“I wanted their memories to live on.” Those seven words sum up the feelings of Alonzo Weston and his longtime dream that was fulfilled with the help of a Missouri Western professor, a graduate student and an alumna.
Last summer, Weston, a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press, wrote a column about trying to capture members of the African American community on video for the Black Archives Museum. He had been working on it for several years, and just not finding the time to get as many interviews as he wanted.
“Some of our youth don’t realize the struggles of their ancestors,” Weston said of why he was involved in the project. “They don’t realize the sacrifices they made.”
Dr. Bill Church, assistant professor of English, saw Weston’s column and told the columnist that he could help move the project along. “I was really interested in black oral history,” Dr. Church said. “To hear their stories was very touching. Everyone added something that no one had said before.”
Enter Jeremy Lyons, a student in Missouri Western’s digital media graduate program. Lyons offered to interview the community members over the summer of 2013 as part of his master’s thesis. He interviewed 14 people, many in their homes, and produced “In Their Own Words,” a 35-minute film for the Black Archives Museum.
“It was very intriguing and interesting,” Lyons says of his interviews. “It’s striking to hear about their lives firsthand. I loved hearing their stories.”
The project was part of his master’s thesis, along with the creation of a website for the museum so visitors can access the more than nine hours of complete interviews of everyone, an online interactive timeline of black history and a research paper on segregation and integration.
Lyons’ film was unveiled during February, Black History Month, and has received positive reviews.
A book that contains a transcription of every interview will be for sale at the museum soon. Ashley Snyder ’13, transcribed most of the interviews for the book. “It was a great project,” she said. “The people all had interesting stories. They explained it in such a way that it took you back to the time.”
Those who were interviewed talk about how blacks were treated before the Civil Rights Act and before schools were integrated. They shared stories about their lives and their careers. (See some of the quotations from the film around the border.)
Virginia Glass, 94, was one of the first black students to enroll in the St. Joseph Junior College after the Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education, which ended segregated schools. She talked about her career as a teacher. “I really didn’t want to be interviewed, but because of Alonzo (Weston), I consented. It was a good experience.”
At age 58, Weston was the youngest one interviewed and 100 year-old Frances Washington was the oldest. She passed away shortly after her interview. Weston says he wished he could have interviewed several who have passed away, including St. Joseph’s first black firefighter, and Kelsey Beshears, for whom Beshears Hall on campus is named. She was his neighbor and a large figure in the NAACP.
Weston is pleased with the project and plans to continue interviewing more in the community.
“When I was a kid, we’d sit around and my relatives would tell stories, and I enjoyed them. As I got older, I realized how important the stories were,” he said. “A lot of kids out there don’t have someone to tell them a story, and I wanted the youth to hear it in their own words.”
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