1 50 99 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7ddfb3f237c45536bf9c28a588cc43f3.png 759e22130c42a0abc8ec4411ce07f95d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Beatrice Morse Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Beatrice Morse https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c26514cb8e785be91dae16568aa24ff4.jpg 26b7ca36d93838111bc125ce001008f6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brandon Lopez Toro Subject The topic of the resource Bio Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brandon Lopez Toro https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7cee8ebdabacd4dc825e6408001a066e.JPG cdabddd1b596d28857ee49a3788fee3d Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photograph Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tour with Major Joe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chie Sakakibara Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017.10.15 africatown major joe womack oberlin tour https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/46705d727d2889bff76730963813813e.JPG f5730bb9bebf0c946056c56707747c59 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cudjoe Lewis Gravesite-1 Subject The topic of the resource Picture of Cudjoe Lewis' Grave Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chie Sakakibara Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017.10.15 africatown https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/a0dcf32d8d0666fe728511131e8b1f2d.png 4e4bdea30151fa32fe86719053b3f61b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Don Coleman Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Don Coleman https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/95d2ed0df6e402ca0f069e56f13538af.png 96899c17e8642c27fa174c7f63333f94 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dru Description An account of the resource Self-Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dru https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/46b2fc6e46d9ed033a4e74e55b3439cc.jpg 71b108abccd7921d6f0ca35f5fdad000 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mae Jones Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ehryn Ortega Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Quick Google search Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Ehryn Ortega https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/8359d830b3b29f0855dc4d39fba82258.jpg 501b156d044190d6016e5dc08909e972 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reggie Hill Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ehryn Ortega Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Quick Google search Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Ehryn Ortega Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12.21.18 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/a38dd43b368d8a0f9f014291e7ca0f23.png b0ad3028b8d4cf4e92ff54b1a05a9542 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eli Presberg Description An account of the resource Self Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Eli Presberg https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/855f205804a40e0599ebe9d3ab27d619.png b198c0e89cbe12ae32e9b94f828f994d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Group Photo of Collaborators Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elise Steenburgh https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/1e1f10b63e763c870b193af7ea65a1ef.pdf cc1a18d5d44c27df0af86993d9f152f1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource HBCU Posters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elise Steenburgh, Imani Badillo, Howard Sinclair, Mo Singletary https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/1ebd367acff45babe72299b950d94a48.png 7ae40bd549045823bda236afafac3939 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource HBCU 2 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elise Steenburgh, Imani Badillo, Howard Sinclair, Mo Singletary https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/90fab7e46f1c35521016c8a4e08c6a87.png abb2c914f17461894c1671bd1c47aa92 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource HBCU 3 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elise Steenburgh, Imani Badillo, Howard Sinclair, Mo Singletary https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/d59ffec387579b5bac54f1b3da26ce2b.png 01faca7f1138897aeb5c71fc38bf73de Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource HBCU Poster 2021 image 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elise Steenburgh, Imani Badillo, Howard Sinclair, Mo Singletary https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/909ab0a03cd0babce8ffdc0ff7ead916.png afdd174d680c957a82ef64908a00a201 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gloria Nault Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gloria Nault https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ceef7fd71479b57edbfba246fe0c007f.png f6fd49e60ff3ea1ddf0cda4f20a1fe7c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Horace Gill Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Horace Gill https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e670d40e0765a3ea76f2b31f87ea859f.png 0277b626e81cee29829a34f44c264210 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Howard Sinclair Description An account of the resource Self Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Howard Sinclair https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ea1e868990614719c1ee2bf02c72ce86.jpg 0838211624d3d6d0c556fd4abb7851ad Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ifunanya “Ify” Ezimora Subject The topic of the resource Ifunanya “Ify” Ezimora Description An account of the resource Self-Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ifunanya “Ify” Ezimora https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/9c5ddf9dfad6cd9b0fa2379419293fb4.jpg 603d0589f1e2d4887816d295821451b1 Person An individual. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photo Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image ‪4,160 x 5,906‬ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emily Aguilar Subject The topic of the resource Research Collaborator Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jacob Strauss Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Oct 20, 2022 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Oberlin College Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Photograph https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/f56ebef09aeae024f5381403c4b6dc97.jpg c5be6d1d8c9845582197f548775b50fd https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/bb50007d1ae5d51b779f109401d6069f.jpg 665ef028900ae6fb695a26a972a265da https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/67256dd9cb0a12b65431de37096f09f8.jpg eaa57d5d1a45c313f58bd3262308656a https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/44c70127369c92b0db349068748ab204.jpg cb0259fc436cf5fcefa73131410599bd https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/fb934f4996246f4412926de55c2b97f0.jpg 53dca6bd4fe45b188f59d2821be15b35 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oberlin Commencement Major Joe Womack Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Major Joe Commencement Day Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Janet Fiskio https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/74f98005e200f999d52430bedf7a9ab8.png 20efec68d03eaac6bdcbd1e306428ff7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Flen Description An account of the resource John Flen Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Flen https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/49086437231f43c9cb425471630bbb3a.png aab7df15e9430f2cb0dc94315af5d087 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lois Watson Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lois Watson https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e21c765fcd9f068208df5e6fc0eb7cda.png 1c0ab0ac86dc029a7ea4edd605f5d080 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mr. Darron Patterson Subject The topic of the resource Self-Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mr. Darron Patterson https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/d94c102eee9b496cfd0b16c9a0aee3f8.png 09af35f6c7fcc30b68dbbb33609fdf55 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mrs. Mae Jones Subject The topic of the resource Self Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mrs. Mae Jones https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/95601a46797ca9864b0a02fa12f7041c.JPG ce7be86be1955b9762fe0263ca18203f https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/bb4a9f6a5aa659ee74a7c457a729d8f2.JPG d5d289a07a6a3db9ddefb5189fe17346 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e560c37b652c784afed60a5c456b3c0e.JPG f713887c13de2e0c3f8890ac1e087312 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/9d0ba5fab4c2aa0ea2ef93cd61e9cc59.JPG cca937fda496ca0ff6fdcd85df5bb25a https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/52ef921f9672f634d4744ec9379f7a31.JPG a2fb883a7bf12ff2146f4fedd620ef6f https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/83706bfb8d4859b6175c1b9b1cf084d3.JPG 9be3bf8de4a4ddf93ddc70340d9b0e0a https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/619f4165a37604010dd1ee13262f9fdd.JPG 713a77e819961f0d3cd24610878cf7e7 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/21e40b3030b3a180210ed87eeed586e4.JPG 9c7080513edfacd991243da04bf42a40 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lewis Landing 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ac28dc4ba7e579764989d16bea023ee1.JPG cc4b0d47b49cb397e136af02943a406b Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photo Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image ‪5,184px by 3,456‬ px Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Africatown Welcome Center sign Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Photograph Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Photograph https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/2625039489ca07a8b76a1489be389e27.jpg 598231d1bd4e1a7a0182d5d399e28abe https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/2298f48d3239c3442d7d0da15595e49e.JPG cc4b0d47b49cb397e136af02943a406b https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/5cadd2049c499a4510d2fe55f04f9a21.JPG c1093327acec9f7f5aeabd7789259b35 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/6ad69460667d3b90fe160eb50238b512.JPG 570d1f932ea1f507a972b811ea549ba3 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/bf044ce338a2f64274a50adf078bdc0e.JPG 22909916bfcc935ef471b1af22ddf3db https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/300b8f3783159be610b955aac6578be0.JPG e4e686433927093fb93ff2cae605c3b9 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/721f313761505a4e9d798b85367fe8d0.JPG d01e3c3410542b2e900144ff82fbeac0 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/10a038213e50c177712f1d7d44c0a910.JPG 6f78fcc3c6943155b7d3d18554797e0c https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/b9276070676cb16be3dff3bbc7d7ccf2.JPG b8e63f21975106d4e6ab401ffcbbf8ee Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Africatown Welcome Signs Description An account of the resource Africatown Welcome Signs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Google Drive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Oct 21,2019 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/49fdc876008d10ad5e27575892bef341.mp4 8d06c76e6f408b26994868785a577bb9 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ef53dec8c033f5709917d28ca6039f9b.pdf e7cf3d987e1f0e9bfcb065dc5b404a31 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nathan's Thesis Subject The topic of the resource Thesis Presentation and Paper Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/f321f041f3b74a9ef4f574a37b3a1267.JPG 9579047759cea5d3af223a7ce29b672c https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/57918835c89c81c1bf12dcabcbdcad6e.JPG 6c24800134d19aada4855f28f428dda6 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7ebce1d60470b789676d5f94b60016ed.JPG 4914be2d4857b09f9b2662e93650d3d8 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/33e183fda8617dbe43afac1eeba81586.JPG e1a923e029159447819a92dd77110266 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lewis Landing II Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/cc050aa631448d7785ef14b55d2cdb1f.jpg 1b8d3b45e90f7fffbbb30b9df3caff2a https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/6645ae6a1955d18f3da1784bfbc6bfe7.jpg c7e596a08223c9834ed40b3359c6fb46 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c3105697a6bb0819ed44e2f77fcde749.jpg 042fc3258a942e7d3460549cc3777836 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7dc9dd4d1df7663054b7cd9c6fe27a14.jpg 656716d9351d07a52274a6e4ed10ad5f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Proposed Telegraph Road Boat Launch Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/501d02821d37dc5404c920fa2de4a881.JPG bfe8a9cab8065bd04ce9b961772f3132 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e470bec422753bef116ef72aa67d47bf.JPG fe2735eaf8f6919aecf90e4e49850958 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/17ee86ccd538ccd704d9228bb8ebbeb7.JPG e0d13a212f95862e2510b4aef7eec9c7 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/5b0418971f8c899eb2131a46e1c17c5d.JPG 56ced2f07e174fa476cb20453165d11c https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ccde5066eb46a770ea7ee3783a3dab2f.JPG 766d872ca04e1a63f08171f9c3a625eb https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/fe5a06f24afd9db1778682f298f6ea14.JPG 85ca7220c9945aeb53fa76bc083d3f17 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/561c68913cc2e901d6a0d642eeec1ddf.JPG 91195a6d0819687d5d0ee3b01764e25b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lewis Quarters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/f83cae3224f42d2987cc589d7c767e35.JPG bd6669964fc49028b5145db06430ec15 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c7daa8bc4f46e1439a460106a9c31782.JPG 4dda88c6fc0992e1c70bc69193032d98 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e77e0f1efe3f6850b393194ca49d2f50.JPG f3010562c10b233f4beb12cafe3c9055 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/cc700fb65ed540484f93a35e2af28266.jpg e2879bd43b7b4804cd4080c3f6aefa26 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/786ee837ec35606f5200dffdf1def134.JPG 333a8b8767b5ead1d7c93312bcfce862 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data JPG Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Union Baptist Church Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter, Santi Roman Description An account of the resource Historic Church in Africatown (Photo taken 2019) https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/3fcea075768e6931ec1b2c9f0c6e639f.JPG 4d8282364b875ab108544df76f15c099 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/72a62f9fd1e9e9f69dbfa81ac66a0fc6.JPG c6e231e96938c4461158154f5299a411 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/46b7e4f12225367f0c0641ff61f005b3.JPG ffdebdf935263b521aac3822e13fd571 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/9712f3a1ae7b6a769e89bbcc56bafb2b.JPG a1817e645ebde9722c2f8139de3d24bc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bust of Cudjoe "Kazoola" Lewis Description An account of the resource Located outside of Union Baptist Church (Photo Taken 2019) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter, Santi Roman https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/8c8412fdda95a3b876e18a0d8422be7e.JPG 4febbe6d658262bdb07f9ba046875a88 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/3f69da901daa912353810d3666054844.JPG a416c9d1231869cc4659543b99d9a080 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/703ed7329befc5ab5a0751472ad62c5f.JPG 7d260f8c8000c4193b38bdc9f284e7aa https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/73195243340a0b67996ca4f527787ad2.JPG 8ef09cd70981f4e60d82f8c031345506 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Africatown's Historic Shell Bayou Elks Lodge Description An account of the resource (Photo Taken 2019) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nathan Carpenter, Santi Roman https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c5f7dd6ec10e84c58b8abc66ee2ca88f.JPG 79cccea9e185e7ba8c469b9e1fb0b89a https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/af5babede3685164377db68bfb949aec.JPG 8c27f209764994e3fedb03008413c34e https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/f3d50d8d8cb10be51ed8ee9f62b7aa65.JPG de0406ba75f4c27292c880d43f5bf08d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mobile County Training School Sign Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Santiago Roman Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Oct 22, 2019 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/9de49a3b71030d7a64c6598403688b9a.jpg ed2b972d93388a4d6f249e8c5a851e48 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photo Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image ‪4,032px by 3,024‬px Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Africatown's Hog Bayou Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Santiago Roman https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/d5db8f35d71775d624d4b748f3dc8de6.JPG fde5c05e006347815440c1cdd3728aad Person An individual. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Santiago Roman Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Santiago Roman https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/38c8ec1055ce192c50736077ff4cfe96.jpg 9b8f7a97a24db06eb1e2836f3c274eaa https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7a7fd3caa5c867fde66980eee02ac373.jpg c7dff470ba04fff7f3277dce93848ae8 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/4a8d6a16c986277a42f580521602ad77.jpg 363060847b720b5fbb19ac9c49493023 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/032704adb90da580c3d504525f8484df.jpg 38303957dacff4e234c6b1972d526d69 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ac3fd4adc999e6918022ace05acd7196.jpg 57c163124aebc415a69e1ffff8bb7209 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/4adadd59b4fabdab8e1561f8782d7c03.jpg ebb4f7f0ae1cd5b0bc4d7a8b70c344f3 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7dd31913ec947454fd7db4215c61e5a7.jpg cf203d254c7220a54ee5112d2603ac66 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/fd7f1661d9b0f1123d6407871a464c2d.jpg 9e235c95d4159b45320563655f434a01 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ad032531a5acc912052fd71de335aa60.jpg bfa1d9d4ed319ebb3645656756b05e2d https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/aac206b7ecb5303f3421039ab870a6ef.jpg 0623e85c5708b9948501b25f025a9a1b https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/a78219fd249ff1316950f8901000f841.jpg 150d039c5a3ad32ba6cadff74d01b1cd https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/6cc0fd8f7fe74e5d97b1e87c7872656a.jpg abd25073fda5a3cd8001977a8a981b3c https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/d401a4eb2b84029e900c686b6a74220e.jpg ddef47a5023568bfd625455de9285b73 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/a210ecf0d2abc708dd998d6bf83670bd.jpg 61f35d881afdb6c0ae388d74c7f5bd25 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/34d7c893f1d15c8dd4c4eb88f8902514.jpg 43392c81f9d76aa6c6edd4842f70f564 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c621673595d80bef727941c0e88c199f.jpg 315cc67de3711d36666c8bcf6382ee61 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/070ffd8ed09f54abb22709a56fae035c.jpg 049a8478392c7ee374a1e5bd1d530465 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e653400a22b92244d62dad3b152317ca.jpg 81a2830adb1fa4e8e14bd2e375b7f811 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ab9e9c991a8cb05978e4c6a2f24e1d86.jpg 8ca20c252e295c232bce8ca183902280 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/229251b4c26e9caf06b3577da35cdb1b.jpg 31f213ca0c8ac01e864a2d480ddd5ee2 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7512e42789a7376cd3ec797b56c71380.jpg 45d06ebefa52a72a7ec00d4b22003311 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/7a3f83ee359b20b3ff3d1a7a32d71bff.jpg 6137b191b595309cbf3a73647808c6b6 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/592517f5a8df44ca890490f4f86fb8e2.jpg 625a618e41633962b692c5259b5caef6 https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/2fbd16d9d959b12e60bbc0ce66c57bce.jpg 25dfbe70adfe87487f44a2a9b1a95b69 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Student Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sequoia Jacobson https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/61b5970987d45d6628787f830f496763.jpg a1919c9becc9f8d5946b6bcbd35cd8d0 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Group Photo Description An account of the resource list of folks Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource who took the picture Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource when? https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/e8ca7ac28b989f0ba468501cf1529110.png 859d0a38dba668cd0546a90dcf6554d9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Zite Ezeh Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zite Ezeh https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/97aaaf0e5a808da78e791996b2cd5462.jpg d04084c1a8840151ea1aabf7b9cb97ee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Africatown Cemetery Sign https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/ae7502e4cd8fb652bebeff25349d2696.jpg 501b156d044190d6016e5dc08909e972 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Keandre, Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Mr. Reggie Hill OHMS Object This field contain the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file withing the OHMS Viewer). https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=Interview60014.