Ask an Activist: Carla Fuller, Help the Refugees

With National Welcoming Week this week (Sept. 13-21), Levine Museum is reaching out to the Greater Carolina community and asking how we can create a more welcoming environment for all newcomers. 

As part of our Welcoming Week events, Levine Museum spoke with Carla Fuller, who works with Burmese refugees and is making a difference in her own backyard. 

Carla became involved with the refugee community about 6 years ago after four Karen (an ethnic group from Burma) girls moved in with a family from her church. She soon met their friends in Charlotte and continues to visit them frequently. Since she lives a few hours away, the community invites her into their homes to stay with them.  She has come to love their culture, food and most especially their children. 

Although they may not always be able to communicate in English and she has yet to be able to fluently learn their language, communication seems easy. In addition to her new friends, she has been honored to meet the men and women of Charlotte who are dedicated to the refugee community.  Says Carla, “there is a great network of folks who work together to help refugees and I am proud to have come to know them.” Of course, there is always a need for more people and she is always encouraged when she sees someone new get involved. 

Unfortunately, there are people hostile to newcomers and changing demographics. How can we combat this? 

I think as others get to know the refugees personally, they will understand that they are just like us. They have the same wants, needs and concerns.  

When someone first gets involved, it can be hard to find common interests, especially with the language barrier. The refugees understand that it is difficult for us to reach to them and are just thankful we try.

For me, it was taking a family to explore downtown and eat ice cream for the first time that helped us bond.  Six years later, this family has just purchased their first house and they are doing very well.  It is such a joy to have been a part of their lives and share in their journey. Sometimes I forget that in the beginning we couldn't even speak to each other without an interpreter, but now we can have great conversations!

If there is someone wanting to get to know a newcomer, but not sure where to start, I would recommend contacting one of the local organizations. They can put you in touch with a family or individual who would welcome your concern for them.
  
How can we work to combat immigrant stereotypes?

The same as above.  Get to know them and see that they hard working people coming to America to escape oppression and war. They must learn a new language, a new culture, new health care system and so many other things. They have the same love for their families and are just like us in so many ways.

How can we strengthen the voices of communities that otherwise go unheard?

Reaching out to the community leaders of the various ethnic groups will help make the connection.  Going to meet them in their own communities will give them a level of comfort that otherwise they would not have.  They are still very shy and intimidated by Americans.

How can we teach self-advocacy to those within the immigrant community? 

Working with community leaders to find out what they specifically need and having programs around their schedules would be beneficial.  Drivers’ training is one of the most necessary components to self-sufficiency. There isn't much funding for it, so they are teaching themselves with deadly consequences.  

Ten years from now, how do you envision a more welcoming Charlotte and a reinvented New South?

I would hope there would be many more Americans reaching out to the community.  So many folks go overseas on mission and humanitarian trips when they are here in our own backyards. 

I asked one man why the refugees in the camps are always so excited to see the Americans visit and he said because that is how they think all Americans will be when they come to America.  It gives them hope.  But, then they come here and often they don’t find the kind hearts of the missionaries and humanitarians.  Instead, they are often preyed upon by unethical people.

What does your organization do to celebrate and welcome newcomers to Charlotte? 

When we learn of new arrivals, we put the word out to other refugees.  They know firsthand the struggles that the newcomers face.  They take them food, welcome them and then continue to check in on them and assist in however they can.  In addition, the other Americans who are volunteering in the community will try to bring them clothes, food and other items they may need.  Unfortunately, there are not enough people to call upon and many are stretched thin. 

For more information about Carla and the work that she does, visit her website, HelpTheRefugees.com

Join the conversation: 
Levine Museum is hosting a Tweetchat on Wednesday, Sept. 17, from noon-1 p.m. on Creating A Welcoming Charlotte.

Follow and participate on Twitter at @LevineMuseum and use the hashtags #WelcomingCLT  #welcomingweek

Diggin' History Through Music and Dance: A.M. "Toni" Tupponce

Many performers and women‭ ‬often recall a moment‭ ‬when they‭ ‬“found their voice.‭”‬ Where and when did you find your voice‭? ‬How has it impacted what you do both as a vocalist and an individual‭?

