| |
Rachel Warnick:
Today was awesome from start to finish. We started this morning with Mr.
Hollis Watkins, who was so nice and friendly and intelligent. He began our
"meeting" the same way he said that SNCC meetings began in the 60s-with
song (a song that would become thematic on the trip)-"I woke up this
morning with my mind on Freedom, it was set on Freedom?" Mr. Watkins spoke
of SNCC involvement in Mississippi, he said that "there's a difference
between mobilizing and organizing, and most of what we did back then was
mobilizing."
| 
Hollis Watkins leads the class in a freedom song. |
Ken Nadolski:
I thought that it was really interesting to hear him describe how he felt about
the Freedom Summer. He said that at the time, he argued against white students
coming down to Mississippi, because ?we had gotten the locals to take initiative
for themselves? and he was afraid that the white students coming down would take
the initiative away from the locals. Like Charles McLaurin, Hollis Watkins
talked about using the old networks already in place from earlier activists,
like C.C. Bryant. Also, like McLaurin, he stressed letting the communities set
their own agenda and said that the greatest success was inspiring local people
to take the initiative and do things for themselves. He says that the biggest
thing that still has to be done is the overcoming of fear. ?Do not let your
fear keep you from doing what has to be done; until we deal with fear, racism
will still be there.? He does not view SNCC as having ever left Mississippi:
?I?m still here.? He now works at Southern Echo, which provides training and
education and works on issues like redistricting, education, and the
environment. Hollis Watkins was such an inspiration to me, not only for what he
did in the movement of the 1960s, but because he has continued that work.
| 
The class with Hollis Watkins |
Rhiannon Riley:
He said that the biggest obstacle to social change is fear. People need to overcome
their fear of the unknown and of change. He said that this fear limits
people asking questions of what can be done and how things can change.
Fear also keeps us from being a certain type of person; it keeps us
from being honest and moving on in our lives. I think that this is really
true. It can be seen in many settings, and I think that in race relations
it is especially present. Mr. Watkins also had an interesting response
to why the movement isn't continuing with the force that it once did,
and I completely understood him and why people may be so frustrated with
the situation in our country today. There is a distinct division between
young and old - Mr. Watkins said that older people are afraid that young
people may make a decision that is too hard or too radical. When this
happens they may not support the change or they may feel like it is making
them change too fast.
| 
Dave Dennis |
Rachel Warnick:
This afternoon we met David Dennis, who also worked in Mississippi, but
through CORE. He said, of the Voter Registration Project, that the
"emphasis was mistakenly put on the right to integrate and the right to
access [the same institutions as white people] and voter registration." The
real problem, however, is that the black community has not been able to
develop it's own economic base, he said.
| 
Meisha Moses |
Sylvia Garcia:
The definite highlight of the day and maybe of the trip was our time at
Lanear High School with Maisha and Bob Moses. I am inspired by them and am
very interested in the Algebra Project. I left feelings so energized and
pumped. Maisha seemed receptive to helping us implement some type of
project using it in Detroit and also mentioned the development of its use
in Chicago, which to me would be an amazing avenue to explore especially
for next year after graduation. It was interesting to hear Bob Moses
comments on "Teach for America" which Jesse Williams had praised yesterday.
He saw it as positive but not a solution. This continues my debate about
what type of programs are the most effective and beneficial. Joe was so
right about his ability to speak in essay format. He has so much knowledge
at his fingertips and formulates such in-depth and detailed responses. He
is probably the smartest man I have ever met. I was astounded by his
intellect and moved by his words. He challenged us to be thoughtful of our
questions and challenged us to re-evaluate the world around us and to look
for what still needs to be done. Bob and Maisha Moses are amazing!!
| 
Bob Moses |
Ramya Raghavan:
Later that day, we got to speak with Meisha and Bob Moses, who were very
different in manner from Watkins, but still such fascinating people. What
struck me about the Moses family was their intelligence. From the moment
Meisha started speaking, I thought, "Damn, this girl is smart." She had
such a confident air about her, and it was kind of embarrassing when
somebody asked her if she went to college. I was not at all surprised when
she responded that she went to Harvard. Bob Moses was everything I
expected him to be and more. He did have an incredibly penetrating stare
and he had a very serious demeanor, but he was so intriguing and smart,
that I just didn't care. |
I loved how he challenged us to fine-tune our
thoughts, like when Jerome asked the question about black nationalism and
Moses challenged him. I could see he was really pushing us to become more
astute individuals, something he must do everyday with his students.
Afterwards, I got the opportunity to speak with one of his students and she
said that he was a somber kind of teacher but that he knew his material
backwards and forwards, and she loved him because she knew she was
learning. She then told me about her dreams to leave Mississippi and go to
college, maybe UCLA she said, because she liked warm weather. Those words
told me more about Bob Moses than any book ever could. He inspired his
kids to go beyond what the norm was. Right then, I knew firsthand that the
Algebra Project was a success.
Rachel Warnick:
We talked to Bob Moses and his daughter Maisha later in the afternoon at the high school that they both
work at in Jackson, which was clearly very tight in resources and obviously
segregated. Maisha Moses was intelligent, beautiful, well spoken and
engaging. She said that if education were to truly improve, "the students
themselves are eventually going to have to get to the point where they
demand it."
|
|
