Wednesday, May 5, 2010
End of the Semester
The semester has almost come to an end and so has research for now. If you are a curious reader and are interested in this project you can visit NCOW.org and see some of the articles that I worked with and eventually I will submit the entire portfolio. For now if youa re interested in the project comment on the blog and I will get back to you. Best JP
Monday, April 26, 2010
Brief Interpretive Memo
Interpretive Memo
Over the past few weeks, I have gathered and reviewed newspaper articles, journal articles, and interviews that dealt with Ivory Moore. Because of my specific focus there is information that at one point seems irrelevant, but on the other hand the information can be useful in other contexts. The interviews that I was able to watch will be helpful in forming Moore’s early life experiences. As I said in an earlier conceptual memo, “My purpose in watching this particular segment of interview is to gain a better insight in to Moore’s personal life and historical background.” After having read Moore’s “Commerce on the Move articles I can see a connection between his early childhood and his writing. In the first Moore interview, he says that he grew up in Oklahoma and was a raised on a farm. He was part of a large family with seven boys and one girl. It seems that Moore’s ability to relate well in the large family setting translated well into his visits with the many business owners that he would later interview in “Commerce on the Move.” Although this particular video was vague on the aspects of Moore’s education, his personal resume will be a great source in filling in the blanks. One of the best quotes that I was able to get from this video interview was when Moore was talking about his opportunities at Paris Junior College. He says of the time that it “gave me a chance to start writing” From the second video interview, I learned that Moore got to know many of the key players in the Norris Community when he came to Commerce. This interview does give me some biographical info to start my paper with; I will be able to sketch out a rural background where education is important (Moore went to both high school and college). I think I can also draw a parallel to Moore’s upbringing on the farm and the rural conditions of the Norris Community. I would speculate that Moore’s upbringing was crucial to helping him communicate with and understand the struggles of the Norris Community. Moore begins this interview with a clearer articulation of the relationship between the university and the community. Moore makes the comment that the Norris community Center was used for speakers of both academic and political nature. He also says that part of his job with the university was to establish relationships with the community. Again this seems to play out well in the “Commerce on the Move” column. This relationship with the Norris Community seems to have also helped Moore in his political undertakings. In “Black Voters Turnout,” David Fisk makes the connection between Moore and the Norris Community clear. He says, “[Moore] was supported by the Norris Community Club in his campaign and has served in as chairman of various committees in that organization.” The articles that I found in The Commerce Journal provide a nice snapshoot of what the community felt was important in connection to Moore’s life. I think the articles also offer some great quotes showcasing Moore’s opinion and others about his work and himself. I will be using these to both supplement my narrative and as a guide post to the types of events in which Moore was involved. I think these articles can also point to the collective values of the community in which Moore lived and worked. For the most part these articles are complimentary, but there is one or two that seem skewed. An example of this is the article titled “Moore elected as Mayor” written by Iris Robinson. The article reports the opinions of some of Moore’s fellow committee persons and they are less than favorable. These reactions seem to show the dual nature of the community. On one hand we have support in the form of awards and press time for t he first African-American mayor, yet on the other the comments by his fellows is problematic. I would assume that this is typical of the time period in which these articles were written and the specific geographic area in which they were written. The articles that Moore wrote for The Commerce Journal did not provide a lot of information in the form of biographical information, but I think it is a safe assumption to look at the cultural / social context of the articles and deduce some character references for Moore. Although not necessarily my focus, it is interesting to note that in multiple articles, Moore practices literacy sponsorship, having the businesses he is reviewing write their own histories. I think this would be an interesting study for the future. So where does this leave us? Why look at Moore and his life? I think this is best answered by some of literacy theories big names…the work of Brain V. Street focuses on Literacy as a social event, and because of the social nature, literacy or more specifically the analysis of literacy has multiple influences, influences like ideology or cultures. Granted I am not doing a literacy study per se, but I think that Moore is influenced by and influenced his community. In her work with the Oral History Project in Brooklyn, Deborah Mutnick explores the pedagogy of the public sphere, arguing that “individual stories could begin to shape a larger collective one.” One of Mutnick’s conclusions is that the telling of personal stories from our communities can help us to learn three lessons: 1 Everybody’s story has value; 2 we have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are. 3 We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them. In the spirit of Mutnick’s project it is important for us to look locally to our community members and the stories they tell. In other words looking at an influential person such as Moore is also a way to look at the community itself. Another reason Moore is important is that he plays out the theory that David Gold discusses in his work, service. Moore is an exemplar of service to his community, both through his roles as educator and city official. As I look further into the life and work of Ivory Moore I can begin to see the effect that one person may have on a community. Moore’s work is important not only as a sketch of an educator’s life but also a glimpse into the workings of our community.
