2/26/08

we had a very successful meeting yesterday at walnut way with sharon and ASSET. though we did end up starting a little late, almost everyone made it out to the meeting. sharon was very kind, supportive of our ideas and excited to work with us. i think we are all pretty excited too. fallicy and michael seemed to be the most excited out of all of us, and were wearing that excitement on their faces.

we reviewed the components of our project, which are as follows:

1. create a history center for walnut way
a. gather and assemble materials for center: photos, music, literature, newspapers, geographical information systems (maps).
b. create interactive, mobile displays. possible additions to displays.

2. plan and execute a reception for history center
a. assemble database of potential tour organizations.
b. invite them to a premier of the center.

3. design tour curriculum
a. create narrative script for volunteer tour guides to use on neighborhood tours.
b. create complimentary brochure for visitors.

another prospective idea was introduced yesterday that would entail creating a special tribute to the houses in walnut way that are all least 100 years old. this would be incorporated in the gis mapping systems part of the project, as well as the virtual and real walking tours.

when we were introducing ourselves to sharon, she wanted to know what our interests in the program were specifically, what we were looking to do or to get out of this project. as we were around, everyone expressed an interest in a particular facet of the project, so it looks like every area of it will have a point person to do things with: art, publicity, organizing, volunteer management, research. we'll also have some student volunteers to assist with the legwork, and ivory black will be helping as a consultant.

something else that really stuck with me about the meeting was the way that sharon wanted to reach out to other members of the community. she's interested in involving the youth and the elders, as well as the area community centers. she's carrying out that asset-based community development.

on the way home, fallicy was so excited, she was practically bouncing around in the back seat. she talked about all the energy and all the potential. i stayed quiet, remembering the looks on each teammate's face, and the power of our project.

ivory black, remembering bronzeville

2/18/08

president's day, red cross is closed for business (on the business end anywho). i went to big step with fallicy, and also attended a chat and chew session (lunch and discussion) at marquette university titled "my black history: remembering bronzeville."

the event was only an hour long, so there are still so many things to ask. the session was facilitated by miss ivory abena black, author of bronzeville, a milwaukee lifestyle. it was a great session, touching on a lot of the issues we've already covered in friday trainings, as well as linking them together for a more comprehensive picture of how any form of oppression leads to more oppression.

not only does it relate to our trainings directly, but to the ASSET tsp project over at walnut way. miss black is the only african american anthropologist in wisconsin who focuses specifically on the bronzeville area, which overlaps into the walnut way neighborhood. in fact, some of her research was done in conjuction with an oral narratives project out of walnut way.

i will be meeting tomorrow with miss black as well as patricia diggs to see if we can't collaborate on some things, including the cumination of research for the center for neighborhood history. it's great that we have such incredible assets within the community to turn to. without them, i doubt we'd be able to make this thing happen.