Area youths discuss cultural history

At an electronics store recently, a young clerk, perhaps a high school student working part time, was asked to check store inventory for the new Ella Fitzgerald release, "Twelve Nights in Hollywood."

"Can you spell that?" he said. Through the store's speakers overhead, Ella was singing in her inimitable style.

"E-L-L-A F-I-T-Z... Don't you know Ella Fitzgerald?" He started to type. "That's her, singing Christmas songs."

"Oh, I've heard that voice," the clerk replied, finishing to key in the name -- "ELLAFITZ (space) GERALD" -- "Is that right?" he said, pointing to the screen.

It's true the First Lady of Song has been dead 13 1/2 years, but it seemed odd that this young music salesman wasn't familiar with the artist -- with this aspect of our American heritage, our cultural roots.

If he did not know about Ella, was it possible he did not know about John Kennedy or Mark Twain or Martin Luther King Jr.?

This line of thinking led to other questions: What should we expect young people to understand? What happens when we are a generation or more removed from important historical events or figures? How is history made today and how is it conveyed in our schools and at our dinner tables? What are the obligations of collective memory?

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day a little more than a week away, and as related events provide an opportunity to consider the civil rights leader and his accomplishments, it is perhaps fitting to ask these questions.

But you will find no clear answers here, only the sentiments of some young people from the Charleston area who graciously answered some questions.

Heightened awareness

One group gathered at Charity Missionary Baptist Church on East Montague Avenue in North Charleston. Five teenagers, all NAACP youths, discussed their ambitions, concerns and experiences.

Generally, they said, history and civil rights and issues of race are not on their minds; they are busy with school and friends and family, with the hustle and bustle of daily life. But awareness becomes heightened a little when the King holiday rolls around, they said.

Ashton Watson, 13, a student at Westview Middle School in Goose Creek, said her family sometimes reinforces or supplements the history she's learned at school.

Anthony McGee, 17, a Stratford High School student, said historical black figures are introduced in history or social studies classes, but probably not often enough.

The students seemed to agree that the school curriculum still tended to distinguish between history and "black history."

"There's only one history," Anthony said.

Three of them -- Ashton; Anthony; and Dominique Richardson, 13, who attends Jerry Zucker Middle School -- said they think black kids endure harsher punishment than whites when they get in trouble at school.

Jordan Walden, a 19-year-old student at Trident Technical College, said that racism is still a problem. On a church trip to Greenwood not long ago, a busload of black passengers received a couple of obscene gestures from white residents as the bus passed through town. When they stopped at a local restaurant and asked to use the bathroom, an employee said the facilities were broken and put a sign on the door, but then some patrons used it anyway.

All of them said they spend time with white friends.

Teaching history

Four young people at Haut Gap Middle School on Johns Island explained to a reporter last week how history is taught. In sixth grade, they learn about ancient Greece and Rome; seventh grade largely is devoted to the American Revolution; and eighth grade is all about South Carolina history.

Lidia Ojeda, 12, who is in eighth grade, and Andrea Poteat, 14, also an eighth-grader, said slavery, civil rights history and major figures come up in the course of study, but mostly when they are focused on South Carolina. Lidia said other topics, such as the Native American experience, get short shrift.

Justin Frazier, 13, a seventh-grader, said he'd like to learn more about the Great Depression.

Robyn Loucks, 11, in sixth grade, said she likes history so much she wants to become a social studies teacher.

Eighth-grade social studies teacher Lekisha Jones has been at Haut Gap for 3 1/2 years. At the beginning of the year, students are not very enthusiastic, she said. "Usually, they come to me saying they don't like history."

But she strives to make connections between past and present, and that usually prompts interest and discussion.

When she talks about sweetgrass baskets, invariably a student refers to a grandmother who makes them, she said. When she talks about Sea Island cooking and its origins, there are always students who can relate because the food they eat is the same. When the children perform well, they receive "Septima Certificates," named for the Lowcountry's Septima Clark, who organized literacy classes in the 1940s and 1950s to enable blacks to vote.

Eventually, students become engaged in conversation, which, in turn, prompts more discussion, Jones said.

Haut Gap Principal Paul Padron said his magnet school strives to enhance the standard curriculum with special courses led by local experts. Recently, Jane Aldrich, archivist and researcher at the South Carolina Historical Society, taught a course on Charleston history. Next year, the school will offer an elective nine-week session on the Holocaust, Padron said.

Cultural identity

Four members of the youth group at Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston's Reform synagogue, gathered in a Mount Pleasant living room last week to talk about the King holiday and cultural heritage. All said justice and social action are imperatives that define their identities as Jews: Not a holiday goes by without some reference to slavery in Egypt or oppression.

