In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine. Listen to this medley of young Baltimore voices.

Speaker 1: We hit lockdown. And during that time I felt very paranoid to go outside.

Speaker 2: My favorite store, shut down. I was mad.

Speaker 3: I played hockey, so we don't have no games, no more. I miss game with my teammates and stuff like that.

Speaker 4: I basically feel like I got robbed for my last year. Cause we ain't really go to school that much.

Speaker 5: It's the same feeling. We've all experienced something. And I think the lesson here really is that you really don't know what you have until it's gone.

Speaker 1: When the vaccine was developed, it was just a lot of misinformation on the internet and social media. But as time went on, I decided to take matters into my own hands and you know, do my own research. And I got the vaccine, and you know, the anxiety just leading up to getting the vaccine was worse to actually getting the vaccine. It was just like a little pinch that I got on my shoulder.

Speaker 4: First shot, my arm was a little sore. I ain't gonna lie. My arm was sore.

Speaker 2: I was so nervous. But other than that, I had to do that today. It's cool. I'm here.

Speaker 1: I realized that this vaccine is the opportunity for us to really get normalcy back into our lives and just the way to keep everyone safe.

Learn more about the Communities for Immunity project on the Peale's website: ThePeale.org. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this recording do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. If you have any question about whether your product requires this statement, please contact the Office of Communications at 202-653-4757.

Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine: Baltimore Speaks

In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine.

Whitney Frazier (00:00): What do you say to people to convince them to get vaccinated? What are your one-liners?

Joy Ross (00:16): I just walk up to them and I'm like, "Did you get the COVID shot?"

Whitney Frazier (00:17): Okay.

Joy Ross (00:17): They like, "oh no."

Whitney Frazier (00:17): You just like, you don't even say hi or like, did you get the COVID shot?

Joy Ross (00:20): They like "no," and I like, you serious and we just start a conversation from there. Cause "hi" is like a weakness for, I know Baltimoreans, like saying hi is a way of saying, oh, she ain't from the city. So I have learned to negate that hi sometimes, I'm always saying hi to people, but if you just come out, what you got to say in Baltimore, it seemed like it's more effective than... Cause they get shocked by when you say hi.

Whitney Frazier (00:54): They don't want to, people don't like small talk. They just want to get right at it.

Joy Ross (00:57): Right.

Whitney Frazier (00:58): Like what you want. Okay. So you just straight up ask them, and then if they say, no, I haven't. You're like...

Joy Ross (01:07): What are you waiting for?

Whitney Frazier (01:09): Yeah. What are you waiting for?

Joy Ross (01:12): If you need help? Can I, you know what I mean? Like I tell them I'm a nurse. I can help you get it, if that's what you wanted. Like, "no, no, I don't want it," and then I'm like, "why, you allergic to it?" Like tell me, like you don't want, and then if they go into that story about, they killing us, then I use that as an educational forum because I'm always educating health wise on the streets.

Whitney Frazier (01:38): Right.

Joy Ross (01:38): So it's just easier for me to jump in there behind it's like the little drug boys around here. You know none of them have been vaccinated, and I wanted to know I'm like, you know what? You are at a high risk occupation here.

Whitney Frazier (01:55): You're interacting with a lot of people.

Joy Ross (01:56): Why [inaudible 00:01:57] vaccinating? You know, they're like, "no, Miss Joy I don't contact with people" and this and that. So I had to hit home when I said about your kids and your family. When you go there, it's like a wakeup call. So they've been vaccinated now they made a point to tell me they've been vaccinated.

Whitney Frazier (02:18): Wow.

Joy Ross (02:19): You know? Yeah. I told one, I call him the lead ring and he claim he isn't. But I think he is. I says, "the guys out front haven't been vaccinated." He says, "what's wrong with them?" I said, "I don't know." I said, "you've been in vaccinated." He said, "oh yeah." I said, "you need to go talk to them." So it's so casual, it's funny because they feel like they're always on guard anyway, because I used to call the police on them so much.

Whitney Frazier (02:53): Yeah.

Joy Ross (02:53): So now I realize I put them in harms way in so many ways.

Whitney Frazier (02:57): Oh, but you now have like a relationship where you can talk to them.

Joy Ross (03:02): Mm-hmm (affirmative)

Whitney Frazier (03:02): Yeah. That's powerful.

Joy Ross (03:06): Yeah. They're not so open with doing their drugs. They're discreet about it. If I see some strange people out here or lingering, so I let them know. They'll make sure that there's no one out here because I'm like, it's not safe.

Whitney Frazier (03:28): Yeah.

Asset ID: 2022.05.16
Find a complete transcription on the Peale's website.

Joy Ross: Making Connections with Neighborhood Youth, Baltimore

In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine.

In this short series, the Peale's storyteller-in-residence Mama Linda Goss recites her own versions of classic fables that offer key lessons about our collective survival in the COVID era.

Mama Linda Goss (00:07): My soul is singing, well, oh, well, well. It's storytelling time. (Bells ringing). Gather around my people. Well, well. Gather around my people. Well, well. Gather around my people. Well, well, well, well, well. (Bells ringing)

Mama Linda Goss (00:39): It's storytelling time. Well, well, it's storytelling time, well, well. It's storytelling time. Well, well, well, well, well, and indeed it's storytelling time. So friends gather around and listen to the stories.

Mama Linda Goss (01:00): The welcome table of peace. (Singing) Let's come together side by side, my people side by side, my people side by side. Let's come together side by side, come on and pull together now. Let's come together side by side, my people side by side, my people side by side. Let's come together side by side, come on and pull together now.

Mama Linda Goss (01:33): The rainforest was in turmoil. Chaos confusion was everywhere. King lion and queen lioness were very, very concerned. They called a meeting of their advisors, the giraffe, the eagle, and the turtle came forward to discuss the matter. The eagles suggested that a meeting be called inviting all the animals together and the big clearing in the middle of the forest.

Mama Linda Goss (02:05): And there, he would ask them a very important question. The king, the queen and the advisors agreed to eagle's idea. The bird were summon and sent as messengers flying throughout the forest, inviting all to come to the meeting. The almost came, but before the meeting began leopard growled at hyena. The monkey threw a banana at the zebra and zebra kicked the wildebeest. The animals began fussing at one another together king line and queen lioness roared at the crowd. ROAR! Silence, silence, order orders that the king, the queen then said, one of our advisors, the Eagle has a question to ask you the Eagle flew before the group greetings my friends. The question I have for each of you is which one of you is willing to stop, stop doing. The one thing that you know is bringing harm to someone else, the animals mumbled and grumbled among themselves. The cheetah said the panther needs to leave me alone. The panther said the jackal needs leave me alone. The jackal said, and you eagle, you need to leave me alone. The animals laughed at the eagle. Who does that eagle think he is? The animals begin arguing again.

Asset ID: 2022.05.17.b
Find a complete transcription on the Peale's website

Mama Linda Goss: The Welcome Table of Peace Fable

In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine.

In this short series, the Peale's storyteller-in-residence Mama Linda Goss recites her own versions of classic fables that offer key lessons about our collective survival in the COVID era.

Mama Linda Goss (00:07): My soul is singing. Well, oh, well, well. It's storytelling time. (Bells shaking) Gather around my people. Well, well. Gather around my people. Well, well. Gather around my people. Well, well, well, well, well.

Mama Linda Goss (00:39): It's storytelling time. Well, well. It's storytelling time. Well, well. It's storytelling time. Well, well, well, well, well, and indeed it's storytelling time.

Mama Linda Goss (00:56): So friends gather around and listen to the stories. Mmm. When spiders unite deep in the forest, an enclave of spiders lived in an idyllic paradise, bliss and blissfully bliss. Mm. Until one day a herd of elephants came strolling through Baba, big Baba elephant, big mama, elephants, little big baby elephants came bobbing and bouncing through the idyllic kingdom of spiders, which was idyllic no more. The elephant's weight made the ground shake. They blew their trumpet. They flapped their ears knocking over leaves. They swayed their hips from side to side, knocking the spiders homes, their webs far and wide. Now the elephants weren't trying to be destructive. This is who they were. They were elephants. And the biggest of the Baba elephant said, this looks like a nice place to rest and camp out for a day or two where you think big mama.

Mama Linda Goss (02:45): Oh yes. Big Baba. This will do well. We will be swell. Look at all this rich food we can eat here. Good, healthy grasses to eat. Ooh, we got coconuts, bananas and our favorite and they all shouted out. Jack fruit, Jack fruit. We got lots of Jack fruit to eat Jack fruit, Jack fruit. We got lots of Jack fruit. Ooh, Ooh. One of the baby elephants said, Hey mama, Hey Baba, what are those stringy things hanging down? Oh, it looks like some old vine said, Baba, don't worry about them. Yes, said big mama. We'll just tear them down and wash them out. And with their trucks, they washed the spiders homes away. They broke off tree branches and swept leaves from the forest floor so they could have a nice, smooth spot to rest in the shade. They dug into the earth for roots to eat. They ate bamboo shoots and shrubs and twigs, and they ate strips of bark from the trees. They ate bananas, coconuts act, Jack fruit, Jack fruit. We got it. Eat that Jack fruit. Needless to say the spiders were shocked. Stunned. Flabbergast, dismayed bewildered frightened in less than a few minutes. They had been displaced and their community was in disarray. The spiders hid in the crevices of trees, old logs rocks. The earth itself. Spider families had been separated. Mothers separated from children. Fathers separated from their families. They were in such disbelief. Oh my goodness.

Asset ID: 2022.05.17.c
Find a complete transcription on the Peale website.

Mama Linda Goss: When Spiders Unite Fable

The Guardians, created by Baltimore artist Whitney Frazier and photographer Kirby Griffin, is a photo, documentary, and storytelling project that includes photo portraits, large-scale banners and digital archives that celebrate unrecognized Black female leaders across Baltimore City neighborhoods. This project provides a platform for women who spend their lives fighting for a better, more equitable Baltimore.

