Adventure Blog 1: The first of many backlogged adventures

On Saturday January 31 I stopped at Lost City Diner for a bite to eat before heading to the Charles Theater to see Selma. In retrospect, going to see this film when I did was a great way to start off this course. Here I was at the end of January, the beginning of my last semester as an undergraduate  student, Black History Month was about to begin, and I was about to dive into this American Studies course called Community in America- where we would be studying the topics of redevelopment, gentrification, and community change in Baltimore. The semester had barely begun and it already felt like an interesting space to be in. It seems  that with each year that I have been living and learning in the Baltimore area the layers of Baltimore's racial tension and history are continuously being peeled back to reveal more.

Now that the end of my last semester basically here and "riots" erupting around the city,  occupying this time and space feels more bizarre than it did before. My mind keeps wandering back to the events described in Baltimore 68'. Today my life feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone, like I stepped off my doorstep and walked into the Baltimore of the 1960s. With the same questions that danced around my mind at the start of this semester as I sat enveloped in the cushions of seat in the  Charles while depictions of  history splattered across the screen. 



(Lower image: bydvnlln.vsco.co/)

I FINALLY got in contact with Tony! We spoke briefly and he gave me his email address so I could send him some information about our project. I'm hoping that he gets back to me soon. We really need more voices from community members that don't have direct business interests in the area. 

Diana and I set a time for her interview. We'll be meeting at 8:45pm on campus. The recorder and location are TBD (PNK: Would it be possible to use the studio, or do you have any suggestions?) 

Diana lived closer to Greenmount West and knows the area. She has a cousin that still lives over there so she passed my contact information to her.

I started putting together my questions for tomorrow's interview over the weekend, and will probably revise them 3 more times before the actual interview. 

I wish that I could do the interview and be there for tomorrows meeting. Can't wait to hear about it.

 Today after class I was telling my classmate more about our project and she said she was interested in being interviewed. She also said she knows some people that might be able and willing to talk to us. I can't wait to follow up with her on this because I definitely think that she would add an interesting dimension to the existing set of voices. After speaking with her and several others I think it would be beneficial to add some sort of map to the back of our "ask". The name "Station North" doesn't doesn't seem to translate or resonate with folks. Having a map to show people the area that we're talking about would be beneficial, and it could initiate some good conversation.

Interview Scheduling: 

My availability didn't work with Jude Lombardi's availability. Randi's schedule was open at the times that Lombardi suggested so I linked them up to continue scheduling process. 

Aletheia got back to me, and confirmed that she was able to be interviewed this past Saturday. I couldn't take off of work on Saturday to do the interview so I sent my questions to Harima and she was able to conduct the interview. I heard it went well, so I can't wait to listen to it. 

   

I have an interview with D Watkins Scheduled for next week and Gaby will be my recorder. 

Tony I hasn't returned my messages about being interview so I'm trying to find the balance between being persistent and being a pest. I

Events: 

I stumbled upon this while scrolling through my FB timeline and thought that I'd share.

https://www.facebook.com/events/784475708327324/

Adventure Blogs: 

I'm seriously backed logged and will post my adventures soon!

This past week I scheduled an oral history interview with Aletheia S... or so I thought. It was due to a simple miscommunication, but it definitely made my Saturday morning interesting. When she said Saturday was a good time to meet, because she'd be at Seoul Rice Cake all day. I thought and said "this Saturday" and she thought I said next Saturday. Needless to say, when I showed up to Seoul Rice Cake with Adam and his bundle of recording gear  the nice but confused owner did not know why  I was there and had no idea as to what I was talking about.  I learned (or relearned) two things from this experience. One, if you ask a potential interviewee for their contact information and they write down an email, get a number... always get a number. Two, I learned I'm a competent internet sleuth and that persistence pays off. I was able to get in touch with Alethia (via a phone call) and I'm currently working on rescheduling that interview.
Also, I got a delicious breakfast burrito and an enjoyable train ride to work out of that morning it so it wasn't a total loss.

In other "Voices" news I have two updates. The first, I'm corresponding with Jude Lombardi to schedule a time for her interview. Hopefully well be able to have someone interview her this week or next week. The second is that someone in my class today mentioned a family friend that might live in Greenmount West and I plan on following up with her about that this week. 

Idea: In terms on capturing voices on the streets maybe it would be a good idea to start talking to folks at the bus stops?