Finding‭ ‬“my voice‭”‬ has been a journey that I am still on‭…‬with no arrival date or end place in sight.‭ ‬From the time that I first started singing as a solo or lead vocalist in college‭…‬.my instructors and mentors called me a‭ ‬“torch singer‭”‬.‭  ‬I was only interested in singing songs that evoked some kind of emotion in the listener‭…‬I wanted to touch them somewhere.‭  ‬Whether I was singing R&B,‭ ‬Blues,‭ ‬Jazz or Gospel‭…‬if I did not connect with the lyric and the melody,‭ ‬truthfully,‭ ‬I did not care to sing it.‭  ‬I was subsequently convinced that if I wanted to‭ ‬“work‭”‬ I had to broaden my repertoire and skill set to sing songs to get people‭ ‬“dancing‭”‬!  I also believed,‭ ‬but not for long,‭ ‬that my voice and range needed to be higher‭!  ‬So I tried to force this natural contralto of mine into a stronger soprano.‭  ‬That only led to frustration and could have led to injury.‭  ‬As I got older and listened more to the truly great vocalists‭ ‬….Carmen McCrae,‭ ‬Billie Holiday,‭ ‬Nancy Wilson,‭ ‬Dinah Washington,‭ ‬the late Eva Cassidy and Phyllis Hyman as well as Donny Hathaway and of course Sarah Vaughn‭ (‬whose range is off the charts‭)‬…and‭  ‬so many others‭ ‬…I learned that I only need to sound like the best‭ ‬Toni that I possibly can.‭  ‬So now,‭ ‬while getting people on their feet has its place for me‭…‬.‭ ‬when I sing‭ ‬I go for the emotional jugular and make no apologies for it‭…‬whether the song touches you to tears or crazy laughter‭…‬.I just want to‭ ‬feel what I sing and to share a conversation with the other musicians and the listener that says we‭ ‬“get‭”‬ each other‭! ‬The impact has been that I am probably more vulnerable much of the time.‭  ‬And,‭ ‬I hope,‭ ‬I am more authentic.‭  ‬My goal is to always perform as if I may never get the chance to do it again.‭  ‬I do not always meet that mark‭…‬.and I am disappointed in myself when I don‭’‬t because I think I‭’‬ve cheated my audience and myself

"Toni" Tupponce

As we‭ ‬celebrate‭ ‬Women‭’‬s History Month,‭ ‬what women‭ ‬–famous or not‭—‬have influenced you‭? ‬How‭? ‬What do you hope your example is for young women today‭?


My first influence was my Mom‭…‬.she was a‭ ‬real‭ ‬“youngster‭”‬ when I was coming up.‭  ‬She‭’‬d finished college and worked a little by the time she had me‭…‬.but she had the heart of a child and a tremendous‭ ‬“Mom psychology‭”‬ that defied her youth.‭  ‬She gave me the grounding even in the mid‭ ‬1950‭’‬s to embrace myself as a black girl and to see it as‭ ‬beautiful.‭ ‬I was placed in the position of desegregating a small Catholic parochial school in my hometown in Virginia when I was‭ ‬5‭ ‬years old.‭  ‬Without that grounding,‭ ‬I would have come out of that experience a very different young woman.‭   ‬Second was my Aunt Emma‭…‬.who taught me that loving someone does not guarantee you that they will love you back and you have to live on‭…‬still whole and loving yourself.‭  ‬I admired icons like Fanny Lou Hammer,‭ ‬Myrlie Evers,‭ ‬Josephine Baker,‭ ‬Angela Davis,‭ ‬Lena Horne,‭ ‬and my Speech and English instructor in college,‭ ‬Miss Mary Bohannon‭…‬she took no prisoners and expected excellence in written and oratory expression.‭  ‬She cared nothing about embarrassing you when you were wrong and when you did well,‭ ‬it was no more than she expected of you.‭  ‬Most people dropped her course as soon as they drew the short straw with her name at registration‭!  (‬she‭’‬d‭ ‬love hearing that as scared‭ ‬as I was of her‭!)