Over the past few weeks, I have gathered and reviewed newspaper articles, journal articles, and interviews that dealt with Ivory Moore. Because of my specific focus there is information that at one point seems irrelevant, but on the other hand the information can be useful in other contexts. The interviews that I was able to watch will be helpful in forming Moore’s early life experiences. As I said in an earlier conceptual memo, “My purpose in watching this particular segment of interview is to gain a better insight in to Moore’s personal life and historical background.” After having read Moore’s “Commerce on the Move articles I can see a connection between his early childhood and his writing. In the first Moore interview, he says that he grew up in Oklahoma and was a raised on a farm. He was part of a large family with seven boys and one girl. It seems that Moore’s ability to relate well in the large family setting translated well into his visits with the many business owners that he would later interview in “Commerce on the Move.” Although this particular video was vague on the aspects of Moore’s education, his personal resume will be a great source in filling in the blanks. One of the best quotes that I was able to get from this video interview was when Moore was talking about his opportunities at Paris Junior College. He says of the time that it “gave me a chance to start writing” From the second video interview, I learned that Moore got to know many of the key players in the Norris Community when he came to Commerce. This interview does give me some biographical info to start my paper with; I will be able to sketch out a rural background where education is important (Moore went to both high school and college). I think I can also draw a parallel to Moore’s upbringing on the farm and the rural conditions of the Norris Community. I would speculate that Moore’s upbringing was crucial to helping him communicate with and understand the struggles of the Norris Community. Moore begins this interview with a clearer articulation of the relationship between the university and the community. Moore makes the comment that the Norris community Center was used for speakers of both academic and political nature. He also says that part of his job with the university was to establish relationships with the community. Again this seems to play out well in the “Commerce on the Move” column. This relationship with the Norris Community seems to have also helped Moore in his political undertakings. In “Black Voters Turnout,” David Fisk makes the connection between Moore and the Norris Community clear. He says, “[Moore] was supported by the Norris Community Club in his campaign and has served in as chairman of various committees in that organization.” The articles that I found in The Commerce Journal provide a nice snapshoot of what the community felt was important in connection to Moore’s life. I think the articles also offer some great quotes showcasing Moore’s opinion and others about his work and himself. I will be using these to both supplement my narrative and as a guide post to the types of events in which Moore was involved. I think these articles can also point to the collective values of the community in which Moore lived and worked. For the most part these articles are complimentary, but there is one or two that seem skewed. An example of this is the article titled “Moore elected as Mayor” written by Iris Robinson. The article reports the opinions of some of Moore’s fellow committee persons and they are less than favorable. These reactions seem to show the dual nature of the community. On one hand we have support in the form of awards and press time for t he first African-American mayor, yet on the other the comments by his fellows is problematic. I would assume that this is typical of the time period in which these articles were written and the specific geographic area in which they were written. The articles that Moore wrote for The Commerce Journal did not provide a lot of information in the form of biographical information, but I think it is a safe assumption to look at the cultural / social context of the articles and deduce some character references for Moore. Although not necessarily my focus, it is interesting to note that in multiple articles, Moore practices literacy sponsorship, having the businesses he is reviewing write their own histories. I think this would be an interesting study for the future. So where does this leave us? Why look at Moore and his life? I think this is best answered by some of literacy theories big names…the work of Brain V. Street focuses on Literacy as a social event, and because of the social nature, literacy or more specifically the analysis of literacy has multiple influences, influences like ideology or cultures. Granted I am not doing a literacy study per se, but I think that Moore is influenced by and influenced his community. In her work with the Oral History Project in Brooklyn, Deborah Mutnick explores the pedagogy of the public sphere, arguing that “individual stories could begin to shape a larger collective one.” One of Mutnick’s conclusions is that the telling of personal stories from our communities can help us to learn three lessons: 1 Everybody’s story has value; 2 we have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are. 3 We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them. In the spirit of Mutnick’s project it is important for us to look locally to our community members and the stories they tell. In other words looking at an influential person such as Moore is also a way to look at the community itself. Another reason Moore is important is that he plays out the theory that David Gold discusses in his work, service. Moore is an exemplar of service to his community, both through his roles as educator and city official. As I look further into the life and work of Ivory Moore I can begin to see the effect that one person may have on a community. Moore’s work is important not only as a sketch of an educator’s life but also a glimpse into the workings of our community.
