Community Projects
Read information on updated projects in our Dec. 2010 newsletter here
Dave Pettee is the leader of a book project that focuses on interviewing people who identify with being the descendants of slaveholders. Within this project Dave and his partner, Susan Hutchison, will produce a book outline and chapter that ties together the interview findings and themes of history, healing, connecting and action.
“So far we have interviewed 115 people. What we have learned most is the degree of difficulty of this conversation,” Pettee says. “In many instances people have come to us willing to talk about their story then when it comes time to talk they are unreachable. I think this is because of the internal resistance that surfaces for people when they begin talking about this.”
Pettee says that he and Susan hope that writing these stories will inspire others around the country to talk about their truths in the same way those interviewed did.
Phoebe Kilby is the leader of a community dialogue group in Front Royal and Warren County Va. They have already met twice to share their perspectives and stories around the integration of the local public schools and its impact on the community. They are planning to meet several more times.
“The discussions have been really interesting, Kilby says. People are making connections with others from the past that they have never been able to talk to about this subject before. Outsiders have come into our community and we have talked to them, but never have we talked to each other.
Phoebe says that the ultimate goal is that these dialogue groups will build enough cohesion that they will be able to carry out larger community wide projects together to assist with community healing.
Art Carter is the leader of one of three projects taking place in Virginia. He heads MESSAGE, the Multi-ethnic Eastern Shore Spirituals and Group Ensemble. MESSAGE is a volunteer youth choir based in Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The choir convenes to learn Negro spirituals such as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Amen. They also engage in dialogue about the musical legacy that slavery has left us in hopes of bridging gaps that too often divide us.
The choir will extend their learnings to their community through performances in a variety of venues.
“It is hoped that by singing to our elderly in nursing homes, fellow citizens in our churches, schools and other venues [that] a multi-ethnic youth and eventually multi-ethnic adult spirituals choir, will continue to demonstrate how we rural, southern, traditional, country folk on the Eastern Shore of Virginia live as brothers and sisters,” Carter says.
Cynthia Boteler is the leader of the African American Community History Preservation Project in Covington, Virginia. This project will acknowledge the rich history of the African American community in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia through producing a documentary film about the “Watsonians,” graduates of a former black school during their Alumni Reunion over the Fourth of July.
“When I heard that there was no videographer for this year’s reunion, I came up with the idea of creating a documentary film,” Boteler said.
While working on the initial stages of this project Boteler says that she and her film partners have learned so much.
“We have learned that there is a wealth of information located in various places in the communities and countless alumni members who have stories to share. Our challenge will be condensing the information into a 90-minute film,” Boteler says.
She continues, “I hope this film will make people aware of the rich history of the African American community in our region and elsewhere that has not previously been the focus of the history of this country.”
There are a couple of other projects that have not yet started. As they progress information on them will be added as well as additional information on the above projects.
Read information on updated projects in our Dec. 2010 newsletter here