Audrey Carter (00:00): My name is Audrey Carter. And, I’m primarily in the Oliver community. Kind of lived there pretty much all my life. I am 58 years old, and I just do a lot of, I guess, different things in the community. I work in the community as a head start teacher. I worship in the community. Definitely it it's signed Baptist church. I do a lot of community work in the community definitely with young people. That's my ministry. So I've, I've just been doing various, multiple things in the community. Right now, I live just like a couple of blocks outside of the Elva community, but, still, I still do so much in the community because I've been doing it for so many years. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02): And, when you say that you work with young people, you work with them as an educator. And what else, what does that work look like?

Audrey Carter (01:12): Yeah, I work with people on various levels as a head start teacher. Uh, so I work with children in the school system. I've also substituted in, in the school system from middle school on down.  No, yeah, middle school and down the high school. Didn't get to that, but middle school on down. I've I work in the I'm a part of the church, and I'm the coordinator over the children and youth ministry. So I do a lot of work with just organizing the various things with the young people in the church, in the church, as well as outside of the church.  I do a lot of community stuff. I used to work for rec and parks as well as one of the leaders there and again, doing things with the young people there.

Audrey Carter (02:03): I do work projects, last year. We did we received a grant for the cleanup project, some in the community. So I was able to hire some of the, young people in the community. And one of them was my grant. Well, yeah, one of them was my grandson and my other grandson tagged along. So I had to give him something. So when he was too young to officially work, but he was kind of there. And so, so we do cleanup projects, you know, with the community, also work with other churches, you know, their youth groups come in and we do clean-up projects. So either I go to them and help them out with their cleanup projects, bring, argue with them, that sort of thing, interacting. but that's pretty much, yeah, I, my ministry is pretty much with young people and doing various things with them. 

Asset ID: 2021.09.01.a
Find a complete transcription on the Peale's website.
Photo by Kirby Griffin

The Guardians: Audrey Carter, East Oliver Neighborhood; Baltimore

The Guardians, created by Baltimore artist Whitney Frazier and photographer Kirby Griffin, is a photo, documentary, and storytelling project that includes photo portraits, large-scale banners and digital archives that celebrate unrecognized Black female leaders across Baltimore City neighborhoods. This project provides a platform for women who spend their lives fighting for a better, more equitable Baltimore.

Sheree Briscoe (00:00): So my name is Sheree Briscoe. I am a 27-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department. I joined December 1994 and I am still there. My current assignment, I am a Colonel by rank and I'm the chief of detectives. The role in my family, very interesting question there, the role in my family, I am the middle child of three, so often I grew up with a level of quirkiness, awkwardness, not quite feeling like I fit in. But I am the big sister, though I have a younger brother, I'm the big sister to my older sister. And I'm the one that everyone seems to call when things are going on, life is happening, I'm the person that they call, whether it's my mom, my dad, my siblings, or my cousins and it's a large group of us. Most of my cousins are women, so we do a lot together. We travel together, we are each other's friends. I'm a mother of four, grandmother of five granddaughters. So in the role of family, anchored in many different ways in my motherhood state, if you will.

In community somewhat similar, though I wear a uniform. That's really the attribute I think may seem most relatable is, because I'm brought in that mother figure of, though policing is the profession, human beings, I'm a woman and that's really what exudes beyond anything else, is that attribute about myself, my desire to help people, serve people and motherhood. So I am a resident of Baltimore City. My community is the Mount Washington community. I love it, I was born here in Baltimore, raised here in Baltimore though in my very junior years, my family moved to Atlanta for a job opportunity for my father. I was six months old and we visited three or four times a year. And we moved back when I was in the sixth grade. So I went to Roland Park Elementary Middle, and I went to the Baltimore City College High School, was the high school that I attended, though I did not graduate from that high school. Life’s journeys, I was a teenage mom, so I didn't graduate from the high school. But I still represent that high school as my high school for Baltimore.

Speaker 2 (02:38): Okay, thank you. And I guess, describe some of the work that you're most proud of either in your own neighborhood or in all of the work you've done in Baltimore.

Sheree Briscoe (02:53): So to describe some of the work that I have been so very blessed to do in the capacity of policing. For all of its controversy, there are still so many genuine stories that are authentic, real, heartfelt and meaningful through this work for me. And that really has been the work of relationship building. So much of policing is defined with a minus, as in taking someone to jail or doing something in that level. And I'm not saying that I haven't had to do those things in the construct of my duties, but what I'm most proud of is relationship building.

Asset ID: 2021.09.11
Find a complete transcription on the Peale's website.
Photo by Kirby Griffin

The Guardians: Sheree Briscoe, Mt. Washington Neighborhood, Baltimore

In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine. This webinar was created by Peale artist fellow and educator, Chrys Seawood.

Chrys Seawood: [Slide 1] (00:01) Hello, and welcome to a webinar about COVID -19 and the Black community. I am your facilitator, Chrystal Seawood. I am an educator and artist fellow at the Peale Museum of Baltimore. Many sources were used to design this webinar and can be found on the last slides at the end of the presentation. 

Chrys Seawood: [Slide 2] (00:22): Let’s look at some COVID-19 Data in the Black Community. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black Americans are more likely to become severely ill or die due to complications of COVID-19 than other populations. In fact, Black individuals account for 15% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., though they make up only 12% of the overall population and are nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 as white people. (Dec. 2021) 

As of Jan. 10, 2022, 54% of Black individuals across a majority of states in the U.S. had received at least one vaccine dose – a lower rate than among white, Hispanic and Asian populations, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Jan. 2022) 

Chrys Seawood: [Slide 3] (01:13): When researching information about the impact of COVID 19 on the Black community, a common thread emerged: there appears to be a relationship between vaccine hesitancy and a history of medical mistrust. In this webinar, we’ll unpack that relationship, explore the contributions Black people have made in vaccine development, common questions about vaccine safety, and the current vaccine trends in the Black community. 

Here’s our outline of the webinar: We will begin with the History of medical mistrust in the Black community, explore Black pioneers in vaccine development, address vaccine hesitancy in the Black community, explore questions about vaccine safety, and look at current trends in the Black community. 

Chrys Seawood: [Slide 4] (02:08): Now let’s pry into history, and review how Black people have been subjected to medical abuse in the past. During the formative years of medical colleges, there was a shortage of cadavers, aka “dead bodies,” to supply dissections materials to medical students. 

Medical colleges were fairly new and there weren’t enough legal cadavers to supply the growing interest in this field of study. Well, guess how they acquired cadavers? They stole bodies from Black cemeteries. Everyone from Medical students to janitors of medical colleges, and sometimes professors themselves participated in the practice called, “body snatching,” or “grave robbing.”

Baltimore became the epicenter of this unethical practice with the invention of the railroad. Bodies were eventually shipped outside of Baltimore, hidden, in whiskey barrels, to hide the smells of the rotting dead bodies— and get this, the same whiskey used to mask the odor, was the same whiskey sold in bars as “stiff drinks”. 

Asset ID: 2022.05.31
Find a complete transcript on the Peale's website and a video-based version of this presentation on the Peale's YouTube channel.
Photo courtesy Chrys Seawood

Chrys Seawood: COVID-19 and the Black Community, Baltimore

In 2020 and early 2021, the Peale participated in the Lexington Market Public History Initiative in an effort to collect stories and memories about the world-famous Lexington Market as the market itself prepared for a redesign and reopening. The initiative’s core partners were Baltimore Heritage, Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, Lexington Market, Inc., Market Center Community Development Corporation, Seawall, and the Peale, and the work was partially enabled by a Pathways Grant from the Maryland Center for History and Culture. This project was financed in part by the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s Thomas V. “Mike” Miller History Fund. 

"My name is Alisha Patterson, and this is a story about a visit my family took to Lexington Market. This took place about four or five years ago. My parents were in town for a visit, and one of the things that my father and I would do, when I was growing up is a fish fry. We would pick up the fish and we would then bread it and fry it up and that was a real event for my entire family, but it was a real event for my father and I, because it was a way for us to bond and talk and check-in with one another. That was in both Maryland and we then moved to Columbus, Ohio. So we kept that tradition going strong in Ohio, although the fish experience there was a little bit different because the fish from the grocery store was usually frozen, but in Maryland, when I was a little girl, we would bring one of those large red coolers down to the fish market in DC, and we would pack it up.

So my father would go to the different vendors at the Wharf and select the fish that he wanted. Then he would have them take the scales off and gut it and then we'd pack it with ice into the cooler and be on our merry way, back to Waldorf, Maryland, where we lived and we would have fish. He would stuff it, he would fry it. He would do all these wonderful things. Fast forward to many years later, and I left Ohio and came back to Maryland, which always felt like home and my parents came for a visit and we wanted to do a fish fry. We were in Baltimore, so we weren't going to drive to the Wharf, but we heard about Lexington Market.

So we went to Lexington Market and just walked around, enjoying the sights, the smells, the people, the selection of fish, and finally settled on the fish that we wanted to bring back and fry up, and it was wonderful. We were able to get a nice selection of different types of fish that we enjoy eating. As an extra bonus, my family expanded, I have two children now, so we were able to share this tradition with my father's grandchildren and, of course, my children. So that was our Lexington Market experience. Being able to get fresh fish, that we were able to fry. It's an important family tradition that we were able to share with the next generation of my family. So thank you, Lexington Market for keeping that tradition alive."

Asset ID: 2021.01.10
Photo of Lexington Market, ca. 1903, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Alisha Patterson: Family Fish Fry, Baltimore

In 2020 and early 2021, the Peale participated in the Lexington Market Public History Initiative in an effort to collect stories and memories about the world-famous Lexington Market as the market itself prepared for a redesign and reopening. The initiative’s core partners were Baltimore Heritage, Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, Lexington Market, Inc., Market Center Community Development Corporation, Seawall, and the Peale, and the work was partially enabled by a Pathways Grant from the Maryland Center for History and Culture. This project was financed in part by the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s Thomas V. “Mike” Miller History Fund.

Bob Jacobson(00:00): I am one of many people who've performed music at Lexington Market with a quartet called Sounds Good. And I have to say as a musician, I don't think I've ever worked as hard anywhere else as I've worked at Lexington Market, and I'm trying to figure out why that is. I think it's because the patrons there, the shoppers, really know their music and they really expect their music to be good, and you really work hard for them. We just played two sets each time, I think it was, and it was really physically taxing, but fun.

Bob Jacobson(00:42): One of those times with my group, I wrote a song about Lexington Market, and I'm going to attempt to sing it here. It's called World Famous Lexington Market, which is I think what it says on the sign outside. It's kind of a shuffle blues song. Here goes.

