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Discussion with Markisha Motton and Veronica Martin about their interview with Hattie Paulk |
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Shameem Rakha: ok what do you think about the community members and
neighbors correcting and helping raise the children of the neighborhood
that concept that Ms. Polk spoke about? Veronica Martin: I think it’s great because when I think it’s great when other people in your community try to help you when you’re out and try to help you succeed and not trying to bring you down or keep up with you. You know some people might have three or four cars so they’re like I have to get three or four cars. You know not trying to keep up with people. When you’re just there just trying to help, you know help better people better than just trying to keep up with them and bringing them down. Shameem Rakha: today in your neighborhood or your community people neighbors do work there with a concern going on with the child in the community. Markisha Motton: Well, in my own personal neighborhood yes they are. You try to help people. When you see people in a need of help you try to help. You know to get out there and you help them. We’re like a big family and work and you know if in that place you don’t want any bad things to happen to our neighbors kids and you know people’s grandmothers, so you know if you see something wrong you need to get out there and help. Veronica Martin: well me personally being the child that is getting taken care of by everybody I think that it’s ok but in the sense it’s kind of hard because everybody is going to watching you, and you know if one person corrects you, you know there’s going to be more than one person doing it. And so I think that is very like hard but in my community everybody just stays to themselves. Shameem Rakha: Ms. Polk said that you have fight for what is right. Is there anything today that you feel is worth fighting for? Markisha Motton: Today, I fee my education is worth fighting for it’s people in my family who are in prison and didn’t graduate and I have cousins that have babies and I mean they’re just on the wrong path. And I mean you look to my mom’s kids and she has a step son, and he’s in college now, and she has an older daughter, she’s in college, she’s a CAN right now, she’s going to be an RN and now, it’s time for me to step up to the plate. I’m in honor classes now and when I get to high school I want to be all that I can be. So one thing in my life that I think is worth fighting for is my education. To not only better me but better anybody else, because what I learned is that I can pass it down to you know people out in the community and when I get old to pass it down to my children and I just want to make it so people look at my mom and they say yeah she did a good job raising her kids. Veronica Martin: I believe my goals are worth working for right now because that’s what’s telling me what exactly what I’m going to do and what I’m going to be when I get older. And making the right choices and how not to, and so I believe if I get those straight from what is right from wrong then nothing can actually mess up my future. Shameem Rakha: great. How did you feel when Ms. Polk said that the schools may be worse today for African American students than they were back in the 1950s. Markisha Motton: Well, in many ways I agree with her in that when if you read books and your family tells you about the past, there were no kids trying to blow up the school or calling in bomb threats and being disrespectful. But nowadays there are like just teachers that say thing, and the kids are like I don’t want to hear that, and they get sent to the office with a DI, and so it worse than it was and I agree with her. But in another sense there are the school is better because you know there’s more, we’re not African Americans are not all the way up there but like she said we’re getting there and you know some African American citizens that are getting into the honor classes and are doing good and you know what those who aren’t in the honor classes that doesn’t mean that they’re dumb or any less smarter than the kids that are in the classes. It means that they’re getting there but they need to try harder and they could be there. If they put their heart into something that they want to do. Veronica Martin: I forgot the question. Shameem Rakha: you don’t’ have to answer it if you don’t want to. How did you feel when Ms. Polk said that the schools may be worse today for African American students than they were back in the 1950s. Veronica Martin: when she first said that I had to think about it because I didn’t realize what she was talking about but when she started going into detail with her, I thought about the things that we do now as children versed what they were doing back then. And back then kids would sit down and try to get an education now, there’s more kids dropping out and just saying that they don’t want to do this and so I think I agree with Mrs. Polk. Shameem Rakha: and my last question is what did Ms. Polk say to you that reminded you of your own life? Veronica Martin: the fact that she was saying how there’s a lot of things going wrong but it’s you that has to study and get your education because you need to be the future and you need to make sure you’re doing right. And she said the statistics about the male’s Africans and how they’re being locked up and they’re not getting an education that they need, and so we need to preserve them and so we can have a better