Robin Shuler, adult coordinator of the youth group, said the Reform Passover Hagaddah contains many quotes of Martin Luther King Jr.

Sierra Debrow, a 15-year-old student at Academic Magnet High School, said her family emphasizes feminism during Purim, the holiday that commemorates victory of the ancient Persian Empire when Haman's plot to destroy the Jews was foiled by Esther, his queen.

Dael Szuch, 16, a Hanahan High School student, said she, too, has referred to King a lot during youth services at her temple. She said her grandfather was observant and determined to ensure his grandchildren knew about their cultural heritage.

Nick Shuler, Robin's son, an 18-year-old Wando High School student, said he was the vice president of social action on the board of the youth group.

Well-being

A group of young adults meeting at a local coffee shop talked about how the King holiday too often has become a perfunctory or obligatory celebration -- a day off -- rather than a chance to explore the significance of the civil rights movement.

"The spirit of the holiday has been lost," said Andrew Dreiling, a 29-year-old health coach and entrepreneur.

Colin Kerr, the 25-year-old director of Christian education at Second Presbyterian Church, said he was in Savannah for King Day two years ago and remembered the flat-bed trucks loaded with speakers blaring hip-hop music and the carefree festive air.

"You'd expect a connection between the day and the parade," he said. But there didn't seem to be one.

Kenneth Ayers, a 27-year-old medical student at MUSC, echoed these sentiments, saying there was too much pageantry and not enough substance.

"The holiday's about what society says you should be doing on that day, not the meaning of the day," he said.

But, someone asked, aren't all holidays like that?

King Day is an opportunity to assess the status of society, to keep it accountable, to perform a "gut check," Kerr said.

Dreiling noted that as he ages, he looks for meaning and purpose in holiday traditions.

"The older I get, the more I do care," he said, adding that the growing economic, physical and spiritual malaise of society makes it difficult to explore our shared history and cultural heritage. So many are simply trying to survive, he said.

Hannah Strickland, 21, a junior at the College of Charleston studying set design, said she was homeschooled and strongly encouraged by her family to interact with and understand many other cultures.

Ayers said that, when he moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida A&M University some years ago, he was impressed by the diversity of other black cultures he encountered. This, along with an upbringing in Columbia that stressed interaction and exploration, has encouraged him to look beyond his own experiences, he said.

Asked about the nature of race relations in the South, the group agreed that economic disparities were more pronounced in the Charleston area because professional blacks tend to move away while wealthy white professionals and retirees tend to settle in the area.

The perception is, "If you're black, you're poor," Ayers said.

While overt racism is hard to find, they said, the lack of a substantial black middle class and pervasive poverty in the Charleston area makes it difficult to improve not only race relations but the community's general economic well-being.

Attitudes

At Morris Brown AME Church, four members of the youth group said their lives are generally full and interesting and unencumbered by obstacles thrown up by society.

On King Day, Shantell Scott, a 22-year-old graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut, likes to think about the many not-so-prominent civil rights figures that often go unacknowledged, including relatives and family friends old enough to have experienced the injustice of segregation and oppression.

"I don't only appreciate famous people, I appreciate everyday people," she said.

Rashon Young, 11, answered without hesitation when asked about King. He was an activist, Rashon said, "trying to get rights for everybody." He said he had to write an essay about King for Mitchell Elementary School, which he attends.

Ashley Smalls, 13, a dancer at the School of the Arts, said racism remains a problem, even if it isn't an all-consuming one. Once she was asked by a white student whether she looked like a monkey when she was a baby, she said.

Jacquez Brown, an adult adviser for the youth group, said he was recently cut off by a middle-age white woman while driving through downtown Summerville. The woman rolled down her window and hurled a slur repeatedly at Brown, even though she was the one at fault, he said.

Shantell said she once returned to her room at college to find that slur scrawled on her door. She shrugged her shoulders and went about her business little perturbed, but the incident made the local news, she said, adding that she is not much worried about isolated examples of explicit racism. Rather, it's institutional racism, the legacy of slavery and segregation that shows up, sometimes discreetly, in politics and public discourse that concerns her most.

Society, she said, should work on leveling the playing field since individual bigots are not likely to be swayed by rational argument.

"Mind-sets are the hardest things to change," she said.

Ella again

Of the many young people interviewed for this article, several knew Ella Fitzgerald well; others knew the name but not the legacy; and some were not familiar with the singer at all. Many other public figures, when mentioned, prompted similar reactions of recognition (various degrees) and blank stares.

Does it matter?

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902.