Bob Jacobson(01:04): (singing)

Bob Jacobson(01:05): Then there are solos by the saxophone and guitar player, and then  . . .

Bob Jacobson(01:35): (singing)

Bob Jacobson (01:35): Some of that was foods that I enjoy there. Some of that was made-up foods that I don't think they actually have there. I don't think they have bagels and lox there, but I'm not sure. Okay. And I love the place and just wanted to dedicate a little song to it.

Bob Jacobson(02:44): I know other musicians who've played there. I've been there as a listener myself many times, and sometimes it was musicians I knew. Sometimes it was musicians I didn't know. I know I heard a public school chorus there once at holiday time. There've been blues bands there that I wasn't familiar with, but you know, I definitely know a number of other musicians who've played there, and hopefully they can tell some stories also.

Bob Jacobson(03:14): There was a very skinny lady who used to dance there when we were playing, and they had security guards who discouraged dancing, but she would kind of slip in her thing when they weren't looking, and she was a great dancer. I have a photo of her. Unfortunately, I don't know her name.

Asset ID: 9108
Photo courtesy of Bob Jacobson

Bob Jacobson: A Lexington Market Song, Baltimore

In 2020 and early 2021, the Peale participated in the Lexington Market Public History Initiative in an effort to collect stories and memories about the world-famous Lexington Market as the market itself prepared for a redesign and reopening. The initiative’s core partners were Baltimore Heritage, Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, Lexington Market, Inc., Market Center Community Development Corporation, Seawall, and the Peale, and the work was partially enabled by a Pathways Grant from the Maryland Center for History and Culture. This project was financed in part by the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s Thomas V. “Mike” Miller History Fund.

Vergie Jennings: I have, through my readings and other things, know that during the time that the Lexington Market was started that slave trade was going on during that time, a lot of slave trading. And because we are a seaport and because there's easy access to the South from Baltimore, that I don't have any proof that it happened, but because of the construction of the Lexington Market and then finding tunnels and whatever under the market that nobody knew about originally, I'm suspecting that there was some slave trading going on there. It was happening, I know around the Fayette Street area, which is very, very close to the market like a block away. I can't imagine that a place as open as that market with all of the slave trading going on around it, that there was no slave trading going on at that market. And I mean, everything that I've read has led me to believe that, even though there's no proof.

Vergie Jennings: Baltimore was a big slave trading port. It was, it had to be because of the people coming in and all the ships coming in that were bringing slaves here. They were also transporting them from one place to another. And they were transporting them a lot of times from Baltimore South of here. Okay? And a lot of times all the way South. And so, there was no reason not to believe that there was slave trading going on, though. We know that it was going on very close to the market, okay? And with all that open area, and actually it was a lot larger area than it is now, so it was covering a lot of area in the beginning. There is no reason to believe that there was not slave trading going on there.

Vergie Jennings: So many things have been buried and not talked about because people don't want to talk about it. I mean, even people who they found were slaves and they interviewed them, they would never admit that they were slaves because it was degrading to them so they wouldn't talk about it. And it's the same thing. People don't want to talk about all of that because it brings up so much animosity and hurt for some people, so they don't want to talk about it. They don't want to find out what really happened.

Speaker 2 (02:54): Yeah.

Vergie Jennings: (02:55): And if you think about how this state is, we have a lot of waterfront. Okay? All on the Eastern shore. That's where Harriet Tubman was doing all of her getting to slaves to freedom, basically. That was part of her underground railroad thing right here on the Eastern shore.

Asset ID: 9163
Transcript Abbreviated: Contact the Peale for a complete transcript.

Photo of Lexington Market, ca. 1903, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Vergie Jennings: History of Slavery at Lexington Market, Baltimore

In the spring of 2022, Baltimore artist and participatory-history specialist Lauren Muney hand-created custom silhouettes(profile portraits)of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents for long-term public installation at the Peale. These faces will encircle several rooms of the historic Peale walls, giving visitors, residents and guests the opportunity to feel the Baltimore ‘family’ all around them. The exhibition will be installed in August 2022. Some sitters also contributed stories about their lives and experiences in Baltimore.

Beth (00:00): It was in the mid-fifties when my mom came into my bedroom and said, "We're going to go to Baltimore to visit Aunt Dorothy and see her new baby." Living in Cumberland, Maryland and only knowing the mountains and loving to ride trains, this was a real adventure so off we went, probably on the Capitol Limited but I'm not sure which train. We come into Camden Station and my Uncle Jack picks us up in his black Cadillac convertible. Wow. We come along the Baltimore Waterfront and for the first time I see skyscrapers, I see water, I see row houses. I see the most magical place in the whole world. I was nine-years-old at the time and it was quite a thrill.

Beth (01:07): We get to where my auntie was living at the time, which was the Canton Highlandtown area, and I spend the day with my new found cousins. We went to see Tom Sawyer at the Grand Theater on Conkling Street. We went to Sacred Heart Church and lit some candles. We went on the avenue in Highlandtown and shopped. We hung around her grandmother's house on Dean Street, we had a steady stream of relatives coming in and out. It was just wonderful. It made such an impression on me that I just held that in my heart for years and years.

Beth (01:57): My dad worked for the B&O Railroad so he got transferred to exciting places like Kaiser, West, Virginia, Dubois, Pennsylvania, McKeesport, all these exciting mining towns. One day he came home and, because the B&O and C&O had merged, said we're going to Baltimore. Well, I ran upstairs and jumped on my bed. I was so excited. I was 13 at the time and the thought of moving to Baltimore was more than I could comprehend. I was overwhelmed with joy. We did move to Baltimore and we settled in Parkville where I lived to graduate high school, get married, raise my kids, and had a nice little life. I would take the 19 and then down over to Eirman Avenue, the bus, to get to Highlandtown.

Beth (02:54): I worked at the St. James Branch of First National Bank for a while and I was always drawn to that area. After 20 years of marriage, unfortunately, I got divorced and I was in a position to pick a place to live on my own and, sure enough, I was drawn back, I had to come back to the Canton Highlandtown area and that's where I've been living ever since. I'm in my mid-seventies now living on the water, which is the highlight, and always remember that very special day, the very special day that I got to meet and love Baltimore.

Asset ID: 2022.11.01
Silhouette of Beth by Lauren Muney, Silhouettes by Hand. All rights reserved.

Beth: Falling in Love with Baltimore

In the spring of 2022, Baltimore artist and participatory-history specialist Lauren Muney hand-created custom silhouettes(profile portraits)of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents for long-term public installation at the Peale. These faces will encircle several rooms of the historic Peale walls, giving visitors, residents and guests the opportunity to feel the Baltimore ‘family’ all around them. The exhibition will be installed in August 2022. Some sitters also contributed stories about their lives and experiences in Baltimore.

Speaker 1 (00:01): Okay.

Dr. Al Hathaway (00:02): Dr. Al Hathaway. I'm happy to just to share a little snippet of Baltimore. Born and raised here. I had the opportunity to serve as the pastor of Union Baptist Church, a part of that rich history and trans tradition. I just remember the excitement back in 1963 of the Gwynn Oak Park desegregation. There was this activity going on. There were ministers, people from all over the country were there.

Dr. Al Hathaway (00:30): They wanted to make certain that the young children of that era had the opportunity to play in an amusement park. That was right off of Gwynn Oak Avenue. At that time, I was just 12 years old. And I remember riding the bus line and looking out the window, not being able to see and participate in the excitement that was going on right on the other side of the fence. And then they had this glorious day in July when they opened up Gwynns Falls Park and young people could enter in.

Dr. Al Hathaway (00:56): And I was a part of that early group that entered into Gwynn Oak Park and had the opportunity to ride on the swan ride in the water, to ride on the merry go round, which in that day you had visions of being a cowboy. So you got on the horse and a horse went up and down. It was so powerful that experience that it told me the power of how civil disobedience, how protests can make change.

Dr. Al Hathaway (01:23): And then what I realized going back years later, I've taken my children on the National Mall and I was able to show them that same merry go round that I rode as a child there in Gwynn Oak Park is now on the National Mall where people from now forever can memorize that protest that happened here in Baltimore City in 1963, which was the prelude to the great March on Washington that was in August of 1963. Just an amazing experience. Baltimore is an amazing city and I'm so proud to be a native of this city.

Speaker 1 (01:55): Thank you.

Asset ID: 2022.11.02
Silhouette of Beth by Lauren Muney, Silhouettes by Hand. All rights reserved.

Dr. Al Hathaway: Gwynn Oak Park Desegregation, Baltimore

In the spring of 2022, Baltimore artist and participatory-history specialist Lauren Muney hand-created custom silhouettes(profile portraits)of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents for long-term public installation at the Peale. These faces will encircle several rooms of the historic Peale walls, giving visitors, residents and guests the opportunity to feel the Baltimore ‘family’ all around them. The exhibition will be installed in August 2022. Some sitters also contributed stories about their lives and experiences in Baltimore.

Karen Cook (00:01): My name is Karen Cook. My maiden name is Myers. I was born in east Baltimore in 1963 on Ashland Avenue. Eric Roho had white marble steps, and I remember women and children would scrub these marble steps so that they would sparkle in the sun. Other memories of mine are, remember the Arabers with their horse drawn wagons who yelled out while trying to sell vegetables and fruits. My mom would take us for a lot of walks, she didn't drive, and we would go to Patterson and Bocek Parks. People sat outside a lot on their steps or stoops to talk while the kids played and, especially during hot summer evenings, everybody was sitting out and all the doors and windows were open because no one had air conditioning.

Karen Cook (00:59): Painted screens were popular when I was a child, I remember seeing them in windows and storm doors. There was an ice truck that would deliver giant blocks of ice to homes and to businesses and the driver would stop a lot of times during hot summer days and use an ice pick to break off pieces of ice to give us kids. That was a real treat. I remember the chaos of 1968 during the riots after Martin Luther King was assassinated. I was pretty young so I didn't really understand everything that was going on and why, but I remember trucks of national guardsmen patrolling the streets. It was very scary.