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and/or Transcript and is what make the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka. 5.2 Reggie Hill Full Interview Africatown Oberlin College Library Mr. Reggie Hill Keandre, 1:|26(2)|48(8)|58(13)|72(1)|87(9)|104(3)|116(3)|131(3) 0 https://youtu.be/cGaKN3N06js YouTube video 0 Early life, education, and experiences of Mr. Reggie Hill I grew up in quite a few communities. Down the Bay Area, the Townsville area, and Africatown. Africatown youth Keandre interview Reggie about his early life growing up in different parts of the US, and his interests. Africatown ; Alabama ; Band ; Bay Area ; County ; Education ; Mobile ; School ; Training Young Life of Reggie Hill 17 82 Executive Director of Success for the Future I am the executive director of Success for the Future. It's a non profit organization, we implement character development and behavioral intervention programs. Primarily for at-risk youth. Mr. Reggie Hill talks about his position as executive director of Success for the future, an organization and non-profit dedicated to the betterment and success of youth A&amp ; M ; at risk ; Director ; Executive ; for ; future ; nonprofit ; Success ; the ; University Career ; Reggie Hill ; Success for the Future 17 114 Campus life at A&amp ; M University It was an amazing experience. I would recommend any young person to go to college and because I attended an HBCU, it was very -- it was a cultural exchange that I was not really prepared for. Mr. Reggie Hill reflects on his experience attending an HBCU A&amp ; M ; band ; Black ; first ; HBCU ; Historically ; president ; undergrad ; University 17 198 Motivations to Found Success for the Future I was under the assumption that all kids had the same advantages. And then when I started teaching in a Title I high-poverty area, I realized that was not the case but that if they were exposed to things differently than what they were used to, Mr. Reggie Hill talks about his motivations for founding and the origins of Success for the Future, his nonprofit organization dedicated to youth success. Disadvantages ; Faith ; For ; Future ; High ; No ; Poverty ; Saying ; Sharing ; Success ; The ; Title I ; To ; Violence Success for the Future 17 278 Ethical Beliefs and Vision of Mr. Reggie Hill Well I believe that everybody's already great. If they get into the mindset that they are great they'll begin to do great things. Reggie Hill talks about his worldview and his hopes for the future. balance ; be ; chance ; citizens ; contributing ; deserves ; equitable ; everybody ; future ; goal ; great ; humility ; love ; peace ; preserve ; responsibility ; sacrifice ; self ; to Ethics ; Future ; Morals ; Reggie Hill 17 00:00 Keandre: We have Mister Reggie here with us today. I would like to ask you a few questions. When were you born? Mr. Reggie Hill: I was born in Mobile, Alabama. Keandre: What community did you grow up in? Hill: I grew up in quite a few communities. Down the Bay Area, the Townsville area, and Africatown. Keandre: What few high schools did you attend? Hill: I attended only one high school, Murphy High School. Which was the oldest high school in the state of Alabama and it was probably what spearheaded for Mobile County training school to come into existence. Keandre: What programs did you attend at Murphy High School? Hill: Well--what was I a part of at Murphy High School? Keandre: Yeah. Hill: Oh, I was a part of band, I was a part of the SGA, and I was actually the first African American to make the golf team at Murphy. Keandre: Are you very passionate about your band skills that you developed over the years? Hill: Absolutely. I believe music is the finest of the arts, and because of that, I&#039 ; m glad that I took that route and I was able to even study it after leaving grade school. Keandre: What do you do today? Hill: I am the executive director of Success for the Future. It&#039 ; s a non profit organization, we implement character development and behavioral intervention programs. Primarily for at-risk youth. We want to just ensure that young people steer clear of pathways that lead to delinquency, social dependency, and incarceration. Keandre: What college did you attend? Hill: The Alabama Alabama A&amp ; M University. Keandre: AMU? AMU University huh? Keandre: What was the campus life like? Hill: Um, it was an amazing experience. I would recommend any young person to go to college and because I attended an HBCU, it was very -- it was a cultural exchange that I was not really prepared for. &#039 ; Cause going to Murphy, which is a very diverse school, it was the first time where the campus was predominantly black, and so I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about my people. And I also learned a lot about the ideals of what people think of our people. The first black president in the country was elected while I was an undergrad student, so that experience and remembering how we all were during that time as well as when you were able to go to homecoming and you see all these alumni come back and you&#039 ; re able to see the success stories and you begin building a network with these individuals as well by being able to participate in the HBCU band. The traveling as well as the band encompassed people of all studies. So yeah, engineering majors, education majors, social work majors, criminal justice, and musicians--music majors. So that experience was something I&#039 ; ll never forget. 03:17 Keandre: Earlier in the interview, you said you were the founder of Success for the Future. What--Who impacted you to do such a thing? Hill: Well to start the organization--I was working in the school system in Huntsville, and as I mentioned also before, I graduated from Murphy High School, so me being naive, I was under the assumption that all kids had the same advantages. And then when I started teaching in a Title I high-poverty area, I realized that was not the case but that if they were exposed to things differently than what they were used to, that they could produce different results. And I felt that one classroom not being enough, that I needed to start something to alleviate the problems that I saw. So i started Success for the Future with four pillars: faith, uplifting education, no to violence, and sharing. And I presented it to a city council member and he asked me &#039 ; do you have your 501C3?&#039 ; And at the time, I told him &#039 ; I don&#039 ; t know what that is,&#039 ; but I knew I had a passion to help young people. And so I was inspired by the frustrations that I saw that young people were experiencing and knowing that they could do so much more if just given the opportunity. 04:37 Keandre: So do you believe [that] young, poor, mislead or not, that everybody deserves a chance to be great? Hill: Well I believe that everybody&#039 ; s already great. If they get into the mindset that they are great they&#039 ; ll begin to do great things. I don&#039 ; t think we should allow ourselves to be defined by the ideals of other individuals. I think we need to recognize that each of us are born with a unique purpose that no one before of after can contribute to society. And when we don&#039 ; t do that, not only do you fail individually, everyone else fails around you cause we&#039 ; re all just minute pieces of this larger puzzle of life, so I mean we&#039 ; re already great. We just have to tap into our own greatness. 05:17 Keandre: Do you have any upcoming plans for the city to help teens and children grow? Hill: Absolutely. That&#039 ; s what I get up every day trying to figure out. Better ways to improve the quality of life and the quality of learning, particularly for young people. &#039 ; Cause regardless of what industrial moves that public officials make, and--in the city, if we&#039 ; re not training the young people to be able to preserve that in the future all of it&#039 ; s in vain. So everyday that&#039 ; s my mission and my goal: to figure out how we can better place young people in positions to be contributing citizens rather than hindrances. 05:59 Keandre: What are some of your morals that you go by on a daily basis--or lifetime? Hill: Um, equity. I have an equitable approach to everything. Balance. Peace and, and love. I think if you practice all of those, everything else kind of just falls into place. When you look at, uh, the idea of being kind to someone regardless of how they might treat you, you then begin to practice humility in a mannerism--in a way where you can use those same mannerisms in any aspect of life. So those are my main things. As long as you love people, you&#039 ; re practicing peace, being genuine and kind, going about things in equity, that&#039 ; s all you gotta do. 06:51 Keandre: From my experience with you, I noted you take a lot of sacrifices to help teens like me be great. How do you--how do you feel about that? Hill: Um... Keandre: Your time management. Hill: Well, um, there&#039 ; s a cliche--it takes money to make money. So, if I want to see you all be great, it takes me sacrificing my time and things that I could be doing--other than trying to see y&#039 ; all fulfill that desire. But I mean, I don&#039 ; t really look at it as a sacrifice, I look at it as a responsibility. The same way I try and instill in the young people that the generation after y&#039 ; all--you&#039 ; re in high school now [so] the middle and elementary kids are your responsibility. If you&#039 ; re in middle school the elementary kids are your responsibility. So, it&#039 ; s not necessarily a sacrifice, it&#039 ; s just me doing what I&#039 ; m supposed to be doing. 07:59 Keandre: Well, that will be all. We have mister Reggie Hill. Okay. video 0 https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile= Sort Priority This field allows you to determine the object order in your gallery. This plugin is designed to work only with the Philly theme. 0002 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reggie Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/cb9128741fd9c3d098361a165c5f8b23.jpeg f9d6d87f4b9a86af55a45f0ce01f2078 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Kaylee Elliot Janet Fiskio Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Major Joe Womack OHMS Object This field contain the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file withing the OHMS Viewer). https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=Interview59851.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and/or Transcript and is what make the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka. 5.2 Major Joe Full Interview Africatown Oberlin College Library Major Joe Womack Kaylee Elliot Janet Fiskio 1:|16(12)|27(4)|36(5)|48(1)|57(7)|71(6)|82(5)|95(8)|110(9)|121(3)|136(4)|150(5)|162(2)|171(8)|181(3)|192(6)|203(1)|218(9)|228(3)|237(12)|247(15)|257(12)|268(12)|283(2)|297(9)|306(15)|317(6)|328(5)|340(1)|348(1)|360(9)|372(11)|387(10)|397(6)|405(2)|418(14)|435(4)|446(12)|458(6)|470(1)|480(12)|490(12)|500(1)|511(12) 0 https://youtu.be/OlZV24tH4AY YouTube video 0 Introduction of Major Joe and Childhood in Africatown My favorite thing to do growing up as a kid was just out playin' with my friends. Out playin' sports especially during the summertime. Playin' softball, baseball, and enjoying outdoor activities with my friends. Major Joe Womack talks about the wide variety of wild fruits, berries, and trees that grew in Africatown when he was a kid that people would eat from and cook with and then moves on to describe the decline in agricultural bounty. He also talks about fishing with his dad and the importance of fishing to the community and its eventual decline. africatown ; blackberries ; childhood ; fig trees ; figs ; Fishing ; fruits ; Honey Bees ; plentiful ; plums ; trees Agricultural bounty of Africatown ; Community Activities ; Community Traditions 17 704 History of the Clotilda Ship Bell Well the history of the bell goes way back. And I guess most of it is folklore but I go back to a lot of stuff I talk about is what my grandaddy and him and Henry William's told me comin' up Major Joe talks about the history and story of the bell that was passed down through generations and stayed within the community as an important artifact. Bell ; Clotilda ; County ; Mobile ; Mobile County Training School ; School ; Slave Ship ; Training Clotilda Bell ; Mobile County Training School Bell ; Oral History ; Slave Ship bell 17 1026 Founding of Mobile County Training School Yeah, the school itself was established back in 1880. Of course, the last shipment of slaves came over here in 1860 and in 1870 incorporated the area Plateau and Magazine Point Major Joe Talks about the origins of Mobile County Training School Alabama ; Clotilda ; County ; Enslaved People ; Mobile ; Mobile County Training School ; School ; Slaves ; Training Founding of Mobile County Training School 17 1438 Growing up in Africatown + Community Probably to me the closeness of the community and the community....family, takin' care of the children, everybody knew everybody and so it was almost like one big family. Major Joe talks about how close everyone in the community was to each other, through the school, through the church, and through the neighbors. Africatown ; Closeness ; Community ; Family Childhood in Africatown ; Closeness of Africatown Community 17 1561 Africatown Community: Then and Now + Post Segregation Exodus No, not close today because several things, mostly as the kids got older and they become quote more educated they wanted more so they got good jobs---they went everywhere to get jobs, get educated. So, they moved out and a lot of them never come back. And so, we got a lot of---that creates some problems with housing in the area and houses not being up kept and houses with taxes not being paid. Major Joe talks about the community exodus and how desegregation impacted the closeness of the Africatown Community away ; blight ; educated ; inside the tracks ; jobs ; moved ; problems ; taxes 17 1855 Unique Education of Mobile County Training School Oh yeah it was, it was. Because, that--your whole world was on the side of the tracks. So, everything that you learned, you either learned at at your house, at your church, or at your school. Major Joe Talks about the importance of the unique education system of Mobile County Training School and how it led to the incredible success of its students. children ; County ; De-Segregation ; education ; Mobile ; Mobile County Training School ; School ; Segregation ; success ; Training Education ; Segregation 17 2130 Businesses in Africatown Yeah, laundromats. A couple of laundromats. We just take the laundry and cleaners and of course a lot of stores, a lot of corner stores. And you know not a lot of people---I would guess about a third of the people had a car. Major Joe talks about not needing to leave the community to get what you needed such as food, movies, hair cuts, etc. and the eventual disappearance of many of the businesses Business ; Cars ; Cleaners ; Corrner Stores ; Grocery ; Laundromats ; Self-Sufficient ; Stores Businesses in Africatown 17 2310 Hopes for Africatown Well the hopes and the plans and the vision is to save the community. By saving the community and by saving the school we can help save the people. And we think it's worth savin'. Major Joe talks about what he hopes to see in the future for Africatown and what needs to happen to get there. Africatown ; Community ; County ; Gates ; History ; Hopes ; Mobile ; Money ; National ; News ; Questlove ; Save ; School ; Training ; Vision Hopes for the future ; Vision for the future 17 00:00 Kaylee Elliot: This is Kaylee Elliot with the Africatown Digital Archive Project and I&#039 ; m here interviewing Major Womack on January 3rd, 2018. Major Joe is going to tell me about his experiences growing up in Africatown. So, Major Joe what was your favorite thing to do in Africatown as a kid? Major Joe Womack: My favorite thing to do growing up as a kid was just out playin&#039 ; with my friends. Out playin&#039 ; sports especially during the summertime. Playin&#039 ; softball, baseball, and enjoying outdoor activities with my friends. Elliot: Yeah, and I know you talked about, before, all the fruits that you had around Africatown that you would pick over the summer. Could you tell me a little bit more about what was there and what you&#039 ; re missing now? Because I know you said some of them are gone. 00:51 Major Womack: Yeah, it seems as though we had just about every type of fruit a kid would want because---and they were free and just in people&#039 ; s yard and in vacant lots walkin&#039 ; down the street. Some of the more plentiful ones that I can remember of course are fig trees and the figs and of course about everyone in the community preserved figs. And you could walk into people&#039 ; s houses all the time in the town and it seemed like they had some figs preserved somewhere. And so, the figs trees were very plentiful. Scuppernongs, it seemed like scuppernongs were wild growin&#039 ; everywhere. You had Scuppernong vines everywhere and so you could just walk around the street and eat those any--at any time. Of course, blackberries during blackberry season. Blackberries were everywhere. All around the houses all out in the fields and people were out there pickin&#039 ; blackberries all the time and then of course people were makin&#039 ; blackberry pies. You could have those just about any time of the day, any time of the year mostly, when they were growin&#039 ; . Mulberry, had a bunch of mulberry trees out there and they were very plentiful. Plums were very plentiful. We had what was known as the plum orchard across here. Across the river, across the bridge. And plums it seemed were everywhere. Peaches---peach trees were just about everywhere you could find. And those were some of the most fruitful type of fruits that we had in the area. Not as often though we had persimmon and persimmon trees. Very few of those but they were available though. And oranges and lemon trees. There weren&#039 ; t a lot of them but they were available also. And, um, I may be missin&#039 ; one or two here or there but those were the most fruitful ones that I can recall. 03:04 Elliot: Yeah, and which ones are still here that you can find around the community? Major Womack: You still find some fig trees. Not as many as you used to find. I don&#039 ; t know if I&#039 ; ve seen any persimmon trees, or not even any scuppernongs that I can recall seein&#039 ; around the area. There might be some in some weeds and stuff but I don&#039 ; t see any of those and I don&#039 ; t see the peach trees and no plums either. Blackberries still grow pretty good but not as wild as they used to be. And, uhm, other than fig trees those about the only things that I can see most of the time. And of course, blackberries during blackberry season but it seems as though they are mostly gone now, mostly gone. And just a related story not dealin&#039 ; with fruit but there&#039 ; s also a tree around the corner from where I stayed on---I stayed on center street and on green street. That was a great big ol&#039 ; tree, and it&#039 ; s still there, and it had a big ol&#039 ; hole in it. About this big *gestures with hands* and every year the bees would come back. The honey bees would come &#039 ; cause they made the honey. And they would come and they would swarm everywhere but they never really stung anybody. And one lady we called Ms. Bertha and she would go in there she would just stick her hand up in there and pull out the honey and put it in bags---not bags but cans and stuff and take the stuff home. And the bees never bothered her. But the bees don&#039 ; t come back anymore. That tree is still there, that big hole is still there, but the bee&#039 ; s gone. They don&#039 ; t come back anymore. 05:12 Elliot: So, you used to be able to just pick fruit whenever you wanted. And I know you also talked about being able to fish with your grandpa. Major Womack: Yeah, course Africatown is bounded on three sides by water and we did a lot of fishin&#039 ; out in the Mobile River and the related streams and lakes and stuff that go off the river. My grandad always built his boat. He would always build about a twelve or fifteen or sixteen-foot boat and he&#039 ; d build it out of wood. It seemed like every year he was buildin&#039 ; a new one or puttin&#039 ; it together because at the end of the fishin&#039 ; season he would just put it out there in the water and it would sort of rot out so he would either have to either rebuild the bottom of it or rebuild a new one in itself. But he would take me and my brother out---my older brother out there. He had four daughters and then when we came along you know we were first real quote sons that he had so he would take us just about everywhere, especially fishin&#039 ; . And so, we would fish a lot out there in the river. We would actually go out in the boat. Most lot of people was fishin&#039 ; on the shore. A lot of our friends were fishin&#039 ; on the shore and I sometimes went out there, did some fishin&#039 ; on the shore but mostly crabbin&#039 ; on the shore. But we would actually go out, we&#039 ; d leave in the mornin&#039 ; about five, get out there on the water and he would go different places. And some of the places it may take us an hour to get out there. But he always had his special spot in different places where we would fish and I really enjoyed those times we had fishin&#039 ; together. And we didn&#039 ; t fish for sport we fished for food. *laughs* We didn&#039 ; t fish or hunt for sport there was no sport. 07:12 Elliot: Yeah, so you said you used to be able to just go off the shore and just go into the water anywhere around---? Major Womack: Yeah, pretty much. Most of that was we would walk over to the causeway and because the causeway out there that you see between basically Mobile and (Indecipherable) county most of it it waist deep and it looks like it&#039 ; s a lot deeper than that but it&#039 ; s not. And so, we would just walk out there along the shore, (indecipherable) in the water, do a lot of crabbin&#039 ; and catchin&#039 ; footload(?). Full tub full of crab and bring it back and my mother, grandmother, and aunts and stuff---we ate a lot of crab gumbo back then. They take the crab and put &#039 ; em in Gumbo and cut up some sausages and stuff, made some rice, and that was dinner. 