Wonderful Sunday in Tremé

 

 On Sunday, the 2nd of October, we attended an amazing service at Saint Augustine – the oldest African-American catholic parish in the United States. So lucky were we to had such an opportunity to celebrate its 170^th anniversary with a pure melange of people of different races.

The property on which Saint Augustine Church stands was a part of the original Claude Tremé plantation estate. The parish itself was founded in 1841 by free people of colour, u­­­­­­­­nder the episcopacy of Bishop Antoine Blanc. It is worth mentioning that the parishioners came from various, unique cultures and races, but still, they treat each other with respect and love. Providing the way of worshiping God, we can assume they are really attached to the spiritual community they belonged to. Our group witnessed a totally unaccustomed way of adoring God by singing, dancing and screaming even. The experience we gained will definitely stay in our minds as a whole new practice.

After the ceremony we were invited to have a lunch with St. Augustine’s members. The delicious meal we were served and the ambience during having it were incredible; we have never expected such exclusive treatment! The atmosphere was strengthen by the sun which made this afternoon a real festive one.

Then we headed to Congo Square, an open space within Louis Armstrong Park. Once a week, on Sunday, a group of people gather together to express their feelings in a music performance. They present something great – a mixture of African rhythms, jazz and Mardi Gras Indians music. We stayed there for a while, as we have been charmed by their spirituality and cultural devotion.

And finally, overwhelmed by the entertainment we had so far, our professors took us to witness something even more sensational, namely the Second Line. It is a traditional New Orleans parade where the followers of the band (so-called ‘main line’) just enjoy the music, dance and have a great fun. We were given a chance to admire a diversity of absolutely original people who did not bother whether they look weird or not. 

           
          Not only did we get to know New Orleans black culture, but we also experienced a pure magic!

Gosia

Oyotunji Village

On thursday, September 29^th we visited the Oyotunji village in Beaufort. It was founded in the 1970’s and the idea was to create an African village, which follows the lifestyle and culture of Yoruba customs and traditions. Baba was our guide there, he showed us all the altars and temples of the Yoruba gods, which were decorated by sacrifices like alcohol, essences and items related to the assignment s of the gods. Each temple was created in relation to the characteristics of the god.  Baba talked to us about the Yoruba culture and the life in Oyotunji village. But what was most impressive about the guided tour was his way of philosophizing about his life there, his culture and life as such. He was able to make us understand by comparing the Yoruba traditions to the modern globalized world. Such a way of presenting the story made me hang on his lips while we walked through the village. Furthermore he introduced us to the king of the village H.R.M. Oba Adegbolu Adefunmi II. It became interesting to see how the sacred world goes along with the profane world when a woman came yelling towards Baba to make him collect the admission fee from us or when we walked over their own market place where they sold  essential oils, virtu and medicinal herbs. It was extremely interesting and enhancing to visit the village, since I’ve heard so much about the Yoruba culture at University before, it was the first time I practically got in touch with a subject I only had the chance to study theoretically before.
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For those who are interested in getting to know more about the Oyotunji village here is the link:

http://www.oyotunjiafricanvillage.org/  J

Getting to know the Mardi Gras Indians

Once you get a look at a guide book on New Orleans you will read about and see Mardi Gras Indians. You might think that beautiful suits and happy dancing people on  the streets is all what it is about. In the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the Tremé neighborhood we got to know what Mardi Gras Indian culture really is about.

The Black Indian tradition is part of the culture of African Americans who venerate Native American ancestors.

Every year a Mardi Gras Indian sews his suit. This work takes his entire free time, money and passion. The material for a suit – pearls, feathers, canvas, shells, … -  can cost him up to $ 20.000 !

The curator of the Backstreet Cultural Museum says: "To raise funding the chief doesn’t get any financial help neither of companies nor friends or relatives. He has to make his sacrifice to his ancestors all on his own."

Only with the actual work of sewing a chief gets some help by a few people who then spend their weekend in his house working on his suit. Of course he has to offer them food and drinks.

On Mardi Gras day then, after a whole year of sweating and working hard for a pretty suit Mardi Gras Indian chiefs together with their tribes will be on the streets.