Karen Cook (01:41): We had a black and white TV with about three working channels. Dad would use aluminum foil to put on the antennas or rabbit ears to try to get a better signal. You didn't have a remote control so you had to get up and manually change the channel. We children would collect glass Coke bottles and take them to the corner store for a deposit. Might have been five cents that you could get for a bottle at the time. They had a lot of penny candy in the stores so five cents to us was a lot of money. I remember getting a pickled onion for, I think, about five cents.

Karen Cook (02:21): Christmas time, there was many great memories. We had an artificial aluminum, silver tree. There was a color wheel that you would plug in. It had four different colors and we would sit mesmerized on the floor watching the tree turn these four different colors. Some of the ornaments were pretty old. If you dropped some of the balls, they would splinter into a thousand pieces. Department stores, such as Levinson and Klein, would have these huge Christmas displays which included moving figures and train sets. It was a treat to walk and just look in each window.

Karen Cook (02:55): In the evening, dad would drive us around in the car through the neighborhood so we could watch people's Christmas displays. They had a lot of moving things and, of course, the Christmas lights. Dad would threaten to call Santa Claus if we didn't go to bed early enough on Christmas Eve. We had these old black rotary phones and he would pick up the phone pretending he was calling Santa Claus. It was a tradition for dad to wait until Christmas Eve to put the tree up because that's what his family had done.

Asset ID: 2022.11.04
Transcription abbreviated: Contact the Peale for a complete transcript.
Photo courtesy of Karen Cook

Karen Cook: Memories of East Baltimore, 1960s

In the spring of 2022, Baltimore artist and participatory-history specialist Lauren Muney hand-created custom silhouettes(profile portraits)of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents for long-term public installation at the Peale. These faces will encircle several rooms of the historic Peale walls, giving visitors, residents and guests the opportunity to feel the Baltimore ‘family’ all around them. The exhibition will be installed in August 2022. Some sitters also contributed stories about their lives and experiences in Baltimore.

Joby Taylor (00:04): This is Joby Taylor and I live in Baltimore in the Dorchester neighborhood, kind part of Forest Park and Liberty Heights area. And I'm a professor at UNBC as well and I love exploring the city. And I remember, this has been some years ago, I remember in reading about Frederick Douglas and kind of expanding beyond his early narrative life in Baltimore to just try to trace some of his footsteps. And it led me to the Battle Monument, the oldest monument downtown, and I remember standing there where Calvert Street splits and the courthouse and the federal courthouse are on opposite sides of the street there, and realizing that this is where Frederick Douglas gave a speech in, I think, 1870?

Joby Taylor (01:07): It was after the 15th amendment had passed that gave black men the right to vote. And I found the old archival, I think, from the Baltimore Evening Visitor or something. The news from that day that said there were as many as 30,000 people that gathered around that monument and among the other speakers, Frederick Douglas was, I think, the powerhouse that day. And he stepped up onto the little makeshift stage to speak with no microphones, right? 30,000 a sea of people and the stage kind of creaked and fell over.

Joby Taylor (01:51): And he dusted himself off and I think he went across the street to the Guilford, I think it was the Guilford House at that time, which I think had Confederate roots in its ownership and emerged from the second floor balcony and gave a great speech about the progress that had been made in those very few years that the 13th, 14th and now 15th amendment had been passed.

Joby Taylor (02:19): And I stand there today and I think of all just the grid of the city and that old monument that was placed after the Battle of Baltimore, the War of 1812, but I think even more, what I remember standing there is picturing Frederick Douglas, one of the great human beings in human history, not just the great Baltimoreans or African Americans in our own history, just a truly great individual must have been the voice that it would take to speak out across a sea of 30,000 people with no microphone.

Joby Taylor (03:03): And then the irony of going in a hotel that had a owner who was Confederate sympathizer, I believe even maybe one of Lincoln's assassination plots had been hatched in the bar of that hotel, perhaps, and for Douglas to emerge on that balcony and virtually shout this speech about the empowerment of African American people those years.

Joby Taylor (03:39): When I visited today with students and others, and try to paint that picture, I have also since realized that was complicated moment because of course women didn't get the right to vote at that time. So it represented a tension between Douglas and the Women's Suffrage Movement, which he continued to be involved in to the end of his life. So I think about that on that spot, I also think about the Catonsville Nine Trial that happened across the street and the Peace Movement demonstrations that happened there.

Joby Taylor (04:49): Thank you. This is Joby Taylor.

Asset ID: 2022.11.07

Transcription abbreviated: Contact the Peale for a complete transcript.
Photo courtesy of Joby Taylor

Joby Taylor: Remembering Frederick Douglass in Baltimore

Take a tour of the Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum and the oldest purpose-built museum in America. In this multi-stop tour, you'll hear from experts, historians, and curators who worked on and in the building during recent renovations.

Tour Stop 1

(00:01) My name is Jackson Gilman-Forlini. My title is historic preservation officer. I work for the Department of General Services, City of Baltimore. In that role, my agency is like the property manager for city owned buildings many of which are historic landmarks. Also, many of which have been used for museums for many years, used as museums. So my job is to make sure that the city, as the property owners are stewarding these buildings to historic preservation standards. 

(00:30) One of our buildings is the Peale Museum. This is a national historic landmark, which was America's first purpose-built museum founded by Rembrandt Peale in 1814. He was the son of Charles Wilson Peale. The city actually acquired it in 1830 to serve as the first City Hall. It's had a long storied history, but most recently it was left vacant in 1997. The city has really struggled for a long time to find a good use for it.

(00:58) So when I started working for the city in 2012, I initiated a partnership with the Peale Center, nonprofit organization whose mission was to restore and reopen this building for the public as a kind of museum.

Stop 1: Introduction to the Peale Museum, Baltimore

Take a tour of the Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum and the oldest purpose-built museum in America. In this multi-stop tour, you'll hear from experts, historians, and curators who worked on and in the building during recent renovations.

Tour Stop 2

Jackson Gilman-Forlini (00:00) The most critical issue when we first began was a leaky roof. The roof that was there when I started was probably dated to the 1930 restoration of the building. So it was at the end of its useful lifespan. It was a turncoat tin roof, standing seam metal roof. There was a serious issue with water incursion into the building that was causing plaster damage in addition to other types of damage.

Jackson Gilman-Forlini: So the city committed to replacing that, and with a design by SM+P Architects, we replaced it with a historically accurate standing seam copper metal roof. We also made other envelope repairs as well at that time. Including some masonry repairs and the historic windows as well. Where the sashes were removed, and then they were restored and repaired, and then put back into the frames.

Stop 2: Replacing the Roof at the Peale, Baltimore

Take an audio tour of "Quilted Connections: Sisterhood in Cloth," an exhibition at The Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum and the oldest museum building in the United States! Listen to master quilters Rosalind Robinson, Sandra Smith, and Glenda Richardson talk about their quilting techniques and the fascinating stories that surround their craft. Includes 17 stops with the artists. The exhibition was on view at The Peale from December 1, 2022-January 29, 2023.

Rosalind Robinson (00:00): Next quilt. Moving from Iceland, I'm going to take you into the warmth of sunshine, and with the last quilt, which I call "Mama." I think that "Mama" evokes warmth. It's English paper piece daisies, or hexagons, that's what they are. Hexagon daisies. And all the daisies are hand-stitched together, then the daisies are hand-stitched onto a piece of white cloth, and then the white cloth are sewn together as blocks, and assembled into this quilt.

(00:56): But there's a lot of hand stitching in this quilt. And each of the center hexagons, they're yellow centers, which evoke warmth, and warm feelings of a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, godmother, some person in your life who gave you comfort and warmth. And that's what I want you to feel when you see this quilt. It's called "Mama." And that concludes my voice tour of my exhibition at the Peale, and I hope that you come to see it. I am overjoyed at having an exhibition here at the Peale. I'm humbly overjoyed, I'm thankful, and I love this space, and I'm very thankful to be here.

Mama Quilt by Rosalind Robinson

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Rosalia (00:00): Hi, my name is Rosalia. I'm from Tucson, Arizona, go Wildcats. And I truly believe my vote does matter, and that's why I encourage my children go out and vote.

(00:15): There's a lot of talking and disputing about the presidency, but that's a good thing about our democracy. We're able to voice our opinions. If you like what I have to say, if you don't like what I have to say, I'm okay to listen to what you have to say, I may not like what you have to say, but we're allowed to speak our minds.

(00:39): I guess, after the shooting of Gabby Giffords in Tucson got me thinking a lot about gun control and how it affects my children, and then school shootings, and I think that motivated me a lot to attend more seminars, give my opinion. We have a people coming door to door, who are asking opinions about gun control, some of the candidates who are running who are in favor, who aren't in favor. So, that actually, what they say has a lot to do with what I vote on.

Asset ID: 2022.34.14.b

Rosalia: Gun Control and the Right to Vote, Arizona

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Dr. Tamika Lamb-Sanders (00:00): I remember the very first time, I think we were in middle school, and we did a practice election at our school for the governor's election here with Terry Goddard and Fife Symington, they were running. And I remember being so excited because we were learning about democracy, and what the governor does, and how that affects us and the community. And I remember being so excited because I would go home, every day I learned something like, 'Mom, mom, when you go to the polls, don't forget this, and remember this, and remember this."' And I was doing exactly what they wanted us to do. When they teach you about the voting process and elections and what they do, they want the kids to go home and tell their parents because they are the ones that actually vote.

(00:41): And I remember being so sad that in our school, the popular vote, Terry Goddard won. And then, when it came out to the actual election, it was Fife Symington won. And I remember all of us being so sad and literally holding up our signs and stating all the facts of why Terry Goddard would've been better. And it was very memorable.

(01:01): And then, my other one was, of course, just Barack Obama, 2008. That was amazing and memorable because I was on the college campus. Barack Obama actually came to ASU and came to our school and actually came to talk. And I just remember, I never remember a president coming onto our campus and I could just see all of the energy and the passion. And for the first time, he gave so many of us as youth just hope that, "Okay, yes, we can. We make a difference. Just because we're young doesn't mean that we don't have a voice. We have other ways in which we can push movements forward." So there were a lot of grassroot campaigns.