A Sign of the Times is finishing‭ ‬this year‭’‬s Diggin‭’‬ History Through Music and Dance series on Wednesday.‭ ‬What has this program meant for you and the band‭? ‬What has stuck with you about how audiences have responded‭?


This is our third season of‭ ‬“Diggin History‭…”‬ at the Levine Museum of the New South‭!  ‬In terms of what it‭’‬s meant‭…‬I can only speak for myself‭…‬its been wonderful.‭  ‬I am so proud of my husband‭’‬s tenacity in putting this series together and pulling it off.‭  ‬It only gets better each year,‭ ‬I think.‭  ‬Because we‭’‬ve focused on the history of Black people from throughout the African Diaspora this year‭…‬it has drawn me closer to the shared history with sisters and brothers who are Hispanic‭…‬whether from Brazil,‭ ‬Venezuela,‭ ‬Haiti,‭ ‬Cuba,‭ ‬Mexico or Puerto Rico‭…‬.we are related through our ancestral lineage,‭ ‬our enslaved history,‭ ‬our tenacity and our music‭!  ‬Is that not awesome‭?  ‬That connection should bring us together in this community‭…‬.and I pray we will stop letting the media or the powers that be keep us apart.‭  ‬We can get beyond the spoken language‭…‬every time,‭ ‬as Tyrone says,‭ ‬that we say:‭ ‬“1,‭ ‬2,‭…‬1,‭ ‬2,‭ ‬3,‭ ‬4‭…‬..‭”‬ and the rhythm kicks off into something fierce‭!   ‬The audience response has been tremendous.‭  ‬The numbers keep growing.‭  ‬And best of all,‭ ‬people want to know MORE‭!  ‬This year they are requesting bibliographies and young people are asking for recommended reading to begin their journey of knowledge‭…‬it doesn‭’‬t get any better than that.



In your experience,‭ ‬where do art and activism meet‭?


Art and activism meet everywhere that we are.‭  ‬Art is a reflection of society at any given time.‭  ‬It is reflected in everything from rap music and hip-hop to the messages that we are tolerating on television and in the movies.‭  ‬The greater the actual numbers of‭ ‬“minorities‭”‬ the more negative the media message.‭  ‬I do not think this is accidental.‭  ‬So art has to challenge that‭…‬speak truth to the masses in ways that it can be heard,‭ ‬envisioned,‭ ‬shared and embraced.‭  ‬Our ancestors hid their messages in the drums,‭ ‬lyrics of spirituals,‭ ‬carvings‭…‬.so nothing is new‭!‬  I used to want art to be pretty and make me feel good‭…‬.and I still do.‭  ‬But I think that art should also make me a little uncomfortable at times‭…‬shake me up and make me reconsider my position and question what I know.‭  ‬That‭’‬s why I love that we are having our dialogues at the Levine‭!  ‬The museum has stepped out into some uncomfortable territory at times‭…‬.and I thank you for it.

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Ask an Artist! Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid is a participatory art project, conceived and orchestrated by artist Annabel Manning. Immigrant youth from Charlotte and the Triangle area of North Carolina collaborated with Manning to create portraits, which were then digitally altered to portray the youth's visible and invisible status simultaneously.  Compelling and personal, the pieces featured in the exhibit demonstrate how art can be a deliberative and imaginative forum for exploring complex issues about immigrant labor, education, and legal status.

Please meet artist and activist, Annabel Manning

What impact do you hope “Out of the Shadows” will have on the public?
I hope that the artwork in Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid will show the public how it feels to be in this state of being invisible and without rights. 

I am also interested in the complicity that all the documented (myself included) should feel for the predicament of the undocumented because we are partially responsible for it. I believe all U.S. citizens are complicit because we are benefiting from the work and culture of the Latinos and because, directly or indirectly, we help to make or keep them invisible. My hope is that the public will develop a sense of responsibility for this issue and fight for the rights that the undocumented youth deserve.

How has this Movement changed you? 
The visibility in the general public in North Carolina that the student youth have attained thus far has inspired me to expand this project.  The goal is to provide even more Latino undocumented youth (and their families) with art tools that allow them to express themselves visually and to engage the public in discussions or confrontations about the youth’s specific dreams and demands for immigration reform. 