08:07 Elliot: Are y&#039 ; all still able to access some of your---you said you had favorite fishing spots that you were able to get to, besides the causeway? Major Womack: Oh well out in the river you had to go to---those fishin&#039 ; spots I was talkin&#039 ; about out in the river you had to go in a boat and go out there. I don&#039 ; t really fish anymore but along the causeway those spots are still available because they have kept the causeway up pretty much and its protected. It&#039 ; s a part of the Tensaw River Delta. And so, they&#039 ; ve kept the causeway up but some of the spots along the (indecipherable) the three-mile creek, you couldn&#039 ; t fish in it because they began dumpin&#039 ; raw sewage in three-mile creek. And it was just raw sewage for a long time. And then they finally cleaned that up with the state law and the federal laws and stuff. They eventually cleaned it up. So, the three-mile creek is---you know I&#039 ; ve seen it come full circle. Now people are fishing again in the three-mile creek. And the Hog Bayou area, after the industry moved in there, folks stopped pretty much goin&#039 ; from the community off walkin&#039 ; to Hog Bayou because you couldn&#039 ; t walk because the industry was there. Both International Paper and Scotts 09:22 so you couldn&#039 ; t walk in right to the waterway. To hunt back there, my grandaddy used to take us around the backsides where the walk that bridge that still there behind Scott Kimberley Clark. We used to walk that area and walk behind. But not a lot of people did that. And so, he had his own huntin&#039 ; crew, about six kids that included me and my brother. And we would walk back there and do some huntin&#039 ; 10:02 Elliot: Why don&#039 ; t you fish anymore? Major Womack: Well I pretty much---well I almost stopped fishin&#039 ; pretty much when I started playin&#039 ; high school sports. Because most of my time on Saturdays, especially into the summer time when you did most of the fishin&#039 ; was dedicated to playin&#039 ; ---you know practicin&#039 ; for high school sports. So, if you played high school sports you were either playing sports or practicin&#039 ; to play sports. And so, I told my grandfather I wanted to take them time on Saturday to get out there because I was gonna be a professional foot---baseball player. Was no doubt in my mind I was gonna professional baseball player so I needed to practice and get out there and get better. So, I pretty much stopped fishin&#039 ; on a regular basis probably about the time I got into the tenth grade, about fifteen years old. Elliot: So, is baseball the only sport you played? 11:01 Major Womack: I played baseball and I also played football. Now I didn&#039 ; t get a chance to really sort of fulfill my football obligation because I was in an accident near the end of my tenth-grade season. And back then---I hurt my leg in a car hit while I was ridin&#039 ; my bicycle. And back then there was nit a lot rehabilitation and so it took about two years almost for my leg to get back to strength. So, I didn&#039 ; t concentrate on playing football I just concentrated on baseball. Elliot: I know you talked about the bell that used to ring can you tell me about that again? 11:46 Major Womack: Well the history of the bell goes way back. And I guess most of it is folklore but I go back to a lot of stuff I talk about is what my grandaddy and him and Henry William&#039 ; s told me comin&#039 ; up and my grandaddy and Henry Williams were good friends. They were in church together and sometimes went to our houses and stuff together. Major Womack: The bell is the only thing that was saved off the slave ship the Clotilda. As the story goes of course when they brought the slaves back they were about to be caught so they destroyed all the evidence so they burned and sank the Clotilda in the middle of the Mobile River, Mobile Bay. But as far as the bell is concerned that was supposedly a bell of most of the ships and stuff back then. And the people that they brought from Africa, about 110 of them, they didn&#039 ; t speak any English or anything. Matter of fact a lot of them were not from the same tribe so I don&#039 ; t know if they spoke the same language but they did communicate. And what the bell did for them---it was sort of a sense of security. They were down in the hull of the ship and of course on the trip back across the water you had bad weather good weather. So, when the weather was good the bell did not clang much &#039 ; cause the seas were calm and there was no reason to ruffle the bell. And so, but when they heard the bell clangin&#039 ; , you know fast and faster and faster they knew that the waves were comin&#039 ; and then the storm was comin&#039 ; . And so, they sort of huddled together as far as protection to comfort themselves down there in the hull of the ship. And so, as they were puttin&#039 ; the captives ashore some kind of way---so the story goes, they knew that they were gonna destroy that ship. And so, as they were gettin&#039 ; off the ship they reached back and said, &quot ; the bell the bell! give me the bell!&quot ; and so probably one of the only act of kindness that they showed toward the captives, they gave them the bell. And so, they dragged that bell with them wherever they went. When they first got off the ship they saw the hill in a place behind what is now Mobile County Training School (indecipherable) back there for a little while. And then they eventually first settled right near the river with a group of people, I guess they were property of the (indecipherable) back then. They were known as the Moors. And they stayed with them for a while but then they moved closer---further inland higher ground because when it was rainin&#039 ; the place would flood and stuff and they didn&#039 ; t really like it down there. So, they moved inland and that’s where they established the community of, then, Plateau and Magazine Point. And they dragged that bell with &#039 ; em. And they eventually established a church, Union Baptist Church and that&#039 ; s where they first put the bell up in that church. And then they established a school and they moved the bell over to the school. And the community would ring the bell on different occasions. If there was a fire or somethin&#039 ; they rang the bell so people knew somethin&#039 ; was goin&#039 ; on. They would come out and help each other put out the fire. But then they began ringin&#039 ; it to let the folks know that school was takin&#039 ; in and then that school was lettin&#039 ; out. And then they began ringin&#039 ; it whenever the school started playin&#039 ; sports to let the community know that the school had won the game. And so, people in the community got sorta familiar with the bell. And so, it was sort of a source of pride for the school because the school did win a lot of games in sports. Football, basketball, and baseball. So, the bell would ring quite often. And it became a thing of pride for the school and for the entire community. And in the nineties, I guess the bell---I don&#039 ; t know if it had ever been repaired or been painted or anything but someone from school maintenance came out there and said, &quot ; we wanna&quot ; ---- there were fifty(?) that were fixin&#039 ; up the school and they said, &quot ; we wanna fix up the bell&quot ; and they came out there and removed the bell and never brought it back. And so, this past summer the alumni association said we&#039 ; re gonna get our own bell and so went out and found a bell and bought it and dedicated it this past summer. And so, we brought the bell back. Elliot: Where is at now? Major Womack: It&#039 ; s at---its on the campus of Mobile County Training School. Elliot: Okay, and can you talk about the Mobile County Training School? Major Womack: Yeah, the school itself was established back in 1880. Of course, the last shipment of slaves came over here in 1860 and in 1870 incorporated the area Plateau and Magazine Point. So, it made it an official incorporated the area, the community. And so, in 1880, the school&#039 ; s third year, the government---the law said basically, you know, you need to--you&#039 ; re part of the city so you need to educate the children. And they said that&#039 ; s fine so they said, &quot ; build us a school&quot ; and they said, &quot ; well you ain&#039 ; t gonna build it over there.&quot ; So, where we gonna build it? And so, the community got together and the people that owned the land that now for the community center said---and the Mobile County Training School said they gave that land to the school for the purposes of educatin&#039 ; only for the purposes of educatin&#039 ; and recreation of the children of the community. And that was the agreement. And so, I forget the year when they first established the school on that area there. It was the early 1900&#039 ; s but they established and built a school for the community there. It went from the first to the twelfth grade. It wasn&#039 ; t called Mobile County Training school back then---and excuse me for not remembering some of this stuff but it was the Plateau Normal School for Training, or something like that. Well eventually after 1910 when it was certified---the school was certified by the state of 1910 as Mobile County Training School and became the first training school for blacks in the state of Alabama. And it was certified by the national accreditation association for (indecipherable) an association back then that only accredited colleges around the (indecipherable) so it&#039 ; s got that certification back in about nineteen---around 1930 I think it was. So, it was a very prestigious and well thought out and planned educational process that the people in Africatown went through and it was the only school for---well not the only school, the only public school for blacks in the area in Mobile County so people came from miles around to come to Mobile County Training School to get educated. Elliot: So you left for college and the military and I was just wondering how you think Africatown changed once you left and you came back. Major Womack: I left basically for about a six-year period. Four years of college and two years of military. I left in about &#039 ; 68 and I graduated at sixteen and I left that fall and basically came back for good in &#039 ; 73--&#039 ; 74---&#039 ; 75. And that time some of the things that happened that sort of negatively affected the community were they began to rezone areas in and around the community for heavy industry. And a lot of warehouses were moved in and around the area. And some other industries, piping and other things were moved in and around the area. And that was probably one of the most significant things that is still effectin’ the community today. Now accordin&#039 ; to the community it&#039 ; s known as Africatown, I had never heard the word Africatown until I came back. You know, Africatown is basically made up of different neighborhoods and the largest neighborhood being Plateau and then the next one being, at that time, was Magazine Point and Happy Hills is another area. That&#039 ; s three. And Kelly(?) hills is basically two or three streets near Happy Hills, that&#039 ; s four. And then you have Lewis Quarters which is basically now just a little area that is composed of eight to ten houses, that&#039 ; s five. Then you have the Hog Bayou area that has never had houses in there. But then they did the move the industry in there once they rezoned it to heavy industry. That&#039 ; s where International paper and Scott&#039 ; s sat. The area where the community garden is now, that was a housing area that we called New Quarters because it was one of the newest areas. One of the last areas where they put up houses, and they called it New Quarters. But---and those houses were being rented out by the Meyher Family(?) 10:24, that&#039 ; s the same family that brought the slaves over. And a matter of fact they probably rented and owned more houses in and around Africatown than anybody else because they owned this property. So, they built the houses and rented &#039 ; em out. But they didn&#039 ; t do a lot repair to the houses because people weren&#039 ; t doing the repairs themselves, they didn&#039 ; t do the repairs, so a lot of these houses eventually just, you know, people moved out &#039 ; em because there was a disrepair and they eventually tore &#039 ; em down. So that happened in the New Quarters area where the community garden now stands. And it happened in an area now that&#039 ; s grown up by woods and that’s right around Yorktown Baptist Church and Union Baptist Church, there were houses back off there years ago. And a lot of these houses were made of redwood lumbar. So, they were really strong and study houses but over the years you know if you don&#039 ; t repair anything it&#039 ; ll fall down on ya&#039 ; Elliot: I was just wondering what neighborhood you grew up in in Africatown? Major Womack: Plateau was considered the prime area--primary area of---and the most populated area of Africatown. On Center street which is basically about the center of the neighborhood. Elliot: What do you think the best part of growing up in Africatown was? Major Womack: Probably to me the closeness of the community and the community really *Video Cuts off* Major Womack: ....family, takin&#039 ; care of the children, everybody knew everybody and so it was almost like one big family. You went to school together, you went to church together, you played together. And most---there was so many children out there that you didn&#039 ; t have leave your immediate--you didn&#039 ; t have to go no more than a hundred, two hundred yards from your house to find both of your friends. That&#039 ; s where your friends were. About 100-200 yards from your house. Some of the people that lived on the other end of the street, you knew &#039 ; em, but they really weren&#039 ; t your close friends &#039 ; cause they weren&#039 ; t two or three houses down from ya. And so that was enough friends, two or three houses down from where---that was your friends. All you needed was you and five or six more people. That&#039 ; s all you needed basically. That was your group and you&#039 ; re always basically about the same age and so to me I enjoy the closeness of the community. And at one time, understand this is before I went to high school that---when you went to school on Mondays the--the teacher required you to show something that you had gotten from your preacher at church to show that you went to church on Sunday. And if you didn&#039 ; t go to church on Sunday then that was some type of you know, I wouldn&#039 ; t say punishment but they wanted you to always go to church and go to school so they wanted proof that you went to church. So that was just the closeness of the community. Elliot: Do you feel it&#039 ; s still as close today Major Womack: No, not close today because several things, mostly as the kids got older and they become quote more educated they wanted more so they got good jobs---they went everywhere to get jobs, get educated. So, they moved out and a lot of them never come back. And so, we got a lot of---that creates some problems with housing in the area and houses not being up kept and houses with taxes not being paid. And sometimes I&#039 ; ll also say, years ago before the laws changed in this country everyone lived inside the tracks, so to say. &quot ; Don&#039 ; t go to the other side of the tracks&quot ; the parents would say. Don&#039 ; t go out of the neighborhood. Now when I say everybody lived in the track, on this side of the track, that meant that the preachers lived there. And the preachers were good people and they had good kids so their kids went to the same school. The doctors lived there, the lawyers lived there, the teachers lived there. And so, their children went to the school. And so, you were going to school with lawyers and doctors and teachers and preachers’ children. And those children sort of set the example for the other children and so it made for a better---to me it made for a better school. But then once the laws changed then you could move away from it on the other side of the tracks. Those who were able moved on the other side of the tracks and that left those who were not able. You had your A, B, and C students who were able to move out but then those who weren&#039 ; t able to move out were your C and D students. And so that left C and D students without other A and B students to serve as a role model to follow. Nobody messed with the preachers&#039 ; children. Nobody messed with the teachers&#039 ; children because they were the teachers. You weren&#039 ; t gonna mess with their children. And so I think that&#039 ; s just a small piece of the problem that now exists and I know at one time when I moved away from industry and start other fields of employment... *Video cuts off* Major Womack: ...sister that actually taught at the school and she told me to come over there and substitute and sort of help her for a while until I got my---until I moved from industry to another field of employment. And I came over there and the kids at the school, most of them, I had gone to school with their parents. And I said, &quot ; he acts just like his dad&quot ; *Laughs* He acts just like his momma, that&#039 ; s the way his momma act. So those are some of the things that just sort of have to---that I think makes a difference today in the type of community that now exists and I often said to that---when the law was changed you have to look at the laws and look at what’s workin&#039 ; and not workin&#039 ; , you know? When I was in the industry and we want to build a new facility, they had a special (indecipherable) and of course everybody wanted you to---the new industry, the new facility that you put in to immediately run at a hundred percent. Well that don&#039 ; t work. If you go to the industry and they just build it today it don&#039 ; t automatically run at a hundred percent. You gotta go in there and say this thing ain&#039 ; t workin&#039 ; , it&#039 ; s runnin&#039 ; at ninety-eight, it&#039 ; s runnin&#039 ; at eighty-nine, what&#039 ; s wrong with it? Well this ain&#039 ; t workin&#039 ; the way we thought it was. So, you make change and you eventually build up to a hundred percent. It seems to me as though when a lot of laws, especially dealin&#039 ; with education were changed and things changed it was twenty-five, thirty years later before they began makin&#039 ; change to make the law better. So yeah (indecipherable) people just, you know, things weren&#039 ; t right and nobody was makin&#039 ; no changes. Janet Fiskio: I wanted to follow up on that. This is something that people talked about at the oral history workshop too which is that you&#039 ; re saying that before the laws change, that means during segregation? And so, it sounds like the school was a really important place during segregation. Major Womack: Oh yeah it was, it was. Because, that--your whole world was on the side of the tracks. So, everything that you learned, you either learned at at your house, at your church, or at your school. And most of the time most of the real work that you did was at the school. When you at the house you&#039 ; re at the house to eat and sleep mostly and you at church you had a few hours one day a week. But at school you were there---that was really your job so the school---what you learned at school was very important to the kids and everyone took it very seriously. Everyone took it very, very, seriously. With a lot of the teachers and other people stayin&#039 ; in the community, back then there didin&#039 ; t seem to be a big need for parents to go over there at the school to check up on the children. Because, a lot of the times the teachers lived on the same street or down the street from them and they would stop by the parents’ home on the way home and say, you know, &quot ; Jovi(Spell Check) you better check on &#039 ; em, he&#039 ; s not doin&#039 ; that. And so, we knew that was happening so those things changed so now the parents really need to go to school more often to check up on their children. They&#039 ; ll just wait for the card to come out and know that your child&#039 ; s not doin&#039 ; well in school. Janet Fiskio: You said the things you learned in school were really important. What kinds of things do you feel like you learned from going to school there? *Video Cuts Off* Major Womack: Um... Other than of course the education itself there was a lot of focus on dress, you know, it was uniform. And so, you had the---and everyone took pride in the way that they dressed. They may not have had but one or two pair of jeans but they washed those jeans two or three times a week. Girls may not have had but one or two blouses but they were always clean. They were always clean. So, people took pride in the way they looked, the way they dressed, and the way that they spoke, the way that they talk. We had some teachers if you said the word &quot ; ain&#039 ; t&quot ; they would sit you in the corner. Or they would take that ruler and crack your knuckles, every time. They would slap you upside the head or somethin&#039 ; . You just didn&#039 ; t use the word &quot ; ain&#039 ; t&quot ; . That was a no no. So that adherence to the rules, we really---I think the teachers and the parents that worked with &#039 ; em did a good job of tryin&#039 ; to make the speech (indecipherable) &#039 ; cause I remember when I first went off to school, college, I went up to Virginia and other than a little slang in my language, people would say, &quot ; you ain&#039 ; t from Alabama.&quot ; So, you know other than me sayin&#039 ; , &quot ; y&#039 ; all got the prettiest girls in the world!&quot ; But I think the attention to dress at that time and the fact that a lot of the teachers knew the parents and paid special attention to the children and there just seemed to be just a different focus of level for the teachers and the students too, and the parents. It all seemed to be workin&#039 ; together back then. I know that not a lot of schools---I won&#039 ; t say not a lot of schools &#039 ; cause I really don&#039 ; t know. But at Mobile County Training School they don&#039 ; t really have a PT, a parent-teacher association. It&#039 ; s very small and hard to get the parents to work in there. I know they&#039 ; ve tried but they haven&#039 ; t been very successful in the last few years. Janet Fiskio: What was it like then? So, the school it sounds like, and the town during---when you were growing up were such a good---like Africatown is such a good place to grow up. And the school was such a good school What was it like in Mobile when you used to cross the tracks and go to the other side? Major Womack: I didn&#039 ; t go across the tracks that much. Other than goin&#039 ; to shop with my mother, and that was with my mother, downtown in Pritchard and comin&#039 ; to Mardi Gras and of course after the parade we would just go back home. And I don&#039 ; t remember a lot of relatives that lived outside of Africatown. There really---goin&#039 ; to the movies and goin&#039 ; back home and of course the main movie was a single theatre down here and they had a back door---we went in the back door. And of course, back then they had (indecipherable) on Martin Luther King Ave, they had some--they had two or three movie theatres there. But other than that, I didn&#039 ; t visit outside Africatown a lot. Janet Fiskio: So it was really self-sufficient? Major Womack: Yeah, yeah, pretty much was. Elliot: I know you said there are a lot of businesses there. Like laundromats and stuff like that. Major Womack: Yeah, laundromats. A couple of laundromats. We just take the laundry and cleaners and of course a lot of stores, a lot of corner stores. And you know not a lot of people---I would guess about a third of the people had a car. But people would take other people everywhere. I know that after my mother and father got a divorce my mother didn&#039 ; t have a car and so my grandad, my uncle, even her friends across the street and down the street used to take her to grocery shop, to grocery stores. &quot ; I&#039 ; m goin&#039 ; to the grocery store do you want to?