Social Stratification in the Deep South

It was clear from the first day of the trip that we were all going to learn and experience a lot over the course of the two week course; however, what we were supposed to do with that new wealth of knowledge, besides personal enrichment, was somewhat unclear. However, as I sit here 18 days after the trip the charge is clear. I am supposed to use what I learned to affect change. Whether it be lead a on the topic of stratification in the Deep South or use it to write a national education policy once my PhD is conferred. In short, the course encouraged me to continue to seek knowledge and then use that knowledge to spark a revolution within the circles in which I’m a member.

“I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile…. But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move…. Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience.”  – John Dewey

Today was our last full day together. We spent the day traveling and watching movies. Our final stop tonight is at Comfort Suites in Knoxville, TN. Tommorrow we will be getting up at 6:30am to begin traveling to Winston Salem.

It has been a pleasure!

Today we checked out of the hotel, The Gold Strike Casino, at 10 am. Then we went downtown to explore Clarksdale, MS. One of the historic sites that we visited was Ground Zero; which is Morgan Freeman’s Establishment. We also had the opportunity to visit Riverside Hotel; which was the only hotel to allow blacks to stay during the Jim Crow Era.

Afterwards, we left for the Shack-Up Inn. The Inn looks very authentic from the outside; considering that it was a plantation at one point. However, you can tell that the authenticity of the Inn has been compromised as they try to create a comfortable authentic experience for visitors. This is evident by things such as wireless internet.

Tomorrow, we will be driving to Tennessee to see the hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; and then beginning the drive home.

To be continued ……….

the Shack that I’m staying in tonight on the Hopson Plantation

Today’s visit to Parchman was eye-wrenching. The chief question that I will think about for the rest of this trip is: Why I’m not in Parchman?

Another thing that bothers me is the fact that many people reduce incarceration to an individual issue instead of a social problem. They fail to see how prisoners are not born but created. And, there are several institutions that lead to their creation. One of the major contributors is poverty. After all, why do people sell drugs… to make money? I’m aware that there are cases where the individual clearly was negligible; but I still hold that institutions within society work together to create criminals. I remember, watching children matriculate into group homes with minor behavioral problems and exiting with a multitude of problems and new criminal methods. After all, prisons are often a classroom that teaches prisoners how to commit a crime without getting caught.

Before I close, I must comment once more on the power of antagonistic relationships and highlight some that were made clear today at Parchman. First, antagonistic relationships work to oppress people by setting two groups against each other that have similar interest if one were to explore beneath the surface. For example, at Parchman the guards in the camera room told how they have to keep their identity hidden from the other guards because if they knew that they were the ones watching the camera they would be at risk. This antagonistic relationship will prevent these guards from ever coming together to fight for their rights and prevent further exploitation. This type of relationship was also clear in hearing the prisoners talk about how the guards also function to keep tension between the inmates.

Tomorrow - we will visit Clarksdale, MS + Tunica, MS + Memphis, TN

To be continued ……..

Today we got up extremely early to explore the Delta region. It is important to note that this region is one the poorest regions in the United States.Mound Bayou was one of the first sites that we visited. This town was built by African Americans and houses the first African American hospital of the delta, Borian Hospital. We also visited several historically significant sites. For example, we visited the place where Emmett Teal whistled at Carol; which led to him being brutally lynched.

After, the tour of the city we ate dinner and then headed to Po’ Monkeys where we had a blast. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences of the entire trip. We not only had the opportunity to interact with the individuals that were apart of our group but also individuals from the local community. I will definitely be returning to Po’ Monkeys in the future.

Today, we are off to visit the largest state penitentiary, Parchman. And, we are all anticipating an awesome experience.

To be continued …………

We had the opportunity to fellowship with Co-Pastor Debra B. Morton at her church, Greater St. Stevens Full Baptist Church. The worship experience was phenomenal. They had a broad array of worship styles incorporated into the service; which included but was not limited to praise dancing. The title of the message was “I wanna be like Mike.” In the message Morton drew connections; which ultimately led to the message “Why not be like Daniel.” One important thing to note about this congregation was how diverse it was in comparison to 16^th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Immediately after service left New Orleans for Cleveland, Mississippi - and, we are all anticipating what Cleveland has in store for us all. We have already heard about an awesome jook joint, Po’ Monkeys.

To be continued ….

