It was a shock to hear of Michael Jackson's death. He was born in my hometown so he is a part of my story. More importantly, though, he is a part of world culture's history.
I remember seeing posters about the Jackson Five on light posts all over Gary all the time. They constantly were performing. The family grew up in the shadow of Roosevelt High School, my alma mater. The boys were always performing on the talent shows and always won. My husband's claim to fame is that his jazz combo beat the Jackson Five in a talent contest there. It was unheard of for someone to beat them. In my high school yearbook there is a picture of the Jackson Five performing at the Masque and Gavel Talent show. This was before they became a national phenomenon. Jackie, Michael's oldest brother, even sang in the Madrigal Choir, the elite singing group of my school, with my sister.
When they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show it was a major event for every Black person from Gary. It may be difficult for this generation to understand how important that was to Black people. Whenever any Black entertainer appeared on the Ed Sullivan show it was a red letter day. I remember the day I heard that the Jackson Five would be on TV and would sing "I Want You Back." Of course, I watched. I got to see them in person before they disbanded and observed the madness of fans' obsession at close range.
The citizens of Gary were so proud of the Jacksons. We got bad press all the time but we could point to the Jacksons and Avery Brooks and Deniece Williams and William Marshall and Ernest Thomas of "What's Hapening" and say Gary can't be all bad. It produced all these people.
Before Michael Jackson, music was divided by race. He changed that. That was monumental. Today's generation doesn't realized that. He transformed the music video into a necessity for marketing music.
I am so very sad. I have always been a fan and ignored the bad publicity that followed him. He is gone too soon like his song. And like his song, we never can say good bye. He was not just a super star. He was a super nova, shining so brightly and extinguishing too quickly. Rest in peace. The king is dead. Long live the king.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Family History Research and Writing Workshop
I am giving my first genealogy workshop this Saturday, June 27th. This is not a stretch for me since I teach already and I love talking about genealogy. The workshop will concentrate on the two most important steps in genealogy--the beginning and writing it down.
It is being held at Indiana University Northwest, Hawthorne Hall Room 332, 3400 Broadway, Gary, IN. There are two sessions. The first one begins at 10 am. It will focus on just getting started with the research with an emphasis on African American genealogy since that is my area The second session starts at 12:30 and will give tips and strategies about writing the information and publishing it so that it can be shared with others.
It is free and open to the public. I'm not sure how many will come. I suck at marketing and promoting myself. But like I tell my students, if only one comes, the show goes on.
I first planned this workshop to raise a little cash for my road trip to Mississippi and Tennessee. I'm leaving in July to do more research on my family. I decided to make it free just because I want to share what I know just for the love of it.
It is being held at Indiana University Northwest, Hawthorne Hall Room 332, 3400 Broadway, Gary, IN. There are two sessions. The first one begins at 10 am. It will focus on just getting started with the research with an emphasis on African American genealogy since that is my area The second session starts at 12:30 and will give tips and strategies about writing the information and publishing it so that it can be shared with others.
It is free and open to the public. I'm not sure how many will come. I suck at marketing and promoting myself. But like I tell my students, if only one comes, the show goes on.
I first planned this workshop to raise a little cash for my road trip to Mississippi and Tennessee. I'm leaving in July to do more research on my family. I decided to make it free just because I want to share what I know just for the love of it.
Happy Day
I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I posted. The last post is appropriate for this day too. I do miss my father.
Father's Day has become a forced celebration because both my children and I are fatherless. But it is a celebration of memories and good times, so I cling to that.
Father's Day has become a forced celebration because both my children and I are fatherless. But it is a celebration of memories and good times, so I cling to that.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day
This is a day set aside to remember our fallen heroes of the various wars. My family's tradition is like most in the country. We barbeque, relishing the fact that the weather is now warm enough to enjoy eating outside. When I was young, Memorial Day also meant parades. Gary had the best parade on that day. For a couple of years, I was in the parade, part of the Roosevelt High School marching band. I played a french horn--the "pah pah" part of the "oomp pah pah," the musical beat of every marching band. I hated it. I never got the hang of trying to keep my lips on the mouthpiece as I marched and followed the leader. And "pah pah" was so boring. I dropped out. But I digress.
We have now added a new part to our Memorial Day tradition. This is the day we visit the cemetery. It is usually very crowded on Memorial Day. Sadly, there are too many loved ones that reside at the cemetery. My father and my husband are there. Minutes are spent wondering around the graveyard trying to locate various others deceased relatives. Not a happy tradition but a respectful one.
My father, Stanley Cotten, was a veteran of World War II. He was part of the cavalry. When I would tell my fellow high school students that, they would ridicule me. They didn't know that the army still had a cavalry during that time. There once was a photo of my father, his friend Jay and one of the horses. I don't know if it still exist but I will search for it. My father spent a lot of his time in Rome which he never appreciated. Maybe it was because of what he had to do there. He didn't speak much about it except to say "if you've seen one place, you've seen them all." He did not share my love for travel. I do know that he saw the Colosseum. It may be during the war that he developed his hatred for flying too. I'm not sure. Unfortunately he is not here for me to ask him.
Currently, one of my nephews is serving in the Marines. He has made a career out of it. He has been deployed to Iraq once again. He has also been based in Japan and South Korea. I'm sure my father would have been proud of him. Erik Wilson was his first grandchild, a boy after having nothing but daughters. He was the light of my father's life.
