Author Archives: Lystria Hurley

Handel: Made in America

Posted on by

A pun.

A secret.

An exposure of the truth.

Terrance McKnight told the story of classical music through the eyes of a Black man in America. He told us about being handled in America. It was apropos and could only be told so eloquently through him.

Attending this show with my students and principal was something special. While I sat still, not wishing to miss a note, a thought fluttered across my mind about a book my students finished reading this week. In the prologue of Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson writes that our precious stories of heritage are only told once. He urges the reader to listen attentively.

McKnight’s narration of growing up in Mississippi and venturing into music outside of the church and the Black community gave me the same message. Listen real good, he seemed to be saying, cause if you miss this beat, it won’t be played again.

My eyes quickly darted across my row of students. Some of them were sitting at the edge of their seats. I wondered what they were really looking for and if they were still excited to be there. The Voices of Harlem were humming, lining out the Word. I knew they knew nothing about that. Even McKnight defined it to help the audience understand. But they sat still with anticipation.

The one closest to me whispered questions they had during the show…

Why is she wearing all white?

Was the mob that killed his Grandfather the KKK?

Then answers were passed down.

Some parts I refused to whisper about. Be still and then you’ll figure it out.

I overheard my students talking about Margaret Bond’s arrangement of “I, Too“. I didn’t read ‘I, Too” in the class; however, I learned from their whispering that they were reading Langston Hughes outside the classroom. 

I looked at them when McKnight spoke to the audience about “tuning it out” He urged them not to listen to voices of doubt that came from outside or within. My students were not moving but sitting as still as they could. When I caught one student’s eye, she smiled. I knew she understood.

Ms. Hurley, she whispered, will we get to meet him after the show? She asked.

I don’t know darling. But don’t talk during this part. This is a Negro spiritual. The choir was now singing The Drinking Gourd and I had never heard it. I only read the words in old books that were passed down to me. It didn’t sound like call and response as I imagine it would. Dr. Thomas’ arrangement made Merriweather glow in supreme delight.

At the end of the night, my students met Mr. McKnight who told them now it was his turn to visit their school.

Spike Lee with my Students

Posted on by

Just as my class was about to leave the exhibit, someone whispered in Ms. Cynthia’s ear

Spike Lee is here.

Ms. Cynthia then whispered it in my ear.

Then, I whispered it in Ms. Cheryl’s ear.

Who whispered it in Ms. Aisha’s ear.

Ms. Cynthia went to see where he was and he was in the gallery right next to ours.

Ms. Hurley, go and ask Spike Lee if he’ll come and spend time with the students Ms. Cheryl asked me.

So, I stopped teaching and Ms. Cheryl and I walked into the next gallery.

Mr. Lee, If I may, I am a teacher and my students are here-

Where are they?

In the next gallery.

Okay, give me a moment.

He ended his conversation and then said,

Go get them and sit them on this stoop.

It’s a lot of them.

They gonna have to fit.

Okay,

The students had no idea he was in the next room. They followed me and one by one passed Mr. Lee. They all took double looks which I thought was funny and begin to record.

He told them to sit down and then sat himself- which automatically made some run to sit next to him.

Except for the people in the room taking pictures these preteens who are never silent, stopped talking and

all said “Thank You” to Mr. Lee while taking the photo. Those in the room also joined us saying “Thank You”

At the end, Spike Lee walked to me and gave me surprise hug.

The Cons of Visiting the Brooklyn Museum with my Class- and a Surprise at the End…

Posted on by

A little after I saw the Spike Lee Show and saw it again, I decided I should ask my principal if we could bring our students.

Yes!!

All sorts of planning went into the visit. I wrote out extensive lesson plans, created a slideshow, gave teachers the heads up about which videos and pictures to avoid and visited each class to prepare for this visit.

However, as I sit up at 1:30 in the morning and reflect on my day at the museum, I need to rant.