Conceptual Memo # 3 Commerce on the Move
Conceptual Memo #3 Commerce on the Move
I just finished taking and typing field notes on the articles that Ivory Moore wrote from Jan-march 1993 in The Commerce Journal. The title of these articles is “Commerce on the Move.” There are a total of twelve articles, 4 in January, 3 in Feb, and 4 in March. Each of the months according to a comment by Moore in the 3-Jan-1993 article will focus on different themes, “Education will be the focus for the month of February, and in March we will focus on togetherness.” For this memo I think it would be best to give each month its own space and an overview of what areas that Moore focuses on in each month.
January begins with an article that discusses the various grant money that will distributed throughout the community. This article ties in well with the article about Moore getting the Norris Award. The Commerce on the Move article helps show why Moore received the award. In the Jan-03-1993 article a vast majority of the money from federal grants is allotted to housing in the Norris Community. The other articles in the January batch highlight various businesses around commerce. Each of the articles has a slightly different type of business to highlight, but all have in common a description of the business’ history, products and clientele. January covers retail business, insurance agencies and both locally owned businesses and franchises.
True to Moore’s description in his first January article, February focuses on education in Commerce. Moore begins the Feb-14-1993 article focusing on East Texas State University (ETSU) and divides the article between the Gee library and statistics of the university itself. In the following weeks Moore visits the Commerce Public Library and the Commerce Independent School district then rounds out the month visiting four childhood learning centers.
The March articles follow the layout of the January articles and focus on businesses in Commerce. I am not sure though that the articles follow the theme of togetherness that Moore articulated in January. Following suit from the format he used in the January articles, Moore travels throughout the city visiting with local merchants and describing their businesses.
Although many of the articles is focused on describing particular businesses, I think that theses articles will be helpful in showing Moore’s dedication to his community. One area that really sticks out to me is the facts that Moore doesn’t discriminate between local business of franchise…CD hut or Barbeque joint…he tries to get them all. There are also some comments by Moore describing his delight in visiting each place that will be helpful in establishing Moore’s character. If I had more time it would be interesting to look at the other articles in the series.
I just finished taking and typing field notes on the articles that Ivory Moore wrote from Jan-march 1993 in The Commerce Journal. The title of these articles is “Commerce on the Move.” There are a total of twelve articles, 4 in January, 3 in Feb, and 4 in March. Each of the months according to a comment by Moore in the 3-Jan-1993 article will focus on different themes, “Education will be the focus for the month of February, and in March we will focus on togetherness.” For this memo I think it would be best to give each month its own space and an overview of what areas that Moore focuses on in each month.
January begins with an article that discusses the various grant money that will distributed throughout the community. This article ties in well with the article about Moore getting the Norris Award. The Commerce on the Move article helps show why Moore received the award. In the Jan-03-1993 article a vast majority of the money from federal grants is allotted to housing in the Norris Community. The other articles in the January batch highlight various businesses around commerce. Each of the articles has a slightly different type of business to highlight, but all have in common a description of the business’ history, products and clientele. January covers retail business, insurance agencies and both locally owned businesses and franchises.
True to Moore’s description in his first January article, February focuses on education in Commerce. Moore begins the Feb-14-1993 article focusing on East Texas State University (ETSU) and divides the article between the Gee library and statistics of the university itself. In the following weeks Moore visits the Commerce Public Library and the Commerce Independent School district then rounds out the month visiting four childhood learning centers.
The March articles follow the layout of the January articles and focus on businesses in Commerce. I am not sure though that the articles follow the theme of togetherness that Moore articulated in January. Following suit from the format he used in the January articles, Moore travels throughout the city visiting with local merchants and describing their businesses.