&quot ; &quot ; yeah&quot ; so they went every Saturday or somethin&#039 ; like that. And so, people would readily help out each other and it didn&#039 ; t seem to be a problem. Elliot: What happened to all the stores in the community? Major Womack: Well they eventually---as the community began to dry up some of the stores also began to dry up. And as the people got older the younger---nobody really took it up and so they eventually ended up basically with----you had whole grocery stores in Plateau. You had Randolph(Spell Check)store and Magazine Point and those were the two biggest ones that lasted the longest that I can remember in the community. Elliot: So I was just wondering what your hopes for Africatown are now. Major Womack: Well the hopes and the plans and the vision is to save the community. By saving the community and by saving the school we can help save the people. And we think it&#039 ; s worth savin&#039 ; . You have to---we have to save the school because, if we lose the school there&#039 ; s a good chance we&#039 ; ll lose the community because they pretty much go hand-in-hand. The school had just as much---almost as much rich history if not more than the community does and those two need to stay intact. What we hope to do with the school is to---we want to always keep it as a public school because we don&#039 ; t want to lose that financial chain. I know people talk about charter schools and this and that but I know a few charter schools that start up and they did well for about four or five years but then they&#039 ; re now closed. And one of the reasons is why is they started to lose their financial support and it takes money to run a school. So, we would like for it to always be, some kind of way, connected to the public school system for that financial support but we want to have a unique--we want to have it so other kids want to come to our school. Years ago, people wanted to come to our school basically because of the uniqueness of it. Well that and plus there were only two or three schools in the area anyway. And we were unique in the--a lot of the parents went there and they wanted their children to go there. And sports was very important to everybody so everybody wanted to be a part of the winnin&#039 ; team. So, people came from other areas to come to Mobile County Training School. We want to make it unique again and we want to try and find our niche and I guess were still searchin&#039 ; for something and who knows it may be--we&#039 ; ve talked about bringin&#039 ; back the band. Maybe it&#039 ; s that we have one of the best middle school bands in the area so people want to send their kids to learn about music. Maybe we focus on music. Maybe we may have something that deals with the arts and crafts. You know with the play you&#039 ; re talkin&#039 ; about developing. And out of that we become more involved in playwriting and acting and stuff like that. So, we want to try to establish our own niche in Mobile County. You know a lot of counties have schools of math and science and other specialties. We want to have a specialty in Mobile County Training School. And that will attract people from outside the community. Now we also would like to---of course one of the keys to bring the community back is to get these houses refurbished and restored so we can bring people back into the community. Once you start bringing people back into the community then they bring their children or they have children and that will help the population get back to where it needs to be. And of course, one of the big key things to is the historical value of the community. We steadily tryin&#039 ; to show the people who quote make the decisions in Mobile both in community and in the school the historical significance and how they are not capitalizing on that. And the more things that come out and Africatown is in National News such as this story with Gates interviewing Questlove to find out his roots go back to Africatown and stuff like that. People find out who actually came from Africatown. We&#039 ; re hopin&#039 ; that stuff will help build a need, an interest for people to want to come here and see what this Africatown thing is all about. So, and that is beginnin&#039 ; to happen on the small. I had somebody call the last week, one or two (indecipherable) and so if we can get stuff established around and get the city of Mobile to buy into it. Get out councilman to buy---to focus more on this neighborhood. That&#039 ; s one of the biggest problems--the community has turned out athletes and others but we never really turn out politicians. So, the politicians that represent us don&#039 ; t know about the community. Don&#039 ; t know especially--they didn&#039 ; t grow up in Africatown they don&#039 ; t know about Africatown. They don&#039 ; t know the significance of it. And that&#039 ; s one thing that really triggers me when I first got involved at the commissioners at that time. He was still tryin&#039 ; to bring business in. He was tryin&#039 ; to move people out and bring businesses in. He just didn&#039 ; t know about Africatown. &quot ; Man don&#039 ; t talk to me about that Africatown stuff&quot ; I went to his office to see to try to talk about it and he didn&#039 ; t want to talk about it. But he&#039 ; s now gone but we&#039 ; ve got to get the interest of the politicians and spark that, their interest will begin to build once they can buy into the significance and how it&#039 ; s gonna help the city. The way it&#039 ; s gonna help the city is of course if you get tourists comin&#039 ; in here on a regular basis and they fill up the hotels, spend a week here in Mobile and visit Africatown for a day, visit other parts for a day, spend money and that&#039 ; s how the politicians get interested. That could happen but they first gotta see the interest. Elliot: You said there&#039 ; s some famous... Video cuts out video 0 https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile= Sort Priority This field allows you to determine the object order in your gallery. This plugin is designed to work only with the Philly theme. 0008 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Major Joe Womack Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/865fab203f0e6921ea9777ce063978db.jpeg e8a9305972989ceff9610d23db547725 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Professor Janet Fiskio Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Mr. Anderson Flen OHMS Object This field contain the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file withing the OHMS Viewer). https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=Interview59850.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and/or Transcript and is what make the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka. 5.2 Anderson Flen Full Interview Africatown Oberlin College Library Mr. Anderson Flen Professor Janet Fiskio 1:|18(1)|30(13)|40(8)|55(4)|69(14)|79(11)|91(1)|106(12)|118(7)|131(6)|142(2)|157(1)|171(2)|181(12)|194(1)|215(2)|230(6)|249(11)|260(12)|271(7)|283(5)|297(12)|312(5)|325(10)|336(6)|347(8)|361(2)|374(10)|386(9)|399(10)|414(2)|426(9)|439(7)|451(14)|466(14)|478(14)|493(14)|504(9)|517(12)|533(9)|546(6)|558(7)|570(1)|582(3) 0 https://youtu.be/WEAeVeWaiqM YouTube video 60 Founding of Mobile County Training School (MCTS) Mobile County training school was founded in 1880, and the history that we have of it, it started, really, from the last slave ship--the descendants of the last slave ship that came to Africatown. Mr. Anderson Flen talks about the founding, values, and history of Mobile County Training School Africans ; Africatown ; Americans ; Clotilda ; County ; Enslaved ; Hog Bayou ; Last ; Magazine Point ; Mobile ; Pritchard ; School ; Ship ; Slave ; Training Founding of Mobile County Training School ; Values of Mobile County Training School 17 231 Five Well's of MCTS One of those core things that we benefited from, were the five 'wells'. And the five wells were: being well read, well spoken, well travelled, well balanced, well dressed. Mr. Flen talks about some of the values instilled in students by Mobile County Training School Five ; Well-Balanced ; Well-Dressed ; Well-Read ; Well-Spoken ; Well-Travelled ; Wells Five Wells ; Five Wells of Mobile County Training School ; MCTS Principles 17 370 Four P's of MCTS With that in mind, we have what I call the four 'p's. Those four 'p's are: purpose, planning, passion, and program outcome. Mr. Flen talks about the four Ps of Mobile County Training School and why they were important to his and others education. MCTS principles ; Outcome ; Passion ; Planning ; Program ; Purpose MCTS Principles 17 410 Three R's of MCTS We had what we would call the three 'R's. And the three 'R's were: respect, responsibility, and reward. And those three 'R's were really internal principles, that you looked inside of yourself to respect yourself first. Mr Flen finishes discussing the triumvirate of educational and ethical pillars of Mobile County Training School. Principles ; Respect ; Responsibility ; Reward ; Values Three Rs of Mobile County Training School ; Values of Mobile County Training Schools 17 478 History, Structure, and Uniqueness of MCTS We had a motto at Mobile County Training School, and that motto was just simply: &quot ; Each one, reach one, teach one, and never give up on anyone.&quot ; And so that was part of our process. Mr. Flen talks about a variety of historical details and values regarding Mobile County Training School Booker T. Washington ; County ; History ; Mobile ; Motto ; School ; Training ; Unique History of Mobile County Training School 17 657 Social Clubs, Organizations, and Dress Code of MCTS Dr. Baker instituted all the different social clubs and organizations on the campus. He started out with all the social clubs. Each social club had to have the four 'P's as a part of that organization. Just like all of the classrooms and organizations had to have the four 'P's as a part of that. Mr. Flen talks about the unique social educational climate of MCTS and the incredible student lead social clubs and organizations. big sisters ; Clubs ; community ; dress code ; Five Wells ; Four Ps ; marshalls ; Organizations ; Senate ; Social Organizations ; Social Clubs 17 1025 MCTS Junior Prom and Desegregation In 1967, which was my junior year in high school, a great number of things started happening in Mobile. Mobile is one of the last cities to really -- from a desegregation standpoint -- to really get engaged with desegregation. Mr. Anderson Flen talks about Mobile County Training School having its Prom, as the first black high school, at the Mobile Battle House Hotel post desegregation. Ballroom ; Battle-House ; Black ; Community ; Crystal ; Desegregation ; First ; Hotel ; March ; Martin Luther King ; political ; Prom First Black Prom in Desegregated Hotel 17 1200 Teachers at MCTS The teachers in Mobile Alabama Training School were just not teachers, they were family. Theres some stories that I would just like to share with you about how those teachers was really involved in our lives Mr. Flen talks about the unique involvement and passion of the teachers at Mobile County Training School and how they had a long lasting positive influence on the lives and success of the students. County ; Family ; Mobile ; School ; Teachers ; Training Mobile County Training School ; Roles of Teachers ; Teachers at Mobile County Training School 17 1835 Importance of Churches in Africatown Our churches did the same thing -- and just speaking a little bit about our churches -- Union Baptist church, which I think some of you visited, was where the school was started Mr. Flen talks about the pivotal role playing by churches in Africatown in terms of the founding and success of the community and its various schools. Africatown ; Baptist ; Black ; Church ; Community ; County ; First ; Founders ; Millionaire ; Mobile ; School ; Training ; Union ; Yorktown Churches in Africatown 17 1948 Africatown in the 20th Century So all of those pieces are a part of what make Mobile County Training School special. Mobile County Training School -- when you think about the Africatown community, we had at least twenty grocery stores out here, we had clubs, we had movie theaters, we had restaurants, we had pool rooms, we had pool rooms, we had hotels and motels, we had laundry mats, we were a self-contained community. Mr. Flen talks about how Africatown and Mobile County Training School in the 20th century. acredited ; Africatown ; Alabama ; black ; County ; first ; History ; Mobile ; School ; South ; Training History of Africatown 17 2257 MCTS and Africatown as a Sanctuary Everything that was done at Mobile County Training School was a celebration. It was a celebration because in the broader world, as we understood it and saw it, we were constantly being put down and denigrated by larger society. This was really a sanctuary for us. Mr. Anderson Flen talks about the importance of the impact of Mobile County Training School in mitigating the negative effects of segregation and racism on Black youth Africatown ; Celebration ; County ; Mobile ; Racism ; Sanctuary ; School ; Segregation ; Training Africatown Churches ; Mobile County Training School 17 2659 Extra Clips Mr. Flen has an additional conversation post formal interview 17 00:00Fiskio: Alright, this is Janet Fiskio from Oberlin College, I am here with Anderson Flen who is the president of the Mobile County training school alumni association and a graduate of the school. We are actually on the grounds of the school next to the bell, and I will do the first couple of questions, then I&#039 ; m going to be turning this over to Kerensa Loadholt and Nathan Carpenter who are students at Oberlin. Anderson, before we start, I&#039 ; d like to just get on tape that you have consented to be part of the Africatown digital archive project for this interview. Mr. Anderson Flen: That&#039 ; s correct, I have consented to be a part of this project--and look forward to it. Fiskio: Thank you. And, I would like to also point out that the copyright for this interview will remain with Mr. Flen. So anyone who wants to make use of this interview needs to get his permission. So Mr. Flen, actually the way I wanted to start out was asking you to tell us a little bit about the story of how this school was founded. 01:00 Mr. Flen: Mobile County training school was founded in 1880, and the history that we have of it, it started, really, from the last slave ship--the descendants of the last slave ship that came to Africatown. More precisely, they actually came to Magazine Point which is a part of the Africatown community. Africatown is made up of Mobile, Magazine Point, Prichard, Happy Hill, Hog Bayou, and a couple of other areas--Lewis Quarter. The school started at Union Baptist Church in Magazine Point. In 1880. It eventually started growing and they moved it to its current site around 1900, and the land that the school is situated on right now was donated by Jeff Jiles(Spell Check), a descendant of the Clotilda enslaved Africans who came from Africa on that last slave ship. 02:10 The school went from the first grade to the twelfth grade until around 1950. And after that, a second school--an elementary school was actually built across the street from the school called WhitleyElementary School, which was named after the first founder of Mobile County training school, Mr. Isaac Whitley. Prior to the school being named Mobile County Training school, it was called the Plateau Norman Industrial School for Coloreds. 02:57 And in 1950 Whitley elementary school was founded. The school was really built on the principles of the descendants from Africa or the original enslaved individuals who came from Africa. Mobile County Training School had some very, very strong principles that--I wanted to share some of those with you today. Fiskio: Yes. Mr. Flen: As I&#039 ; ve researched--and by the way, I&#039 ; m a 1968 graduate of Mobile County Training School--and as I&#039 ; ve researched Mobile County Training School and looked at its history, there were some real fundamental things that was put in place that I benefited from as an alumnus of Mobile County Training School. One of those core things that we benefited from, were the five &#039 ; wells&#039 ; . And the five wells were: being well read, well spoken, well travelled, well balanced, well dressed...did I get &#039 ; em all? *laugh* Sometimes I can&#039 ; t--sometimes I remember &#039 ; em quite differently and I&#039 ; m gonna go back over it one more time. Well spoken, well read, well dressed, well travelled, and well balanced. Fiskio: That&#039 ; s five. 04:16 Mr. Flen: The key with those five wells as I&#039 ; ve grown to realize is that they were put in place because of the circumstances and situations in which African Americans and African people in general in the United States--the issues that they had to face. I&#039 ; ve learned that the well balanced piece is one of probably the most important of the five wells because of the segregation and of the hostile environments that Blacks had to face. Being well balanced and really being a critical thinker to navigate our society for Blacks was very very important. 04:58 The other principles that were part of the Mobile County Training School system. Mobile County Training School was a student led campus. The campus was designed by which students would be in positions to actually lead this campus. For example, we had an elected body of students. We had a senate set up, we had the president of student body in government, every home room class from first grade to twelfth grade actually had a president of the class. Each one of those individuals were members of this senate body. The other thing that made this campus so unique and distinctive in terms of that process, that discipline and activities were planned by the student body in conjunction with the faculty and staff. 06:03 With that in mind, we have what I call the four &#039 ; p&#039 ; s. Those four &#039 ; p&#039 ; s are: purpose, planning, passion, and program outcome. And so that we stay focused--as an organization, as a school, and as students--on really making sure that whatever we did, that those four p&#039 ; s was a part of that process. The other thing that made Mobile County Training School so unique and special is that--and I&#039 ; m not sure if this was directly or indirectly instilled into us--I think it probably was both. We had what we would call the three &#039 ; R&#039 ; s. And the three &#039 ; R&#039 ; s were: respect, responsibility, and reward. And those three &#039 ; R&#039 ; s were really internal principles, that you looked inside of yourself to respect yourself first. That you looked inside of yourself to ask the question: &quot ; am I being as responsible and as responsive as I can be?&quot ; 07:10 And any reward that you got was internalized and therefore you did not need anyone on the outside to champion what you had done or not done. Because as we grew up in the South and in Alabama and across the nation, many times the Black community in particular was disenfranchised, and in many cases, was put down--either directly or indirectly with words and with products and services that were provided for and to us. Therefore, Mobile County Training School was really a haven to share with us how to be the best at all times. 07:47 We had a motto at Mobile County Training School, and that motto was just simply: &quot ; Each one, reach one, teach one, and never give up on anyone.&quot ; And so that was part of our process. We also had at Mobile County Training School, an oratorical contest. We were always talking about -- and getting back to those five wells. Every student, and every class, every year, had to learn (Indecipherable). And they said that (Indecipherable), that competition began to narrow down to the best and the brightest who could sell the point. At the end of this whole process, there was going to be one person selected who was the best orator in the school, but the process was so important because it taught and gave each individual an opportunity to be able to share and express themselves in an oral setting. This is part of the training that was taught at Mobile County Training School. And this training was instilled in every activity that we had in that process. Mobile County Training School--I was also fascinated because as I began to understand and learn this history, doctor Baker (Name Check) was a very unique individual. And what made him unique--he came to Mobile County Training School in 1926. Of course, in 1910, the school became a part of the public educational system. Prior to that--the thirty years prior to that--it was a private institution, pretty much self-sufficient on its own. By coming into the school system, in 1910, it began to get funding and moneys from the school in order to do a better job at equipping the things for the students and for the campus. 09:39 Isaac Whitley came in 1910 and they brought him in and he set a very very high standard. Isaac Whitley was a descendant of Booker T. Washington. Even though he went to Hampton Institute, he was from Franklin County, Alabama and was brought to Mobile County Training School to be the principal because of his outstanding educational history and also having been a descendant of Booker T. Washington. 