Mississippi Historical Society Annual Meeting

I recently attended the Mississippi Historical Society’s annual meeting (March 1-3, 2007) in Jackson Mississippi.  This year’s theme was “Telling Mississippi’s Stories.”

This was my first time to attend the meeting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Several speakers emphasized the importance of oral history.  

Charles C. Bolton: Oral histories go beyond just records and facts – they add flesh to the bones and create a more accurate picture of people and times.  Oral histories present a story from multiple points of view.  This is especially important when you are in a minority, because you don’t control the keeping of the records.    

James W. Loewan expanded on this idea even more.  His recent book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism examines towns in which blacks were not allowed after sundown.  Everyone knew the custom, although there were no official laws and thus no records.  So, the only way to shed light on this practice was through oral histories of people involved and affected. 

Daphne Chamberlain, a P.H.D. student studying children’s participation in the Jackson Civil Rights movement, said oral histories are time-consuming and difficult.  But they provide personal insight and add power to your story. 

One thing I noticed at the conference was… Although many examples were from the civil rights movement, integration, and race relations, there were very few blacks at the meeting, and only one black speaker.  I found this curious, but don’t really have an explanation for it.

Using New Media to Support Black History Month

Recently, I ran across the Museum of Broadcast Communications  which collects historic radio and television shows.  Many of them are available online. 

In honor of Black History Month, the museum is spotlighting interviews and documentaries featuring African Americans.  One such documentary, “I Sing Because I’m Happy“, is a tribute to the great Mahalia Jackson, created the week following her death in 1972.  It features one of her last interviews (amazing!) and two of her glorious performances.  Her opinions are very relevant today, and it is truly wonderful to listen to her sing.  She was magnificent!

 

Museum of Broadcast Communications. “From the Archives.”  2005, www.museum.tv/test.html (accessed 10 Feb 2007).

African American Movies at Allen Library

As part of its 2007 Black History Month Celebration, Allen Library in Allen, TX, is presenting four movies featuring all-black casts and/or African American themes.  The movies are shown every Tuesday night at 7:00 pm during the month of February.  Admission is free.

This past Tuesday, I went to see the first movie in the series, The Green Pastures, made in 1936.  It’s an entertaining movie that illustrates not only where we were in the 1930s in terms of film-making, but also in terms of racial stereotypes.  As a bonus, they showed an episode of the 1950s TV show, Beulah.

Next Tuesday, Feb 13, it’s Cabin in the Sky with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Ethel Waters, and Lena Horne.

Map to Allen Library.

Ida B. Wells

I recently found a history podcast that I really enjoyed – on online lecture by Paula J. Giddings about Ida B. Wells. 

Ida B. Wells was born a slave in Mississippi in 1862 , sued the Chesapeake, Ohio, and Southwestern Railroad in 1884 for trying to force her to sit in the back of a train in Memphis, campaigned against lynching, and helped establish the NAACP.

The podcast is a lecture by historian Paula J. Giddings.   It is presented here by Talking History , a program sponsored by the University of Albany, State University of New York.

Here’s the link to the lecture: 

http://www.albany.edu/talkinghistory/arch2006july-december.html 

The program is located about two-thirds down the page, available as both a Real Audio and an MP3 file.  It is divided into two segments, the first about 25 minutes, the second about 16 minutes.

What I Learned From Ernest J. Gaines

I went to see Ernest J. Gaines speak this week.  (See earlier blog.)   He was thoughtful and inspiring!

Ernest Gaines is the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.  Most of his stories take place in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana – the “patch of land” where he grew up that he loves so much. 

The setup was like the Actor’s Studio we see on Bravo.  Ernest Gaines sat on a small stage between two interviewers – all with microphones in front of them because it was being recorded by KERA, the public radio station for North Texas.  The audience surrounded them.   

My favorite line from his talk was,

“If we do not know the history of our neighbors, then we only know half of our own history.”

He said this in response to the question of who does he write for.  He said he doesn’t like to answer that question because he focuses on writing stories, not preaching.  But if pushed to answer, he would say he writes first for black young people, “So that they can know their past to help them better understand their future.”  Then he writes for white young people because, “If we do not know the history of our neighbors, then we only know half of our own history.”

My other favorite takeaway was that “we should howl more.”  He believes that we do not object enough when terrible things (or injustices) happen.  We should express our outrage and work to make sure they don’t happen again.

His new book, Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays, seems to touch on many of the themes from his talk.

Ernest Gaines talk was sponsored locally by the Writer’s Garret.  I believe they said the show would be aired on 7:00 Sunday, October 15, 2006, on KERA radio, 90.1, but I could not find a confirmation of that.

Ernest Gaines to Speak at Writer’s Studio, Dallas, October 10, 2006

Ernest Gaines, author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, will speak at Theatre Three, on Tuesday, October 10, 2006, as part of the Writer’s Studio, a live interview show.  The show is scheduled from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

Ernest Gaines was born near New Roads, Louisiana, and draws upon his personal history as the background stage for his books. 

Read his bio from the Writer’s Studio press release:

“Ernest Gaines is the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which was made into an Emmy Award-winning movie starring Cicely Tyson.  Gaines was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish near New Roads, Louisiana, which is the Bayonne of his fictional works, and is writer-in-residence emeritus at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  In 1993 Gaines received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for lifetime achievement, and in 1996 was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of France’s highest decorations.  Gaines’s other works include bloodline, Of Love and Dust, A Lesson Before Dying, and A Gathering of Old Men, the last two of which were also made into films.”

For more information about the Writer’s Studio, including how to purchase tickets, see the Writer’s Garret Web site and click on “Writer’s Studio Press Release.”