Although many of the articles is focused on describing particular businesses, I think that theses articles will be helpful in showing Moore’s dedication to his community. One area that really sticks out to me is the facts that Moore doesn’t discriminate between local business of franchise…CD hut or Barbeque joint…he tries to get them all. There are also some comments by Moore describing his delight in visiting each place that will be helpful in establishing Moore’s character. If I had more time it would be interesting to look at the other articles in the series.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Abstract
Abstract
“’Moore’ Than Meets the Eye:
A Brief Biographical Narrative of the Life of Ivory Moore”
In her work with the Oral History Project in Brooklyn, Deborah Mutnick explores the pedagogy of the public sphere, arguing that “individual stories could begin to shape a larger collective one.” One of Mutnick’s conclusions is that the telling of personal stories from our communities can help us to learn three lessons: 1 Everybody’s story has value; 2 we have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are. 3 We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them. In the spirit of Mutnick’s project it is important for us to look locally to our community members and the stories they tell.
For more than twenty years Ivory Moore worked as an educator and community official to promote integration, change, and communication between members of East Texas State University (ETSU) and members of the Commerce City community. As Director of Minority Affairs at ETSU Moore worked closely with Members of the Norris Community Club to help students….As the first African-American City Commissioner and Mayor, worked to bring federal Grant money to Commerce and improve the lives of its citizens. During his tenure as Mayor, Moore wrote a weekly column for The Commerce Journal titled “Commerce on the Move” in which Moore promoted local businesses, educational institutions and wrote to help make members of the community aware of the needs and progress of its members.
“’Moore’ Than Meets the Eye:
A Brief Biographical Narrative of the Life of Ivory Moore”
In her work with the Oral History Project in Brooklyn, Deborah Mutnick explores the pedagogy of the public sphere, arguing that “individual stories could begin to shape a larger collective one.” One of Mutnick’s conclusions is that the telling of personal stories from our communities can help us to learn three lessons: 1 Everybody’s story has value; 2 we have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are. 3 We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them. In the spirit of Mutnick’s project it is important for us to look locally to our community members and the stories they tell.
For more than twenty years Ivory Moore worked as an educator and community official to promote integration, change, and communication between members of East Texas State University (ETSU) and members of the Commerce City community. As Director of Minority Affairs at ETSU Moore worked closely with Members of the Norris Community Club to help students….As the first African-American City Commissioner and Mayor, worked to bring federal Grant money to Commerce and improve the lives of its citizens. During his tenure as Mayor, Moore wrote a weekly column for The Commerce Journal titled “Commerce on the Move” in which Moore promoted local businesses, educational institutions and wrote to help make members of the community aware of the needs and progress of its members.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Conceptual Memo # 2 The Commerce Journal Articles
Conceptual Memo # 2 The Commerce Journal Articles
I should clarify the title of this conceptual memo a little because it is not entirely accurate. There is included in this memo one article from The Greenville Harold Banner and one article from The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, however the majority of the articles, seven, are from The Commerce Journal.
The article on Ivory Moore from the Commerce Handbook was written by Dr. James Conrad and is a good overview introduction of Moore’s life. Like the majority of The Commerce Journal articles, Conrad’s article focuses on the awards and accomplishments of Moore throughout his years of service. Conrad’s article will be useful to supplement the newspaper articles that also document the accomplishments of Moore.
As I mentioned earlier, The Commerce Journal articles are mainly articles that focus on Moore’s achievements in his professional career as an educator and as a community official. I do have one article that talks about Moore’s brief career as a Harlem Globetrotter. This article will be helpful in detailing Moore’s life and Career before his days at ETSU and in the city commission. I plan on using Moore’s resume to fill in blanks were the Globetrotter article is lacking. I think the Globetrotter article will be especially effective in showing how well-rounded Moore was simply because the other articles are related to either community awards or educational awards.
There are three articles that refer to Moore’s winning elections…one that focuses on his election to city council, another which deals with his election to Mayor and finally an article that comments on his last election where he was not re-elected. The commissioner article seems more favorable to African-American voters and Moore’s election while the Mayoral article has some questionable comments by other delegates and city officials. Both will be good for setting up a framework on Moore’s career. Again I plan on using Moore’s resume as a means of filling in factual details.
There are a few articles that deal with Moore’s awards…Norris Community Award, Citizen of the Year to name a few as well as articles that relate Moore’s delegation to the National Library conference and other awards and events. The Greenville Harold Banner article is lumped in with this group of articles.
Overall this group of articles provides a nice snapshoot of what the community felt was important in reviewing in Moore’s life. I think the articles also offer some great quotes showcasing Moore’s opinion and others about his work and himself. I will be using these to both supplement my narrative and as a guide post to the types of events in which Moore was involved.