Until the 70s there had been fighting between different tribes when their competing chiefs met on the streets. Nowadays the chiefs compete with their suits in an aesthetic way. The chief with the most beautiful suit will be the Chief of Chief and maintain this position for his life time.

Over all there are about 30 tribes at the moment in New Orleans who practice the Mardi Gras Indian tradition.

As our guide in the Backstreet Cultural Museum told us the real Mardi Gras Indian tribes parade in their neighborhoods and not in the city center for the tourists.

Apart from Mardi Gras day (Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) there are other days on which the Mardi Gras Indians parade on the streets, sing and dance:  St Joseph’s Day, and the Super Sundays.

To get more information on the backstreet Cultural Museum click here www.backstreetmuseum.org

Lena

Post-Katrina Literature

On Wednesday, October 5, we visited the University of New Orleans and heard three lectures on Hurricane Katrina related issues. Professor David Rutledge held a lecture about post-Katrina literature. Firstly, he emphasized that New Orleans is not just a musical city but has also a rich literary culture. As examples he mentioned Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" and Tenessee William's "Street Car Named Desire". Although those two authors are not originally from New Orleans they were inspired by New Orleans and used it as setting for their works. In that context Rutledge mentioned that many people from outside the city move into the city and are inspired by its rich and unique culture.

The post-Katrina literary responses were incredible. Rutledge named a few of the literary genres, such as children's books, novel, non-fiction books, etc. One other way of responding to Katrina and communicating the experience was writing blogs. Some of those blogs were even published in book form.


- Ewa

“Tradition is a temple”: Chuck Perkins at the New Orleans Healing Center

On October 2,  we went to the New Orleans Healing Center to meet the local poet Chuck Perkins who introduced us to some cultural traditions of the city and the state. Initially, Chuck read some of his poetry, talking about topics such as the recent economic crisis and the cultural heritage of New Orleans. The title of this post also comes from one of these poems.

After this spoken performance, Chuck introduced as to a number of colleagues and friends with whom he performed music and talked about some of the cultural traditions of the New Orleans area. For instance, we learned - more or less successfully - some of the basic rhythms of local music and also

Learning the spirit of NOLA. ‘Roots of Jazz’ – 04 Oct. 2011

The individual character of New Orleans is mainly related to the everlasting presence of wonderful music. Blues, jazz, ragtime, zydeco are the inseparable elements of our stay in Louisiana. Today, at 3 p.m., we have had another great opportunity to take part in the music event which took place in the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. The magical atmosphere of the French Quarter, surrounded by wonderful artists, from the very beginning of our stay has been extremely encouraging in exploring the NOLA music culture. Park Rangers – the museum’s employees – were performing that day. One of the three musicians on stage was already known by our group Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, one of the most famous NOLA artists.   

The musicians gave us a brief historical background which helped us to understand the differences between various music styles which developed in the Big Easy. Although we have already known the origins of the jazz and blues music, the lecture enriched us with many details. We learnt the disparities in tempo, rhythm, instruments, level of musicians’ commitment etc. between those previously mentioned styles. Each genre discussed by the artists had also its reflection in a selection of great songs. Probably for many of us it was an unique chance to listen to Zydeco music which was brilliantly performed by Sunpie.

Encouraging people to cooperate with the trio as well as artists’ interaction with the audience made the concert extremely attractive and certainly unforgettable.

Ania & Olga

The Holy City got its spirit. Charleston walking tour

‘I'm going back to dignity and grace. I'm going back to Charleston, where I belong.’

-- Rhett Butler in 1939 movie "Gone with the Wind" 

For those who has never visited Charleston – a walking tour like the one we had on September 26^th is a must!

We met up at 4.30 p.m. in front of ‘The Shops of Historic Charleston Foundation’, where our journey around that amazing city started. Despite the fact that our tour was mainly focused on the history of the African Americans in this area, we also had a chance to visit, admire and learn about the attractions of Charleston. Our study_tour_team was divided into two groups, nearly in half.

