Black Culture and History

Today the Black Culture and History made their first and only stop for the day at the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design of Art. The Bellamy Mansion is a stewardship property of Preservation North Carolina. This was built by free and enslaved blacks as the city residence of Dr. John D. Bellamy, a prominent planter, physician, and businessman. The Bellamy family moved into this home on the eve of the Civil War, only to be displaced by the conflict. When Wilmington fell in January 1865, the Union forces occupied the house. When the war was ended, Dr. Bellamy reclaimed the property, and it remained the family residence until 1946, when Ellen Bellamy, the last surviving daughter died. After Ellen Bellamy died most of, much of the mansion had been closed for to the public for close to forty-five years. In 1989, the foundation made the decision to share the mansion with the public and donated the property to Preservation North Carolina.  After learning the rich past of how the mansion came to the public we walked into the “Negro House.” The “Negro House” is a building that was used to house the slaves. This house included everything that you would find in a modern-day house. For example, this slave house had a laundry room, multiple bedrooms, kitchens, etc. Continuing the tour upstairs we learned how some slaves were licensed, and when they are licensed they are required to wear a tag. There were laws across the South required hired out slaves to be licensed and to wear a metal identification tags. The Bellamy house had separation from their children and their slaves to impress potential business partners which would be in the higher levels of the home.

Written by: Kenneth and Alex

First, we picked up our tour guide, Mrs. Beverly Tetterson, as she led us on a wonderful trip to downtown Wilmington showing us the historical landmarks that are most significant to the African-American community. We listened and saw some sights such as the St. Stephens AME Church, Hillside high school and took us to the (lunch place). We went to St. Stephens AME Church where we were led on a guided tour of the hotel and the significance and history of each room to the black community of that time. Next, we went to the UNCW’s Upperman African American cultural center where we saw how the UNCW’s program creates an environment to foster learning above and beyond throughout the black community. With that, we listened to a small presentation by a faculty member explaining how this program has changed many people in the black community to go further in their life and education. Following this, we received a tour of the campus in which we visited key areas of their campus, as explained all the different courses, programs, and clubs students may participate in. It was a pretty great day to discover how Wilmington has been helping the black community for hundreds of years from worship to studies, empowering and building something out of their trials throughout all the racism in the deep south.

written by: Kaela and Oyinlola

     Our first stop on Tuesday was a barber shop, Samuel &Sons. He explained to us the history and the hardships that were/are associated with owning a barber shop in East Durham. We talked about how much a barber could influence a person’s life and how barbers can also act as therapists. Along with cutting hair, he sells inexpensive clothes with the hope that it will allow everyone to have easy access to some type of clothing. In order to give us a clearer idea of exactly what happens in his shop, he gave Kenneth a hair cut.

 

    Next, we went to the John Avery Boys and Girls Club. They focus on providing cheap care for kids after school and throughout the summer. They provide tutors to help kids if they need it and they have a gym to let kids move around. We learned about the history and how the center developed over the years and started allowing girls to join the program.

 

      The second to last stop was a library that was originally founded in the bottom of White Rock Baptist Church. It was built because blacks were denied the right to go to libraries. Once again we learned about the history and how it paved the road for the future.

        For lunch, we ate at the Northgate Mall food court and then had some time to shop around and look in stores. After we were done we went back to CA and watched a documentary about the history of Wilmington and black rights to prepare us for the overnight trip.

Written by: Marie

We started off our day by finishing up our songs about equality and our discovery term that we started working on, on Tuesday. After we each presented our songs to the class, we had a brief lesson of the infamous 3D glasses and the technology behind them. Kenneth J. Dunkley, the president of Holospace Laboratories Inc. With our little history lesson under wraps, we packed our bags and headed down to Marbles Kids Museum to see this technology in action. We got our popcorn, settled into our seats, and most importantly, put on our 3D glasses and watched the film “Dream Big: Engineering Our World”. An inspiring film focused towards the importance of getting young kids interested in engineering, along with some beautiful stories from engineers making an impact all over the world. One specific case was a woman who traveled to Haiti where there was a river that the children had to cross to get to school every day, and adults would have to cross to go get utilities such as medicine. Due to the varying rapidness and inconsistent rise or decrease of water levels, many people have been swept away and have died because of this river. The young engineer who came to Haiti began planning simple bridges so the natives she was working with could replicate the bridge easily enough. She began by placing pillars at either end of the river with a rope attached to both sides so people could hold on to something while crossing the river, with the help of some natives who were enthusiastic about learning and helping in her project, this woman was able to build a structurally sound and safe bridge for all people to use. In the afternoon, we watched the movie Get Out which amplified the underlying racism and mistreatment of African-Americans. In our discussion afterward, we went through some subtle, and not so subtle references in the movie such as symbols placed around the house or names that the house owners used for specific things or locations.