I should clarify the title of this conceptual memo a little because it is not entirely accurate. There is included in this memo one article from The Greenville Harold Banner and one article from The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, however the majority of the articles, seven, are from The Commerce Journal.
The article on Ivory Moore from the Commerce Handbook was written by Dr. James Conrad and is a good overview introduction of Moore’s life. Like the majority of The Commerce Journal articles, Conrad’s article focuses on the awards and accomplishments of Moore throughout his years of service. Conrad’s article will be useful to supplement the newspaper articles that also document the accomplishments of Moore.
As I mentioned earlier, The Commerce Journal articles are mainly articles that focus on Moore’s achievements in his professional career as an educator and as a community official. I do have one article that talks about Moore’s brief career as a Harlem Globetrotter. This article will be helpful in detailing Moore’s life and Career before his days at ETSU and in the city commission. I plan on using Moore’s resume to fill in blanks were the Globetrotter article is lacking. I think the Globetrotter article will be especially effective in showing how well-rounded Moore was simply because the other articles are related to either community awards or educational awards.
There are three articles that refer to Moore’s winning elections…one that focuses on his election to city council, another which deals with his election to Mayor and finally an article that comments on his last election where he was not re-elected. The commissioner article seems more favorable to African-American voters and Moore’s election while the Mayoral article has some questionable comments by other delegates and city officials. Both will be good for setting up a framework on Moore’s career. Again I plan on using Moore’s resume as a means of filling in factual details.
There are a few articles that deal with Moore’s awards…Norris Community Award, Citizen of the Year to name a few as well as articles that relate Moore’s delegation to the National Library conference and other awards and events. The Greenville Harold Banner article is lumped in with this group of articles.
Overall this group of articles provides a nice snapshoot of what the community felt was important in reviewing in Moore’s life. I think the articles also offer some great quotes showcasing Moore’s opinion and others about his work and himself. I will be using these to both supplement my narrative and as a guide post to the types of events in which Moore was involved.
Translation Project Annotated Bib
In a previous post I pasted in the narrative that will hopefully be printed in The Commerce Journal about Mt Moriah Temple Baptist Church. Below is the annotated Bibliography of the project. Note that the formatting is suspect and although the bib doesn't reflect the usage of each article, I used Harry Turner's history about every other line.
“Translation Project” Annotated Bibliography
Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore Awards Scheduled.” The
Commerce Journal June 16 2009. Print.
This article appears in the June 16th 2009 edition of The Commerce Journal and was written by Brad Kellar. This article recounts the honoring of influential citizens with the Community Citizenship Award. In the article, Ivory Moore was honored again with the Community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.” This article can be found in the Commerce Public Library Local History Archives.
A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
This book contains a historical account of the Cypress District Baptist Association and was compiled by Reverend A.D. Sanders. The book has photographs of early district leaders as well as narrative and statistical data about the districts various churches and organizations. This book can be found at Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship
Service, 9 Nov 1997. Print.
This article is a historical narrative presented by Harry Turner during a celebratory sermon at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. The article gives a detailed history of the organization of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church. The article is available from Mr. Turner at the Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
This interview was conducted by Dr. James Conrad, Dr. Shannon Carter and JP Sloop. The interview with Mr. Turner gives historical accounts of the Norris Community as told through the eyes of Mr. Turner. This interview also explains historical information about the Mt. Moriah temple Baptist Church. The interview is available in the NCOW.org archives.
Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to Build New Church,” The Commerce Journal 10 March
1999. Print.
This article appears on March 10, 1999 and was written by Rick Vanderpool. This article gives a brief history of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church and reports on the churches plans to renovate its existing building. This article is available at the Commerce Public Library Local History Archives.
“Translation Project” Annotated Bibliography
Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore Awards Scheduled.” The
Commerce Journal June 16 2009. Print.
This article appears in the June 16th 2009 edition of The Commerce Journal and was written by Brad Kellar. This article recounts the honoring of influential citizens with the Community Citizenship Award. In the article, Ivory Moore was honored again with the Community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.” This article can be found in the Commerce Public Library Local History Archives.
A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
This book contains a historical account of the Cypress District Baptist Association and was compiled by Reverend A.D. Sanders. The book has photographs of early district leaders as well as narrative and statistical data about the districts various churches and organizations. This book can be found at Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship
Service, 9 Nov 1997. Print.
