Over the weekend when I went to the Schomberg Center to view 100 Moments, I ran into American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Balafonte!!
I felt really good because I was looking at Gordon Parks pictures wishing I could have met Gordon Parks when all of sudden I looked up and saw Mr. Belafonte! It was so random and even though they are two different people and are recognized for different achievements, It feels good meeting a celebrity that you actually can connect with.
This year, if he was still alive, Gordon Parks would have turned 100 years old.
I went to Harlem, 135th Street, and visited the Schomburg Center to view the Gordon Parks photo exhibition titled, 100 Moments. Each moment I spent in the center was inspiring.
I think the most encouraging part for me was listening to the short documentary of Parks life. I took some notes on his views of photography and his work. Listening to the video made me understand why I love his work: I find myself, he said, speaking for poor people who can’t speak for themselves…and in that way I speak for myself. He continued, I am an objective reporter with a subjective heart. My emotions, he said, get in the way but I don’t allow them to dominate.
When I was in High School, I wanted to meet him but never got the chance as he died the year I graduated.
The photo I enjoyed the most is titled: Music: That Lordly Power 1993. Maybe it spoke to how I was feeling right then. I know it’s an image I am not going to forget.
Kudos to Deborah Willis who put together a brilliant show.
There need to be a community of people in New York who is dedicated to saving the African-American history in New York City. We have given so much to this city and so much of our history is not even saved because it seems like no one really care. And I know there are people who care. And I am going to look for those people and work a long with them…I just don’t know where to start.
Last year, a friend and I went to Harlem to visit the home of Langston Hughes and it’s just a disgrace. It is right in the middle of Harlem and it looks run down. There are weeds and junk all over the place. There was broken glass and the entire house looked uninviting. The only thing on the wall outside of the house was a plaque that read a little something about his life.
Totally something that should never be.
Now, I am looking up information to visit the home of Mme. C. J. Walker and there is no information, even though she had a house that she built, in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York.
Our history is being taking from us right under our noses and something needs to be done. Something is going to be done too.
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