We walked down to Charleston Harbor where we stopped for a while to look at Fort Sumter and listen about the role it played during the Civil War. It is always a great experience to be able to see in the flesh something that you’ve already known from the U.S. history class. Other significant places to visit chosen by our tour guide were: Charleston City Hall; Charleston County Courthouse – one of the most important buildings in the entire state; located on the King Street Charleston Library Society; Dock Street Theatre; Exchange and Provost Building which was one of the most essential buildings back in colonial Charleston and a place where many significant events of the American Revolution and early Federal period occurred; The Farmers and Exchange Bank – the only Moorish Revival building in the city; The Fireproof Building that is now believed to be the oldest building of fireproof construction in the United States; the German Friendly Society (near the City Hall); Hibernian Hall – the last building during our tour described by our guide – it meant to be a meeting place for the Hibernian Society; Marion Square; The Market Hall and Sheds – those ones are the only surviving market buildings in Charleston, and one of a small number of market complexes still extant in the United States; The Old Jail; The Old Slave Mart located on one of Charleston's few remaining cobblestone streets; the only known remaining building used as a slave auction gallery in South Carolina; The South Carolina National Bank of Charleston – one of the most important buildings on Broad Street, South Carolina's oldest commercial street; liqueur shop with a pirate flag and a couple more.

Walking around Charleston gave us the unique opportunity to observe the beauty of this city. Our tour guide referred to the history of German communities in Charleston very often and was able to answer any question posed by members of our group, constantly enriching his stories with many interesting anecdotes. Professional background and attitude of our tour leaders made our walk extremely valuable. We understood the power of history in this city. Charleston is a city surrounded by and bursting with history that is being explored by locals and visitors every day. Although the tour lasted about 3hours, all of us certainly enjoyed our time!

Ania & Olga

Center Austria New Orleans University lectures

 Wednesday, October 5th 


After the lecture on post-Katrina New Orleans literature, we had the pleasure to listen to two more talks. The first one was given by dr. Michael Mizell-Nelson from the History Department, who talked about the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank (www.hurricanearchive.org), a project co-created by John Mason University, University of New Orleans and the National Museum of American History. The aim of this endeavor is to establish historical record of post-Katrina stories and experiences as well as to give voice to those people whose stories were not reported by the media. To achieve this goal, the creators established a special website where survivors can download any kind of digital media materials (pictures, text messages, voice/video recordings, etc.) to share their Katrina experience. Those who do not have internet access can send their stories using a specially designed free postcard. Many of those testimonies show how people dealt with the hurricane on site, how they discovered their damaged houses and how they rebuilt their lives, thus giving a whole story of the disaster, survival and final victory. The project is affiliated with a similar endeavor that collects memories from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The final lecture dealt with the post Katrina demographics of New Orleans. It was given by Dr. Christine Lucille Day from the Department of Political Science. We were presented with statistical data on the number of white, black and latino populations in New Orleans before and after the hurricane. It appears that after the hurricane the percentage of African Americans in the city decreased from 67% to 60% whereas the number of white people went up from 28% to 33%. What is more, the percentage of high school and college graduates in the city also increased. In addition, the data also showed that more educated and more white people moved to the city center after the hurricane, thus changing the pre-Katrina demographic layout of the city. This seems to indicate that fewer African Americans returned to NO after the hurricane, the reasons behind this may be manifold. However, the lecturer  indicated that this is probably connected with the people’s financial status – poorer people had no means to return and nothing to return to. The lecture proved to be very informative and interesting.

The time we spent at Center Austria at the University of New Orleans was on the one hand very academic and on the other very sociable as we had the chance to meet the Center’s director, professor Guenter Bischof who proved to be a very generous host  (http://www.centeraustria.org/).