This article is a historical narrative presented by Harry Turner during a celebratory sermon at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. The article gives a detailed history of the organization of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church. The article is available from Mr. Turner at the Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
This interview was conducted by Dr. James Conrad, Dr. Shannon Carter and JP Sloop. The interview with Mr. Turner gives historical accounts of the Norris Community as told through the eyes of Mr. Turner. This interview also explains historical information about the Mt. Moriah temple Baptist Church. The interview is available in the NCOW.org archives.
Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to Build New Church,” The Commerce Journal 10 March
1999. Print.
This article appears on March 10, 1999 and was written by Rick Vanderpool. This article gives a brief history of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church and reports on the churches plans to renovate its existing building. This article is available at the Commerce Public Library Local History Archives.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
This Week 20-April-2010
Lots of preparation work this week. Below are the articles that I am working with this week. My plan is to read through each and take field notes and then turn those field notes into MetaData / Annotations / Extended Fieldnotes. After this I will compile the citation, annotations, and the article into an easily accessible pdf file. I gave the first set of files to Cheryl Westhafer at the public library and I submitted the files to NCOW this morning. I still need to go back through and make conceptual maps of the first set of articles as well and then make one for this set. Just for fun I am also posting a copy of one of Moore's articles.
Moore, Ivory. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 03 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 10 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 17 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 24 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 31 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 14 Feb 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 21 Feb 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 07 March 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 14 March 1993. Print.
Sorry the image quality in Blogger is not that great...the articles turned out better in the pdf files...
Moore, Ivory. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 03 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 10 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 17 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 24 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 31 Jan 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 14 Feb 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 21 Feb 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 07 March 1993. Print.
---. “Commerce on the Move.” The Commerce Journal 14 March 1993. Print.
Sorry the image quality in Blogger is not that great...the articles turned out better in the pdf files...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Bibliography
Here is what I have so far...
Moore, Ivory. Interview. Oral History Interview Part 1. 6-Nov-2009. Web.
7-April-2010.
---. Interview. Oral History Interview Part 2. 16-Nov-2009. Web. 7-April-2010.
---. Personal Resume. 1-Jan-1978. Print. 9-April-2010.
“Moore to Receive Annual Award.” Greenville Herald Banner 20 Oct. 1999. Print
Fisk, David. “Black Voters Turnout.” The Commerce Journal 16 Oct. 1984. Print
“Ivory E. Moore.” The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, Ed. Otha and Billie
Spencer. Wolfe City: Henington, 1985.
Morrison, Warren. “Conference Tabs Moore as Delegate.” The Commerce Journal 23
Nov. 1978. Print.
Morrison, Warren. “No ‘Moore’ Globetrotter Days for City Commissioner.” The Commerce
Journal 5 Feb. 1989. Print.
Robinson, Iris. “Moore Elected as Mayor.” The Commerce Journal 10 May 1992. Print.
Shrum, Matt. “Moore Honored By Blacks in Higher Education Association.” The Commerce
Journal 12 April 1998. Print.
Stiles, Carrie. “Mayor Ivory Moore ousted after 18 Years.” The Commerce Journal 2
May 1993. Print.
“Moore Gets Norris Award.” The Commerce Journal 22 May 1979: 90:61. Print.
Moore, Ivory. Interview. Oral History Interview Part 1. 6-Nov-2009. Web.
7-April-2010.
---. Interview. Oral History Interview Part 2. 16-Nov-2009. Web. 7-April-2010.
---. Personal Resume. 1-Jan-1978. Print. 9-April-2010.
“Moore to Receive Annual Award.” Greenville Herald Banner 20 Oct. 1999. Print
Fisk, David. “Black Voters Turnout.” The Commerce Journal 16 Oct. 1984. Print
“Ivory E. Moore.” The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, Ed. Otha and Billie
Spencer. Wolfe City: Henington, 1985.
Morrison, Warren. “Conference Tabs Moore as Delegate.” The Commerce Journal 23
Nov. 1978. Print.
Morrison, Warren. “No ‘Moore’ Globetrotter Days for City Commissioner.” The Commerce
Journal 5 Feb. 1989. Print.
Robinson, Iris. “Moore Elected as Mayor.” The Commerce Journal 10 May 1992. Print.
Shrum, Matt. “Moore Honored By Blacks in Higher Education Association.” The Commerce
Journal 12 April 1998. Print.
