Fellow

I've been here before. I've seen it occur 49 different times over the course of 7 years. And I always have the best seat in the house.

A Fellow from the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute walks in the room and takes a seat on one side of the table. On the other side is Institute founder Joycelyn Moody. I'm sitting down to Moody's right or left, where I have a profile view of her while also facing the student.

The Fellow's project description is on a sheet of paper in front of her on the table. Another copy is in front of Moody. Adjusting  herself to sit straight up, Moody smiles, and says "Hi. So good to see you." The Fellow returns the greeting.
 

Moody and AALCI Fellow Courtney Harris discuss her research outline.

Moody then places her hands on the paper, covering the words. She slides the document slightly away, signaling to the Fellow that they will wait before addressing the details of what is written on the paper.

"I've read this, thank you," she says referring to to the document. "But please, before we begin: will you tell me about your project?"

I've been here before, more than 4 dozen times, courtside watching Moody at work.

The Fellow begins speaking, somewhat taken aback by the request to tell Moody about the project without reading from the paper.

And so it begins: the Fellow talking and Moody listening intently and nodding. She asks questions, listens to answers, and then reaches for the paper to address some of the notes she had written. During the session, Moody begins raising additional questions and making suggestions, and in the process reminds us yet again that she is one of the greatest interlocutors we’ll ever encounter.

Moody listens as AALCI Fellow Christian Taylor discusses his research outline.

That hardly matters though. She's tuned everything out and zoned in on this specific moment of engaging with the Fellow about the project description.

I've observed the Fellow-Moody project description exchanges so many times now that it shouldn't be strange to me. But it is. How unusual, after all, to witness a senior, distinguished professor so thrilled to discuss two or so paragraphs of the still developing research plans of an undergraduate? Indeed, it's a rare sight.


I've been fortunate to have a courtside seat.

Related:
• AALCI 2016
• The Interlocutor, the Ghost Hunter: Joycelyn Moody