Asia 

Discussion of the Documentary Shell Shocked: The New Orleans Youth Story

On October 3, we had an appointment with the director of the documentary Shell Shocked: The New Orleans Youth Story. We wanted to watch the documentary and discuss it with the director John Richie. The meeting was scheduled in the APEX Youth Center, a community center where predominantly African-American children and teenagers can spend their afternoons and evenings. Since our meeting was scheduled for 6pm many children were still present and watched parts of the documentary with us. In fact, many children are part of the documentary as it deals with the neighborhood of the Youth Center.
The documentary is based on the fact that New Orleans has one of the highest crime rates in the states and has the highest murder rate in the U.S. Because eighty percent of the murder victims in New Orleans are black males, among them many teenagers, the documentary intends to look at the current situation of African American children and teenagers in neighborhoods where the murder and crime rates are significantly high. Furthermore, director  John Richie wants to make politicians and the population of New Orleans more aware of the problem of murder. His intention is also to point to youth and community programs which have tried to improve the situation for African American children and teenagers.
Since the documentary is still in its making, we were only able to see two parts of it. The first part dealt with the reason of high murder rates. Richie talked with children and adults of the community to find out why so many African Americans have been murdered. One of the major reasons has been retaliation. If a member of a family or a gang is shot, this family or gang wants retaliation for the murder by trying to kill a member of the suspected family or gang. This is a circle that continues as retaliation does not stop. The documentary is striking as it points out that already young children are aware of the mechanics of retaliation and see it as a common "practice." The documentary also looks at the availability of guns. As in most parts of the United States, it is very easy to get access to guns in New Orleans. One boy interviewed in the documentary even points out that it is easier to get a gun than to get textbooks for schools as they would need to be ordered while one can get a gun in a shop very easily. The documentary is striking as it indicates that  many children and teenagers are fully aware of the shootings and the murder in their community. It implies that these children have taken the gang violence and shooting in their community as for granted and seem to see it as part of their everyday life.
Although the documentary was already impressive and at the same time sad for us, the discussion that followed was even more shocking to us. The Executive Director of the APEX Community Center Lisa Fitzpatrick and her staff introduced us to their youth center and answered a lot of our question concerning the situation of African American teenagers in poorer neighborhoods.  APEX Youth Center provides children and teenagers with an opportunity to spend their time after school away from the streets. The staff offers tutoring, help with homework, or lessons in music, dance and art. There is a variety of things the children can do after school. Most children stay until 7pm, older children are even allowed to stay until 10pm.
The discussion with Lisa revealed how difficult the situation for the children is. Many are raised by a single-parent, often even a grandparent. Many fathers are either in jail or have been killed as a result of a shooting.
The most shocking part for us was probably when Lisa Fitzpatrick involved the children in the discussion as well. She asked how many of the children present knew someone who was involved in gun violence. Almost the majority of the children raised their hand and some even confirmed that some of their family members have been shot and killed. It is also frequent that the children need to hide and protect themselves in order not to be shot on the street. This discussion left a deep impression on us as most of us as Europeans have never even seen a gun and have never been involved in any kind of gun violence. The discussion showed the devastating situation of African American children in poorer neighborhoods. It made us realize how much violence young children are encountered with on a daily basis. However, with the work of the APEX Center and its great and supportive staff there is hope that the next generation will use more words and fewer guns to resolve conflicts.
For more information on the documentary see http://www.crescentcityfilms.net/
Katharina

Visiting a Southern Plantation

Saturday, September 24^th: After having been invited to a great typical southern breakfast, we drove to the town of Eastover. There, we visited Kensignton Plantation. We had a tour of the mansion that has been renovated and is now open for visitors. Matthew Richard Singleton completed Kensington Mansion in 1854 and lived there with his family. He became a wealthy cotton planter and owned approximately 200-500 slaves. The slaves lived in cabins that were ca. 1 mile away from the mansion. They were mostly involved in cotton picking, some were, however, also house slaves and worked for the Singleton family as servants. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the last existing slave cabin as it is too far off from the actual plantation.  Instead, we got a tour of the mansion and learned a lot about its history and its architecture.
The Singleton  family sold their mansion to Robert Pickett Hamer in 1910 whose son lived there with his family until 1941. In 1981, the company International Paper (IP) purchased the Kensigton plantation and restored the, by now, dilapidated house to its former glory. By 1996, all the rooms of the mansion were  furnished  with mostly 19th century furniture. Some of the furniture has been original to the house while others have not been.
While visiting the plantation, we got a glimpse of how plantation life could have been. The mansion and the land that surround it were very impressive to us. The heat, the mosquitoes, and the huge cockroaches make us quickly realize that life on a plantation must not have been as pleasant as it has been presented in film and literature. Although we found the mansion and its history very interesting, we would have liked to hear more about the role of African slaves and their life on the plantation. 
Here is a video of the plantation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJRaMmK-g3s