10:06 I think part of his coming here may have been attributed to Booker T. Washington because Booker T. Washington visited this campus many times in his lifetime. And in fact, it is said, one of the last places that he visited before his death in 1915 was the campus of Mobile County Training School. Also, Mr. Whitley died in 1921--around &#039 ; 21, &#039 ; 22. Dr. Baker came here in 1926, and when Dr. Baker came here, he took the school to a whole &#039 ; nother level. Off of the foundation in which Mr. Whitley had built. Dr. Baker instituted all the different social clubs and organizations on the campus. He started out with all the social clubs. Each social club had to have the four &#039 ; P&#039 ; s as a part of that organization. Just like all of the classrooms and organizations had to have the four &#039 ; P&#039 ; s as a part of that. 11:08 Each organization had to have the five wells as a part of their process. What made that so important was that the president of each one of those social clubs was also a part of the senate. He wasn&#039 ; t just the presidents of the classroom but also the presidents of those organizations was a part of the senate as well. And so they had an opportunity to help shape and form the programs and activities that took place on this campus and also in the community. When Dr. Baker, or when the other administrators would come to this school, and if the community had paper on the grounds they would designate a class to go out and clean the community and pick up the paper on the grounds. Of course, the school did not have a gymnasium until 1953/4. Prior to that they had an area which they called the Bowl. 12:02 The Bowl was an area that you could stand on the hill and look down and they would have all their assemblies in that bowl. They would have the students line up from the first grade to the twelfth grade with the twelfth graders being in the front, and they would go grade wide in terms of lining up, for the bowl assembly, and they would do that once a week, in terms of that. As we -- as the organization around the school was perfected by Dr Baker, when activities, we would make, actually make a program for the whole year that everybody would give their program to the senate and we would implement that program. 12:44 By the same token, the other thing that was unique about Mobile County Training School and had been discontinued by the time I became, in high school, a senior, is that they had students that covered all of the organizations from the honor roll to the attendance -- students were in charge of that. The students would get the reports everyday of who was on time, who was not on time, and the whole nine yards and that. Also, if at one time every student on Monday morning had to turn in their Sunday school report card to they say the went to Sunday school on Sunday. If they did not they had to go home and bring their parents back to school, and stuff. So kids were rallying around to make sure that card was signed by their Sunday school superintendent. 13:41 The other thing that was so unique about the experience at Mobile County Training School and the kind of thing that we got is that every student had to look up to other students. We had clubs in the sixth, seventh, eighth grade, and ninth grade. You went through those clubs and when you got to be in the city high school those clubs would select you to be a part of their club, but you actually got training in the early grades of how to run parliamentary procedure, how to conduct yourself in clubs, so that when you became into the senior high school you know how to run those organizations and do things. So you got your primary training in the early earlier years and in the secondary years you were in a position to run the school. 14:35 Also, Mobile County Training School had a uniform code, we were blue and white. What was so unique about that is you had an organization called the big sisters and the big sisters were in charge of girls conduct, dress, and appropriateness and they would be the ones who managed, disciplined, and referred individuals who were out of line to the student body in terms of addressing that issue. 15:01 The boys had a group called the marshals, the marshals were sort of like the police force on campus. The marshals would do the hall monitoring, the campus monitoring, and discipline and they were highly respected. And so conduct would be referred to the marshals or whatever. 15:17 *electronic bell rings in background* Mr. Flen: that&#039 ; s the bell * Fiskio laughs and announcement plays* Mr Flen: Okay? Fiskio: Okay. 15:32 The Marshals were to police on campus, they were really looked as the authority for all individuals and so their role was to make sure the guys adhered to the rules and regulations as they related to the guys. As a seventh grader eighth grade the marshals absolutely intimidated me. I was more afraid of the marshals than I was of the teachers sometimes because of just their presence and the way in which they carried themselves. But the unique thing about both the marshals and the big sisters, you were to emulate them in terms of their mannerisms and their dress. 16:11 The other things that made Mobile County Training School unique in terms of the student led part of this campus is that once you became a senior you had the opportunity and the privilege to wear red ties -- both the boys and the girls. Girls wore red ties just like guys wore read ties -- the girls ties were sort of a bowtie that they sort of stringed and fixed on them. The other thing that was unique about girls&#039 ; ties was that the girls wore different styles of uniform. They wore the V-8 dresses, the pleated skirts, the white blouses -- so there was a uniqueness about the different uniforms the girls could wear in terms of that. And every girl looked forward to being the neatest girl on campus in that uniform and wearing that red tie which brought pride to all seniors at Mobile County Training School. 17:04 Do you wanna cut? Fiskio: till the kids go, do you mind? sorry. Mr. Flen: No problem. Fiskio: So if you don&#039 ; t mind, there was something you brought up earlier that I was hoping to hear the story of. You mentioned -- I think it was you or your class president maybe -- that the first junior prom that was held in a hotel and I would just love to hear that story, what that was like. When was that? What year was that? 17:44 Mr. Flen: In 1967, which was my junior year in high school, a great number of things started happening in Mobile. Mobile is one of the last cities to really -- from a desegregation standpoint -- to really get engaged with desegregation. Mobile was the only city, the only major city in Alabama that Dr. Martin Luther King did not walk in and march. He did come here but he did not march because of some political things that were going on both in the black community and in other places. However, in 1967, because we had a couple of teachers who were involved in some community social groups -- they wanted to test to make sure desegregation was taking place -- and they asked us if we would consider having our prom at the Mobile Battle House in Mobile which is a major hotel in downtown mobile. 18:45 Prior to that no black or negro school, as it was called at that time, had ever had a prom at a major hotel in Mobile, Alabama. So in 1967 I was the president of the student body and a friend of mine, Fred Brown, was vice president and we reversed those roles as junior officers and we went down to the Battle-House to negotiate the first ever contract in the history of Mobile of a black high school to have a prom in a major hotel. I&#039 ; ll never forget that prom because we had it in the crystal ballroom. 19:25 Next year will be our fiftieth anniversary of the class of 1968 and we have committed to go back fifty years later to have our fiftieth-class reunion in the crystal ballroom at the Mobile Battle house hotel. That was significant for a couple of reasons. Because, once again, the training at Mobile County Training School was all about student leadership and about carrying out that student leadership in a very precise way. I would have never guessed fifty years later, over my journey in life, that those experiences have been very beneficial for me, in that process. The teachers in Mobile Alabama Training School were just not teachers, they were family. 20:19 Theres some stories that I would just like to share with you about how those teachers was really involved in our lives. One of my classmates, when she was a junior or sophomore in high school -- we always had pageants that were represented by the different classes -- this particular classmate, and I cant recall if it was her sophomore or junior year, or freshman or junior year, but she was selected to be the class queen for that particular class. Well, after being selected, she told the teacher: well my parents will not let me do this year because they&#039 ; re going to have to go out and get a gown for me to wear to be a part of that procession and so I know they&#039 ; re not gonna let me participate in this here. The teacher walked home with her that day and sit down and talk with her parents and told them whatever it took he would help make sure she had that particular gown because she had been selected. 21:28 And you were selected at that time based on two things: your character and your grade performance and the things selected to be a part of certain activities. That was one of those activities. That was one of those activities, that you had to have the grade point average but you also had to have to character to even compete to be a part of that and the teacher felt that that student represented both of those particular traits and did not want them to lose that opportunity, to be a part of that process. 21:59 They&#039 ; re other instances where teachers played major roles in our lives. There was a situation whereby one young man went out to the football team -- and sports for us at Mobile County Training School was a ritual and a tradition and this bell thats behind us is a part of that ritual and tradition. Whenever a game was played and won this bell was rung. When a football team went out of town and won a game and the call would come in -- before they got back to town everybody knew that had won the game because the bell was rung. 22:36 There was a gentleman -- everybody wanted to be on one of those teams -- the football team was the high-profile team -- this gentleman was in the ninth grade, and he had gone out to participate in the football team and had been cut. He was going home and as he was walking home he was crying --down this particular street -- and the gentleman by the name of Tommy Jones -- he&#039 ; s the brother of Cleon Jones who played with the New York Mets in the amazing Mets -- Tommy Jones saw this young man named Gabe Coleman and he asked Gabe: &quot ; Why are you crying?&quot ; 23:13 He said because Coach Ross, who was notorious and famous coach, had cut him from the football team. So, Thomas Jones asked him: &quot ; what position did he cut you from?&quot ; &quot ; He cut me from the quarter back position.&quot ; So, Tommy Jones told him, said: &quot ; Go back tomorrow and go back for (Indecipherable) &quot ; But he said, he told me he said he cut me from the quarter back position&quot ; he said &quot ; that was yesterday for quarterback, you go in for a different position, and if he cut you tomorrow for (Indecipherable)you go back the next day for guard, and if he cut you for guard you go back for center, and if he cut you for center you go back for tackle.&quot ; and he said &quot ; you keep going back.&quot ; 23:49 Gabe went back five days in a row. Coach Ross selected Gabe to be on the team because of his perseverance and the determination. When I became on the football team my freshman year the one word Coach Ross would write on the board before every game was the word &quot ; desire.&quot ; He said &quot ; we will win or lose this game based on, not the training or the preparation we did on the field, because we know we&#039 ; ve done that, we will win this game because of the desire in your heart to win this game. It is not how big those players are, or how fast those players are, it all boils down to the desire thats in your heart.&quot ; Those are the kind of examples that I saw, and I experienced on this campus and in this community. 24:48 The other thing that community people would tell us, especially they would always be inquisitive to recognizing those students who were gifted both in terms of athletics but especially academics. They would always point out, and literally point to your head and say, &quot ; get it up here they cant take it from you.&quot ; Because they understood, for so many of them, including our teachers, they had been denied continuously opportunities, not because of their talent, only because of their color. They understood that times were changing, and they wanted to prepare us for the best and so, when I talk about those five wells and I talk about these experiences, all those things begin to come to together, in terms of talking about Mobile County Training School. 25:44 My goal and ambition for Mobile County Training School is to, somehow, make sure that the students and alumni that went through this school understand the DNA of this school. Now just any school can give you books to read even today they can give you computers to work on but do they put the DNA in your bone marrow to have the desire to succeed, and not only to succeed, to give back. Because one of the mottos of Mobile Training School was to give, is to give back. 26:22 Our teachers constantly gave back. Every teacher that I went to at some point in time came to my house, they knew my parents, they talked to my parents. There was one teacher, a principal, or gentleman in the community named Mr. Lemmy O&#039 ; Keaby Mr. Keaby (Spell Check) was a 1930 graduate of Mobile County Training School and he grew up in Magazine Point. Mr Keaby didn&#039 ; t have any children he was a direct descendent from the slave ship Clotilda. Mr. Keaby, to me, was the meanest man in the world. He never smiled. Mr. Keaby was probably about six foot two and stood with a position of just authority. I found out later on Mr. Keaby was a math and English major from Tuskegee. 27:12 I&#039 ; ll never forget, Mr. Keaby would call my father and ask my father to send some boys over to his mothers house, usually to do some work. I&#039 ; ll never forget, we had a situation where we went over to his mothers house and he wanted us to pull some nails from the planks and boards to save the best boards, to straighten out the nails, to separate the nails, to put them in different containers -- and so it was five of us who did that: Cal and more, Sam Keavy, Raymond Griffen, Russel, Mitchell(Spell Check) and myself. 27:44 And at around noon time his mother gave us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some water to eat and drink. We worked for Mr. Keavy from eight O&#039 ; clock that morning to six O&#039 ; clock that evening. At six o&#039 ; clock that evening we knew we were gonna get a big paycheck, Mr. Keavy gave us 25 cents total and asks us to spend it one place and to share it with each other. I went home and I told my father I would never again work for Mr. Lenny O&#039 ; Keavy for under any circumstances at all. My father looked at me in a most stern way and he said to me: &quot ; if Mr. Keavy calls you, you will go&quot ; 28:26 My father could not read or write. Mr. Keavy -- and we didnt have a car when I was growing up, in high school -- my father saw me play football for the first time when Mr. Keavy brought him to a football game. When I graduated from high school and my freshman year in college Mr. Keavy sent me 500 dollars for my college. That was a teaching moment for me and a learning moment of understanding that people will wait and see what I was gonna do and to see if I was worthy of receiving those kinds of gifts, and stuff. And so, I remember that particular situation as though it were yesterday and there are many many many situations similar to that that I can share. Not on only with myself and with other students. 29:16 And that is what I encourage my peers to do. One of the things that my classmatesand us are gonna do -- and our theme is remembering the old days -- for next year year in 2018, and our theme is around remembering those individuals, and so what we are in the process of doing is making pictures of everybody that was a part of our class to remember those individuals. We&#039 ; re also going to make pictures of all of our teachers, our parents, and community figures who were a part of that. We&#039 ; re gonna rent a ballroom space and put all of these particular artifacts and things on display. We&#039 ; re gonna bring back and invite our children nephews and nieces to share with them how we grew up and the things that we played with from packorollers(spell check) to skateboards to the whole nine yards -- that we made these items and we&#039 ; re gonna make them again to popgods(spell check) and so on -- that we did that. 30:18 Part of the reason that we&#039 ; re doing that is that we wanna share this history of Mobile County Training School in this community to our descendants so that they understand, yes, we have done well, yes, we are much better off than what our parents were. But if it wasn&#039 ; t for that foundation, those things that which they taught us, those rituals in which they sent us through, those trainings that which we had, we would not be the persons that we are today. 30:48 Our churches did the same thing -- and just speaking a little bit about our churches -- Union Baptist church, which I think some of you visited, was where the school was started -- but Yorktown church is another school church in which they had opportunities and procedures - activities there. Yorktown church is the considered the founders of Mobile County Training School as a public school. That is where the seven individuals who partitioned the school system and brought Mr. Whitley to Mobile came out of, out of that particular school. 31:23 The first millionaire in Mobile, in the black community or in Africatown -- black millionaire in Africatown -- was Mr. Nelson Adam(Spell Check) There is a school named after Mr. Nelson Adam. Nelson Adam was the man that helped finance Mobile County Training School with land buildings and so on in terms of working. So Yorktown church played a very valuable role in Mobile County Training School because of those seven individuals, and others. Hogwell is the church where the original bell came from in 1915 that is believed to come from the Clotilda. When the church, Hogwell(Spell Check) was burned in 1915, and when that church was burned that bell was reconditioned by a social club called the Just Us Club, which was an all-boys club on Mobile County Training School campus and brought to this particular campus in 1915. That bell was displaced in the late nineties or early two thousands somewhere and so we had to go out and find another bell which you see behind me and we had a dedication of the new bell in August 2017 of this year. 32:40 So all of those pieces are a part of what make Mobile County Training School special. Mobile County Training School -- when you think about the Africatown community, we had at least twenty grocery stores out here, we had clubs, we had movie theaters, we had restaurants, we had pool rooms, we had pool rooms, we had hotels and motels, we had laundry mats, we were a self-contained community. 33:06 Mobile, the plateau Africatown community, did not become a part of the city of Mobile until the 1950s when it was incorporated into Mobile. And that&#039 ; s a real interesting story as well because, in order for Mobile to first gets lights and power out here from Alabama Power, their condition was three people had to buy stoves from the power company in order to be qualified to get power put out here in the Plateau area in the 1940s. Those three people were: Mr. Robert Hope, his brother, and Dr. Baker who was the principal of Mobile County Training School. Those people purchased those stoves in order for power to be ran out here, as a condition to get power into this community. 33:58 It&#039 ; s real interesting because the whole family have eleven children and even though they had the stove they couldn&#039 ; t hook it up because they couldn&#039 ; t afford to pay for it. So they had to still use the gas lanterns for lights they had it all hooked up but they couldn&#039 ; t turn it on and stuff. So that&#039 ; s an interesting story in and of itself in terms of how this community came about, in terms of doing some things. The other thing that I learned about the community was that Dr. Baker always shot for excellence. So, one of the things that he did -- if there was any national program from the Boy Scouts to the, uh, any organization including accreditations for high schools, Dr. Baker would apply for those accreditations. And so if you talk about the High School National Honor Roll, or you talk about the National Boy Scouts, the Mobile County Training School has a certificate for that because Dr. Baker was gonna apply for it. 34:53 In 1934 it is said that Mobile County Training School became the first Black school in the south to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities in the history of Alabama and in the South, in 1934. There was a gentleman by the name of Brown Pygmy (Spell Check) who just died this year, Brown Pygmy went to Dunbar High School and graduated from Dunbar High School in 1933. He wanted the thing to be on his certificate to say that he graduated from an accredited high school so he spent another year, came to Mobile County Training School and graduated from Mobile County Training School, in order to have that certificate on his diploma that he graduated from an accredited high school in Mobile Alabama, and stuff. Mr. Brown Pygmy, I never met him, but his nephew Mr. Isaac Pygmy taught me -- it was one of my mentors, and he&#039 ; s still living and he&#039 ; s here in Mobile, Alabama. So, it was those kind of stories that we were taught in Mobile. 36:02 The song, the school song, of Mobile County Training School is written by Dr. Wally Bolden. Dr. Wally Bolden will be ninety-nine years old this year. He&#039 ; s in Atlanta, GA. and every time I get an opportunity I go by and see him. He told me that the two professions that, if you wanted to be paid the most money in teaching at a school, the two professions you wanted at that time in the thirties and forties, were you wanted to be a math teacher or you wanted to be a agriculture teacher because Mobile County Training School grew its own food to feed its own students when it had the cafeteria here. It did everything, it had the cows, and he often asked me: &quot ; what did y&#039 ; all do with the goat?&quot ; Well I didn&#039 ; t know nothin&#039 ; about no goat. But he said they goat that was in the entrance of Mobile County Training School, when you came in the goat was there. &quot ; I don&#039 ; t know nothin&#039 ; about the goat,&quot ; I said, &quot ; we&#039 ; re still looking for the goat, okay.