How did you choose the medium for your artwork?
The show includes photographs, sunprints, monoprints, and a digital installation (with camera, mirror and projection) – all reflecting the youth’s experiences of feeling invisible in their communities, outside their families and friends, separating them into two selves: how they see themselves versus how others see them. This theme emerged from my discussions with them and then we adopted the mediums to capture it in multiple ways.

What does activism mean to you?
To be able to create participatory art activities with communities like Immigrant Youth Forum (IYF) and United 4 the Dream (U4TD) to engage the public in discussions or confrontations about the youth’s dreams, fears, and demands regarding civil rights, education, labor, and citizenship. 

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid is on display now through June 29, 2014.

Tell us below what does activism mean to you.

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Destination Freedom Kick Off: Ask an Activist!

This Sunday is our official Destination Freedom Kick Off, a free afternoon program featuring panel discussions, new exhibits and entertainment, along with a special talk by Civil Rights activist Diane Nash.  In preparing for Sunday, we had the opportunity to ask several of the panelists questions surrounding the pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement, their own activism, and what they are looking forward to during the Destination Freedom Kick Off. 

 

Next up: Elver Barrios, Community Organizer at the Latin American Coalition

 

How does Sept. 15, 1963 relate to the causes you are most passionate about? What takeaways have you gained from the Civil Rights Movement?

Sept. 15, 1963 relates to causes I am passionate about because of the fact that there has always been people who, for various reasons, always feared or showed hatred towards others based on their skin color, gender or other identities. But, the fact that there is always someone that stands up to fight for what is right gives me courage to see that it might take a while to make changes. It is never too late to make those changes. I also look at the sacrifices from this day 50 years ago and think about how in movements for change sometimes there are sacrifices and losses.

Changing the immigration system is something that I’m really passionate about since I’m personally affected by the broken immigration system. I think that the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s is much like today when we are still fighting for a new group of people that are oppressed. I think that if there is something that I take from the Civil Rights Movement is that perseverance always pays off and that one person can make a difference if they fight with their heart to make a difference and work to make some else’s life better. 

 

How do you recall your activism and any highlights of it?

I think that my activism has impacted in a positive way the lives of many by encouraging them to join the movement. That together we can make changes so our undocumented immigrant families can stay together and not have to be separated.  In 2010, when the fight for the DREAM Act became stronger than ever, I decided to take a stand and fight for my education along with that of other young people in Charlotte and challenge our North Carolina Senators to fight for the future of this country. Although it did not pass, the youth immigrant movement only became stronger! Today, we have grown from that time and have realized the importance of focusing not only on ourselves as young people but also on our families.

 

What are you looking forward to during the Destination Freedom Kick Off

I think that it is important that we acknowledge that in this country there has always been a group of people that has been oppressed at some point in history, and the struggles are very much similar but yet so different. It takes more than one person to make those changes. During this event I hope to see people make the connections to what happened in 1963 and today and why it is important to fight not only for our struggles but also to help others overcome theirs.

 

Hear more from Mr. Barrios and others at Levine Museum, Sunday, Sept. 15, beginning at 3 p.m.

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Destination Freedom...Pivotal Moments in 1963

The Civil Rights Movement is considered the pivotal moment of the 20^th century.

1963 is considered a turning point of the Civil Rights Movement.

There are many reasons why:

On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is put in a Birmingham city jail. His arrest and the critique from fellow clergymen urging protesters to take change "slow," prompted Dr. King to write the now widely known, "A Letter from a Birmingham City Jail." This letter, in short, advocated for Dr. King's philosophy of nonviolent direct action.  In the opening pages he writes:

“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Today, Levine Museum begins hosting an artistic response exhibit that bears the title of "Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham," as an homage to Dr. King's words. The exhibit looks forward to the state of civil rights today; 50 years later. However, in 1963, as a direct result of this letter, one month after his arrest, groups of school children committed their bodies for civil disobedience.

The Children’s March of May 1963, was a symbolic and awful moment in Civil Rights history. Eugene “Bull” Connor, then the Public Safety Commissioner of Birmingham, let loose his anger in the form of dogs and the dousing of the children with powerful fire hoses. Televised nightly on the news, the callous nature of his violence immediately shook the world including a statement by President John F. Kennedy saying this “made me sick to my stomach.”

