Our class on a cannon in Vicksburg MS.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Racism, alive but quiet
As I address the issue of Race I want to point out that these are merely observations. Having only been in Jackson for three weeks we are just beginning to see and understand the racism that exists in the south and in the country today. If you would have asked me 6 months ago if racism still takes place in the United States I would have told you yes but could not have articulated on what it looks like. Deep down in myself i think there was a denial that it still takes place maybe because we don't see it in large scale, violence oriented movements like they did throughout American history. But as we've become involved in a predominantly black community and have been making friends with people in that community we've seen that racism is alive and well but it is a quiet racism. It's not out spoken or talked about but you see it in the way people act and live their lives. In Jackson there are 2 interracial church's, one of which is less than 2 years old. Sadly the truth that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of in the 60's about Sunday morning being the most segregated time of the week remains true to this day. Blacks and white's are not living together in any large scale way. We see it Jackson.
Yesterday our new friend "D" took us out for a drive to explore the outlying area's around Jackson and to see the reservoir. D drives one of the vans that take our camp kids to lunch, swimming, and field trips. We've already become close and have had many good talks about life in Mississippi. D, being an African American, openly gives us valuable incite into the culture of our neighborhood. While driving yesterday we were able to talk about race. As we drove around the neighborhood of million dollar homes that line the reservoir he explained how he see's racism being lived out now saying, "the white folks move out of the city cause they don't want to be around us". Our neighborhood of west Jackson was once the main white area of town but as blacks moved in the white people left taking their money with them leaving the black community to fiend for themselves. West Jackson is now a place of high crime, homelessness, and abandon houses where drugs and vandalism are prevalent. D went on to explain how the city has multiple different area's which consist of different class but that in most cases even the upper class communities are separated by race.
Emily and I have set Friday night as our "date night" which is a nice time for us to set aside to be together. We have been going out to eat and usually end up in North Jackson which is predominantly white middle and upper class only because most business's in west Jackson have left. Friday night we got into a conversation with our white waitress about Jackson and we asked if she recommended any restaurants in West Jackson. She immediately said, " oh you don't want to go to west Jackson".
She went on to speak of how it was once a really nice area before the white people started to move out. Needless to say she was a little surprised to hear that we were living there. All this to say that we are becoming aware of the race issue's that still plague our country. We feel as though we are just beginning to struggle and wrestle with these issue's and are by no means experts but we are committed to doing what we can to be a part of the reconciliation process. Our community is a community of deep need, and doesn't just need a hand out. Our community needs people who will invest long term by becoming a part of the community, and empowering people to do things for themselves. We see so clearly how when whites and blacks come together to live and share their lives their differences compliment each other.
Written on JUNE 26th
Yesterday our new friend "D" took us out for a drive to explore the outlying area's around Jackson and to see the reservoir. D drives one of the vans that take our camp kids to lunch, swimming, and field trips. We've already become close and have had many good talks about life in Mississippi. D, being an African American, openly gives us valuable incite into the culture of our neighborhood. While driving yesterday we were able to talk about race. As we drove around the neighborhood of million dollar homes that line the reservoir he explained how he see's racism being lived out now saying, "the white folks move out of the city cause they don't want to be around us". Our neighborhood of west Jackson was once the main white area of town but as blacks moved in the white people left taking their money with them leaving the black community to fiend for themselves. West Jackson is now a place of high crime, homelessness, and abandon houses where drugs and vandalism are prevalent. D went on to explain how the city has multiple different area's which consist of different class but that in most cases even the upper class communities are separated by race.
Emily and I have set Friday night as our "date night" which is a nice time for us to set aside to be together. We have been going out to eat and usually end up in North Jackson which is predominantly white middle and upper class only because most business's in west Jackson have left. Friday night we got into a conversation with our white waitress about Jackson and we asked if she recommended any restaurants in West Jackson. She immediately said, " oh you don't want to go to west Jackson".
She went on to speak of how it was once a really nice area before the white people started to move out. Needless to say she was a little surprised to hear that we were living there. All this to say that we are becoming aware of the race issue's that still plague our country. We feel as though we are just beginning to struggle and wrestle with these issue's and are by no means experts but we are committed to doing what we can to be a part of the reconciliation process. Our community is a community of deep need, and doesn't just need a hand out. Our community needs people who will invest long term by becoming a part of the community, and empowering people to do things for themselves. We see so clearly how when whites and blacks come together to live and share their lives their differences compliment each other.
Written on JUNE 26th
Our Class
Once again a class photo. Expect many more of these, we love our cute kids. Can you tell which two are twins?