Katharina

Amistad Research Center

Tuesday, October 4, started with a visit at the Amistad Research Center on the campus of Tulane University. Christopher Harter, Director of Library and Reference Services introduced us to the history and background of the facility and afterwards gave us a very interesting tour through the current exhibition The Revolution Will Not Be...: Print Culture of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Amistad Research Center is named after the Amistad incident in 1839, a slave revolt aboard the ship La Amistad. More than two months after the initial mutiny, the ship eventually reached the coast of the United States where the enslaved people were charged with piracy(mutiny?) and murder and put in jail. A group of abolitionists formed the Amistad Committee and fought for the freedom of the Africans. The case eventually went to the US Supreme Court which ruled in their favor since the international slave trade had already been stopped officially. The Amistad Committee developed into the American Missionary Association (AMA), an organization which primarily established schools for formerly enslaved people. Amongst others, Fisk University in Nashville evolved from these efforts, where the Amistad Research Center was eventually founded in 1966. In 1987 it was moved to the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans.

The collections of the Amistad Research Center include more than 15 million manuscripts, 250.000 photos, oral histories, videos, and pieces of art. Most of the materials are donated to the center by individuals and organizations. One of the focus areas is the history of New Orleans and Louisiana, a branch of the collection which proved to be particularly valuable after Hurricane Katrina in 2005: Many residents of New Orleans, in fact, came to the center to search for lost family documents such as photos which, for example, had been preserved in the collection of newspapers.

The center also curates temporary exhibitions. The current one is titled The Revolution Will Not Be...: Print Culture of the Civil Rights Movement and shows how various groups used the different outlets of the changing media landscape in the Civil Rights Movement. This includes flyers and posters, e.g. produced by the Black Panthers, and African American newspapers such as the Freedom’s Journal. One piece in the exhibition we found particularly interesting and entertaining, namely the ‘dollar bills’ that were printed for Dick Gregory’s presidential campaign in 1968. The bills showed the portrait of the candidate who ran for the Freedom and Peace Party and although they were hardly to be confused with real money they still worked, for example, in change machines.

Christina

"Yeddy dat music, pleasuem dah soun'."
Gullah Spirituals singing in the Circular Church in Charleston.

Lissy

Saturday's special breakfast

On Saturday morning, 26th September, we were invited by Valinda Littlefield to the special breakfast prepared by her friends in their own house. She has informed us earlier, that theirs breakfasts are kind of tradition. They are organized once in a while, always on Saturdays. Owners of the house invite their friends and neighbours, who then can also ask in their acquaintances. Therefore meals turn into amazing meetings during which everyone can not only eat delicious dishes but also strike up new friendships and  enjoy interesting conversations. We also keenly participated in viewing the residence, which was quite impressive. The householder possesses an imposing books collection (contains mainly publications about South Carolina and the city of Columbia), which really attracted our attention.

At some point during the event, fire brigade appeared. It turns out that their presence is also a part of the “breakfast tradition”. Story tells that on one Saturday’s morning, throughout the time of common meal, fire-alarm was accidentally activated and firefighters arrived unnecessarily. As a form of a compensation, they were invited to join the breakfast, and since then they have been appearing on every “special Saturday”.

The atmosphere during breakfast was extremely joyful. All participants of the event were talkative and friendly. Once again we got the pure evidence of Americans’ openness and hospitality. 

Karolina

Haitian Vodou in New Orleans

Although we made various experiences and met all kinds of different people on the study tour so far, one appointment on our schedule certainly is prominent. On October 2, some of us students as well as Professor Keil and Dr. Thiele went to a Vodou ceremony. It was hold by Sallie Ann Glassman, a white woman who was initiated as Vodou priestess in Haiti. Except for Ms. Thiele, nobody ever took part in such a ceremony before. Hence, we had absolutely no idea what to expect. 