&quot ; 36:58 But it was those kind of rituals and stories that were told to us and shared with us about things. All of the social clubs and service clubs usually met on the weekend and at somebodies house, and it was typically on Sunday that they would meet at people&#039 ; s houses. When I was a senior we had a ring ceremony. In terms that we did a dedication of our graduation ring ceremony and we had that at a house and each social club would have that dedication for that particular senior group in terms of the dedication of the ring ceremony. So, we learned how to have those wellness moments of celebration and embracing and appreciation in everything that we did. 37:49 Everything that was done at Mobile County Training School was a celebration. It was a celebration because in the broader world, as we understood it and saw it, we were constantly being put down and denigrated by larger society. This was really a sanctuary for us. And one young lady, who is a descendant of the Guilard Family(Spell Check) who lives in Atlanta. There were eight girls in this particular person&#039 ; s family, Guilard family, and she talked about the fact that she looked forward to coming to school because at home there was suh a rigid standard there that she got an opportunity to have autonomy, flexibility, and leadership, and an opinion at Mobile County Training School that she didn&#039 ; t even have in her own household. Because that was an opportunity for us to express ourselves in the confines of the protocol that we had. So, she looked forward to that. 38:55 Most students did not want to miss a day of school because that gave them an opportunity of being in leadership roles, whether it was in sports, whether it was academic, whether it was a social club, or whether it was just activities in general. They had the autonomy to make those decisions, make recommendations. Because, at home you did what mamma said to do, and that as it. So, it was just such an ideal place. 39:22 The other thing that made Mobile County Training School so wonderful, and the connection between the church, the school, and the community was that you didn&#039 ; t wanna get in trouble at school, because you had two other venues you gonna be in trouble with. You gonna be in trouble with home and getting home because the kids are gonna run ahead of you and say, well, &quot ; he got in trouble&quot ; and they were gonna call you over and say, &quot ; what you doin&#039 ; getting in trouble&quot ; and then pop you upside the head. When you got home, your parents were gonna chastise you because they would tell you &quot ; you don&#039 ; t disrespect the teacher. Then, on top of that you gon&#039 ; get in trouble on Sunday because it got to Sunday school you got in trouble and they were gonna discipline you. 40:06 So you were just at every corner and as you got older and you began to realize what they were trying to prepare you for was one of those &#039 ; wells&#039 ; . And that &#039 ; well&#039 ; was well-balanced. That you had to recognize and live up to authority. Because if you didn&#039 ; t there were situations that could literally take your career from you or worse than that, take your life from you. If it had not been for Mobile County Training School, for many individuals, they would not be the people that they are today. I sometimes look and I wonder at my peers and others and I say we all have been blessed tremendously because of Mobile County Training School and the environment in which we grew up in. And I guarantee you if you ever talk to anyone who went to Mobile County Training School they can tell you stories as I&#039 ; ve told you today and share with you, as I&#039 ; ve shared with you today, stories that will resonate with you and leave a lasting impression on you. And so, one of the things that concerns me is that many of my peers and some of the older alumni, for whatever reason, do not believe that it matters. And this happens with families, this happens in many situations. 41:25 The reason that I come back to Mobile every month, as often as I can, and as I do the things that I do, is because I know that one person can make a difference. One person made a difference in my life, and many one-people that made a difference in my life. One gentleman that made a tremendous difference in my life was Curtis Hardin.(Spell Check) Curtis Hardin sent me down as a junior in high school. I had the world in the palm of my hand. I was president of the class my senior year -- this is my senior year -- I was president of student body, vice-president of the National Negro High School Association, quarter-back on the football team, and captain, second-base all-city player, honor roll student, math and science club. Could go to any prom because the president of student government got invitations to all the proms as a special gesture. Could go to any prom that I wanted too. So, I had all this stuff going on and so my head got swoll&#039 ; beyond belief. Curtis Hardin set me down and he said, &quot ; I&#039 ; ve heard that you&#039 ; ve become negligent and you&#039 ; ve become arrogant&quot ; and he said, &quot ; let me tell you a story.&quot ; 42:53 And that was what was so wonderful about our teachers. They did not tell you what to do. They told you a story and that story was to try to illustrate to you: make the decision. Because, in life you have to make the decision: look at the story. And after he told me a story about himself, the Tuskegee and the things that had happened to him at Tuskegee and he said, &quot ; the world is yours but you&#039 ; re gonna have to make a decision&quot ; and from that experience it made a difference in my life and to this day I&#039 ; m constantly in contact with him, sharing with him how much I appreciate him and all the things which he did for me. 43:34 The story goes on and on with so many different teachers so many different community people. So, I say to my peers and others that I&#039 ; ve learned and met: lets give back cause we have something to give back. To the future generation: my hope is, and my class is moving towards this year, is to get our descendants to understand: this is your legacy, this is your DNA, be proud of it. Let&#039 ; s make it excellence. We come from people who invested in excellence, thats why they taught us the five &#039 ; wells&#039 ; . Thats why they taught us the four &#039 ; p&#039 ; s. Thats why they taught us the three &#039 ; R&#039 ; s.&quot ; It was about excellence. And so, we have a responsibility to share with them this excellence and encourage them to embrace this excellence and make a difference. We can do it, we must do it, one person at a time. And that&#039 ; s all I got to say. *laughs* video 0 https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile= Sort Priority This field allows you to determine the object order in your gallery. This plugin is designed to work only with the Philly theme. 0001 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anderson Flen Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/c968415f56698d5555087b9a6a6b2f12.jpg 53d2fd1e6288a7bdd474b84643d8e2e7 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Fiskio, Janet Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Pastor John Williams OHMS Object This field contain the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file withing the OHMS Viewer). https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=Interview58837.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and/or Transcript and is what make the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka. 5.2 Pastor Williams Full Interview 00:54:057 Africatown Oberlin College Library Pastor John Williams Fiskio, Janet mp3 1:|26(5)|46(6)|61(6)|78(5)|91(4)|106(5)|123(7)|140(7)|153(4)|168(14)|182(11)|201(6)|218(5)|238(1)|248(11)|262(2)|273(14)|286(9)|299(1)|312(9)|324(1)|334(6)|345(9)|357(12)|374(7)|387(2)|399(5)|409(9)|424(9)|438(7)|455(8)|475(5)|486(4)|496(6)|506(10)|517(6)|530(4)|544(2)|555(3)|565(14)|576(9)|593(14)|604(13)|616(6)|626(2)|635(18)|646(2)|659(1)|672(8)|681(5)|690(14)|700(2)|710(11)|721(4) 0 https://youtu.be/JQu5efCcfwM YouTube video 0 Introduction of Pastor, Childhood, and Africatown Could you tell me where you were born? Pastor Williams talks briefly about his life growing up in Alabama and about what makes Africatown so unique and historically significant Africatown ; Alabama ; Black People ; Cudjo Lewis ; Stories of Africatown Africatown ; Alabama ; Stories of Africatown 17 131 Documentation of Black History &quot ; Well, the truth of the matter is it's about Black people and the problem in Alabama is -- and not just Alabama, a problem all over the world -- is Black history didn't matter until just a few years ago, and it still don't matter to a lot of people. It's not in our history books&quot ; Pastor Williams talks about why the story of Africatown hasn't been heard by many people Africatown ; Black ; Black History ; Books ; History Black History ; History of Africatown 17 200 Uniqueness of Africatown Community Oh yes, its a lot of things, this is a very -- how would you say -- family oriented area. Everybody is -- I don't want to say everybody is related -- but it appears that everybody is related. Pastor Williams talks about what makes the Africatown community so special Africatown ; Close-knit ; Community ; Family ; Family Oriented ; Unique Africatown ; Closeness ; Community ; Uniqueness 17 237 Vision for the future of Africatown + Environmental Problems Well the future is a great deal important. If you look around Africatown now, you'll see all the industry that's being grown in. My opinion is that, not just the city, the whole state is trying to wipe Africatown off the map. The more industry you put here, the smaller Africatown becomes. Pastor Williams talks about his hopes for the future and some of the struggles of Africatown Africatown ; Alabama ; chemicals ; Dredging ; Environment ; Future ; Historic ; Industry ; Mobile ; tar sands ; Traffic Africatown Future ; Africatown Industry 17 384 Yorktown Church This church was not named after the plantation, from what I understand. It was named-- there was a group of people in Yorkshire, England and what happened was, when they got rid of the name of the church and instilled the name Yorktown of it Pastor Williams talks about the history of his church, Yorktown. Church ; Plantation ; Yorkshire ; Yorktown ; Yorktown Church Founding of Yorktown Church 17 429 Most important Stories of Africatown Why it was done. You take a bet to bring free men from Africa back to America and you bet a couple thousand dollars to see &quot ; oh I can do it&quot ; and get away with it-- and you know it's against the law. And then the whole story. Pastor Williams talks about the stories of Africatown that must be documented and shared. africatown ; clotilda ; community ; cudjo Lewis ; freemen ; history ; Mobile County Training School ; obstacles ; oil tanks ; story ; tar sands Clotilda ; History ; History of Africatown ; Story Telling 17 580 Life of Pastor Williams + How he came to Yorktown It was, I have to say, the grace of God 'cause I had no idea that Yorktown even existed. Pastor Williams talks about how he arrived in Africatown and what his early life was like. Church ; Pastor ; Pastor Williams ; Williams ; Yorktown ; Yorktown Church Early Life of Pastor Williams ; Pastor Williams Arrival At Yorktown Church 17 874 Health Issues + Cancer in Community We have one family, one entire family that's been decimated by cancer. The father died from cancer, the mother has cancer, I think three daughters have died from cancer, and one of the brothers knows something about it so there has to be a reason for cancer coming into one family like that because it don't happen--across America you don't see that where everybody in the house diagnosed with cancer Pastor Williams talks about some of the health problems and hardships faced by the community and how he navigates that in his role as a pastor. Cancer ; Health Problems ; Hospital ; Pastor Health in Africatown Community 17 1186 Hopes for the Future of Africatown Well, the stories that I've heard about the barber shops, the shoppin' centers--this was a self-contained community not long ago. I would hope and pray that they could get back to being a self-contained--not that we wanna be separated from everybody else Pastor Williams talks about the hopes for the future of Africatown v. what's been happening to and within the community Africatown ; Barber Shop ; Businesses ; Cancer ; Community ; Future ; Health ; Hope ; Hopes ; Medical Care ; Self-Contained ; Shops ; Sustainable Businesses in Africatown ; Future of Africatown 17 1563 Black People treated as Second-Class Citizens But if you are a Black person in America you have felt the second-class citizenship thrown towards you. Pastor Williams speaks toward the treatment of Black folks in America America ; Black People ; Problem ; Racism ; Second-class Racism in America 17 1698 Generosity and Openness of Africatown Community If you come into Africatown you're gonna get loved just like you were at home. People are gonna throw their arms around you. Now, if you mess up they're gonna tell you: &quot ; you messed up.&quot ; They ain't gonna jump on you, ain't gonna raise sand Pastor Williams talks about how welcoming, open, and family oriented the community of Africatown is. Family-Oriented ; Generosity ; Hug ; Love ; Welcomed ; Welcoming Closeness of Africatown ; Generosity and Welcoming 17 1966 Timeline of Revitalization of Africatown I think that we could do and be the Africatown that I've heard about and I've seen next month. I believe that. And the reason I believe that because God can do all things. Pastor Williams talks about hopes for the future and how he thinks Africatown can get there. Africatown ; Businesses ; Collaboration ; Future ; Taxes Future of Africatown 17 2192 Buffalo Soldiers in Africatown Buffalo Soldiers buried in this cemetery right across the street. The Buffalo Soldiers that still walk around and work here. Pastor Williams talks about Buffalo Soldiers in Africatown Buffalo Soldiers ; Cemetary Buffalo Soldiers in Africatown 17 2239 Importance of Mobile County Training School I think one of the biggest things that the community can do is to get the churches involved in the school. Yorktown is involved in the school. We adopted Mobile County Training School and Whitley. We're involved in school. Pastor Williams talks about the importance of Mobile County Training School and what needs to happen to rediscover success. Alumni ; Black History ; Church ; County ; Education ; Educatown ; Historic ; Mobile ; Mobile County Training School ; School ; Training Black History ; Mobile County Training School 17 2504 Government Involvement and Accountability + Black History We gotta make it known to legislatures and to our governors, to our President. When President Obama was in Office I wrote him a letter. He wrote me back and I still have that letter. Pastor Williams talks about the importance of the US government recognizing crimes against the black community and through that promoting the success and development of black communities and history. Government ; Hate Crimes ; legislators ; Local ; Local Government ; President ; Racism ; Slavery Government Accountability ; Recognizing History 17 2817 Community Accountability, Education, and Ownership anybody to want to do something is to make them own it. It's gotta be: ownership. It's gotta be ownership. If they don't own it, it will never be important to them. Reggie Hill and Pastor Williams talk about educating the youth about the historical significance of the community and personal ownership and activism Africatown ; Education ; Ownership ; Youth Ownership of Africatown 17 00:00 Janet Fiskio: This is Janet Fiskio and we are here at Yorktown Church in Africatown Alabama with Pastor Williams. It is January 4th 2018 and we&#039 ; re doing an interview as part of the Africatown digital archive project. So thank you, Pastor Williams, for your time. Pastor Williams: You&#039 ; re welcome, thank you for coming. Fiskio: Could you tell me where you were born? Pastor: I was born in a small town called Brownsboro, Alabama. That&#039 ; s outside of Huntsville Fiskio: How far is that from here? Pastor: About 400 miles. Fiskio: Okay, so how did you first learn about Africatown? Pastor: When I became pastor here -- I knew a little bit about it before I became pastor in 2006 -- I learned a little bit about Africatown but since I&#039 ; ve been here I&#039 ; ve learned a great deal about it. What are some of the things that you think people should know about Africatown? Pastor: Well, that it is one of the most historic places in America as far as Black people are concerned and that if they come here they will see a lot of things that they haven&#039 ; t seen in other parts of the world. And that we&#039 ; re working to do better than what we have at this point. 01:05 Fiskio: What kinds of -- So if people came here they would see things, what would they see? Pastor: Well, they would talk to the people that live here. They&#039 ; d tell &#039 ; em the stories that they were brought up with. They could see the houses to see the area. You can come down to where to Clotilda was found -- the ship Clotilda where the last freemen, some call slaves, were brought in. Fiskio: What are some of the stories that you&#039 ; ve heard, you said there were a lot of stories here? Pastor: I&#039 ; ve heard about Cudjoe Lewis, I&#039 ; ve heard about the slaves walking from the ship up to what is called the bowl area, about the high school being now a middle school. There&#039 ; s so many stories that you hear, you hear about all the relatives and all the people that&#039 ; s in this area, and where they came from, and who the people are, and what part of Africa -- I can&#039 ; t think of the exact name of it but where they came from -- I can show you on a map. But it&#039 ; s just a lot of great stories that you&#039 ; ll hear and understand that just about everybody in America has some dealing with this area. Every black person in America has some dealing of something that happened in this area that affects them. 02:13 Fiskio: And so, you mp entioned -- we were talking earlier -- that this story doesn&#039 ; t get told in history books and that kind of thing. Why do you think that is? Pastor: Well, the truth of the matter is it&#039 ; s about Black people and the problem in Alabama is -- and not just Alabama, a problem all over the world -- is Black history didn&#039 ; t matter until just a few years ago, and it still don&#039 ; t matter to a lot of people. It&#039 ; s not in our history books. That wasn&#039 ; t taught in my elementary, or middle school, or high school. It&#039 ; s not in the world history books but it&#039 ; s a historic place. This --nowhere else can they say, in America, that the last ship was brought into America, illegally, with freemen that were captured as slaves and enslaved here, on that boat, until they got to America. And then had to be -- live on their own in a area that they were not familiar with. No other place in America can say that. 03:11 Fiskio: So, it sounds like that&#039 ; s one of the things that makes Africatown unique and so since you came here from another place in Alabama but are there things that are really unique about Africatown? Pastor: Oh yes, its a lot of things, this is a very -- how would you say -- family oriented area. Everybody is -- I don&#039 ; t want to say everybody is related -- but it appears that everybody is related. Everybody -- If you&#039 ; re from Plateau, Africatown everybody is close knit. Now you gonna have squabbles. You always have family squabbles but everybody is close knit in Africatown, Plateau area, Magazine Point, Louis Quarters --which all make up Africatown. Everybody is very close knit. Fiskio: And you mentioned that you --people wanted to see things done better than they had been done-- you said that the history is important but its also about the future. So what are the things you would like--you think should happen, that you would like to see. 04:10 Pastor: Well the future is a great deal important. If you look around Africatown now, you&#039 ; ll see all the industry that&#039 ; s being grown in. My opinion is that, not just the city, the whole state is trying to wipe Africatown off the map. The more industry you put here, the smaller Africatown becomes. When Africatown was a large bustling place, now it has become a small closed in space and is surrounded by industry. You got a train track that brings in tar sand, you got all the chemicals coming across the river through Africatown, you got the other main road that comes through--everything comes though Africatown. No other place Alabama, or I think Mobile, has this this type of traffic. I know it&#039 ; s not in Mobile because it all comes through here and a lot of the times the problems is right here. Who would have put--you wouldn&#039 ; t find an oil tank you wouldn&#039 ; t find any of the chemicals, acid, in West Mobile? You won&#039 ; t find it. They&#039 ; ll close a dump in west Mobile but they&#039 ; ll place that dump right here. They do the dredging of the river and they put all the dredge materials in Africatown. Why would you do that? It makes no sense to me. Fiskio: Especially in an area thats this historic. Right? It&#039 ; s a unique area. Pastor: Exactly, its a very unique area but until the story is told-- and thank the college for coming-- but until the story is told, nobody else will know. And like I said, it&#039 ; s not in the history books. My children wouldn&#039 ; t have known anything about Africatown because it wasn&#039 ; t taught. They went to school here. You can go to West Mobile and some of the children don&#039 ; t know anything about Africatown, they don&#039 ; t know anything about Plateau, they don&#039 ; t know anything about the ship, Clotilda, or the mayors who ran the ship who came to Mobile and they still wouldn&#039 ; t know where the name Yorkshire, or the city Yorkshire, or the plantation Yorkshire was even in this area. And a lot of people-- a lot of the older people here don&#039 ; t even know about Yorkshire. 