Catching Up - in one (long) breath

(Disclaimer: This blog entry is longer than normal because we covered over a year’s worth of activities. We promise the next one will be much shorter. J&J)
We hope this little newsletter finds you and yours all doing well and blessed. After a long break, we are “blogging” again. In fact, the last entry we made was in October 2009 (two years??); so at the suggestion of some dear friends, we decided that it was about time to do it again. We are going to report on what we’ve been doing starting with the Spring of 2010. We both came down with a case of CRS, but we’ll try to play catch-up. Thank heavens for the pictures with dates in our computer’s picture gallery.

The spring of 2010 was very memorable. Starting off in January, we were overjoyed at Heshima and Yun-Chi's

wedding celebration. Yun-Chi’s parents from Taiwan as well as friends and family from near and far attended their reception. This is a couple that truly supports each other and we wish them all the happiness in the world. Afterwards, Barry and Judy came down to Savannah with us to take in some beach weather. The joy they brought with them was an important part of our ability to continue to keep smiling. Of course, there was the Savannah Black Heritage Festival and the Music Festival, where we volunteer, but at this juncture, they are just part of the cultural landscape.

In May we had a truly memorable experience. On the weekend of May 1st we made a whirlwind “Civil Rights Pilgrimage” with our long-time friends Sherry and Chester Robinson from Ohio. We met up in Atlanta, and drove about 2 hours to Tuskegee, Alabama where we met up with Sherry’s cousin

Alva “Sunshine” (originally from Macon), who gave us a tour of the beautiful Tuskeegee University campus, the George Washington Carver Museum (highly recommended!), and Moton Field where the Tuskeegee Airmen (and women) were trained in the 1940s. We spent the night at the Kellogg Center, Tuskegee University’s campus hotel, which has beautiful well-appointed accommodations, excellent food, and even a jazz combo playing in the lounge on weekends. [A comprehensive guide to the University is available online. On their Home Page, click “Tours”, then pull up the 32-page PDF “Self Guided Tour.”] The following day we went to Montgomery to visit Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and the Civil Rights Memorial next to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Then it was on to Selma where we crossed the infamous Edmund Pettis Bridge, the scene of tremendous police brutality in the 1960s. Our last stop was Birmingham. On Sunday, we attended service at the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed in 1963 taking the lives of four little girls and across the street to Kelly Ingram Park where dogs were set on children.

We also visited the Civil Rights museum which featured a replica of the bus made famous by Rosa Parks’ sit-down action, among other exhibits. It is absolutely amazing the level of courage that the people had to endure all that in order to get a little dignity. It’s sad how many of the younger generation take those sacrifices of others for granted. That was our major travel event last spring, and it was quite memorable and moving.

And finally, in May Jesse put on his thespian hat again when he played the character "Doker" in the local community theater’s rendition of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. He enjoyed meeting and working with some very talented young people from the area.

In the summer of 2010 we came north to Amherst to renew our ties to our extended family as well as to the folks in the neighborhood. You know that is always a good thing.

The rest of 2010 was wonderful and blessed and we were up to our usual activities. Jo took a crafts class at Armstrong Atlantic State University and taught a kids' sewing class right down the

road at the Crusader Community Center. For Thanksgiving, our children came to Savannah which was a joyous time for all. We had usually been going to Poughkeepsie to have Thanksgiving with Ma James, but knew we would be going up for her birthday in March. Christmas was quiet and we participated in Kwanzaa ceremonies with the community.

2011 has also been a good year. Thus far we’ve had visits from several friends and family: Barry and Judy, Frances Washington Person and her husband Bill, Adrianne Andrews, Yvonne and Doug, Chris Ford, and Ayo and Kofi. With Barry and Judy we went to Midway (GA) to the historic Dorchester Academy, formerly a private Black school and “safe place” where Martin Luther King and other leaders got away to strategize, plan and train civil rights activists. We took Ayo and Kofi down to the Geechee Kunda Homecoming and to Tybee for kite flying. We also went dolphin watching on Hilton Head which was cool.

In March we traveled up to Poughkeepsie to celebrate Ma James' 100th birthday. What a celebration that was! And to top it off, the following Saturday we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Marisha Joyner, Jesse’s God-daughter, and Kenneth Tolson. We saw folks there that we had not seen for a long, long time. The Brooks’ family gave us a place to stay while we were in town for which we are truly grateful. When we returned to Savannah, it was Savannah Music Festival time. We ushered about 10 events in 2 weeks. Whew! The highlight was the back-to-back Maceo Parker “Funky Dance Party.” Two shows. What fun!

During April, Faith Ringgold came down and had an exhibit of her Tar Beach drawings, story quilts and her dolls at the SCAD Museum. Jo took some of the children and adults from the local Crusader Center to the show. This was their first field trip in a long time and one which they enjoyed very much.
For our anniversary in May, we took a day trip to Augusta, GA. We visited James Brown Plaza and the Lucy Laney Museum.

We were familiar with her name – a dorm at Lincoln U. was named in her honor – but we didn’t know what an amazing woman she was. She was a protege of Mary McLeod Bethune, another powerhouse of a woman. On the way back from Augusta, we passed through and had dinner in Waynesboro GA which, we later found out, is the hometown of Dorothy and Bob Green. Small world!

In June, we visited Macon, GA for the dedication of a city park to the parents of Jacquelyn Smith Crooks. While there, we reconnected with our good sister and Jacquelyn’s bosom buddy, Peliwe Lolwana from South Africa who was in the country at the time. We had stayed with Peliwe when we were in South Africa in 2005. The day we were there just happened to be the last weekend before the Georgia Music Hall of Fame was to close its doors, so we checked it out along with the Tubman African American Museum.

In early July, we made our trek up to Amherst, by way of Maryland, to get our batteries charged again. It always does our hearts good to see family and friends and we thank you all for your friendship and love. The Omega Psi Phi Centennial Conclave was in DC the end of July. You know, Jess couldn’t miss that gathering of brothers. Washington was a sea of purple and the whole week went on without incident. We went back to Amherst to finish up another beautiful (and cool) summer vacation. We are blessed.
We promise to continue writing our “next chapter” real soon.
JoAnn and Jesse