There were five teachers all together to help students in grades second to fifth. This was perfect because one teacher took students to the bathroom while another diverted some children’s attention away from heavy content and another was able to remind students not to run. However, all teachers should have been well versed with the show by the time we got there and one wasn’t. The one who wasn’t well versed in the show had the most to say to me during the show, while I was teaching:

I saw your class take a picture in front of those signs. Be careful- That sign there says- Bed-Stuy.

Yes, I know. What are you talking about?

You get it? Bed- Study?

No, I don’t get it. Bed- Stuy is a neighborhood.

Oh, really!?

I should add that she is new to the environment and the county, however; when teaching I don’t make any exceptions. She should have been the most silent person. Her comments and impromptu direction of the children made me work extra hard. At one point, she allowed the children into a room to watch a scene from Fight the Power before I could warn, pull children out ( not all grades were allowed in each room) or even say when they should see it.

I told the teachers when to move and what to expect throughout the show. I had to run to her and tell her no!

The older children who read intensively about the KKK were allowed to watch the scene from Black Klansmen. This gave them insight about their world today. However, I prepared them and spoke to them before they entered each room.

I told my students to go in – but she was on the other side telling them to leave:

They will go home and talk to their parents!

Yes, that’s what they should do! Go in!

Watching the video did give them insight. As they were walking out, they weren’t repeating things they often said about Trump nor were they laughing about the situation.

Why didn’t Trump stop those people? That’s the KKK! We saw that cross in the book (Kadir Nelson’s Heart and Soul) Why were they allowed to drive their car into the crowd? Did they go to jail?

The rest of the show I made sure to focus on joyous items. Kehinde Wiley’s painting in the last gallery was perfect to send them away with. They were told to walk into the image. Imagine you are at the investiture of the bishop becoming a duke. Some spoke about dressing fancy and others spoke about wearing a Dodgers number 42 jersey with Jordans.

Next, we visited the store. They were overjoyed to visit the store and I was happy for them. Most of them had $20.00 and no one had less than $10.00.

The museum moved its location and was still unpacking (hopefully). While there were items to buy, there was nothing that would draw the eye of a child on a school trip. Nothing that they could afford. This made the store visit the worst idea as I paid the difference for my students.

All of the toys were $35.00 and above. I tried to tell them to buy the postcards but honestly, even I wasn’t interested in the art on the postcards. They ran to the pens. But- who really wants a pen? Others brought highlighters in a plastic box. There were paint pens that they looked at but the store manager stood by and told them it was not for children. Then I directed them to the journals and magnets from an previous Kehinde Wiley show.

Look, this art is by Kehinde Wiley! They ran to me and asked for the price. Each journal was a different price! The one the girls were drawn to with a lady on the cover was $29.00 so they got the one with a man on the cover for $28.00. The museum gave me a ten percent educators discount (after I asked for it), but added New York State tax and New York City tax and took off 9 cents because we were commuters. This left us at $27.43.

I complained in the store about the prices and asked the workers to please bring this up at the next staff meeting. One worker told me the Met is doing the same thing as If this was an excuse for highway robbery. I never had this experience in the Met.

It just frustrates me to go into a museum and finally see art that relates to me but to visit the store and everything is extremely overpriced! The only memorabilia related to the show they could afford was the journal. None of Spike Lee’s objects were on postcards.

One customer watching said he also noticed that there was nothing for children to buy for the amount they had in their hands. My students each gave me gratitude hugs. I spent over $100.00 paying the difference on journals. One fourth grader whose parents gave her $30.00 was able to afford a Basquiat book which she told me she was buying for her research project. A second grader whose parents gave her 15.00 picked up a mini box puzzle of a pizza. The rest brought a journal and some pens.

For two children who did not come with money (out of 30 children), I purchased different types of post cards for them to choose from and one Journal for myself. As I gave the cashier my card, she put a smile on my face. – I want to buy this for you. The work you do is very important. She then gave me a hug and asked me my name. I was very surprised and taken aback by her humanitarian gesture. Even if she didn’t buy my items, reminding me about the work I do, was what I will remember about the entire trip. I won’t even bring up the teacher’s annoying behavior in the next staff meeting!