This post is written in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month. We are highlighting different humanities topics that we are passionate about and hope you’ll share your passions with us too!

Students that attended AHF’s SUPER Emerging Scholars institute at the University of Alabama last summer recently reconvened for a follow-up session on September 23rd and 24th. As part of their cultural enrichment experience, all of us attended one of Birmingham’s gems, the Sidewalk Film Festival, and the screening of the talented writer-director Tanya Hamilton ‘s “Night Catches Us.”
This film was most appropriate as this past summer the students had studied coming-of-age stories and films that allowed students to reflect upon their own, in-progress, coming-of-age story. Set in Philadelphia’s black community of 1976, the film, which stars Anthony Mackie (Marcus) and Kerry Washington (Patricia), explores their storied pasts and involvement with the Black Panther Party at the time of its decline. Both characters struggle with their complicated pasts in their efforts to unveil a brighter present.

The film captures the tenuous relations that existed between the police and the black community during the Black Panther Party era and how it was exacerbated by propaganda, corruption and miss-conceived perceptions. This was perhaps one of the most interesting revelations in the film. This revelation is instructive of how difficult relations between the police and the black community have persisted to this day.

The film, albeit light on dialogue, still had depth by its use of imagery and music. I must admit, the light dialogue took some getting used to, especially if you are accustomed to Hollywood-styled movies. However, the paintings, drawings and the characters’ body language told the story well and, I would argue, with a stronger emphasis than words could have. Oh, and the music! The score, soulful indeed, was reminiscent of the Philly soul sound created by pioneers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, “the architects,” as my dad called them. Think “The Sound of Philadelphia” by Mother Father Sister Brother (MFSB), or one of my favorites “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul. Gamble and Huff were the progenitors that led the way for the highly talented and artistic hip-hop group, The Roots, and their score of this film. All throughout, the film is infused with the soulful sounds of Philly.

I love how films’ scores are just as important as the film script itself. There is no doubt that the score by The Roots is a perfect complement to the film. Evoking feeling and emotion from start to finish, that is what makes a good score and, more overly, what makes a great film.

As a humanities practitioner, I’m always amazed at how films such as this one hold so much power. Having been born well after the civil rights and black power movements, I am appreciative that film has the power to allow me and my students to journey with the characters to a time, place and life that we did not have an opportunity to experience first-hand. James Kemp, an SES participant, underscores this point with his response to the movie: “The film further explained the struggles that the people of that day were going through. With this understanding, I was able to emotionally and mentally connect with the characters.” That is the power that the humanities hold, in this case the power that film holds. If you missed this film at the Sidewalk Film Festival, visit the official film site here: www.nightcatchesus.com.

In celebratory fashion, the NAACP had a well-fitting person to culminate its centennial convention, the first African-American President of the United States, President Barack Obama. To the NAACP: Happy 100th Birthday!

As with most birthdays, we make wishes, usually silent and lofty, but nonetheless we make them. President Obama was not the “birthday boy” at this celebration. However, he was the center of attention, and he made his wish a very public one. President Obama touted many of his upcoming policies from health care to energy reform that would assist in forming a more perfect union. That perfect union will only become closer to perfect with the President’s wish for realizing a dream of equality in education.

When it comes to improving education, AHF has always taken a “no excuses” approach. In the future, we plan to develop more programs that address the challenges that face the state educational system.

President Obama said, “The United States will fall behind in the world unless we do a far better job than we have been doing of educating our sons and daughters.” He continued on by saying, “Yet, more than a half of century after Brown V. Board of Education, the dream of a world-class education is still being deferred all across this country.”

I, too, wish like the President. I wish for equal education, without prejudice and disparities in graduation rates. According to data from Voices for Alabama’s Children, the state graduation rate for 2007 was 64.9%. This is lower than the national average, which is reported to be 70%. To be honest, both numbers are not great. Certainly, the numbers decline if we were to focus just on the African American ANDHispanic graduation rates.

President Obama addressed his community by pushing an agenda of personal responsibility. He addressed parents with a “no excuses” approach about the value placed on education. Some may agree or disagree with him on the issue of employing personal responsibility as a method for improving education. However, I do agree with him on this: “The state of our schools is not an African-American problem; it’s an American problem.”

We all must do our part to see that the dream deferred, now wished for will ultimately come to fruition. Here at the Alabama Humanities Foundation, our mission, although not one of advocating a specific policy, does work to incorporate logic through the humanities. We aim “to create and foster opportunities to explore human values and meanings through the humanities.” Thus, we hope our programming creates a more equal environment here in Alabama.

More specifically, through our SUPER Teacher Institutes, we are working very hard to make sure that those that come through our programs post the Brown v. Board decision are well-equipped to teach all students.

Additionally, our newest program, unveiled in our 35th anniversary year, SUPER Emerging Scholars, has already in this pilot year begun working with African-American high-school students from rural and urban communities in the state.

President Obama is correct in saying “our kids can’t all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne.” Case in point, the 15 students in our SES program aim to take a different route. Some have set their sights on becoming the next vetenarian, or the next Ambassador to a foreign country. I believe they will.

When it comes to improving education, AHF has always taken a “no excuses” approach. In the future, we plan to develop more programs that address the challenges that face the state educational system.

President Obama is right about it not just being the government’s role; it is America’s role. Corporations, organizations, nonprofits, communities, families and individuals should be deeply concerned about education for everyone so that we can see the dream wished for become a reality.

In closing, I’ll quote President Obama one last time. “And if Al Sharpton, Mike Bloomberg, and Newt Gingrich can agree that we need to solve it [Eeducation], then all of us can agree on that.”

Sources:

http://www.alavoices.org/files/Graduation_Rates.pdf
http://www.edweek.org/ew/dc/2009/gradrate_trend.html

Written by: Mike C.

Written by: Mike C.

Next week, the Alabama Humanities Foundation will launch its newest program initiative, SUPER Emerging Scholars (SES). SES is a residential, pre-college, research and writing institute for rising high-school juniors and seniors that will be held on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Participants were recruited from Greene and Jefferson counties, as well as Birmingham City school systems. Fifteen students were selected from 30 applications to participate in the inaugural class of SUPER Emerging Scholars, and the class consists of students from the following high schools: Fairfield, Ramsay, Midfield, Greene County and Huffman.

Next week, the Alabama Humanities Foundation will launch its newest program initiative, SUPER Emerging Scholars.

I had the opportunity to announce the Greene County high-school participants during the Honors Assembly on Thursday, May 14.

All participating students are:

• Sydney Armer
• Moneisha Cunningham
• Bria Gilmore
• Traneita Gilmore
• Jasmaria Johnson
• KeAndre Jordan
• Dexter Laye
• Sydney Page
• Jazmine Perry
• Tiffany Powell
• Dominique Richardson
• Marisha Snoody
• Roshondra Thompson
• Willie Williams

SES will kick off with an opening reception Sunday, June 7. More details of the week to come!

Written by: Mike C.

Photo credit: Carol Zippert, Greene County Democrat