āBetter Living Through the Humanitiesā
On Wednesday, January 24th I had the lovely opportunity to attend the lecture āBetter Living Through the Humanities: How Research, Writing, and Teaching are Part of the Fight for Social Justiceā on the University of Delawareās campus. This lecture was given by Dr. Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University and author of South Side Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration. For me personally, Chatelain was preaching to the choir! Of course, the humanities is important! Of course, we should support the humanities in schools! However, in this nation built on capitalism and white supremacy, people do not immediately see the importance in the humanities, especially the history of marginalized people, my love and focus. However, in the past year especially with the controversy over the existence of Confederate monuments in the 21st century, the Presidentās fascination with Abraham Lincoln and white nationalism, and comments on Frederick Douglass, we see where knowing oneās history is very important.
Chatelainās lecture was centered on her work as a public historian. She discussed what she has done to highlight the relevancy of her research for society today. For instance, she collaborated with a friend who formed a nonprofit organization for girls and organized an event called āSouth Side Girls at the Chicago Urban League.ā Young girls had the opportunity to learn about some of the girls in Chatelainās book, and wrote letters to them along with participating in other creative activities. After the death of Michael Brown, Chatelain came up with the hashtag #fergusonsyllabus. This act of reflection and education then inspired the creation of other syllabi with books and articles on topics centering later unfortunate acts of injustice. Finally, Chatelain participated in an Undisclosed podcast after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland. During her involvement she enlightened the audience on various aspects of the story and case including the history of Black people in Baltimore as well as the history and long-held protested danger of medical transport vehicles.
As a graduate student being trained as a public historian and curator, the lecture was inspiring and informative. In school and as a DELPHI fellow, I am currently grappling with how to make my interests in history relevant to the general public. They will be the people I create informative exhibits for in the future as well as the buyers of my books (speaking that into existence, right here and now). I am interested in early Black American history and material culture. Currently, I am researching needlework pieces created by young Black schoolgirls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This led me to research Black girlhood, the history of education, the early freedom struggle after the abolition of slavery, and family genealogy. I had so much fun! However, why is this important today? What can this research teach us about our lives today? How can it help us to find solutions for societal issues to improve our tomorrow? Doing research for a historiography on Black girlhood and the use of the Black feminist theory in writersā methodologies in fall 2017, I now understand Black girlhood is a field just beginning to form. Why is this? What is happening in society now that we are paying attention to Black girls? Where does my research and interests fit into this occurrence? There have been a few books published in the past 5 years on 20th century and 21st century Black girlhood, but very, very few on the earlier centuries. Why is that? I understand there are fewer records, however historians of Black history have been very innovative in reading what is and is not in the archives. There is still much to pull from our history to help us to understand how we ended up here at this time. I suppose this is my time and my task. I will continue to ponder and grapple with making it relevant to people today so itās not only āinterestingā but research they can utilize to assist them in making informed decisions about their futures.