Stiles, Carrie. “Mayor Ivory Moore ousted after 18 Years.” The Commerce Journal 2
May 1993. Print.
“Moore Gets Norris Award.” The Commerce Journal 22 May 1979: 90:61. Print.
Apologies
Apparently the computer wants you to follow a link instead of displaying the images in blogger...maybe I am doing something wrong, but the links work.
Field Notes and Annotations 12-April-2010
Here is what I have been working on today and over the weekend...I have gone through six articles from the Commerce Journal that relate to Ivory Moore and made field notes. I have also gone through each of these articles and prepared pdf files that contain the article's citation information, an annotation of the contents and the article in an easily accessible file.
Here are some samples:
Pdf files for the Archives
Ivory Moore_Commerce Handbook
Field Notes on Ivory Moore from the Commerce Handbook
Field Notes Commerce Journal 5-Feb-1989
Pdf file from Newspaper Article
Moore Gets Norris Award_Commerce Journal_22-May-1979
Field Notes on Newspaper Article
Field Notes_Commerce Journal Article_22-May-1979
There are few things that are different in these filed notes. I am still working with dividing the page into thirds...this time I used the last column to make notes that would go into my annotations. I will be working on more of these this afternoon. I have posted them all in scribd, but if anyone wants copies let me know and I will make a copy...it's easier that way...there are a lot.
Here are some samples:
Pdf files for the Archives
Ivory Moore_Commerce Handbook
Field Notes on Ivory Moore from the Commerce Handbook
Field Notes Commerce Journal 5-Feb-1989
Pdf file from Newspaper Article
Moore Gets Norris Award_Commerce Journal_22-May-1979
Field Notes on Newspaper Article
Field Notes_Commerce Journal Article_22-May-1979
There are few things that are different in these filed notes. I am still working with dividing the page into thirds...this time I used the last column to make notes that would go into my annotations. I will be working on more of these this afternoon. I have posted them all in scribd, but if anyone wants copies let me know and I will make a copy...it's easier that way...there are a lot.
Friday, April 9, 2010
9-April-2010 "Catching Up"
I visted with Cheryl Westhaffer on Wed. of this week and was able to aquire about 12 articles on Ivory Moore from the Public library archives. Today I scanned those documents into a file on my computer. These files will later be attached to the annotations and saved as pdf files for later use. I was also able to work with the microfilm machine for a few mninutes. Oh how cumbersome...I went to the university library on Wed. as well to see if they had a better system, they do. You still have to search for the column, but they will scan it an send them to you as an electronic file. I have already gotten a few back and those will go through the same process as the files from the public library. I have had to re-arrange my project a little....I will now be focusing primarily on Ivory Moore, working on a Biographical narrative of his life and service to the community. I am still planning on looking at articles that he wrote for the Commerce Journal. I think these articles will help to underatnd Moore as a person, a writer, and an activist. More later.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
7-April-2010
I made my first trip to the public library today. I found a lot of great information on Ivory Moore, but I also found out that the "Town and Gown" column was a later production, not running during the 60's / 70's like I thought. Time for a little re-visioning...I'm not worried yet!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Translation Project
Pasted below is the genesis of my tramslation project. I am sending this narrative to both Harry Turner and Jim Conrad to see what may need to be added or cut from this version of the history. I have already cut some of the information in an attempt to make the narrative focus more specifically on the Church. My plan is to send this finished version to the local newspapers in preparation for the Historical Marker.
Newspaper Article
Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church
Commerce, Texas
Around the same time that the city of Commerce was being established, a community now known as the Norris Community was being established. It was located across the railroad tracks in a low-lying area close to the middle of Sulphur River. Though existing within the city limits of Commerce, the Norris Community functioned much like other African-American communities in the South at the turn of the century until Jim Crow laws gave way to integration following Civil Rights legislation and associated movements. For more than one-hundred years, the Norris Community was home to the vast majority of Commerce’s African-American population, including a number of businesses serving the community in the years before these citizens had access to the shopping, entertainment, and schools serving the white population. Barber shops, grocery stores, and restaurants lined the Norris Community’s unpaved streets for the vast majority of the 20th century, where many residents lived rich and fulfilling lives in spite of the lack of access to resources and opportunities enjoyed by the city’s whites. Until the mid-1970s, even the most basic of resources were denied the Norris Community residents--including paved streets, sewage, proper drainage, and even indoor plumbing (ETSU Special, June 1973).