It all started with singing and dancing rituals. Then, all of us would put down their offerings to Legba, the trickster spirit we wanted to contact. People offered such things as rum, cigars or red sweets - all in an odd number. The dancing and singing continued throughout the session. At one point, the priestess would draw so-called Vévé's with cornmeal on the ground to call the spirits. Each spirit has its own Véve sign. Up to this point nothing extraordinary happened but then - until the end of the ceremony (which lasted about 2,5 hours)- one person after another fell in some kind of a trance. They got possessed by Legba and he was now acting and speaking through them. Some of them were first screaming and then crying, others were dancing wildly, spitting alcohol at others and blowing cigarette smoke into their faces. Some bodies were shaking heavily, others not moving at all.

We were not prepared for what had happened that is way some of us left early. Afterwards, most of the students stated they would not participate in such a ceremony again whereas others felt quite "comfortable". All in all, it was a special experience that none of us will forget for a while.

- Jane

NAACP

It's the nature of things, that many of our experiences during this studytrip are based on an academic background. All the great people we meet share their knowledge with us. We hear, learn and acknowledge African American history, architecture, language, literature and much more. Yet our meeting with the president of Chareleston"s NAACP branch Dott Scott was special. The meeting with Dott Scott and her great assitant Katrina was first and foremost a very personal, privat chat during which we particularly learned a lot about contemporary African American challenges and experiences.

For those who are not familiar with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): it is one of the most important and oldest Civil Rights Organisations in the USA. Since we have also met members of the Urban League earlier on the trip, one should state that the NAACP is more a civil righst organisation whereas the Urban League is a social organisation. Founded in 1909,the Association has outspread nationwide, with different branches in every state, such as the Charleston branch. The Charleston branch of the NAACP has celebrated its 95th anniversary this year and is thus the oldest branch in South Carolina. Ms. Dot Scott is the president of the the branch, and although retired, she says it is indeed a fulltime job. One of her major tasks are mediation, property preservation, aid support for anybody who has to deal with any kind of unfair treatment, Voter ID help etc. Particularly the Voter ID issue is one of the greatest concerns. The Voter ID requirements started in 2003 and by 2011, 30 more states require specific Voter ID's to be allowed to vote. This is particularly problematic since a birth certificate is needed in order to get the Voter ID. However especially the older african american generations were still born in their own houses and therefore never got a birth certificate. often there are also mistakes on the certificate concernign the name. To solve these kinds of problems, money for a lawyer is needed, yet most of them are too poor to afford a lawyer. This has a devestating effect: about 178.000 votes get lost due to this problematic--most of them belonging to minority groups. Therefore Dot Scott, Katrina and the NAACP work hard to help solving these problems. Nonetheless it is crucial to mention that the NAACP will by no means give any advise who to vote for, they are officially politically neutral. But that is really only one of the many issues they are facing every day.

Dott Scott, who was awarded at the 100th anniversary of the NAACP in New York infront of 10.000 people, really made this a wonderful experience for us and particularly important she gave us a great insight of the daily work in a civil rights organisation. Therefore we just have to say thank you Dot and Katrina.

Bettina Schuster

After the amazing meeting with Dot Scott, President of the Charleston  Chapter of the NAACP, we headed to the Aiken Rhett House - one of the most well-preserved townhouse complex in Charleston.
The building was constructed in 1817 for a Charleston merchant, John Robinson. Then it was sold to an Irish immigrant William Aiken, Sr.in 1827. After his death, the house was inherited by his son - William Aiken, Jr., who renovated the property. When AIken passed away it became a real estate of his son-in-law - Major A.B. Rhett. Aiken Rhett House was donated to the Charleston Museum in 1975 and then purchased by Historic Charleston Foundation in 1995.
Since our group is especially interested in African American heritage, we focused on the 2 attached buildings that were inhabited by slaves. We've seen the kitchen house, bedrooms, dining room and carriage house. According to the historic experts blacks who lived there were treated very well. Providing the paint analysis, we may assume that Aiken - one of the largest slaveholders, allowed his servants to decorate their headquarters. This was some kind of autonomy given to slaves.
After having seen this part of the complex, we walked inside the main house which included many large rooms. We had an opportunity to see and admire different kinds of architectural styles.

Gosia

Bettis Academy 

Our second day in Columbia gave us the opportunity to visit an important African 

American educational institution of the pre-civil rights time period. Located in 

Edgefield South Carolina, we were lucky and particularly thankful that the museum 

opened exclusiveley for us--thanks to the organization of Val and Dan Littlefield. 
 