Today was an awesome day that warrants a lot of reflection. We began our day early at the local ACORN chapter. This experience was priceless. During this meeting we were informed by ACORN of some of the problems that the residents of the lower 9^th ward are dealing with, and how ACORN is working with the citizens to deal with these problems.

I was reminded of a very valuable lesson today that I learned during my trip to the region two years ago. The lesson is that in order to see change you must move past your tears and pity for the people to analyzation and/or action. Your tears are useless if they aren’t coupled with analyzation and/or action.

Today as I listened to the ACORN representative tell stories of how the people of the lower 9^th ward were treated after Katrina, and the conditions that some are still living under two years after the storm, I was deeply saddened. We were told of people that are currently living in FEMA houses, gutted houses, and tents, as they struggle to rebuild their homes. The ACORN representative also told of how the amount of police brutality has increased since the storm. In fact, the New Mexico has refused to work with the New Orleans police because of how they have seen them treat the people.

We were told of other ways that insurance companies have not worked in the best interest of their clients; in lieu of failing to recognize liability. For example, instead of forwarding insurance checks to their clients they forwarded them to the mortgage companies. I am blown away to know that there are people still paying their mortgage; despite the fact that they have lost everything and are displaced. During our tour of the lower 9^th ward after the visit to the ACORN office, we met a lady who said that she knows someone who had been paying insurance for 40 years and all that she received from the insurance company was $1,000 to rebuild.

It is important to note some of the ways in which the most vulnerable people of the New Orleans population were put at risk before the storm. For example, we were told how the height of the levees was significantly higher in the more affluent wards/districts of the city. This is vital to consider because after Katrina the shorter levees in the lower 9^th ward could not even withstand the rain that accompanied Hurricane Rita; which resulted in additional damages.

ACORN officials and others around the globe believe that the privileged people of New Orleans wanted to purge the city of the low 9^th ward residents; which were predominantly African American. The ACORN representative gave various examples of tactics that were employed to attempt to accomplish this goal. But before I lay out some of those examples, I feel it is important to write about a brief conversation that Mayor Nagin had with a citizen.

According to the ACORN official, one of the wealthiest men in the city went to the Mayor and told him that something would have to change about the demographics of the city or he would have to leave the city. She further reported that Nagin responded by rejecting the proposition; but he put this man on his board that will set the vision for the city’s future.

There were many other ways in which residents in the lower 9^th ward were treated differently than other more affluent regions. For example, the ACORN official told us of people who were out walking, and how they were scooped up by authorities, their animals abandoned, and taken to other states and countries, without consenting. Resident’s of the lower 9^th ward were also prevented from returning to their homes as quickly as other areas. This is important because these people were unable to return to open windows and begin to minimize their overall loses; this allowed the damages to compound. We were also told about sit-in that ACORN officials organized to demand that officials let residents return to the lower 9^th ward.

Two other issues that ACORN is fighting alongside the residents are eminent domain and voting. According to ACORN officials are trying to take people’s property in order to transfer control of the ward from their residents to the government. This is an extremely important issue considering the fact that many people are uneducated about their rights in this complex process. Voting is another issue that ACORN is working diligently with in order to ensure that the citizens of the lower 9^th ward have a voice in the upcoming elections, despite their current location. ACORN also told us of how they pulled together resources to bus voters into the city to vote during the last election

I would be remised if I failed to discuss the effect of privilege after the storm and how artificial tensions work to oppress people. Many people have been quoted as saying that Katrina was the great equalizer that put every-one of the same level; at least temporarily. However, if you listen to ACORN describe what happened in New Orleans, it is clear that this was not the case. For example, privileged individuals were able to call and reroute trailers that were headed to underprivileged areas, simply because of their various forms of capital.

Many tensions have been created and perpetuated after Katrina. For example, you have people in Bay St. Louis and Pearlington, MS arguing that New Orleans, LA is receiving all of the attention; which has created a tension. Then you have an antagonistic relationship that has been created between the resident African Americans and the influx of immigrant workers that have come to the area to assist with rebuilding projects. And, the thing to consider is that when you have these tensions at the micro level it shields those that are in power from being subjected to a high level of strict scrutiny and allows exploitation to persist. One of the goals of sociologist is to expose structural problems by revealing how tension and writing problems off as isolated or individual problems allows exploitation to continue.