So on this holiday I will remember the loved ones that are gone. I will also honor and pray for my nephew and others who are serving this country in the different branches of the armed forces. They are living heroes.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Road Trip
It's the Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer. The thing most on my mind is getting out there and physically digging for my roots. Not literally, of course, but I am getting off my comfy chair and going into the archives and libraries of Mississippi and Tennessee.
Genealogy isn't a cheap hobby although the internet has made it more accessible. I had my own personal recession 5 years ago so I am looking for the most frugal strategies to make my trip possible. For example, this July I am taking a bus to Nashville and Jackson and McComb, Ms. I am buying my tickets 21 days earlier. My trip will cost me around $143 round trip! By traveling overnight I will save one night in a hotel. Of course, some may think I'm crazy going by bus. I look at as an adventure and a small price (really small price) that I pay for my hobby.
Unfortunately there are no bus stops near the cities I need to visit in Tennessee except for Newbern. It stops there at three am. That's not a good time to be stopping in a strange southern city. I do draw the line somewhere. The Koonce reunion is supposed to be in Tennessee this September and I will try to get ro some libraries and/or courts around during that time. I'm hoping to get enough new information at the archives in Nashville to update my book in time for the reunion.
All in all, I'm excited about my road trip. It will be interesting. No doubt.
Genealogy isn't a cheap hobby although the internet has made it more accessible. I had my own personal recession 5 years ago so I am looking for the most frugal strategies to make my trip possible. For example, this July I am taking a bus to Nashville and Jackson and McComb, Ms. I am buying my tickets 21 days earlier. My trip will cost me around $143 round trip! By traveling overnight I will save one night in a hotel. Of course, some may think I'm crazy going by bus. I look at as an adventure and a small price (really small price) that I pay for my hobby.
Unfortunately there are no bus stops near the cities I need to visit in Tennessee except for Newbern. It stops there at three am. That's not a good time to be stopping in a strange southern city. I do draw the line somewhere. The Koonce reunion is supposed to be in Tennessee this September and I will try to get ro some libraries and/or courts around during that time. I'm hoping to get enough new information at the archives in Nashville to update my book in time for the reunion.
All in all, I'm excited about my road trip. It will be interesting. No doubt.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Lost
I'm back from my short journey to Tennessee. It was an eye opening experience but not in the way I had hoped. Several things hit me and I'm still processing them.
First, the area where my maternal ancestors lived is still very rural and sparsely populated. For example, my grand aunt Inez lived a few feet from the church where she was eulogized (and a few blocks from Alex Haley's birthplace). However, we traveled 45 minutes and through two counties to get to the cemetery where she was buried. My sister, who was driving, was concerned about running out of gas. She was advised to get gas when she went through downtown Maury City. Unfortunately, we didn't recognized downtown when we went through it. It was one short block of family businesses.
My aunt lived in this area all 102 years of her life. That had to shape her vision of the world. I see that same vision in my mother even though she has lived in an urban area most of her life. The viewpoint is narrow, comfortable and void of inquisitiveness.
That speaks to the other thing that struck me. All the knowledge my aunt had of my side of the family has now gone to the grave. I had accepted that my aunt did not want to talk about her family because that's what my mother and my aunt Adrene told me. Then at the funeral, a woman, a niece of Inez's husband, talked about how she asked questions about the family and how Inez gladly recited family stories to her. It makes me so mad and sad at the same time. I asked my mother if she ever asked my aunt anything to which she said never. My mother is now one of the oldest living Koonce so I will have to unearth whatever I can through circumstantial evidence not oral stories.
I can't imagine not wanting to know everything about my family history. My mother is interested and satisfied with her minute knowledge. She doesn't understand my thirst and my endless questions. I don't understand her nonchalance and acceptance. The worst part and the best part is that I seem to be "that one" in the family that pursues the answers. It's a lonely job but, I believe, somebody's gotta do it.
This summer, I will go back to Tennessee and delve into court documents and look up books in the local libraries and talk to people who may know about my family history. Too bad I wasn't able to do it before my aunt passed away.
First, the area where my maternal ancestors lived is still very rural and sparsely populated. For example, my grand aunt Inez lived a few feet from the church where she was eulogized (and a few blocks from Alex Haley's birthplace). However, we traveled 45 minutes and through two counties to get to the cemetery where she was buried. My sister, who was driving, was concerned about running out of gas. She was advised to get gas when she went through downtown Maury City. Unfortunately, we didn't recognized downtown when we went through it. It was one short block of family businesses.
My aunt lived in this area all 102 years of her life. That had to shape her vision of the world. I see that same vision in my mother even though she has lived in an urban area most of her life. The viewpoint is narrow, comfortable and void of inquisitiveness.
That speaks to the other thing that struck me. All the knowledge my aunt had of my side of the family has now gone to the grave. I had accepted that my aunt did not want to talk about her family because that's what my mother and my aunt Adrene told me. Then at the funeral, a woman, a niece of Inez's husband, talked about how she asked questions about the family and how Inez gladly recited family stories to her. It makes me so mad and sad at the same time. I asked my mother if she ever asked my aunt anything to which she said never. My mother is now one of the oldest living Koonce so I will have to unearth whatever I can through circumstantial evidence not oral stories.
I can't imagine not wanting to know everything about my family history. My mother is interested and satisfied with her minute knowledge. She doesn't understand my thirst and my endless questions. I don't understand her nonchalance and acceptance. The worst part and the best part is that I seem to be "that one" in the family that pursues the answers. It's a lonely job but, I believe, somebody's gotta do it.
This summer, I will go back to Tennessee and delve into court documents and look up books in the local libraries and talk to people who may know about my family history. Too bad I wasn't able to do it before my aunt passed away.
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