Written by: Christina

Today we visited 2 places. The first being the Harvey B. Gantt Center. The Gantt Center is home to many African-American artworks. While there we visited 4 unique exhibits. First was the Harlem Notes containing artwork made by Jordan Casteel. We learned that in her art, she always started by drawing the face, more specifically the eyes first. That is because it tells the heaviest part of the story. What is seen in the face tends to set the mood and explain the rest of the piece. We were also told that she expressed a lot of thoughts through the color schemes. Most of the people she met, she met the day of and she would use the color to help express the person and their personality

Our next exhibit was titled fatherly figures and it was a series of photographs taken by Zun Lee. The purpose of this exhibit was to help African-American fathers fight the stereotypes given to them. It is often believed that these fathers are not in the picture of their child’s life, but the photos helped us to realize that in most cases that is anything but true.

3^rd we visited The Future is Abstract which is a compilation of 4 artists. One of the first things are tour guide told us was that with abstract work it is only 50% complete. That is because the first 50% is done by the artist and the other half is done by the person looking at it and their imagination. We learned this through and exercise in which 4 people were selected to state what they saw in a piece. The answers ranged from blisters to Christmas trees. The colors, shapes, and materials played a major role in the interpretation of the piece.

Last but not least at the Gantt Center we visited the Nature of Us exhibit created by Alison Saar. The exhibit’s pieces almost always contained either roots or moths. That is because Saar believes that all parents should give their children 2 things, roots to their family but also wings to be their own and follow their dreams.

After the Gantt center, we visited the Latta Plantation where we learned what life was like for Mr.Latta and others in the time period. We first learned that kitchen was in a building separated from the house due to its likelihood of burning down. They also had a fire going year-round that was made from 3 elements. Oxygen, something to burn, and an igniter which was usually quartz or flint. Mr. Latta was a slaveholder and he had the cash crop cotton. There were 3 types of slaves on his property, however; we only know of one specific slave. Her name was Suki. She was originally tasked with taking care of the children but later moved to the kitchen in hopes of starting her own family. While they don’t know much about her, they do know that by her death she had taken the Latta name. Mr. Latta was a rich man and this was shown through many of his actions. For example, his parlor was painted completely blue, which at the time was only made from indigo which was a pricey commodity of the time so by having an entire room of blue color he was really displaying his wealth. The family also contained sugar which was another pricey item to have in your house at the time. Before leaving, the last thing we learned was where the saying sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite came from. Sleep tight was because they slept on a rope bed and it had to be tightened each night before bed, and because of the materials used in beds bed bugs were common so the mattress was flipped each night, but this didn’t do much to stop the pests. And with that, it was a conclusion of our tour and we headed back to Cary.

Written by: Taylor

 

Food Day Reflection:

Food is a bridge between history and culture, born out of necessity, yet crafted by circumstance and evolved via progressive change. For blacks in America, the past is a tale riddled with pain and laced with uncertainty, dating back to slavery but easily traced to systemic racism that refuses to be vanquished by time. Not all wounds can be cauterized by ticking hands, especially when their clock faces are marred by ambivalence. For years, the rest of the world has sat by passively as this story of suffering has slowly unwound. And yet, those marginalized groups survived, slept, awoke, and ate. Their paths can be outlined by what they consumed, a perpetual trail of crumbs leading to a fork in the road that future generations will be forced to navigate. Through and through, the secrets of a people lie deep in their bellies.

As an appetizer of sorts, the Discovery Term members watched the documentary, “Soul Food Junkies”, a charming piece that used one man’s father as a microcosm for the prevalence of unhealthy food in many black communities. The film’s balance of humor and sorrow resonated deeply as the viewers found themselves engrossed by this depiction of the United States, one so palpably different from the Cary bubble. Upon its completion, the resulting discussion analyzed this contrasting perspective of society and opened the gates to a brainstorm of solutions. The deeply rooted problems highlighted by the movie begged for answers that were difficult to find. When put into the context of the greater world, this realization blossomed into an epiphany about the nature of the racial and socioeconomic divides facing humanity. They are not easily fixed and are much harder said than done. This unpleasant conclusion, derived from the pervasiveness of fattening and potentially carcinogenic soul foods, was something that required acknowledgement. The issues are deeper than the topsoil and bear a sour taste that no stick of butter could obscure.