D and Me
This is our new friend "D". Saturday he took us for a drive through the outlying area's of Jackson including a stop at the massive "reservoir". More about D in an upcoming post.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Mrs. Emily
( left to right) Dezja, Patrick, Cathy, Mrs. Emily, and Pierre on our class nature walk on Friday. We saw flowers, a lizard, and lots of mosquito's.
What we've been doing
We've been here almost 2 weeks now and we're slowly adjusting to life in Mississippi. This week was full of learning, teaching, and basketball. There are 6 basketball hoop's in our backyard and i would say we spend 3hours minimum each day on the courts. The summer art camp we are a part of meets on the grounds where our house is. Our classroom is actually in our house which makes the commute nice. Also on the grounds of the "Spencer Perkins Center" is a baseball field, a clubhouse (used by young life and our camp) a large park like playground, a law office, and The Perkins home. I'm not sure all of you know about Dr. John Perkins but he is 75 year old man who some scholars have called the most influential African American leader since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We have yet to talk with him because he has been out of town since we arrived. He speaks all over the country and is in high demand for speaking engagements. I know he usually takes the month of August off so we are looking forward to that time with him. If you are interested in learning more about him he has written several books including an autobiography titled "Let Justice Roll Down". It should be available on amazon or i can get the books for $10 and send them. We are working daily with his daughter Elizabeth who is in charge of the art camp and the office.
Our days consist mostly now of working with kids. The camp goes from 7:30am through 6:00 pm so by evening we are usually tired. The kids are very active in spite of the heat. Emily and i are the teachers for the kindergarten class. We have 5 students who we have class with for 2 hours each day. Emily is amazing with kids. I don't know what i would do with out her. She is able to stay calm when the kids get crazy. The kids would walk all over me without her around. We've been working on adding and subtracting as well as letters and there sounds. I'm in charge of story time and usually use a British accent to read to them for dramatic effect. They love it but think I'm speaking Spanish. We swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays which the kids love and is nice for us to cool off. Friday we went roller skating and had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. For most of the kids it was there first time skating and to see them try to figure these roller skates out was amusing.
After the day camp end's in the evening people from the neighborhood come to play basketball. They are all amazed at Emily's skills. They can't believe this girl is scoring on them and stealing from them over and over. Friends make fun of each other until it is their turn to guard her and she scores on them. Its been fun to watch. My goal is to dunk in the next 6 months, we'll see.
We are living in west Jackson which is poorer and predominantly black. We are learning that it takes time to be accepted. People are slow to trust that you aren't going to leave at the end of the summer. I think a lot of people come down and work in the community for short periods of time and people know that so they hold back. It will take time for people to get to know us and we understand that. It's been nice that the kids have accepted us from day one. They love us and call us Mr. Johnny and Mrs. Emily. We have met alot of great people and really feel like this is where we supposed to be.
Other weekly highlights include trying catfish for the first time (tasted like halibut), and battling the roaches that invade our home when it rains. That's all for now. I will update this site weekly so please check back. We would love to hear from you and thanks to those who have taken time to write. johnny.bertram@gmail.com
Shalom
Johnny
Our days consist mostly now of working with kids. The camp goes from 7:30am through 6:00 pm so by evening we are usually tired. The kids are very active in spite of the heat. Emily and i are the teachers for the kindergarten class. We have 5 students who we have class with for 2 hours each day. Emily is amazing with kids. I don't know what i would do with out her. She is able to stay calm when the kids get crazy. The kids would walk all over me without her around. We've been working on adding and subtracting as well as letters and there sounds. I'm in charge of story time and usually use a British accent to read to them for dramatic effect. They love it but think I'm speaking Spanish. We swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays which the kids love and is nice for us to cool off. Friday we went roller skating and had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. For most of the kids it was there first time skating and to see them try to figure these roller skates out was amusing.
After the day camp end's in the evening people from the neighborhood come to play basketball. They are all amazed at Emily's skills. They can't believe this girl is scoring on them and stealing from them over and over. Friends make fun of each other until it is their turn to guard her and she scores on them. Its been fun to watch. My goal is to dunk in the next 6 months, we'll see.
We are living in west Jackson which is poorer and predominantly black. We are learning that it takes time to be accepted. People are slow to trust that you aren't going to leave at the end of the summer. I think a lot of people come down and work in the community for short periods of time and people know that so they hold back. It will take time for people to get to know us and we understand that. It's been nice that the kids have accepted us from day one. They love us and call us Mr. Johnny and Mrs. Emily. We have met alot of great people and really feel like this is where we supposed to be.
Other weekly highlights include trying catfish for the first time (tasted like halibut), and battling the roaches that invade our home when it rains. That's all for now. I will update this site weekly so please check back. We would love to hear from you and thanks to those who have taken time to write. johnny.bertram@gmail.com
Shalom
Johnny
Sunday, June 12, 2005
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