In Antebellum America, enslaved Africans were forbidden to learn how to read and 

write by law. Nevertheless, Alexander Bettis (1836-1895) was taught by his owners 

how to read and write. Similiar to Frederick Douglass, during the reconstruction 

period, he advocated the importance of education. Due to this ambition he founded 

Bettis Academy and Junior College in 1881. It started with only one room, one 

teacher and only few students. Yet, Bettis became so successfull that eventually 

had 14 major buildings, and approximately 350 acres of land. When it closed 1952, 

it was indeed one of the best known and most popular institutions for African 

Americans. 

 
As Herbert Bettis, class of has once 

said: "Bettis Academy was like a city 

to me, because everything and everyone

was there" (Auguste Chronicle, 5/2/04).

In fact, Bettis really had it all: a 

Dining hall, a library, s gymnasium, 

a grocery, a hospital, a print shop, 

and much more. 
 
The goal of Bettis was to prepare, 

support and teach African Americans 

about moral and economic success. To 

achieve this proclaimed goal, the academy 

emphasized Christian virtues and values, 

hard work. 
 
As visitors, Bettis Heritage Corridor Team gave us a great insight of what it 

must have been like to attend Bettis. 
 
For anybody who is interested to learn more about the wonderful place, contact:
The Bettis Academy Heritage Corridor Team 
Trenton, South Carolina
(803) 649-7709 

- Bettina 

Meeting at the Columbia Urban League

The 23rd of September in Columbia didn’t start well – it was raining so heavily that traffic stopped for a while. The first part of our day was a meeting with the director of the Columbia Urban League, J.T.McLawhorn. Despite the bad weather conditions, we finally managed to get to the office where the appointment was held.

In the beginning we were greeted by the two assistants of the director. They gave us a short introduction to the Columbia Urban League profile and structure; explaining their strategy and programs as well as describing goals they pursue.  We also gained a brief historical background which certainly helped us to understand the current problems among the African American communities.

The National Urban League is one of the most significant organizations providing help for the African Americans in the US. The Columbia branch we visited, plays a vital role considering the fact that the majority of the population of the South is black.  Its main goal is empowering the African Americans in the society on educational, economic and social level. By conducting various programs focused on improving digital literacy the Urban League strives for equalization of African Americans.

            The final discussion with the Urban League representatives not only left any doubts about the current position of the African Americans but also enriched us with many valuable remarks. 

Olga & Anna 

African American Literary and Cultural Developments in the Post-Civil Rights Era

As part of our day at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, Prof. Qiana Whitted focused her short talk on various influential African American writers of the last forty years, reflecting in particular on what it means to be a 'black writer' and the responsibility that role entails. Interestingly, she suggested that since these writers were recognized as part of the African American canon that also implied that the cost of failure was much higher because their works reflected on their community. Their personal failure would have translated into a failure of their 'race.' The existence of a black movement and of African American literature gave a certain authority and level of legitimacy to writers like Langston Hughes. On the other hand, as Toni Morrison realized, this also prevented others (minorities within the minority) to be heard, e.g. young black girls who did not identify with the slogan "black is beautiful."

In the course of her talk, Whitted also underlined the importance of the fantastic mode of writing, in opposition to a more realist approach, and that, in the case of African American literature, realism has often been set aside for a more fantastic and free approach to the 'black experience.' Finally, she mentioned some examples of post-racial narratives and how slavery is still used as a metaphor to tell different stories of oppression and social struggle, e.g. in the science fiction novels by Octavia E. Butler.

Eleonora

A.W. Shuck's

On Sunday September 25, after having had a wonderful lunch at Val and Dan Littlefield's house, we left Columbia and drove down to Charleston. The drive was only disturbed by some heavy rain showers and thunderstorms, but after a few hours we were very happy to see the sign welcoming us to Charleston. In the evening we all went out to get dinner at A.W. Shuck's, which is a very nice place to get sea food and have a good time.

