In this post, I will discuss my concluding thoughts on my unique experience working as the West Baltimore Education Fellow at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Although I am sad that we were unable to finish the final oral history collection due to COVID-19 restrictions, I learned so many valuable lessons from working with the MCHC and the students at Booker T. Washington Middle School. I also believe that the students we worked with were able to feel that their personal stories mattered, both within their community, and beyond West Baltimore.
Initially, the MCHC team and I wondered if we could complete oral history interviews virtually. But, after engaging in some research about internet within the neighborhood and the city, we learned that this would not be possible. Twenty percent of Baltimore households lack a computer - with many of these homes being in low-income neighborhoods with high concentrations of people of color. Furthermore, Baltimore was ranked 261st in internet connection data list, with 69.6% of houses having access to internet and 74,116 households lacking access, according to a 2017 report. With this in mind, the plan is for the MCHC to resume collecting students' stories for the Booker T. Washington Oral History Project following the reopening of schools.
The short term goals after finishing the project were to collect the oral histories of Booker T. Washington students and to hold a student showcase for members of the community. This showcase would include the oral history interviews as well as coordinating art pieces created by the students themselves. Furthermore, patrons and members of the museum would have the ability to interact with students and ask them about their experiences and artwork. The long-term goal of this oral history project is to include the collection in the semi-permanent upcoming Civil Rights exhibit at the MCHC. Additionally, the oral histories within the Booker T. Washington Oral History Project would permanently become part of the MCHC library collections. Finally, MCHC hoped to continue a meaningful partnership with the Booker T. Washington Middle School staff and students through education, community outreach, and history programs.
In reflecting on this fellowship, I realize that I took away so much worthwhile knowledge from my time at MCHC. First, I learned what it was like to work on a team. Working with others on this project made it so much more rewarding to see the efforts of all of our hard work come to fruition through field trips, in class lessons, and the creation of the project itself. Second, I became much more knowledgable about the history of civil rights activism and segregation in Baltimore. To be able to teach Booker T. Washington students about these topics, I engaged in thorough research and read tons of books, articles, and oral histories to better understand the complicated history of racial dynamics in Baltimore. Third, working on this project taught me the importance of youth and minority voices within various communities. Hearing the stories of Booker T. Washington students made me realize how incorrect many outside perceptions can be about other communities; it also showed me how intuitive and outspoken the upcoming generation is. Finally, I was lucky enough to work in a museum which focused on history I am passionate about. I learned so much about Maryland's past that I was inspired to make a final decision on my master's thesis topic. My topic was based on a project I was a part of in my fellowship role. I worked with David Armenti - the director of museum education at MCHC - and the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a consultant for the upcoming Civil Rights Exhibit at the MCHC. After learning about Maryland's lynching history, I decided to write my thesis on lynching coverage in 19th century Maryland newspapers.
Overall, I believe that this fellowship was extremely valuable for my future career path. I intend to work in a museum, either in curation or in education. The West Baltimore Education Fellowship allowed me to gain meaningful experience in a museum setting; this furthermore allowed me to decide whether I was sure I wanted to work in such an institution. I am proud to have worked on such an important, community-based project and I still feel so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to work with such amazing students. I have nothing but good things to say about my time and my former co-workers at MCHC. I truly enjoyed completing this fellowship and I hope to gain similar opportunities in the future.
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