About Me
History is complex. So are my bloodlines. My maternal great-grandmother was Black and American Indian. Her tribal affiliation is unknown. My paternal great-grandmother was Cherokee. My parents identify as Black. My identity is a rich one...I am Black with American Indian ancestry.
I grew up near the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Britton's Neck, SC is a small rural community with one of the poorest school districts in the state. Britton’s Neck School District Four was so impoverished that it was highlighted in the documentary, Corridor of Shame, which was aired on public television. The cafeteria was outdated, water flooded bathroom floors, and teacher preparation was severely limited. After the local news spotlighted my school’s poor performance, officials sought help outside the district. Yet the damage had already been done, and community members were tasked with the burden of reconstructing a shattered school system.
Not only was the educational system in disrepair, so was the economic condition of Blacks. Whites occupied almost all of the professional positions in my community while Blacks struggled to hold onto blue-collar jobs. For a poor, young Black girl who relied on sage advice from her illiterate grandfather and her mother who worked for minimum wage in a candy factory, the prospect of acquiring a professional position seemed unattainable.
This was indeed true until a bookmobile paid a visit to my community. When I stepped inside the bookmobile, I was surprised to see that the lady seated behind the wheel was Black and a librarian. I had never seen a Black librarian before. She was a living testament to what I could become...anything.
I am a first-generation graduate student with a vision. My decision to continue my education and write a biographical narrative of Augusta Baker, a Black librarian-administrator's life and legacy, is intricately intertwined to the dearth of Black professional role models I encountered during my earliest years.
I grew up near the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Britton's Neck, SC is a small rural community with one of the poorest school districts in the state. Britton’s Neck School District Four was so impoverished that it was highlighted in the documentary, Corridor of Shame, which was aired on public television. The cafeteria was outdated, water flooded bathroom floors, and teacher preparation was severely limited. After the local news spotlighted my school’s poor performance, officials sought help outside the district. Yet the damage had already been done, and community members were tasked with the burden of reconstructing a shattered school system.
Not only was the educational system in disrepair, so was the economic condition of Blacks. Whites occupied almost all of the professional positions in my community while Blacks struggled to hold onto blue-collar jobs. For a poor, young Black girl who relied on sage advice from her illiterate grandfather and her mother who worked for minimum wage in a candy factory, the prospect of acquiring a professional position seemed unattainable.
This was indeed true until a bookmobile paid a visit to my community. When I stepped inside the bookmobile, I was surprised to see that the lady seated behind the wheel was Black and a librarian. I had never seen a Black librarian before. She was a living testament to what I could become...anything.
I am a first-generation graduate student with a vision. My decision to continue my education and write a biographical narrative of Augusta Baker, a Black librarian-administrator's life and legacy, is intricately intertwined to the dearth of Black professional role models I encountered during my earliest years.