On Monday morning we encountered some real history. The Honorable Richard M. Gergel, a district judge in Charleston, welcomed us in courtroom III in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina. This appointment was actually not planned but was more a spontanious opportunity. Our group received a personal invitation by Mr. Gergel whom we met at the breakfast we were invited to by Valinda Littlefield on Saturday in Columbia. Following his generous invitation I was very excited to see courtroom III, the historic room where in 1951 judge Waring decided on a case referred to as Briggs vs. Elliott. This was one out of five cases which later became known as Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). It was quite impressive to sit in the same room in which Julius Waties Waring felt the historically significant decision that segregated educational facilities were unequal. At the same pult that Mr. Gergel stood that morning to talk to us, sixty years ago Thurgood Marshall stood and argued on behalf of the NAACP in this case.

A picture of Judge Gergel and our studytour group.

Gerge explained us some more details about this case, about its legal dimension and also about Waring's position within it. I really appreciated the opportunity to see the room and hear more details about it, especially from a historical and more legal perspective. Mr. Gergel gave us a very interesting insight into a part of South Carolina's history and at the same time into SC's important role in the fight against inequality and racial discrimination in schools.



- Ewa

On Monday, September 26 we visited the office of Congressman Tim Scott. Mr. Scott is a Republican, who had been elected to Congress in November 2010. He is the first Republican African-American Representative from the South since Reconstruction, besides A.West of Florida. Unfortunately he himself wasn’t there, but we had the chance to talk to his chief of office Kathy Crawford. She informed us about his strong conservative; fiscal, pro- business policy, his effort to promote cutting on government spending especially in the branch of social programs like medical care and funding of NGO’s and at the same time lowering the tax rate. We discussed with Mrs. Crawford the emphasize on moral issues like belief and marriage in respective of his opposition to gay-marriage. Unfortunately Mrs. Crawford was not in the position to answer all our questions. But it clearly gave a very different approach to what we have heard and seen about Afro- Americans in the US-South so far. Statements like the Afro-Americans have to overcome obstacles themselves in order to not be marginalized leaved our group with resentments. Tim Scott is very unique in the sense of, that most Afro-American politicians are part of the Democratic Party. For me personally it seemed like the issue of race and race- marginalization is intended to be avoided by emphasizing economical issues to install the idea that it is up to the black population themselves to change situations of inequality, even when many of these situations were and still are created by other parts of the society, the part of society that actually has power and strong political representation. So after the interview we leaved unsatisfied and still with a lot of question marks in our heads. 

Contemporary consequences of a 19th century local event

The final part of our day on the 22nd of September was a panel discussion about the Hamburg Massacre (1876) and its repercussions. The event, which was one of a series of meetings focused on this issue, took place at the First Providence Baptist Church in North Augusta.

The diversified panel included: professor James Oscar Farmer, Jr, from the University of South Carolina; Reverend Dr. Nathaniel Irvin, a pastor and a civil rights leader; our dear friend, a USC professor, Valinda Littlefield; Wayne O’Bryant, an award-winning author and historian, whose paternal ancestors used to live in Hamburg; Bettis Rainsford, a local businessman and historian, as well as Dr. Robert Scott, an esteemed historian and a  great researcher of North Augusta history.

The debate focused on the impact of the Hamburg Massacre on the situation of the black community after the Civil War. However, the crucial question was how to commemorate the victims of the tragedy. The crux of the matter was the fact that one of the people who died in those riots was a white man who took part in the attack on the black militiamen.

This controversial issue was not settled by the experts. Yet the debate proved there is room for compromise and mutual understanding. Moreover, the way the audience spoke its mind showed the deep interest and knowledge of the problem among the local community.    

Ania and Asia

Seperate Worlds: A Guided Tour of Black Columbia

On Thursday morning, after attending the lecture course on African American history, we left the USC campus in order to get a first hand impression of Columbia's African American history. and community Dr. Bobby Donaldson from USC's history department was our tour guide for the two hours we spent driving through the city and visiting various sights and neighbourhoods, such as the Mann-Simmons site, Benedict College and Allen University, and the South Carolina State House grounds, with both the controversial Confederate flag and the African American memorial on its grounds.  The tour offered an interesting overview over the city's history, why the city was, and to some extent still is, a city of "seperate worlds."

Walking through Columbia

The African American memorial on the State House grounds