(01:42): And so, when he got elected that night, it meant so much, not only to just me, but lots of little Black and Brown girls, because I remember in school, teachers asking us, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I remember several little Black, Hispanic, and Latino boys and girls raising their hand to say, "I want to be president." And the teacher just kind of looking at them like, "You know what? That's a good dream." But that day when that happened, I was like, "It is possible." No longer can a little Black, Hispanic, or Latino boy say... They can say and have an example and say, "Hey, I can do this." And now just got to get our next woman in there.

(02:21): So, the reason why I vote, and that passion I have, it stems back from the teachers who taught us about the process. And they made us really understand that democracy and the ideal of democracy, if we want it to truly be a democratic kind of place and country that we live in, everybody has to vote. And if we don't, then we are giving up that right. And we also got to talk about all of the amazing people that came before us that fought to get the right to vote for women, for Black people, for all of these just votes. And every time I think about an election, I think about one, all the people that fought and died to allow us the right to vote because they knew what it meant. They knew what it meant for schools, for communities.

Asset ID: 2022.34.06.d
Find a complete transcript at www.museumonmainstreet.org

Dr. Tamika Lamb-Sanders: First-Time Voting Experiences, Arizona

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Dr. Tamika Lamb-Sanders (00:00): The day after the election with Trump and Hillary, I was working, doing a program in schools. And it's a population of schools, a lot of Hispanic and Latino and African-American children, as well. And a lot of them, literally, I had teachers and students crying the next day at school. A lot of teachers called out, and they literally would look at me, and we were doing a storytelling and poetry after-school session, and they were just like, 'Ms. Sanders, what do we do? How do we go on? It didn't matter, everything that we said.' They're like, 'I don't want to live in an America like this. I never thought someone that said so many horrible things about people would be elected. I just thought, 'That's not what you do as a president, right? That's not what you do, and I thought people would be smart enough not to choose him.'

(00:53): And because I felt the same way, it was really heartbreaking, and literally, I have a lot of students now. Now that 2020 is gearing up, because of that disappointment and that pain, there's a lot of people right now that are thinking, 'I don't want to vote, and look what happened. We voted. We did everything, and look what happened.' But then I also have to tell them on the other side. I say, 'Hey, the popular vote was won by the people. She won. The Electoral College, that's a whole ‘nother topic; it was won by him.' I said, 'So that popular vote, it mattered, and had all of those people not gone to vote, guess what? Who knows how that would have ended up? It could have ended up even worse. That popular vote wouldn't have even been there.'

(01:38): So, it does matter. Yes, the popular vote didn't elect the president, but it was letting you know where people stood, and so when history goes down, and they say, 'How did the country feel about this?' Well, actually, the majority of the people, the popular vote, that's how they felt.

(01:53): Now, what I have to do with the students is keep them engaged, and I'm like, 'Hey, we lost this one, but there's so many other important elections and things you can do right now, in your city, that you can do, that aren't settled and that you can make a difference, still.' And so, I got them involved in those. At some of some of their schools, they have recycling, and they have environmental things. They have alternative fuel things. They have Red for Ed, for the teachers, and looking at books. And so I got them into those things and say, 'Yeah, we can't change that for another four more years, but here's some stuff you can change right now that's going to affect you. You're going to see those changes within the six months or the couple months.'

(02:37): And that's how I have to keep myself excited, because it hurts when things don't go the way you think they should. It does make you feel like, ‘What kind of America do we live in, when you feel like it doesn't matter, and you don't matter, and all the efforts of others?’ But you then have to turn your mind to, ‘I can't fix that, but what can I change?’

Asset ID: 2022.34.06.f

Dr. Tamika Lamb-Sanders: The 2016 Election, Arizona

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Rachel Miller (00:00): My name is Rachel Miller. I moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1994 from Ramstein, Germany. I grew up as an Air Force brat, and so, the whole concept of voting was very different for me. Because when you live abroad, you send in your ballot. And so, when I moved to Arkansas, Bill Clinton was the president. And when it came time for me to vote, I was working at a cafe that used to be in Hillcrest. It was called Cafe D'Roma. And it was a cafe that was frequented by the Clintons, because Mr. Bill Clinton's mother lived up the street. And this was kind of close around the time of the impeachment trials and whatnot. And so, there was a lot of different perspective on if Clinton was a good president or not. And I remember, it was a Sunday morning, and Sunday morning brunch was usually pretty slow.

(01:01): And this person came in really quickly, really hurried, and was wearing his suit and started putting these name reservation signs on all these tables. And we kind of approached this person, like "Hey, we don't reserve tables here." And they wouldn't tell us what's going on. And the next thing we know, this motorcade shows up. And his Clinton and his entourage with his mother, and they took over the entire cafe.

(01:27): And there were already customers there. And the customers left, because the Secret Service were all over the place. And they were behind the bar. I was a barista, and I had somebody watching me make Clinton's chocolate hot chocolate. And there was Secret Service in the kitchen. And afterwards, one of his aides walked up to all the kitchen staff and was like, "Hey, thanks for hosting us. This is kind of a last minute thing.

(01:56): Would you like to take a picture with the president?" Well, I was a little put off by the fact that we were all just everyday people working hard on a Sunday morning, and we were kind of put in the throes of this sort of big celebrity show up. And so, there's a picture of me with Bill Clinton and the rest of the staff, and I have the most horrible look on my face. Because I was just upset that this person totally interrupted my morning.

(02:23): And I remember, afterwards, the aide walked up to me with President Clinton and said, "would you like to shake his hand?" And I said, "no." And I know that I remember telling that to somebody, and people were like, "how could you do that to the president?" And my perspective was I felt that we are everyday people that are voting for this person. And why is it that we had to be treated any different than anybody else? And so, the next time I went to vote, it was Bush and Gore, and that was my first time voting in the United States.

(02:57): And I remember, well, it was at a community center, and going with three of my really good friends. And it was sort of like this social outing. There were so many people there. The line was around the block, and we waited for probably two hours to get through the polling to actually be able to cast our vote. And I had on a Nader pin, and I remember people coming up to me saying, "don't waste your vote. You're wasting your vote." 

Asset ID: 2023.02.13.b
Find a complete transcript at www.muuseumonmainstreet.org

Rachel Miller: A Chance Encounter and the 2000 Presidential Election, Arkansas

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Rachel Miller (00:00): Somebody that I've been really impressed with lately is, this is kind of weird, but it's actually the lady who does my hair. And right after the Trump election, there was a lot of people that were like, "How could this happen? What were we doing that we let this happen?" And her response was, "We weren't engaged enough. We weren't actually paying attention. We weren't going out and talking to people, people that are outside of our normal social circles and seeing what other people were thinking." So, she became really engaged with the Pulaski County Democratic Party. And she picked a candidate, and she got so behind this candidate that she was willing to sacrifice every aspect of her life to support this one candidate. And what impressed me was her passion to promote this one person that she believed in, this one person's principals, that it ignited my interest. Because I'm like, "How is it this person can be so passionate about this individual?" And it got me out of my slump of being disenchanted with the whole political system.

(01:07): And I started to watch what she was doing and what was her definition of civic engagement. And basically what she would tell me, and she still tells me today, is to make sure that you're aware of all the issues. That you educate yourself, that you don't rely on somebody else to feed you the information, that if you don't really know about candidates, that should not be your response. You need to go and make sure that you find whatever avenue is possible that's available to you, to educate yourself on what the issues are, whether they are community issues, state level, or national level. And that is something that I think as a good citizen, that you shouldn't just say, "Well, I don't know about that candidate." Or, "I don't really know much about that issue." Or "doesn't impact me." Because eventually it really will have an impact on you in some form or fashion. And I think as a citizen of this nation, it is our duty to be educated on what it is that is impacting us on all levels.

Asset ID: 2023.02.14.d

Rachel Miller: Lack of Civic Engagement in 2016, Arkansas

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Ryk St. Vincent (00:00): The whole thing that we have right now in terms of the democratic process and all that, for the most part, when I talk to people and I talk to people all the time, I would rather talk to somebody than to do a lot of other things. When I go over here to the bakery where I have coffee, I can talk to 20 people in a day and be engaged in a long, long conversation with those 20 people over a course of a day about whatever the subject is. I'm that kind of guy who, I like getting that kind of information because it feeds my mind for creativity. So we have adults who came from children and somewhere along the line that child didn't get what they needed to become a fruitful, giving, caring, engaged adult in whatever capacity. Whether you're talking about voting, supporting their wife or their husband, being engaged in their own family or whatever. We're missing the boat. The human animal is the only animal that has a problem with its child. We're the only one. We're the only one.

(01:16): And we've got a situation right now where we're talking about voting, we're talking about what the President is doing, and we're talking about all these other things going on. And we should be trying to get to the quintessential question of how do we make better adults? You follow me? How do you make a better adult? Here's my philosophy. I believe that everybody on the planet, 7 billion people, I believe every last one of them is absolutely right about what they believe. They are absolutely right about what they believe. And when I run into that person, whoever they may be, my job is to get along with them. I don't care what religion, I don't care how tall they are, whether they have one or three legs, whether they are black or white, rich or poor, what color, doesn't matter. My job is to assume they are absolutely right about what they believe.

(02:17): Now we are in a small area, sitting table length apart, and I've got to get along with that person. I've got to get along with that person. And when that person leaves, the next time they see me, I want them to say, "Oh, here comes that guy." I want them to want to be in my space. What do I have to do to do that? What do I have to do to do that? I can't just do it then. I've got to be that way from the ... You can't paint your house today, Mr. Brown. It hadn't been painted in 40 years. You can't paint the whole house today. You should have been painting it a little bit at a time in the spring and the fall. Little bit here, a little bit there. You can't fix your car all at once. It's going to be expensive. You need to have maintenance on it all the time.

(03:15): Jimmy, your room needs to be cleaned up and it's going to be nine hours. You probably won't make it today. But if you had picked those socks up and put those things away and straighten that out, you'd be five minutes from getting your room straight whenever. So we need to get into that. We need to get into that. And it's got to do with this is the only planet that we know human beings can exist. So who are you or you or anybody else to say, I don't belong here. Where else do I belong?

