Jill Tabuchi
As this semester began, during the wintry mix of wind, rain, and snow, the American Mosaic students made their way to class every day, except Fridays, to learn about African Americans. My first thought was that I had never been exposed to such a vast amount of African American history before this semester. Learning about the African American experience in America was, in itself, emotionally eye opening. My mind expanded on the different array of issues such as Jim Crowe, the KKK, and the development of the African American presence through literature. I probably couldn’t list very many African American authors off the top of my head before this semester, but now I could mention quite a few and how each influenced the other. Learning the history of such a remarkable group of people proved to be the stepping stone from which I would make larger attempts to capture something even greater than simply learning history. Half way through the semester, the entire mosaic class was thrown into the small town of Steelton, PA. As quoted by William Pettigrew Jr., a Steelton resident, “It is a small town with a big heart.” Initially we were given only a name, a phone number, and an address. We were sent on our own individual journeys to capture life histories with basic knowledge in camera work and interviewer training. I was incredibly nervous for Elizabeth’s and my first interview. Not only did we get lost on our way to B.J. Baker’s house, but I still had a lot of insecurities about the interview process.
Our interview with B.J. Baker was incredibly successful. The information she provided us gave me reason to shed my insecurities and embrace the experience more whole heartedly. Throughout the semester, Elizabeth and I completed four interviews together. We sat with them for 3 or 4 hours having amazing conversations. They each gave us advice on men, how to be confident, and delivered a sense of pride that made me realize what was important in life. I felt incredibly humbled by these powerful women. The four women carried themselves with so much dignity and confidence.
After our interview with Annie Wallace, I told Elizabeth that I felt like the luckiest person in the world to be able to sit with these women and reflect on all the happy, and sometimes sad, moments in their lives. For hours they invited us into their worlds to experience their lives in their own words. It was a humbling and also inspiring experience. It is one that I would never trade for anything in the world.
I have a few memorable moments from the semester. One of the moments was when B.J. Baker invited us to an anniversary celebration for the A.M.E. Church of Carlisle. B.J. was singing as a member of the choir. She sat proudly in front of the congregation, beaming with happiness from each song she sang. During the service she rose to her feet and in front of everyone, she dedicated the next song to the lovely young ladies of Dickinson College. She proceeded to sing “I Won’t Complain.” The entire congregation rose to their feet in movement from B.J.’s powerful voice. Elizabeth and I rose too, and for the first time there was genuine interaction between us and the congregation. I felt that there was a common bond shared between them and us. It was the first time I had felt completely accepted into their community. I also felt as though I understood them as people just a little bit more because of this acceptance. Whenever I hear B.J. sing “I Won’t Complain” in her oral history interview, I am always revisited by the strength and power she had when she sang it at the church service.
At the close of our semester, while the trees continue to get greener and spring flowers start to whither with summer around the corner, Elizabeth and I construct this final project of our semester’s work in the American Mosaic. Now as I sit here I can finally see what a truly amazing project this was. We have met many different people, have attended many different church services, and have seen many different places within Steelton. It has been hard, intellectually and emotionally, but in the end we have taken as much away from this project as we have given. My education here at Dickinson will not be the same, and I have gotten an experience that very few can claim. This experience has made me realize how different each person is, but also how similar we all are in the end. Prejudice is ignorance and reflects one’s insecurities. None of our narrators were prejudice towards any of the differences they could see in us as two college students, one an Irish and Italian American, the other a Japanese American. It was obvious they were confident in who they were and had no regrets on anything they had done in their lives. The story of our narrators is a part of African American history and ultimately a part of the American mosaic. And as an Irish and Italian American and Japanese American, our thoughts on this project are a part of the American mosaic too.