Following this, the onus was placed back on the students to delve deeper into the black cuisine through a hands-on approach. A luncheon was planned, teams were formed, and a brief trip to the grocery store secured necessary supplies. Just like that, they were off, amateur chefs with commendable hunger to master the dishes they were assigned. An hour and a half flew by, filled with cooking mishaps, rainy misadventures, and near-constant laughter, but the result far exceeded any expectations. Gooey macaroni and cheese, creamy mashed potatoes, breaded chicken legs, and rich fettucine alfredo lined the table. Soon, the ravenous staff piled their plates with the fruits of their labors. The resulting silence was shattered only by the occasional utensil scraping the bottom of a dish. Time had been well spent. Finally, it was time for the warm red velvet cake. It, too, did not take long to disappear as an empty container stared back at any person with the stomach capacity to even envision the prospect of seconds. Somehow, the lunch had madea statement of itself regarding food’s place in blacks’ lives.

The dual-faceted tactic of pairing a more cynical and realistic representation of soul food from the video with a contrasting proof of its validity from the first-hand experience of eating it competently presented a full-picture truth. The reality is that this aspect of black culture is one that is entangled with negativity but remains radiated with hope. People will continue to seek this form of nourishment, regardless of its drawbacks, because it symbolizes a fundamental aspect of their identity. The need to endure, but to do so on one’s own terms, is paramount to the success of both individuals and collectives. This is the only way that tomorrow is healthier than today.

Blog post by: Ted and Ben

Our first stop for our field trip was Greensboro. Greensboro has a rich history and we wanted to explore as much of it as possible. Firstly, we went to the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum. The museum is home to the Palmer Memorial Institute which was a prestigious school run by Charlotte Brown to teach young African Americans in the humanities, STEM and etiquette. Here, we were privy to knowledge about not just the school, but Ms.Brown as a person. She had very little money but a dream to create a legacy. She moved to Sedalia, NC at the age of NC and a vision for excellence. Her determination inspired all of us to achieve great things as well.

Many of Ms. Browns’ students went on to be doctors,lawyers, and make their own mark on the world. 97% of all of her classes went to college. Most of them ventured to HBCU’S. These students wanted to continue their excellence so they chose colleges or universities that promoted this, A&T being one of them. Our tour guide Ashanti took us on a private tour of the campus and we walked away convinced that Ms. Browns’ students were well equipped to conquer the world with the help of A&T. North Carolina’s Agricultural and Tech College is not only a great place to learn but is a standing artifact for events like the Greensboro Four, who fought for equality in public eateries. These 4 freshman started the “sit-in” tactic which spread its way all over the United States.

Finally, we participated in a guided tour of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. This interactive museum was filled with cool hologram images, touch screen maps and renovated decor that made learning fun. In our tour, the theme of Tapestry was constantly reiterated. Our guide Daniel explained that Civil Rights was never white or black, or cut clean, it was a mix of different people and things to create an era. In an hour, we dove deep into all of the many fabrics that were weaved into this tapestry of rights and how we, the future, will continue to make it grow and change.

 

Today, the Black History and Culture Discovery term explored the world of music and dance. To start off we participated in a game called “stereotypes vs reality”. Through this game, we wanted to see what stereotypes about black people, individuals thought were true or false. It was an eye-opening experience to learn that some of the statements were true and elicited more conversation. Moving from the intro activity, we presented a“ What is black culture” presentation. This presentation was meant to educate the and dance. To start off we participated in a game called “stereotypes vs reality”. Through this game, we wanted to see what stereotypes about black people, individuals thought were true or false. It was an eye-opening experience to learn that some of the statements were true and elicited more conversation. Moving from the intro activity, we presented a“ What is black culture” presentation. This presentation was meant to educate the dt on some information on black culture. It was amazing to know that some students already were very educated on some black culture, but others were still not very sure about it. By the end of the presentation, everyone acquired more understanding on the topic of black culture. After the presentation, we headed down to the dance room to work with Ms. Powell on African Dance. She introduced us to African dance by showing us some videos on Chuck Davis, an influential dancer, and choreographer who helped bring African dance to America. From there we dived into the world of African dance by learning some of the steps to different African dances. Although we may have struggled to keep up with the pace of the dances, this activity was very fun and engaging. Afterward, we did some karaoke as a way to learn about the microphone, a black invention. By this point, the dt had worked on dance and music separately, but now it was time to combine these two. We did this by creating our own song and then making a music video to go along with it. Overall today was a great first day and I can’t wait for the activities planned ahead.

Written By: Princess Bernard-Oti