Asset ID: 2023.02.15.b
Find a complete transcript at www.museumonmainstreet.org

Ryk St. Vincent: The Beauty of Diversity, Arkansas

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Ryk St. Vincent (00:00): I voted for as many times as I could in my life, registered and voted. I like the idea because it makes you feel like you've made a contribution or I put the little sticker on my window usually, sometimes it was, I think as many as three of them on there, and this is over the years and then they fade off or they get washed off or whatever, but they're on my truck door. When I go down there, I see people that I know. I commune with people. We talk and there's something to be said about people getting together to do something. It's almost like hearing a choir. If you hear a choir of 50 or 80 people sing, you know that they've worked on that song because when it's done, it's one sound broken up into all these segments that move you. It will either give you chill bumps or impress you in some way that makes it, wow, that was a wonderful experience.

(01:10): Same thing when you go see a movie. If you look at the credits of the movie, especially a big, big movie, blockbuster movie, you look at all the names, all those names, of names you can't pronounce, and I'll sit there and try to read and I'm reading, okay. I said Charles Smith, okay, because I got that one, but you see so many names. All those people got together and took 60 million or 125 million dollars and made a movie. Everybody doing their part. Choirs, the Olympics, basketball teams, things of that name.

(02:01): There's a school of fish. You ever see those fish, they have no radar. They don't use sell phones. They don't have earpieces. They don't have signals. But these little silver fish in schools of thousands, thousands swimming in one direction and then at once, not a line of ducks, at once they change direction. We have to have cell phones, we have to practice, we have to have lights and signals, we have to rehearse it. We've got to go through so much. Just try to watch a marching band get a routine together. I did little bass clarinet when I was in school, marching and those routines... Well, it's 9 o'clock, coach came, we'll do it one more time.

(03:03): These fish, thousands of them in one millisecond, they change direction, and they'll do it again in the next millisecond if they need to. That to me is more amazing than an iPhone going to the moon and anything else that you can throw at me right now. That to me is amazing because that says there is a communication above what we know. We may have had it at one time, but it's above what we know. You got to know that everybody's connected. Everybody's connected. Everybody needs something.

Asset ID: 2023.02.15.d
Find a complete transcript at www.museumonmainstreet.org

Ryk St. Vincent: The Importance of Being Connected, Arkansas

Uncover the world of contemporary art with this episode of the "Insights of an Eco Artist" podcast by Joana Alarcão. The interview features eco-artist Anna Fine Foer, whose work is on view at The Peale in April 2023. Anna's work is a blending of digital tech with traditional collage techniques that challenge perceptions & raise environmental awareness. Dive into her inspirations, process & impactful work in this enlightening episode. Other episodes in this series are available on Spotify.

Anna Fine Foer (00:00): I think one of the big evolutions in my work is a long time ago when I was working more minimally, I would know everything, what I was going to use and probably what all the colors were going to be be. And now I feel like I'm working a bit more like a painter. I don't like all the decisions to be made. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> before I sit down. I like the discovery along the way. And the best part for me is mm-hmm. <affirmative>, there's a lot of excitement in that way because you can surprise yourself, you can start out with an idea. Yeah. But it can become more than what the, some of the parts it can take on a whole new way by sometimes, for example, I'll just, I have a lot of files of images organized by subject matter. And so sometimes I'll just happen to be looking at these image files and I'll find the most perfect thing that goes with what I'm working on. And I didn't even think about it or know or realize. And that's what I love about the discovery, where you haven't made all your decisions when you sit down to start and you, you leave yourself more open for things to come in.

Joana Alarcão (01:07): Welcome to insights of an eco artist. My name is Joana Alarcão. I'm an eco-artist and arts writer. In every episode, I bring worldwide artist that invite to fight to create a more sustainable world. Hello everyone and welcome back. Thank you for joining us today as we explore the exciting world of contemporary arts and artists who are pushing the boundaries of traditional art forms. And today we have the perfect example of that. We are interviewing an fine fur, a Baltimore based artist who blends digital technology with additional collage techniques to create thought-provoking pieces that challenge our perception of the world around us. And a world has often recurring motives, such technology, natural disasters and location, but is a specific approach and aesthetic that unifies a diverse subject matter from constructing multi-dimensional landscapes on a two-dimensional plane to blurring the lines between the natural and the manmade. Anna Collages tells more than one story and invite us to think beyond the surface with a background in textile conservation and a lifelong interest in maps and collage, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to work. And we are going to experience this during our conversation. We delve into our process inspiration and impact our work has on raising awareness about incremental issues. Let's dive in.

(02:37): Thank you, Anna, for being here. Totally appreciate it. Let's just start by you telling us a bit about your background and how did you begin making art.

Anna Fine Foer (02:47): <laugh> Like my background, you want to be say like, where I was born and where I lived and . . .

Joana Alarcão (02:52): Yeah. What influenced you to become the artist that you are today?

Anna Fine Foer (02:56): Well, I think one of the most significant things is I was raised in a home of very serious intellectuals. My father's a professor des Español <laugh>, sorry, no, Portuguese. And and, and French. And my mother my father taught in, in university. 

Contact The Peale for a complete transcription: info@ThePeale.org.

An Interview with Artist Anna Fine Foer, Part I, 2023

Uncover the world of contemporary art with part II of Anna Fine Foer's interview on the "Insights of an Eco Artist" podcast by Joana Alarcão. The interview features eco-artist Anna Fine Foer, whose work is on view at The Peale in April 2023. Anna's work is a blending of digital tech with traditional collage techniques that challenge perceptions & raise environmental awareness. Dive into her inspirations, process & impactful work in this enlightening episode. Other episodes in this series are available on Spotify.

Anna Fine Foer (00:00): You know, it's hard for me to say art is accessible because I get in conversations with friends of mine who aren't artists who talk about how people are in intimidated to go into art spaces because they think it's like a, a rarefied thing and you have to be of a certain level of sophistication and yeah, yeah, yeah. At the Peale Center in Baltimore, they, they think of it as very much a community space and they don't want it to be like a snooty art gallery, you know, like in New York where you go in and nobody talks to you and all this kind of thing. But, okay. So to answer the question, I think it's like a gateway. It's an opening where people will look the picture and their mind is free to interpret it in whatever direction they want to go. And it's interesting because I've, I've had people in my studio who didn't even realize that art could have any meaning whatsoever which was really fascinating to me. because there's plenty of artists out there whose work doesn't have any meaning. That's true. But I just feel like a picture can open up a whole world.

Joana Alarcão (01:17): Welcome to insights of an Eco Artist. My name is Joana Alarcão. I'm an Eco artist and arts writer. In every episode, I bring worldwide artists that invite a fight to create a more sustainable world.

(01:32): Hello everyone, and welcome back to the podcast. I hope you are a wonderful Valentine's Day and are enjoying the sunny days As much as I am. As artists, our environment can have a big impact on our work. And I'm sure many of you can relate to the struggles of working in a cold studio wearing two winter coats and two pair of socks. it wasn't really doing it for me, <laugh>. So, speaking of artists, I am thrilled to bring you the second part of the interview with an ffi, a Baltimore based artist who seamlessly plans digital technology with traditional collage techniques to create stunning and thought-provoking works of art. In this episode, Anne shares some value advice for aspiring artist and give us a deeper insight into our past and present exhibitions and works. We'll explore the recurring motives in her art, the collaboration between science and art, and discuss how she uses a unique approach and aesthetic to convey a central message about the environment. Let's jump right in. When you look over your various projects throughout your career, which one resonates the most with you? Which one represents a shift within your artistic individuality?

Anna Fine Foer (02:55): I really, I'll just refer again to this series about Tulip mania because I think it was very successful in me doing a lot of research and the research inspired all these compositions. And each one is a different aspect of tulip mania. Some of it's more about the history, some of it's more about the scientific ideas that were going on at that time. And the reason why I can mention that one is also because what I was talking about where you don't have to illustrate all the ideas of the whole big subject matter in, in one collage, it gave me that free, that idea of having each composition just be about one very specific aspect. It was all still the first time that I worked on a series that was all about one subject matter.

Contact The Peale for a complete transcription: info@ThePeale.org.

An Interview with Anna Fine Foer, Part II, 2023

Please consider donating to The Peale to continue exhibitions like SPARK: www.thepeale.org/community-creators-fund/

Curator Catherine Borg talks about installing the sixth edition of the "SPARK" exhibition at the historic Peale museum in Baltimore and why The Peale is such an ideal place for artwork.

"SPARK 6: Refractions"  features the work of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and Towson faculty, recent graduates, and current students in the historic galleries of The Peale in Baltimore City.

The title of the exhibition references a term from physics that describes the change in direction of a wave as it passes from one transparent substance into another. It’s a phenomenon most commonly observed when a light wave bends or changes appearance when it passes through a lens or a prism.

Each of the artists in this exhibition serves as an apparatus of refraction, focusing, magnifying, or redirecting our attention and perspective in engaging and surprising ways.

Please consider donating to The Peale: https://www.thepeale.org/community-creators-fund/

Installing the SPARK 6 Exhibition at The Peale, Baltimore

Hear a complete interview with Fred Tutman, Maryland's Patuxent Riverkeeper. The interview is part of an unfolding collection of stories from prominent environmentalists in the state, recorded in 2019, and supported by the Town Creek Foundation.

In this conversation, conducted by WYPR Baltimore's Aaron Henkin in collaboration with the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, Fred talks about his role as Maryland's only African American riverkeeper as well as the tough battles he's fought over the years to continue moving forward to save the Patuxent watershed. "We have to fight like hell to do whatever we can!" Find a complete transcript on the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture's website: https://www.thepealecenter.org/stories-of-environmental-activism/

All materials from this collection will be preserved in the IUPUI Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives. https://ulib.iupui.edu/special

Fred Tutman: Patuxent Riverkeeper, Maryland

Hear a complete interview with Kim Coble, Executive Director for the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. The interview is part of an unfolding collection of stories from prominent environmentalists in the state of Maryland, recorded in 2019, and supported by the Town Creek Foundation.

In this conversation, conducted by Eve Austin in collaboration with the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, Kim talks what each one of use can do to make a difference on climate change. "Every action does matter," she reflects. Kim also talks about the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes in order to find commonality. Find a complete transcript on the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture's website: https://www.thepealecenter.org/stories-of-environmental-activism/

All materials from this collection will be preserved in the IUPUI Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives. ulib.iupui.edu/special

Kim Coble: Executive Director, Maryland League of Conservation Votes

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context. 