06:18 Fiskio: So, this was this church, there was a plantation here? Pastor: It wasn&#039 ; t here, it was in this area. This church was not named after the plantation, from what I understand. It was named-- there was a group of people in Yorkshire, England and what happened was, when they got rid of the name of the church and instilled the name Yorktown of it Yorkshire it was a community so they named it Yorktown and that&#039 ; s how Yorktown became to be, from what I was told. Fiskio: How long has this church been here? Pastor: This church is a hundred and-- I thinks its a hundred and thirty years this year--I have to check to make sure. I think it&#039 ; s a hundred and thirty years. I think its on this location for--I want to say sixty-five or seventy years, I&#039 ; m not exactly sure. But I can get that information from elsewhere. 07:07 Fiskio: I know, that&#039 ; s a long time. So, you were gonna--this is partly for our project-- what are the kinds of stories that you think we should ask about? What kinds of things should we try to learn about that other people should hear? Pastor: Well I think one of the main things that need to learn about is the entire story. Not just part of the story of the Clotilda Fiskio: Okay Pastor: Why it was done. You take a bet to bring free men from Africa back to America and you bet a couple thousand dollars to see &quot ; oh I can do it&quot ; and get away with it-- and you know it&#039 ; s against the law. And then the whole story. They know how many people--or what happened on that slave ship, how people were treated. Not only did they bring free men here but a lot of free people were thrown overboard because thats what happens. When you get sick you&#039 ; re thrown overboard, that&#039 ; s damage to them that&#039 ; s just a waste of a space. You need to know the whole story of the Clotilda, hey need to know the whole story this community--how this community came into existence, they need to know where we are now, what we&#039 ; re doing, what we&#039 ; re teaching. Then they need to know about the school, Mobile County Training School. And you know, the things that we are facing the obstacles that&#039 ; s been thrown in front of this school and the continuation of that school but most importantly they need to learn about the people that&#039 ; s here. These people--and I say these &#039 ; cause I&#039 ; m not really from here-- but these people are proud people, they&#039 ; re not asking for a handout, they&#039 ; re not asking you to give me everything they wanna work for-- but they don&#039 ; t want you to put oil tanks in their front yard. Who wants to live with an oil tank in their front--who wants tar sands spilling onto their property. Nobody wants that. Tell the story of the people that are still here. There are some people that can tell you who Cudjo Lewis was and tell you who Peter Leigh. They can tell you what that Chimney on the corner of the street means, why it&#039 ; s still there, why it hasn&#039 ; t been torn down. Tell you the history of the welcome center across the street. How the welcome center is supposed to be this big booming welcome center but all you get is a trailer that is dilapidated and they want you to utilize it and make the best that you can. This is not a second-class generation or people. We are a first-class people and deserve to be treated as such. 09:38 Fiskio: Thats right, thats right, thats right. So how did you come to Africatown how did you know, accepting this church as your... Pastor: It was, I have to say, the grace of God &#039 ; cause I had no idea that Yorktown even existed. I was at church one Sunday--at the church I was from. And it was the first Sunday, my pastor and I had just given the last supper and this lady came in---a very attractive lady came in. She said: &quot ; pastor I wanna talk to you and Chris.&quot ; And I&#039 ; m thinking &quot ; who was this lady?&quot ; --I didn&#039 ; t even know who she was and she said: &quot ; I need to talk to y&#039 ; all cause Chris is gonna be the next pastor.&quot ; No Chris is not gonna be the next pastor anyway. So &quot ; Pastor okay we&#039 ; ll talk.&quot ; so we went back to the office and I&#039 ; m tryna figure out--pastor lookin&#039 ; at me, my wife standing beside me, she&#039 ; s like: &quot ; who is this lady?&quot ; So, we--back to the pastor-- so Tracy is right behind me--that&#039 ; s my wife. And pastor said, &quot ; hold on a minute let us talk and see what&#039 ; s going on.&quot ; So, come found out she sayin&#039 ; I was gonna be the next pastor here in Yorktown but I didn&#039 ; t even know Yorktown existed. And I said: &quot ; no I&#039 ; m not&quot ; so I didn&#039 ; t even put in paperwork so I went back to church and they said &quot ; did you put the rsum in?&quot ; I said no. He said &quot ; are ya?&quot ; I said no. Well the next month later she comes again. She said, &quot ; pastor I told y&#039 ; all that Chris is gonna be the next pastor out there and he needed to go put a rsum in.&quot ; I said, &quot ; no I&#039 ; m not.&quot ; &#039 ; cause I&#039 ; d been prayin&#039 ; but I didn&#039 ; t ask for no church. And so, I didn&#039 ; t do it and I guess it was a week or two later the pastor called me and said, &quot ; Chris you need to put your application in.&quot ; I said, &quot ; for what?&quot ; and we talked and he said--so I don&#039 ; t remember I think the lady&#039 ; s name-- I think it was Miss Scott, I&#039 ; m not sure. I had a number to call here and they said, &quot ; just put it in the mailbox&quot ; and I put it in the mailbox and it was the--I think it was like a Friday-- it was the day before they were supposed to look at all the resums. So I made the deadline before and they called me and I&#039 ; m here thats the history of it 11:42 Fiskio: How did they find out about you? Pastor: I don&#039 ; t know. I don&#039 ; t even know if they found out about me, the lady didn&#039 ; t even go to church here. She was not even a member here. The one who came to morning service. Reggie: So it was Miss Scott Pastor: No, it wasn&#039 ; t Miss Scott that came to the church, it was Miss Scott that I talked to on the phone--I think it was Miss Scott who I talked to on the phone who told me to put it in the mailbox. I had to find out where... Fiskio: Before you became a pastor, what jobs did you do? Pastor: I was an Alabama State Trooper for twenty-five years. Fiskio: How did you go from being a state trooper to a minister? Pastor: Well when I--we wont go the whole history-- When I was fifteen I knew I was called to preach but I had to figure that thing out. I ran for about fifteen years. I did everything I thought I was big enough to do. Got in all the trouble I thought I could do and still be lawful. But when I went to college it got real heavy on me to do what I was supposed to do. Then I left college and went to the Trooper Academy tried to run by being a state trooper and that didn&#039 ; t work. I found myself ministering to all the people at work. Started different programs that helped teach and some of them are still runnin&#039 ; . But that&#039 ; s where it started. I ended up going back to school and getting my degrees and doing everything I was supposed to do. Now it&#039 ; s my calling when I was thirty so fifteen years later I was called a pastor, when I was 43 I&#039 ; ve been retired. Fiskio: So, then you moved here and you said you raised your children here? Pastor: Yeah, I raised a daughter, Abreeotta, a son, Chris or Christopher, and they&#039 ; re doing good. Avery is-- she&#039 ; s a doctorate in molecular genetics, she&#039 ; s a professor in Tennessee and my son is a occupational therapist in Birmingham. Fiskio: And so, what are-- when you think back you said you came here in 2006 Pastor: 2006 Fiskio: What are some of the most important things you feel like have happened while you&#039 ; ve been here as a pastor--here at your church maybe. Pastor: Well a lot of things have happened, but I think one of the most important things that have happened is the outreach that we have here at Yorktown as far as to the citizens of this community. We have every second Saturday we do an outreach as far as giving food out to help those that need-- now this is not for just this community it goes out to people thats all over this community. But we do that outreach and we reach out to those that are in need. We give them food. Were workin&#039 ; on another ministry that will give clothing. So we&#039 ; re doing some things here at Yorktown to reach out to even outside of Africatown area. So that&#039 ; s one of the things we&#039 ; ve been--we&#039 ; ve taken in members. We&#039 ; ve lost a lot of members. There&#039 ; s a lawsuit that started out of this church to assist some of the members that have lost loved ones. We have one family, one entire family that&#039 ; s been decimated by cancer. The father died from cancer, the mother has cancer, I think three daughters have died from cancer, and one of the brothers knows something about it so there has to be a reason for cancer coming into one family like that because it don&#039 ; t happen--across America you don&#039 ; t see that where everybody in the house diagnosed with cancer then-- and it&#039 ; s not just that house there&#039 ; s several houses that has cancer in it out of this area. And once you talk to them about what happened and how they was brought up and what was going on at the time you realize that some of the things that happened back then is affecting our people even today and will continue to affect our people for years to come because children now are having problems breathing and they&#039 ; re being diagnosed early with different stages of cancer and asthma and all kinds of things. So it don&#039 ; t just happen, just happenstance, it happens &#039 ; cause people do things that shouldn&#039 ; t be done then after they found out that they&#039 ; ve done something they just up and leave and don&#039 ; t try and fix it. Thats where the problem is and that&#039 ; s why the lawsuit was started. Fiskio: When you talk about the obstacles and the challenges, how do you keep going? How do you keep doing this work? Pastor: You gotta keep prayin&#039 ; . That&#039 ; s the only way. The benefits are far more better than the obstacles. Because once you see a child that smiles because it&#039 ; s so innocent and you can talk to -- there&#039 ; s a little boy that goes to church here, he&#039 ; s smart as a whip.Every Sunday that I see him he&#039 ; s got something encouraging to say when I talk to him. And so those moments make all the rough moments a lot better. Its not a party. Pastoring is not an easy task by no stretch of the word. You face death on a regular basis and you have to face it with your members. You go to a hospital--I spend the majority of my time at time at the hospital because you walk back and forth--you have people that are sick. Matter of fact I had to go to the hospital today. We have two members there that are sick. You have to figure out how to help those that are bereaved or are going through bereavement. No matter what you say--what can you say to ease their pain? You can just be there and talk to them. It&#039 ; s a stressful job but God is able to make everything easy once you depend on him. Fiskio: When you talk about the number of deaths in the community and... What are the ways that the community helps and supports each other do you think? Pastor: Oh, because it&#039 ; s so close knit if something happened to Ms. Jones then everybody&#039 ; s gonna rally to Ms. Jones they&#039 ; re gonna call Ms. Jones and talk to her. That talkin&#039 ; believe it or not, talkin&#039 ; helps you to--not get rid of but it eases the pain of that death. When my wife lost her mother and her father we had people to call people to come by and that helps you to, not get over it, but helps you to go through it. Because you don&#039 ; t ever get over it. When a child dies you never get over it. When a momma dies you don&#039 ; t get over it because you just struggle with. When a spouse passes it something you just wont get over. You have to endure. You depend on the Lord a whole lot more because you realize that he&#039 ; s the one thats gonna bring you through it. That&#039 ; s one of the things I try to tell the people. And I don&#039 ; t go to them that night and say &quot ; well the Lord knows better and he knows best&quot ; because we don&#039 ; t wanna here that at that point. Later you might want to--be able to receive that but at that time, that night, your husband, your wife, or your mother&#039 ; s dying or has passed you don&#039 ; t wanna hear &quot ; the Lord knows&quot ; you don&#039 ; t wanna hear anything about the Lord because the Lord allowed your loved one to leave. So right then you&#039 ; re angry with the Lord. Most people are. But after a couple days then you can talk about what the Lord&#039 ; s gonna do and how he&#039 ; s gonna bring you through it. But you go there and talk about &quot ; Lord knows best&quot ; not only are you hurting that person&#039 ; s feelings but you might get a few words that you don&#039 ; t wanna- Fiskio: That&#039 ; s right *laughs* I&#039 ; m just thinking, when you&#039 ; re talking about, you know, the kind of grief and the the pain that people go through and the communities support. What are the things you hope for for the future and what do you think seems like theres a lot of strengths in this community when you said people support each other and they&#039 ; re close? What are the things that you hope to see in the future here? Pastor: Well, the stories that I&#039 ; ve heard about the barber shops, the shoppin&#039 ; centers--this was a self-contained community not long ago. I would hope and pray that they could get back to being a self-contained--not that we wanna be separated from everybody else, but everybody wants to be able to walk down to the corner and get your haircut or walk to the corner and get a Coke or whatever. That&#039 ; s what I hope but I also pray that there is a medical facility in this community that will begin to work with the people who are struggling and suffering because of someone else&#039 ; s acts and that should happen--it should have been happening last year, years ago that they could have a medical facility here that will help them &#039 ; cause cancer is--it don&#039 ; t just affect that one person. It affects everybody in that family and the neighbors. Because the neighbors, they&#039 ; ve grown up with you. They love you. They like what you do. They may not get along everyday but they still dont want you to be suffering. They dont want you to hurt. So, I think we&#039 ; ll back to a self-contained area. Not restricted from the community but where we can go, they can go, we can go to get a Coke, go to get our groceries or get a hair cut. You know, just go around and buy a hamburger. That&#039 ; s important because there&#039 ; s places miles away. Closest grocery store is forever. I mean there&#039 ; s nothing here and all that wants to be brought here is tank farms, tar sands. This community deserves much better than that. You wouldn&#039 ; t find this in West Mobile--and I keep saying West Mobile--you wouldn&#039 ; t find this in West Mobile. And they ask, &quot ; well why is the population dwindling in Africatown?&quot ; Well you&#039 ; re killing us. You&#039 ; re putting tank farms, you&#039 ; re putting oil, and this smell that you can smell all the time. You go outside and you smell it. At one point, you would go outside and your clothes are covered with ash from different plants. So, yeah, get us a facility here. And I understand it&#039 ; s not your responsibility, to make this community a big booming place but it is your responsibility to use the tax dollars that we&#039 ; re paying, that this community is paying, to better this community. You can put, you can reach out and try to get all these stores and all these things in the restaurant for West Mobile and for different areas--why can&#039 ; t you do it here? Why can&#039 ; t you spend some tax money here? It took us forever to get the roads paved out here. We had community meeting after community meeting and I&#039 ; m not talking bad about our community leader who is Brother Manzie(Spell Check) He&#039 ; s done great work. He&#039 ; s helped us a lot. But there&#039 ; s still a lot of work that needs to be done. I mean we could say--He paved the roads so it went through thats good. But thats not good. I mean it&#039 ; s good that the roads are paved but it&#039 ; s even better when we start doing all the roads. When we put sidewalks all through the community. When we fix the community center the way it is in West Mobile. We can clean it up and you should--this community should have to form a group to go downtown and talk to the mayor to get the community center pressure-washed. It shouldn&#039 ; t happen. We shouldn&#039 ; t have to form a committee to go and ask to beautify this building and clean it up and put--make the air conditioning work. That shouldn&#039 ; t happen. That should be on a schedule. Why in the world would the community have to stay on the city to cut the grass? The grass was over my knees this summer. It was myself and six other people who went down to the mayors office and talked to the mayor. And I had to give him the benefit. The next day they were out cutting the grass. But we shouldn&#039 ; t have had to go ask them to cut the grass, they should&#039 ; ve been cutting the grass. It should have been in a rotation list with the rest of the community. And I went to other community centers and the grass was not that high. So we just wanted to be treated fairly. Fiskio: And I hear all these things that are happening which are not right and at the same time Pastor: It was people all over who did the run across the bridge and back. Then they named it Africatown boulevard--Am I correct? -- Fiskio: When was this? Pastor: The run was--it was in-- I don&#039 ; t remember but they had T-shirts and people were all over. It might&#039 ; ve been October. But they ran from here, over the bridge, and back and it was a walk/run to get the name out about Africatown. It was an Africatown run. Look, the people here--I don&#039 ; t like to say these--the people here work together to do whats necessary--and you gonna have some thats gonna pull against wisdom and thats in any community. But the majority of the community wanna better their area. They want the best for their community because they&#039 ; ve growed up here--they grew up here. They&#039 ; re working here, they&#039 ; re doing things here. And when you dont do--If you got two children and you give one of them new clothes and the other one gets the hand me downs every time, theres gonna be some resentment in the one that gets the hand-me-downs every time. But when you&#039 ; re poor you know that&#039 ; s what you have to do. These people are not so oor that they deserve second hands from the city of mobile. The city deserves, these people deserve, we deserve first class stuff just like everybody all over Mobile. Fiskio: It&#039 ; s what you said before about being second-class citizens if you&#039 ; re always getting hand downs... Pastor: If you ever looked at-- and I dont expect and no disrespect--I don&#039 ; t expect you or any people to understand. But if you are a Black person in America you have felt the second-class citizenship thrown towards you. &quot ; You can&#039 ; t do this. You can&#039 ; t do that.&quot ; But I raised my children and I&#039 ; ll tell anybody: &quot ; I&#039 ; m not second to no one.&quot ; Now that gets me into a lot of arguments a lot of trouble. When I was working I got in trouble &#039 ; cause I&#039 ; m not second to nobody. If i-If we&#039 ; re gonna have a test and I gotta take a test to be promoted and I come out in the top of the group than I expect to be promoted. I don&#039 ; t expect to be passed by because his skin tone is different than mine. Oh, that happens. It still happens in Alabama. However, a law suit was done and broke that up. We as America are gonna have to some day face the fact that there&#039 ; s racism in America. There&#039 ; s a problem in America and it don&#039 ; t stop there. It trickles down all the way to the cities to the smaller communities. There are people who won&#039 ; t come to Africatown. They&#039 ; ll come through on the byway but they won&#039 ; t come into Africatown. Because, we&#039 ; re gonna put up a wall. &quot ; You might get trapped in there. You might get messed up.&quot ; There&#039 ; s no cannibals out here. * Fiskio laughs* I mean we&#039 ; re people. We&#039 ; re human beings and we deserve to be treated like human beings. I can&#039 ; t speak for everybody. But I think if you talked to anyone in this community they&#039 ; ll tell you they&#039 ; re not second class to anyone. We may not have everything rich people have or other people have. But one thing that we have--and people will say it&#039 ; s a detriment--we have pride in ourselves, pride in our community, and we expect to be treated like anyone else. But so often it won&#039 ; t happen anymore. Fiskio: My experience--and my students can chime in here--is that Africatown has been incredibly generous to us when we show up out of no where and I feel like that&#039 ; s something thats really special about this community. It feels like a very welcoming place actually. Pastor: If you come into Africatown you&#039 ; re gonna get loved just like you were at home. People are gonna throw their arms around you. Now, if you mess up they&#039 ; re gonna tell you: &quot ; you messed up.&quot ; They ain&#039 ; t gonna jump on you, ain&#039 ; t gonna raise sand04:25 they&#039 ; ll let you know that we don&#039 ; t do it that way we&#039 ; re not gonna raise sand but we&#039 ; re gonna let you know and we&#039 ; re gonna love you just the same. I&#039 ; ll never forget there was a lady here--she passed--when I first came here she told me off because I called her by a name that they told me her name was and she let me know that wasn&#039 ; t her name. It took a while but me and her became friends. She would come down the hall--not every Sunday--but she&#039 ; d come down the hall and we&#039 ; d talk and we&#039 ; d hug and she go about her business. But they love you differently then you expect to be loved, you wouldn&#039 ; t expect to come here and be welcomed and loved and throwed your arms around and you&#039 ; ll meet people in plateau that will just hug you because you say, &quot ; hey I&#039 ; m&quot ; &quot ; oh hey how you doin&#039 ; .