Once, we got back to the hotel from our excursion, I immediately sought out some food. I ended up having some Louisiana Catfish and Jambalaya. Afterwards, I took a quick nap and now I’m up doing some reading.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We will be joining Bishop Paul Morton for services. Below you will find some important questions that I have been grappling with today.

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. Was Katrina the great equalizer?
2. The waters that crushed structures in New Orleans came very rapidly. In fact, the lower 9th ward had 6 foot of water in 15 minutes. So, the question that the lady at ACORN encouraged students to think about is, what would you do with your 15 minutes? What decisions would you make? Where would you go?
3. Several thousand people have not returned to New Orleans. The devastation and health hazards are still vast; despite the fact that it has been more than two years. Many of these areas were not in good condition before the storm; especially in the lower 9^th ward, which is one of the most impoverished areas in the nation. So, one question that I’m grappling with is whether or not I would return, to make a “chocolate city.”
4. Does this desired “chocolate city,” by some say something about a super structure that seeks to keep Whites superior to Blacks, considering the social elements that are at play within a chocolate city?
5. Was the city looking out for the best interest of the citizens by not allowing them to return?
6. In regards to real estate; the location of one’s property plays a vital role in determining the property value. So, I’m forced to ask the question of whether a house that cost $150,000 to build in both an impoverished community and a privileged community; should become less valued in the impoverished community simply based on the location?
7. Has New Orleans gotten too much attention or simply not enough?
8. Who is benefiting by what happened as a result of Hurricane Katrina?

To be Continued ……………..

The photo below, from the lower 9th ward is profound. I encourage you to think about this. BTW: The death count is probably higher.

Friday was an interesting day. We began the day by returning to the Hancock Library, where an interview team completed our last oral history. While this oral history was being conducted the rest of us went to the Laundromat to get a jumpstart on our laundry and get some breakfast. After everyone finished their laundry and ate breakfast we got on the bus and began our journey to New Orleans, LA. Once we were in New Orleans, some of us immediately hit the streets. In fact, my first stop was to a local barbershop; which charged a very high price.

To be continued ……

Today was very interesting. We spent the day at the Bay St. Louis branch of The Hancock Library System. We rotated through a range of task.

My group started out researching post cards. This task was very interesting; noting that we were able to research a historic building, the Reed Hotel. We found out the linage of owners as well as the name changes. This task or project will allow the library to maintain an archival record of historical buildings in case one building were to be destroyed or demolished.

We then rotated to my favorite station, the oral history station. At this station we were able to listen to the stories of library employees who survived the storm. These experiences were priceless, because they allowed us to gain perspective through the eyes of various people.

The one thing that I learned was the need to realize that there is a multitude of voices that still need to be heard in order to fully understand the breath of devastation that occurred as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Tomorrow, the plan is to leave early for the library to finish up our task. Then, we will do laundry before leaving Bay St. Louis, MS for New Orleans, LA.

To be continued …….

Today was very interesting. We had the opportunity to meet a few local government officials along with the library staff of the Hancock County Library System. It was interesting to hear them talk about how quickly they received help (3 days). They told us how they have a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” mentality; and how that philosophy has allowed them to stay focused on the road to recovery. They told us how they spent time applying for a $25,000 grant to restore 5 pieces of artwork. They also spent a lot of time telling us about how energy is being used to plant new trees in areas that had many trees uprooted. We also learned that the bridge connecting Bay Saint Louis to the rest of the Gulf Coast was just recently opened.

Nevertheless, the sociological concept that I pondered while I listened was the Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm; which essentially says that we construct our own social reality based on several environmental factors.

The ironic thing about today is that two years ago I was in this county volunteering in Pearlington, MS. I did not realize that I was actually returning to the same area that I had previously volunteered four months after Katrina devastated the coast. (BTW: In fact, I found out that the building I stayed in during my mission trip was the Pearlington Branch of the Hancock Library System; which was connected to a school) And, it was very very very interesting to listen to the speakers talk today and compare and contrast those comments with those of people from the same county only two years ago. And, I must end by saying that the other sociological term that I pondered heavily today was conceptualization. This really came to the forefront of my mind as I listened to various speaker speak about community.

Tomorrow, we will be getting up bright and early to conduct oral histories, do strap-booking, scanning, and fulfill any other tasks that we can to help the Hancock County Library System.

To be Continued …………..