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory magazine published the poetry of mostly African American writers of all ages in Baltimore. This poem is 'Thugs United' and it appeared in the July 1968, issue 013. I picked an excerpt from 'Thugs United' subtitled The First Meeting and Few Places to Go. The author is trying to explain this safe haven for these young African Americans teens, labeled as thugs by police force and many in Baltimore during this time. The Community Action Agency is a place where these children get to be children. Many people during this time thought that these teens were good for nothing thugs that only caused trouble within the community.

They used the community center as a place to join together to fight against discrimination. The young men emphasized that they were there to come together for good; they even welcomed police into their safe place to prove their innocence. This poem dove into economic segregation because of their low poverty upbringing. Many of the boys lived in housing projects, describing their neighborhood as rundown and dirty. These housing projects were an eye sore to the rest of the community. Since they were excluded from the rest of the city, the housing projects were then labeled as a dangerous place to live. 

Many businesses wouldn’t open anywhere close to the projects because of fear of the young thugs causing problems. The bowling alley was one of the few places around town that accepted them, and if they wanted to see a movie they needed to travel a great distance. I picked the Baltimore City Community Action Center as my location because it is one of the few places they had that accepted them for who they really were, kids.

They weren’t judged by their skin color, they were seen as kids just wanting to have fun. They provided them with basketball courts, where they spent most of their time. The Community Action Center is the focal point to this poem because it proved to the readers that these young African American men were being stereotyped as thugs because of their skin color and low-poverty upbringing. At the center, it didn't matter what color your skin was or how much money your parents made, it was a place where children could play basketball and hang with their peers.

In the poem, the author writes the community Center is closed on Saturdays, when it is mostly needed. This one line of the poem summed up the entire excerpt from 'Thugs United' because it showed how much these young men depended on this safe haven. Every kid in this community was off from school on Saturdays. But, maybe if the community center was open on Saturdays, then it would have kept the kids safe and out of trouble. My name is Suzanne Riley, and I’m a student at Rutgers University-Newark. 

This audio essay is part of the Chicory Revitalization project. To read more from chicory, visit the Digital Maryland Repository online and follow the project on Instagram at Chicory_Baltimore."

Read the original version of this poem from Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/393/rec/13

Asset ID: 8426

Chicory Revitalization Project: Thugs United, a poem interpreted by Suzanne Riley

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context.

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory magazine published the poetry of mostly African American writers of Baltimore. This poem is, The Departure by Peggy Hullett, and it appeared in the February, 1976 issue.

THE DEPARTURE

When you’re old
And lay cold
Who will care
You’re no longer there?

When you’ve shed your ills
And discarded your pills
They come and they gaze
At a passing phase

You’re just the individual
Who people say looks natural
To most it's just another day
When you've passed away

The cost is high
For that ride to the sky
Same if you go --
Below

There’s an acception
Toward cremation
But after you burn
Who wants the urn?

It should be, but it isn’t cheap
To dig a hole to bury you deep
So not exactly in defiance
Some donate themselves to science

In a casket with lights for all to see
My bright red dress and hat---and I'll be
All wired inside so I can rise
To bid the people fond goodbyes
I may hang around for an extra day 
Like a big old doll on full display
I’ll extend a hand and bob my hat
To all who come where the action’s at.

--Peggy Hullett

I look at elderly people in two categories;  there are those who spend time pondering upon the sad details of life before their death, and then there are those who live carefree and full of sass until they die. From the poem, The Departure, Peggy Hullett, a member of the Waxter Center for senior citizens, a home for the elderly in Baltimore, is a mixture of the two. She ponders on life for the elderly with deep concern, but you get to see her funny bone when she imagines what her funeral day could be like.

First of all, when it comes to the death of an old person, everyone may not say it out loud, but some people believe “Well they’ve lived their time” or “Their death was natural”. Peggy shares her experience of people’s reaction to when the elderly dies. To further express this, there is pitiful tone throughout the poem that begins with describing the lack of attention old people get when they’re alive. Now Peggy most likely sat in her rocking chair, observing how her life as an old woman turned out to be, or that of her peers in the home. From Peggy’s gaze, the elderly become invisible. When you’re old and invisible, there is a numbness there. That numbness almost never ends, for even in death, there is a high price to be paid for being cremated or for a spot 6ft underground. When Peggy says even after the burn, no one wants the urn-Hmm can you imagine the unwanted feeling?

Despite all of this,  for her own death, Peggy wishes to be buried in a casket. Yes, there is a twist of emotion in the last stanzas of her poem as a sense of relief is put forward with a little sass in finally leaving the earth and wishing everyone “fond” goodbyes. Yet in all of that, she describes her funeral day as the place where “all the action would be”. No one may have paid much attention to her when she was alive  but on her funeral day, she jokingly wants to “put on a show” as she is being displayed as a doll for all to see. Hey! Look at me Now! *chuckles*

My name is Rosel David and I’m a student at Rutgers University Newark. This audio essay is part of the Chicory Revitalization Project. To read more from Chicory, visit the Digital Maryland Repository online and follow the project on Instagram at Chicory_Baltimore."

Read the original poem in Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/1841/rec/63

Asset ID: 8433

Chicory Revitalization Project: The Departure, a poem interpreted by Roselle David

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context.

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory magazine published the poetry of young and old black writers in Baltimore. This poem is, 'A Message from the Ghetto' by Janis R. Rhodes and it appeared in the July 1968 issue.

A MESSAGE FROM THE GHETTO

“It is time for America to wake up, and stop being afraid to face the truth that all men are created equal. The fires that have been destroying America’s cities are the light and the light is shining bright at last. Many of the Negroes in the ghetto receive an inadequate education. Many of the schools are old and dilapidated. The houses in these areas are unfit for human occupancy. Rodents have invaded and conquered. Because of discrimination in jobs and salaries, the Negro cannot afford to move to a better neighborhood. The Civil Rights Bills have not affected many areas where prejudice is still the 'name of the game.' The black race is awakening fast. We will no longer be treated with disrespect. We must stand to overcome the injustice of society. We must not fight among ourselves but work together for freedom.” 

--Janis R. Rhodes

This author lived in the house at 1011 Monroe Street when she wrote the poem. This poem speaks to me because of the state of life people in the ghetto had to and still live in in some cities. To me, it sounds like the people of Baltimore were trying to escape a war zone, no one should live their lives trying to escape their home. Home should be a place of comfort and where you feel safe, but America is living to escape. 

Rhodes says, “It is up to him to help his black brothers to escape the horrors of the ghetto” she said this while talking about people that leave the ghetto, people that have managed to escape end up turning their back on their family and friends that are still struggling. Rhodes is calling for solidarity amongst class identity for black people, rich or poor. 

This poem talks about fighting to “gain our rights” which is absurd. As said in the poem, “all men are created equal,” which is a simple concept that is complicated for some to understand. There has been a lot of violence in ghettos which usually makes the situation worse. Something that speaks volumes to me is the people of Baltimore want to change the narrative and go away with violence and want to use their mind and protest peacefully. People in the ghetto would be taken more seriously from the people in power if they show peace and willingness to change without violence. To this day the same issues persist and doesn’t seem likely they will be resolved in the near future.

My name is Christian Shelley and I’m a student at Rutgers University-Newark. This audio essay is part of the Chicory Revitalization Project. To read more from Chicory, visit the Digital Maryland Repository online and follow the project on Instagram at Chicory_Baltimore."

Read the original version of this essay in Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/373/rec/13

Asset ID: 8434

Chicory Revitalization Project: A Message from the Ghetto, a poem interpreted by Christian Shelley

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context.

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory magazine published the poetry of young and old black writers in Baltimore. This poem is “Untitled” by Tan, and it appeared in the January 1967 edition. 

UNTITLED

Red-eyed clerk that drinks wine
Down in Dundalk police station started
Bookin' everybody  certain guy says 'we're not
Drunk you are  he starts talkin' to another
Flatfoot  says 'you ain't got no room to call
Anybody a drunk you red-eyed clerk  clerk says
Don't you know I can have you in confinement for
Talkin' about a clerk  I say you got red eyes that's
All there is to it  he tells the turnkey to lock us
Up so we stroll back to the cell  he says 'kid I'll
Mess you up if I wann'

--Tan

The author was trying to demonstrate the social injustice and power abuse of the Baltimore police in 1967. The scene which takes place in Dundalk police station involves Black men and what we can presume to be a white court clerk and officer. In the poem it seems to be normalized that a black man be can be spoken down on, but When a black man speaks to a white person It is clearly unacceptable. 

A white person expresses their freedom of speech in 1967 and can perfectly get away with it but as soon as a black man does the same in rebuttal towards white person the black person is threatened with incarceration. From words to a jail cell two different extremes, a punishment that is unfit for the offense. Instilling fear into black communities, was the objective as blacks  were being pushed lower on the playing field than whites once again as if there was a regression rather than progression in society.   

The officer who you can assume is white even shows his power and advises the black man that he can be physically assaulted if the officer felt like it. Unjust action and unnecessary violence just because the man was black and the officer needed to show his white superiority towards the black minority. However this was not only an issue in Baltimore, as during the same time period cities like Newark were also experiencing police crimes based on race, as people like  John Smith were being beaten by police and was instead charged for “assault” and “making smart remarks”. 

The author is explaining that his experience was not situational but was a national issue during the time period. Police were abusing their authority and black people were not heard. Black people had to endure verbal and physical abuse but if the tables would ever turn it was unacceptable during the period. Although people began to take a stand in Baltimore by supporting activists like Martin Luther King Jr, and by starting the Baltimore riots after his death in 1968 we notice that police abuse on the black minority did not come to a complete halt. The term 'history repeats itself' is unfortunately evident as 47 years later a 25-year-old black man named Freddie Gray was killed by police for holding an alleged 'illegal knife'. 

The realization that police brutality on black minorities was still evident, is what sparked yet another Baltimore riot in 2015. The author's message in the poem was no message at all. It was the reality of the lives of blacks at the time. A black person could be locked up in a cell for simply being black. Freedom of speech or any freedom whatsoever with stripped of black people in Baltimore by police because they were given the power to do so . . ."

Read this original poem in Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/89/rec/3

Asset ID: 8442

Chicory Revitalization Project: Untitled by Tan, a poem interpreted by Chris Nunes

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context.