&quot ; And that&#039 ; s just the way it is. Fiskio: Why do you think that is? Why do you think Africatown is like that? Pastor: Because it&#039 ; s a family oriented area. Everything here is family oriented. You messed with Joe&#039 ; s family, you just messed with Joe. You mess with reggie&#039 ; s family you just messed with Joe. I mean that&#039 ; s just the way it is, it&#039 ; s a family--and they don&#039 ; t have to be kin, it&#039 ; s just that Joe knows Reggie, Joe watched Reggie grow up, and if you mess with Reggie then you messin&#039 ; with Joe. And I&#039 ; m not from here but if you mess with me, you mess with Joe and you mess with Reggie that&#039 ; s just the way--when you come in to Africatown and you automatically adopt it as one of them. And if you start working here then you&#039 ; re in a high echelon, you&#039 ; re somebody. Oberlin came and y&#039 ; all start working, you start doin&#039 ; things. I remember when you first came and y&#039 ; all were working y&#039 ; all even came here. Fiskio: That&#039 ; s right. Pastor: And so yeah, you&#039 ; re gonna do well. Anybody that comes here will be well. But don&#039 ; t come here with the wrong attitude or the wrong--or tryna stir up problems then you&#039 ; ll be--you&#039 ; ll be welcomed but you&#039 ; ll be told you&#039 ; re messin&#039 ; up. Fiskio: So what--and this is, now I&#039 ; m just asking this &#039 ; cause it&#039 ; s good for us to know--what would be the wrong attitude. What would you advise people not to do? Pastor: The main thing I would advise you not to do is not to come in and tell them what they&#039 ; re gonna do. Fiskio: Okay Pastor: That&#039 ; s the wrong thing to do. If you come in and you tell Joe &quot ; This is how it&#039 ; s gonna be.&quot ; Wait a minute that&#039 ; s not how it&#039 ; s gonna be. Because we&#039 ; ve been struggling here for what, a hundred so years. My momma struggled here, my momma&#039 ; s momma struggled here. We didn&#039 ; t leave. We went to college but we came back. And you cant come in and tell us what we&#039 ; re gonna do. So, if you wanna mess up right away, come in and tell any citizen here what they&#039 ; re gonna do and how they&#039 ; re gonna do it. But if you come in and ask them &quot ; What do you think about this?&quot ; It works a lot better. Fiskio: Seems pretty simple to come in and ask but I guess it doesn&#039 ; t--people don&#039 ; t always do it that way. Pastor: It don&#039 ; t always happen. Most people will come in and, you know, get a feel for it. Some people don&#039 ; t. When you come in on the offensive, when you come in and put a industry in and then don&#039 ; t do what you promised. That&#039 ; s bad and that&#039 ; s a bad thing for any community but it would be really bad in this community &#039 ; cause it&#039 ; s so family oriented. Fiskio: I&#039 ; m wonderin&#039 ; if other people have questions that you wanna throw in. Reggie? *coughs* Mr. Reggie Hill: Do you believe that it&#039 ; s a possibility, within this generation, for us to see the Africatown that you knew then. Pastor: I think that we could do and be the Africatown that I&#039 ; ve heard about and I&#039 ; ve seen next month. I believe that. And the reason I believe that because God can do all things. But, it&#039 ; s gonna take more than my beliefs. We&#039 ; re gonna--we, and I say we, the citizens of Africatown, the community, is gonna have to work. It&#039 ; s gonna take work. It&#039 ; s gonna take effort. But we&#039 ; re gonna have to invite these big stores. The Dollar Tree, the Dollar General, the McDonalds, the Hardees. And then we gotta be open minded to receive them. But can we be what we should be and what we could have been and have been? Sure, we can, and it won&#039 ; t take long. If we do it the way it&#039 ; s supposed to be done If we get to support the city of Mobile. We pay taxes but it&#039 ; s tough to get tax money out here. Any time you have to struggle--I mean fight--to get the building pressure washed--or do it yourself and then you get in trouble when you trespass. So yeah, it can be done but we&#039 ; ve got--we, I say we-- the community has to work hand-in-hand with the city, with businesses, and once we start working together then we can do--we have the greatest opportunity in the world because of--now I fuss about that bridge, I fuss about it because it brings chemicals and danger and -- but it also brings a lot of people through here. We&#039 ; ve got a sign that says welcome to Africatown then a sign that says welcome on the other end. We&#039 ; ll have anything in the middle to stop them. McDonalds, Chick-fil-a, one restaurant right there would stop a thousand people. I don&#039 ; t know how many a day probably five hundred, but at least a thousand people a week would stop and hear about. Because in McDonalds you would have the murals that show Africatown. You would have the pictures--one McDonalds could change the whole way Africatown is looked upon. And then you wanna know &quot ; well where you gonna put it?&quot ; There&#039 ; s a whole lotta property right there where the paper-mill was and where the parking lot is. Theres a bank buildig thats right there to put a Regents bank or a PNS--or what is it PNB, yeah them-- to put any bank, any financial building there. There&#039 ; s land, there&#039 ; s places. Right down here is a big field to put a Hardees11:21, a McDonalds, a Burger King, Chick-Fil-A. They can come. Once you stop you&#039 ; re gonna see something about Africatown. People are gonna wanna come see it. I was in Virginia where--and we took a tour of the FBI academy, we took a tour of the little area of Virginia and you go to house to house--George Washington, where his house was. They still show how he cooked his meals, where he cooked his meals. It&#039 ; s there. You go to the battlefield up there in Virginia or where the United States Fire Academy is--I went there to--and they show--they give you a tour. They have ghost tours or what happened during the war, they show you the building where all the musket balls were hitting the wall and how this one....... Video cuts off. Pastor: ...Buffalo Soldiers buried in this cemetery right across the street. The Buffalo Soldiers that still walk around and work here. They&#039 ; re not the old Buffalo Soldiers of that generation but they&#039 ; re still Buffalo Soldiers. And I think it was like, what, for years ago? They came in and did the--they searched it the ground--I can&#039 ; t remember what it&#039 ; s called. Where they show where the graves were and some of the graves were still there. They found some of the graves of the Buffalo Soldiers. So, it&#039 ; s a lot of things that can happen here. We can go back--you can&#039 ; t go back in history-- but we can be what we were at one time if we put effort to it and then we get the support from the city of Mobile and the other businesses. Mr. Reggie Hill: You mentioned in the interview earlier about the depopulation of the area. I guess I wanna ask, what impact do you think the school has had in fostering the depopulation and where do you see us needing to go or what needs to be done to ensure that the school is still viable and still existing, still growing so we can keep those family oriented principals in there. Pastor: I think one of the biggest things that the community can do is to get the churches involved in the school. Yorktown is involved in the school. We adopted Mobile County Training School and Whitley. We&#039 ; re involved in school. I&#039 ; m there every Wednesday and sometimes Monday through Wednesday. Sometimes Monday through Friday we&#039 ; re there. We&#039 ; ve got to get more involved in the school. We&#039 ; ve got to get more involved in the school and then we&#039 ; ve got to go downtown and tell the people that we want that school. And then we have to encourage the people--your generation to come back to Africatown. Have your children. Bring your family up in Africatown. But, we gotta make sure and ensure that it&#039 ; s safe for them to do that. So once we do our part--and now its not, how do I make this clear? It&#039 ; s not just the city&#039 ; s problem, it&#039 ; s not just the city&#039 ; s fault. We are at fault also. We have to do our part. if we don&#039 ; t educate our children, if we don&#039 ; t teach our children, we don&#039 ; t show them how important Mobile County Training School is, if we don&#039 ; t tell them the history--and I have to commend the alumni, brother Flen and the alumni. They&#039 ; re trying to do some things to encourage and educate our children about what Mobile County Training School is. So, in order for us to--I don&#039 ; t think it&#039 ; s gonna be a High School anytime soon but when we start coming back, when we start bringing our children back to this area. It can go from an elementary school back to high school because we have the population to support that. We have to have a population--now the population may not be there today but all over Mobile county we transport students from one area to another to make sure that school is vibrant--make sure that school is runnin&#039 ; . We can transport children into Mobile County. This is a historic part of the state of Alabama as well--probably the most historic place in Mobile. So, if we can transport people, children to West Mobile to North Mobile we can transport them here too. We can bring children in. I think there should be a curriculum for Black history as well as Alabama history, White history, pink history, whatever history there is. If there&#039 ; s history in Alabama it should be taught in Alabama history. And my grandmother, Cherokee Indian, her history is not taught. But I can tell you what she did. I can tell you where she went. And I can tell you that she walked through the woods and can tell you every tree that they used for medicine. My grandma&#039 ; s dead. She&#039 ; s been dead for right at twenty years now. But I--when she died she had two pony tails and they came down to the front and that&#039 ; s where she wore her hair unless she was going to church. And if you look at her she is the prettiest--to me-- the prettiest lady that you ever wanna look. She&#039 ; s--she was--that picture was taken she was eighty-six I think. Prettiest--skin is smooth. I mean just a beautiful lady. That&#039 ; s my history. But what&#039 ; s the history here? Joe can tell you, you can tell-- but nobody else knows. We&#039 ; ve gotta get the word across Alabama and once we get it across Alabama it&#039 ; ll go across the world. Mr. Reggie Hill: I think that was going to kind of be my next question for you &#039 ; cause I see Africatown as national heirloom. Especially as you mentioned like in Mobile it&#039 ; s probably the most historic area in this city. Pastor: By far Reggie: I guess the question would be: in combining the people and legislatures how can we present-- or who. I guess we could even find out who we would present to so that we could get the recognition that&#039 ; s deserved. Pastor: Well, I go back to--I think the Lord put me through the state troopers for a reason. I got to work with governors, I got to work with legislatures, and I think what we--the best way for us to get any progress in Africatown is we gotta make it known to the city but we can&#039 ; t stop at just the city. We gotta make it known to legislatures and to our governors, to our President. When President Obama was in Office I wrote him a letter. He wrote me back and I still have that letter. We was talking--I was talkin&#039 ; about slavery. Talkin&#039 ; about slavery being recognized as a national holiday. You don&#039 ; t hear too much about slavery. Now you hear more about the Holocaust in America than you do of slavery. Slavery in America, to certain individuals, did not exist. But we know it existed. We know that some of our forefathers was hanged from trees. Not long-ago brother Donald was hung on a street now that&#039 ; s called Donald Street. He was hung. He went to school with my Wife. They wont--they&#039 ; ll never forget that. We wont forget. I wont forget the Scottsboro boys. I wont forget they were tried for rape but didn&#039 ; t even touch a lady, didn&#039 ; t even speak to her. I won&#039 ; t forget the Scottsboro boys. You wont forget--and if you ever hear or read it or know it you don&#039 ; t forget. You don&#039 ; t forget your forefathers who were hung from trees. Who were beaten with whips who were dragged behind trucks. Who were dragged behind buggies. You don&#039 ; t forget that kind of stuff. You dont forget people walking from one state to another because they had to to survive. Walkin&#039 ; . We complain about walking from here to across the street. They walked from one state, across the state, to another. Tears--the Trail of Tears comes through Huntsville. If you ever heard the stories or saw what happened--and my grandma could tell you some things that would curl your toes and you would cry before she was finished. Because, she knew the history and she knew what happened to her forefathers. But until we make it known to the legislatures, to the governor, to the everybody that we see. Until we start talkin&#039 ; about it and getting on going downtown in the city meetings that they have every Tuesday and tellin&#039 ; folk. We need to recognize Plateau, Africatown, Magazine Point, Lewis Quarters, Hog Bayou. You need to recognize these places &#039 ; cause they&#039 ; re historic in our history. It&#039 ; s not just a slave bar where they had this rock tha the slaves stood on to auction &#039 ; em off downtown. It&#039 ; s still there. There&#039 ; s more to Africatown than that. More to a little plaque on the wall right there by the Saenger Theatre talkin&#039 ; about this slave who ran away and got a boat and crossed and they captured him and put him on this boat and he became free. It&#039 ; s more to the African American story than that. We&#039 ; re proud people. I am. I can&#039 ; t talk for ever body but I know who I am. I know where I came from. I know what I have to do to survive in this world. The least of that is counting down when Im talked to or approached because if we&#039 ; re going to get the recognition that&#039 ; s deserved in this area we&#039 ; re gonna have to stand up, we&#039 ; re gonna have to face opposition. And everything is not going to be peaceful. Now, I believe in Martin Luther King. We gotta be peaceful we gotta do that but I have to tell you. I have to tell you, I can&#039 ; t, I can&#039 ; t just let you slap me. I just can&#039 ; t do that. I gotta either leave or gotta stand my ground and that&#039 ; s the way I am. But, we have to be humble enough to know that sometimes you can&#039 ; t fight back. You gotta put stuff on paper, you gotta put stuff in writing, you gotta talk. We gotta be peaceful, we gotta push for what we believe in, and when we push it, we push it in a peaceful manner. Not fighting, we can&#039 ; t get anywhere fighting. And then we&#039 ; ve got to stop hurting eachother. That&#039 ; s one of the biggest keys that is keeping us where we are. We&#039 ; ve gotta stop black on black annihilation. Hurting, killing, and destroying. That&#039 ; s what we&#039 ; ve gotta do. Mr. Reggie Hill: That&#039 ; s my last question for you. You said something before the interview that really touched on me about how so many people, even in the city, just don&#039 ; t know the information about here and I really, quite often, even with the young people that I work with. I&#039 ; m reminded of this past summer. We we&#039 ; re doing the back to school bash and we we&#039 ; re getting some new recruits for the program and one of the guys was his name was-- I can&#039 ; t say it right now but it was an African name. But his friends always called him by his nickname so they didn&#039 ; t know that that was his real name. They thought he was signed up for something he was going to tell me his name. So, they kind of started joking on him. So, I said &quot ; stop, y&#039 ; all don&#039 ; t even know about the last slave, what was that.&quot ; So, none of them knew you know. Every kid that has come through our program, they haven&#039 ; t known about that either or even you know even how Mobile has the oldest city hall in the country. It&#039 ; s just the little things about the history of our area that&#039 ; s just not shared. How do we--because Ive tried waking up every day figuring it out. How do we inspire the ones that are after us to even care to preserve this. &#039 ; cause I know we all are passionate about this area but the young one&#039 ; s have so many other distractions, so many other things that are more appealing to them than the culture or where they come from. How do we inspire them to care? Pastor: I think the most important....* VIDEO CUTS OFF* Pastor: ...anybody to want to do something is to make them own it. It&#039 ; s gotta be: ownership. It&#039 ; s gotta be ownership. If they don&#039 ; t own it, it will never be important to them. Joe&#039 ; s truck, that&#039 ; s important to him. But if it was somebody else&#039 ; s truck it ain&#039 ; t so important. This community has to--we have to show ownership and once we own something we&#039 ; re more apt to work with it and make it better. I&#039 ; ll give you an example(?) when we were growing up, our neighbor, they had more than we had. They got to take their mamas car and mama gave them their car, it was his car. He dogged it out. I had to work for my car. I took care of it. I washed it, I waxed it, I babied it. Didn&#039 ; t allow but two or three people in it. You want to know who load up my car? Well bring my car down &#039 ; cause that&#039 ; s all I got. When you take ownership of something you are more apt to work hard to make sure that it stays yours. This young lady, Kate, she-- we was talkin. She didn&#039 ; t come from a rich family. She had to get a lot of stuff on her own. But she was gonna be a doctor and she ain&#039 ; t gonna be my doctor, but she&#039 ; s gonna be a doctor. Her goal is to be a doctor. She&#039 ; s taken ownership of that. It&#039 ; s something that she-- when I asked her she-- &quot ; I&#039 ; m going to medical school. I mean it was a proud thing that--and she should be proud. She&#039 ; s taken ownership of that. She&#039 ; s gonna be a doctor. She&#039 ; s gonna be a great doctor. She&#039 ; s gonna be a--because she knows where she came from and she knows how hard it was to get from where she is--to where she was to where she is now. And if she stopped today. If she don&#039 ; t go any further than today. She has accomplished more than anybody expected her to accomplish. So, when you make ownership of something and you make it what you want it then you&#039 ; ll see people coming back. You&#039 ; ll see children standing up talkin&#039 ; proudly about what they have. And if you wanna know why it takes so long to get things fixed in this community. Because it is a trick--and I&#039 ; m gonna say the enemy-- trick of the enemy because, and I don&#039 ; t know if y&#039 ; all had ever read the Willie Lynch. Is it Willie Lynch? I know it&#039 ; s yeah--Willy Lynch handbook. It says if you turn--it was used in slavery. &quot ; If you turn the light-skinnd negroes against the dark-skinnd negroes. The one&#039 ; s the work in the house against those who work in the field you&#039 ; ll keep &#039 ; em workin&#039 ; .&quot ; So, we turned the high echelon against the lower echelon. And you&#039 ; ll find that it works. He wasn&#039 ; t dumb. But we gotta get away from that same mentality. If you look at our community, once we get the people that can help us and show that we can work together and get things done we&#039 ; ll get it done. Thats what goes back to the tax base too. It&#039 ; s not the alumni&#039 ; s responsibility. It&#039 ; s not their responsibility to keep Mobile County Training School up. They work at it but it&#039 ; s not their responsibility. That&#039 ; s the school system of Mobile. It&#039 ; s not the alumni&#039 ; s and the citizens of Africatown&#039 ; s to cut the grass at the community center but we have done. And it should be--the city should do their part. If you wanna keep a --if you wanna keep a person pressed down, if you wanna keep him on the ground and not moving forward or not moving up, don&#039 ; t give him what he needs to move on. And that&#039 ; ll work. And once you read--I don&#039 ; t know if y&#039 ; all read it, but once you read it you&#039 ; ll see what I&#039 ; m talkin&#039 ; about. It&#039 ; s a--it&#039 ; s good readin&#039 ; . It&#039 ; ll show you some stuff that you had never thought about. But in order for Africatown--and I&#039 ; m gonna have to go--in order for Africatown to be what Africatown should be we as a people are gonna have to work. And then we&#039 ; re gonna have to demand the same opportunities that West Mobile has. The same tax base that West Mobile has, the same tax dollars that West Mobile receives. We have to demand it and we have to utilize it to the best of our abilities and make Africatown back what is was. Nobody&#039 ; s gonna give us anything and we don&#039 ; t expect you to give us anything. I worked ever since I came in here. I worked--I started workin&#039 ; dad in construction since I was ten years old. Been workin&#039 ; ever since. That&#039 ; s where the people here are. They don&#039 ; t mind workin&#039 ; but you gotta do what you do for the same citizens. If you&#039 ; re gonna give this community five dollars, give that community five. You give that community a thousand dollars, give this community a thousand. Do what you promised. Goin&#039 ; back to what Martin Luther King said: &quot ; America has written us a bad check in this community and it has come back: insufficient funds&quot ; because you can&#039 ; t catch it. You can&#039 ; t do anything with it. It&#039 ; s the same check that they wrote to West Mobile that can be cashed but you cant cash this one &#039 ; cause it has insufficient funds. So, we have to work. We gotta get busy. We gotta work. We can&#039 ; t depend on everybody else to give. We gotta work and demand what is right for everybody. Not just West Mobile. And I apologize for that Fiskio: Thank you video 0 https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=Interview58837.xml Interview58837.xml Sort Priority This field allows you to determine the object order in your gallery. This plugin is designed to work only with the Philly theme. 0007 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pastor Williams Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video https://africatown.oberlincollegelibrary.org/files/original/f02e5c5692e91854af6f11eccfd104ca.png 1656bf9a01066e6aaf1e02f3d76b270c Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Success 4 the Future Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://www.s4tf.org/