Dr. King’s statement about the inter-relatedness of all people resonated in the reactions to images from Birmingham.



Police turned attack dogs and fire hoses on Birmingham city
protesters, many of them children and teens in May of 1963.
The horrific images were captured by news cameras and
covered all over the world.



Other dates important to the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 included: 

·         May 29-31, after the threat of protest from  Reginald Hawkins, Charlotte business and government leaders stage biracial eat-ins to desegregate dining in Charlotte’s leading restaurants

·         June 11: Alabama Governor George Wallace stands in the schoolhouse door to prevent Vivian Malone and James Hood, two black students, from enrolling in the University of Alabama. President Kennedy orders him aside with federal integration orders and later appears on television condemning segregation and discrimination while expressing his intent to submit a new Civil Rights Bill.

·         June 12: Medgar Evers, NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, is murdered outside his home. No one is convicted until 30 years later.

·         On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people all of them very different in many ways gathered for one singular cause: equality. Whether it was equality in schools or in the workplace the overarching theme was the liberation of colored folk from the fetters of Jim Crow.  Dr. King, after his tumultuous year, came to Washington DC with his “I Have a Dream Speech” prepared. The speech, along with many others in history, has stood the test of time.

·         September 15 marks one of the most somber events of the Civil Rights Movement when an average Sunday turned for the worst. A bomb was placed in the foundation of the 16^th Street Baptist Church and the explosion left four little girls dead.  Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins were killed on that infamous day. The church had been a hotbed of meeting grounds during the 1960’s which was why it was a prime location for the firebomb.

·         A final major event of 1963 was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was then a big proponent of the passage of a civil rights bill.  He was murdered on November 22^nd while in Dallas, Texas, on a presidential campaign visit.  After his assassination his plan of passing a civil rights legislation was continued and finally enacted by Lyndon B. Johnson, first with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 then by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The former outlaws the discrimination in schools and the workplace that ran rampant during the era of Jim Crow and the latter prohibited the discrimination at the polls.

As we look back at the events of 1963, they leave room to consider how our issues “then” coincide with issues “now.” 

Are we living in a post-racial society? 

Is there no more discrimination in schools? At the polls?

Is “Jim Crow” really gone?

For some artists’ answers to these questions, come view the exhibit Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham among other exhibits, opening today at Levine Museum.

Share your thoughts with us on Facebook, and on Twitter @LevineMuseum.  Follow along with the hashtag #DestinationFreedom

Today there will also be a commemorative march in Washington, DC honoring the landmark March on Washington which took place on August 28, 1963.

Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now

2013 marks the year of many anniversaries of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The most famous of these anniversaries will include the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream" speech.

Dr. King, March on Washington, 1963

To commemorate that event and the various other civil rights anniversaries from Alabama to Mississippi to North Carolina, Levine Museum of the New South will begin a series of exhibitions and programs known as Destination Freedom that will highlight the aims of the Civil Rights movement then, and the issues we face today.

Destination Freedom will create a cohesive history of the movement for civil rights and the parallels to today. One exhibit in the series, Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham will be the first that will bring to life—through art—what Birmingham in 1963 meant for the nation. This exhibit will coincide with our film series that will document many different facets of the movement.

With movies such as "4 Little Girls," (screenings are scheduled for Sept. 5 and 8) which tells of the life of the tragic death of 4 little girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the film series offers a chance to learn about history and then participate in discussions with community members and scholars about what the stories can teach us.

To raise the banner about all of our programming, one month from today on September 15, the Levine Museum will host its Destination Freedom kickoff; featuring keynote speaker Diane Nash, former SNCC organizer.  Along with Nash there will also be a panel of Civil Rights activists representing “then” and “now.”  All will share their stories of activism during the 1960’s and what the fight looks like today.

Want to attend the opening? Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/LevineMuseum to get more Destination Freedom details.

Join the conversation and exploration of civil rights (then and now) on Twitter @LevineMuseum. Follow along using the hashtag #DestinationFreedom.