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory magazine published the poetry of mostly African American writers of all ages in Baltimore. This poem is, 'Vandalism in School' by Thomas Medley, and it
appeared in the third issue of Chicory in 1967.

VANDALISM IN SCHOOL

People break school windows.
They mark on desks and walls.
They set schools on fire and burn up school books
And other school property.
Vandalism in Baltimore schools is very bad.

--Thomas Medley

What Thomas Medley is trying to say about Baltimore is that its youth is facing trepidation from what seems to be a city-wide crisis. As such, Medley wrote his poem in reference to the current circumstances surrounding his local academic institutions. The poem was written in 1967. Baltimore during this era was evidently experiencing turmoil, as tensions within African American communities were rising as the civil rights movement saw challenges. The grievances of those facing injustice had echoed across the youth as well, particularly for school children. 

Benjamin Franklin High School is located amongst the areas of Curtis Bay, a neighborhood that is encircled by industrial facilities. This area of Baltimore city boasts the highest rate of toxic air pollution in the state, correlating to an alarming rate of lung cancer cases. The substandard living conditions present not just in Baltimore city, but in many other urban communities would lead to many instances of vandalization, even towards public schools, as seen within this issue of Chicory. As of 1967, Those living in Baltimore are well versed in how such perilous conditions could negatively influence their communities. Medley’s poem suggests that the youth would harbor distaste towards the institutions that had failed them, and that perhaps vandalism was the only method of voicing their disapproval. 

The culmination of injustice and poor living conditions would eventually spiral towards the Baltimore Riots of 1968 only a year later, where vandalism would be ever-prevalent. For the many folks living in Baltimore when these events unfolded, vandalism in their schools was very bad, indeed.

My name is Joon Oh and I’m a student at Rutgers University-Newark. This audio essay is part of the Chicory Revitalization Project. To read more from Chicory, visit the Digital Maryland Repository online and follow the project on Instagram at Chicory_Baltimore."

Read the original poem in Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/418/rec/12

Asset ID: 8461

Chicory Revitalization Project: Vandalism in School, a poem interpreted by Joon Oh

Chicory Magazine captured the words, passions, debates, and anger of black Baltimore from 1966-1983. The Chicory Revitalization Project uses the power of poetry to promote civic dialogue about place, identity, and social justice.

In this playlist, students from Rutgers University read poems from the Chicory Magazine, while adding their own commentary about the poems' meaning and context.

"From 1966 to 1983, Chicory Magazine published the poetry of mostly African American writers of all ages in Baltimore. This poem, which is 'Untitled,' by Tan, and it appeared in the January, 1967 issue.

UNTITLED

red-eyed clerk that drinks wine
down in dundalk police station started
bookin' everybody certain guy says 'we're not
drunk you are he starts talkin' to another
flatfoot says 'you ain't got no room to call
anybody a drunk you red-eyed clerk clerk says
don't you know I can have you in confinement for
talkin' about a clerk I say you got red eyes that's
all there is to it he tells the turnkey to lock us
up so we stroll back to the cell he says 'kid I'll
mess you up if I wann'.

--Tan

The author wants to convey a message about police brutality and injustice that was pervasive in Baltimore during his time, and which persists today. The author recounts that in Dundalk Police station, an officer who was arguably drunk himself proceeded to book the author and a few others claiming that they were drunk, which the author denies. When they protest the officer, the officer threatens them with imprisonment and a beating and then proceeds to lock them in a cell. Though short, the poem gives insight into how police would brazenly commit injustice against people of color without any proof or evidence. These injustices were faced frequently by nonwhite residents of Baltimore, which also occurred throughout the country.


This issue is so prevalent that even today, there are many cases of police brutality, such as the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody in Baltimore or Eric Garner, who was choked to death by New York Police. Issues like police brutality led to movements like the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement, who tried to address such injustices and fight for equality. The quest to fight injustice is still present today as there are movements like the Black Lives Matter that try to address the issue of police brutality specifically. 

Through artistic expression such as poetry, the author and others like him expose these injustices, that revibrate through time.In essence, what the author is trying to say is that black residents of Baltimore faced police brutality and injustice, and they could not do anything to stop it. They would be threatened, imprisoned, or even beaten for no reason other than they were black. 

It is evident the issue of police brutality has not changed much since the era of the Civil Rights Movement, and that is why there is still persistence amongst movements like Black Lives Matter to tackle this issue. What can be inferred from the author's writing is that this issue might continue to persist as it did in the past if it is not tackled today. 

My name is Tahmim Ahmed and I’m a student at Rutgers University-Newark. This audio essay is part of the Chicory Revitalization Project. To read more from Chicory, visit the Digital Maryland Repository online and follow the project on Instagram at Chicory_Baltimore."

Read this original poem in Chicory Magazine: https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdcy/id/89/rec/3

Asset ID: 8469

Chicory Revitalization Project: Untitled by Tan, a poem interpreted by Tahmin Ahmed

This digital story was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and its Stories from Main Street student documentary initiative, called "Stories: Yes." The project encourages students and their mentors to research and record stories about small-towns and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, as well as thoughts about American democracy. These documentaries are then shared on Smithsonian websites and social media.

In collaboration with Dillon County Theatre Association in South Carolina, Liz Herlong's Broadcast Journalism student Gavin Kelly produced this story about the roadside attraction South of the Border. Julia Bailey and Richard Schafer describe its history and the most recent additions.

Lake View High School aired a different segment about the area each Wednesday morning on the Gator TV Morning News broadcast as part of a series called, "Way Back Wednesdays." It was created for Museum on Main Street's Stories: YES program.

Gavin Kelly: Stop and stretch your legs at South of the Border in Dillon, South Carolina. South of the Border was established in 1950 by Alan Schafer and was meant to be a bar because North Carolina prohibited alcohol. And the bar was just a stone's throw away from the boarder, so North Carolinians could easily grab a drink. South of the Border is a rest stop with restaurants, gas stations, a video arcade, a motel, and a truck stop. As well as a small amusement park, a mini-golf course, shopping, and firework stores. One of the many restaurants at South of the Border is the Peddler's Steakhouse. It is run by Mitch Drigger. 

Julia Bailey: [0:40] When I was younger, South of the Border, we used to come here. Actually to play put put with my relatives and it was right over there where the aligator adventure is. And Allan Shaffer had it to begin with. It started from a hot dog stand and then he started putting more into it. He got the company, the Blooming Ginger Ale. Just kinda expanded from there. Right now, his grandson owns it and what he is doing now is renovating it and also putting in a dirt bike track. Probably about six years ago and it's actually for sports, semi-professional I think. But that's all that I really know about it. Actually this restaurant used to be the hotel office. That's why it's circle, because the cars would actually pull up where the dining area is. The actual office itself would have been our kitchen. And that was the original office.

Gavin Kelly [1:40] While you're there stop by Reptile Lagoon, the largest indoor reptile exhibit in the United States, to see snakes, crocodiles, alligators, and turtles.

Richard Schafer [1:50] South of the Border was a offshoot of another company that my father owned and my grandfather owned. In Little Rock we had a beer distribution company called Schafer Distributing Company. [2:05] And it started in 1933, we worked over half the state of South Carolina in the end. The name South of the Border came from the United States Postal Service. He was getting mail, Alan Schafer, south of the North Carolina border. So at that point in time, so much of it came that way he finally just renamed the business, South of the Border. Well he grew from that, the beer joint as I called it, he had to have a restaurant added and have to have food to have on premise service. And the business just started growing from that because of tourism. 

For a complete transcript, please visit the Museum on Main Street website: www.museumonmainstreet.org
Asset ID: 8550

South of the Border, South Carolina

The Peale's storytelling program launched in the summer of 2016, in conjunction with the MuseWeb Foundation. The storytelling program is a new way to discover the people and places of the city, as told by the residents of Baltimore. To date, we have shared more than 1,400 stories online, through live events at the Peale, and in Baltimore’s communities.

Mama Linda Goss is the Peale's storyteller-in-residence, as well as a performer in the African diasporic oral tradition. She is a co-founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers, which works to preserve folk traditions. Every month, she shares a poem with the Peale, as part of her collection of stories, "Mama Linda's Chapbook." 

Mama Linda Goss: Peace and blessings everyone. My name is Mama Linda Goss, and I am the bell ringer, I am the praise singer, and I invite you to listen, to learn and to share. Asante sand.

Mama Linda Goss: Well, oh well, well, blues lamentations for George Perry Floyd, born October the 14th, 1973 and was murdered, May 25th, 2020. Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? They put pressure on his neck with their knee, poor George went on to Calvary. Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? So much pain, so much trauma, poor George called up for his angel mama. So much pain, so much trauma, poor George called out for his angel mama. She opened up her arms. She said, "Come on in baby, no more harm." Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd?

Mama Linda Goss: People came together and marched. They shouted and they torched. People came together and marched. They shouted and they torched. No justice, no peace, stop the system of racist police. Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? The rallying cry was hurled all over this world. The rallying cry was hurled all over this world. Thousands gathered in cities and towns, and some statues came tumbling down. Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? Somehow, some way, we shall overcome someday. Somehow, some way, we shall overcome someday. A change has got to come from the heart, or this country will fall apart. Oh my Lord, did you see what they did to George Floyd? Were you there?

Asset ID: 8577
Poem Copyright © 2020 by Linda Goss
Find a complete transcript on the Peale's website.

Mama Linda's Chapbook: Blues Lamentations for George Perry Floyd, Oct 14, 1973-May 25, 2020, A Poem

The "Be Here" storytelling project, in conjunction the Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum, and the Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street initiative, is an effort to gather and distribute stories about community life and places across the United States. The first version of this project began in 2011 with the Stories from Main Street storytelling initiative,  the brainchild of the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street (MoMS) team. Today, the Peale is partnering with Museum on Main Street to continue the storytelling campaign, often connected thematically to MoMS' traveling exhibitions about topics like work history, waterways, food culture, traditional music, hometown sports, etc. Anyone with an interest in life in America’s towns and communities can add their own experiences to the archive.

The "Be Here" program is an effort to diversify the voices of American cultural stories, stories especially about places that are important to people. To leave a story, download the "Be Here Stories" app on the App Store. Learn more at https://www.thepealecenter.org/bherebmore/

Popular tracks by Be Here Stories | Stories from Main Street