future. Markisha Motton: could you repeat the question again? Shameem Rakha: I’m looking for connections here. When Mrs. Polk was speaking to you what resonated with you, when she spoke what made you go oh I can relate to that. Markisha Motton: when she said that African Americans have come a long way but have a long way to go. We all can relate to that because you know African Americans used to be slaves and you know there are still some are lawyers and doctors that are African Americans and by her saying that we have a long way to go I know that I can change that a little bit because I know when I grow up I can be a lawyer, a doctor, or a judge. I know that step by step and other African Americans can, so when she says we have a long way to go I think she was implying to me that I need I can be one more step closer to that long way that we have to go so we have to try our best so you know just be all that we can be as African Americans so don’t give up. Shameem Rakha: Veronica Martin I was thinking about the fact that Ms. Polk talked about being in a segregated school and how that was a blessing for her having teachers for her to be amongst other black students and I know you’ve gone to a school that’s similar in racial makeup and I’m wondering if having been in similar situations segregated and desegregated settings in a sense or in integrated or non-integrated settings do you agree with that statement or how do you feel about the two different types of backgrounds? Veronica Martin: well I don’t think I don’t go against her, but you kind of get tired of hearing the same thing from the same race of people saying how we’re never treated fair because of the color of our skin. It’s a new day, we have more opportunities to help us, so I feel that when you go into a mixed surrounding like I’m in now since I’m in public school that is better because you get to see different sides from different people and you have the same opportunities as those people. And all you have to do is do what’s right and make sure that you’re doing what you want to do and do the same things that they do. Kimberlie Kranich: I have a couple of questions. Veronica Martin I’ll start with you. You said in your neighborhood people kind of stick to themselves, describe the neighborhood that you live in. tell me what it’s like. Veronica Martin: mainly old people and they usually just stay in the house or they don’t interact with everybody. And there’s like a couple of high schooler kids around us but they’re usually gone out of the house, so it’s just their parents. And it’s only like two houses that have the same kids age groups together with us and so that’s why nobody really interacts with each other. Kimberlie Kranich: So do you know your neighbors? Veronica Martin: yeah. Cause my sister is in high school and a lot of the high school kids out there know my sister but me and my brothers don’t interact with them because we’re younger than them. Kimberlie Kranich: and what racially does the neighborhood look like? Veronica Martin: African American. Kimberlie Kranich: ok Markisha describe your neighborhood for us. You said you had a different experience from Veronica Martin. Markisha Motton: there are a lot of people that African Americans in my neighborhood. I think there’s one family that is Caucasian in our neighborhood but that doesn’t bother us because I mean we are everybody knows their neighbors and there’s a lot of kids in the neighborhood and there are a lot of people trying to just you know help us in our neighborhood, and we have a boys and girls club in our neighborhood and a lot of people go there and we know a lot people and the parents know a lot of parents because we all- all the kids are around the same age group. So people know people because you know if you around people it’s kind of hard not to say anything to people that you’re around all day, so you try to interact with others. Kimberlie Kranich: and do you get a sense that the adults in the community are looking out for you looking out for you best interest if you were in trouble or something, would try to help you or try to steer you away from any type of thing that would be not beneficial to your future. Markisha Motton: Definitely they’re trying to help us definitely. When there’s not adult in our neighborhood trying to get kids… always looking for us to do the right thing and they’re always trying to teach us how to do something. Kimberlie Kranich: Mrs. Polk said that she’s made things easier for you all because of what she went through. Do you think that’s true, why or why not? Markisha Motton: I think that’s true because you know she went through people being rude to her and people spit on her and boycotting you know so like the JC Penny thing she boycotted it for African Americans to work there and now, if I wanted to work there and I was old enough you know I would be able to work in JC Pennies and you know if she didn’t boycott, you know her and other people then you know what I wouldn’t be able to work there. And how would I end up getting the money you know she opened up more doors for us because now we have something legal that we can earn money and not have to you know go to streets and try to earn money. She’s trying to open up jobs for us. Veronica Martin: I agree with her too because she had gone through so many things like she said she boycotted Carmen’s or Carmel or something like that and she said there was no desire to go in there, to make sure that generations after her had the opportunity to go in there and do the things that Caucasians and other races had and now we do have a chance to go in to Carmel’s or Carmen’s and get jobs at JC Pennies or get a better education then what we were getting at first. And also we can interact with others that are not like us but different. And I think that the difference between different people actually makes our personalities different or unique. Kimberlie Kranich: Is there anything today that is right now in your current young lives that you find whether it’s at school or something else worth fighting for demonstrating anything that is so out of whack that you think there needs to be some kind of mass organized community effort to make a choice, and if so would you be part of that. Or are you aware of any that exist. Markisha Motton: I something that I would like to change and in schools I would like for there to be more African Americans in honors program and in the classes that they are in, you don’t have to be an honors just to be smart, you can be in those classes, because in those classes that you are in, I want them to try harder, you know I want them to know to not act out and learn because you know we like if people from the slavery days look down on us from heaven or whatever, and you know what I bet it hurts them to see that they had to go through slavery and everything and now that we’re out of it and everything we don’t want to act the right way and complain and act out and I bet that hurts them so I think we need to show our that we for those years that they have us washing dishes in slavery they could have had us doing something else maybe even better than the white people. Kimberlie Kranich: I want to follow up with a question. It sounds to me that maybe you’re lonely being in your class of honors with only three other African Americans be or also hurt by your peers who are in the other classes and I’m hearing that maybe they’re not trying as hard. Is that a piece of what I’m hearing? Markisha Motton: That’s not at all what I’m saying about me being lonely. I mean there are other African Americans that there are about three other African Americans in my class room, you know the white people they’re my friends too, I’m not being racist so I’m not lonely at all I mean there are other children in my classroom that are other races that I hang out with. Right now, I hang out with, and she’s white her name is Annie McChesney and she’s one of my best friends. You know what I’m not saying that I’m lonely, because like in there the white people make me feel out of place because that’s not at all what I’m saying. I’m just saying I wish my culture would try hard to get into the honors. Kimberlie Kranich: How about you Veronica Martin, is there anything currently going on in schools in your neighborhood or in this country or this state that you feel is worth fighting for in a way that Mrs. Paulk and others were doing? Veronica Martin: I believe that there are a lot of kids not raised but all over that have troubles having to cope with the different surroundings and places that they’re in. and I think there should be a program for kids that don’t have all of the resources and the abilities to do things. I think that they should have a group for those kids to come together and actually learn from each other and help one another mentally and so that they can understand that they’re not the only kids out there that are unfortunate but they are a whole bunch of kids and all they have to do is come together and unite as one and be strong for one another. Kimberlie Kranich: When you’re all done with this project what do you hope to get out of this whole thing. Markisha Motton: I hope to learn that back then when all of the people that struggled for us, that they didn’t just do it for themselves they did it for us, our generation now and the ones to come and that I’m going to fulfill that and keep going and trying to build a better place for my generation to come in that I’m not just getting an education for myself, but I’m getting an education for my family, my friends, for the people that see me my enemies. Everybody in that I’ll be strong for them. Veronica Martin: What I hope to get out of this is to learn more about my culture and more about the people who fought for me to do projects like this and I want to see what they did and I want to you know say hey I want to give constructive criticism today and say hey well they didn’t do this as good as I think I can do it. With my education that I have so then maybe if they didn’t do such a good job then maybe I can learn and see what they did and then maybe I can go on to do that same thing bigger and better to help my people, and not only my people but all people because I like all people and I want to help all people as Ms. Hattie Paulk said, she sees a child whether what race they she wants to help. I listen to that, and I want to help not only one race but other races as well. Kimberlie Kranich: Does anyone want to work at WILL when you grow up? Markisha Motton: Well, I would sort of like that when I get older, I would like to go into law. Veronica Martin: When I get older I would love a job like this but I would really want to be a veterinarian because I love animals and I think there’s nothing in the world better than just being around animals. |
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Hattie Paulk is director of the Family Information Center for
Unit 4 of the Champaign Public Schools. She was born in 1942 and is 62
years old at the time of the interview.
listen
to the Hattie Paulk interview
read
the interview transcript