Mt. Moriah Baptist Temple Church has been a major fixture in the Norris Community throughout the community's existence, serving as hub for community meetings, rituals like marriages and funerals, and activist efforts led by groups like the NAACP and the Norris Community Club. Established in 1896, Mt. Moriah was the first African-American church built in Commerce, Texas, and it has always been the largest and most influential. In fact, the vast majority of streets lining the Norris Community are named for Mt. Moriah church leaders such as Harry Champaign and A.C. Williams. The neighborhood park, which hosts the annual Juneteenth Celebration, was renamed for church leader Ivory Moore. More recently, Ivory Moore was honored again with the community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.”[1]
As part of the Cypress District Baptist Association, Mt. Moriah was, according to A Factual History of the Cypress District Association 1872-1973, “not too far removed from the black night of slavery and the dust of affliction had not wholly lifted from their longing path”[2] (“Forward,” Reverend John W. Williams). Formed in 1872, the Cypress District Baptist Association was responsible for organizing and building multiple congregations and church buildings across Northeast Texas. As Reverend Williams explains, the group of “ordinary people” meeting in Mt. Vernon, Texas, in 1872, formed the Cypress District Association precisely because they “would not be mastered by a negative past; neither would they be dominated by the social, political, and economic injustices of their times.”[3]
After Reverends Riley and Gilmore (representatives of the Cypress District) had obtained the land and built the church, “the problem arose as to what to name this new Cypress District church, and many names were considered by the congregation.”[4] In his account of the Church's history, Reverend Sanders speaking of the charter members of the church, says, “The task of naming the church faced these few members and the name Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was chosen.”[5] According to another source, the name Mt. Moriah was chosen because of the symbolic link between the church in Commerce and the Temple in ancient Israel, which was located on Mt. Moriah. As Turner explains, “you would think that with Rev. Riley’s background in missionary work this church would be the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, but this church was not intended to be an outreach Church but one that emphasized a place where people would come in, a Sanctuary type of Church, a Temple.”[6] Although the founders of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church saw the mission of the Church as a place of refuge and not an “outreach Church,” over the past one hundred and thirty-seven years, Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church has served both as a refuge from and liaison to the community.
The social, historical, and political climate of the Church and community in the decades between 1920 and 1940 has been described as turbulent. “Norris Community in those days was little more than a small community of people, the streets little more than dirt roads, and a small shot-gun style houses scattered here and there. The people, mostly poor, were common decent people working where ever and whenever they could--in kitchens, cotton fields, farms, oil mills, and odd jobs in and around Commerce . . .”[7] After soldiers began returning to Norris Community following WW II, the area “gained [a reputation] as a . . . rough community, a dangerous city. It was a time when men carried guns and women carried razors, Saturday night fights and bootleg whiskey were commonplace.”[8] Despite the turmoil, “Mt Moriah Church survived” and as Reverend Sanders describes, “[t]he Church was the Negroes' medium of mass-communication.”[9] However, despite these years of turmoil, “the 1960’s brought about a resurgence of enthusiasm” and “throughout the 1980’s and now . . . Mt. Moriah continues on, continues to live up to and to be its intended purpose.”
Part of the purpose of Mt. Moriah was to provide a refuge for its members and, as Turner notes of the 1930’s and 40’s, “WW II brought about a change in the community, as many young men went off to war, the depression of the 1930’s and the hard times of the 1940’s made living difficult for everyone. In such times of trouble Mt. Moriah stood as a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of comfort, and a resting place for life’s trials.” During this time the sermons of the Church were influential in helping maintain peace and hope in the Norris Community.
In the 1960’s, “the Church [became] home to a large number of college students away from home and the Church was elevated from a position of city and county importance to one of Texas area importance.”[10] During the 1960’s, the Church played a large political role in organizing voting drives with designated drivers to take community members to the polls. Potential candidates were often brought in to discuss their views, and as Mr. Turner explains, the Church was always careful to present both sides of any issue, inviting for example, both Republican and Democratic candidates to speak with the congregation.[11] The Church was also influential in establishing links with the NAACP in the Norris Community and many of the influential members of the city were members of the Church; A.C. Williams, Ivory Moore, Opal Pannell, Harry Chapman, and Bill Reed to name a few.
Reaching out to the community and the university continued from the 1960’s, and in a Commerce Journal article from 1999, Ivory Moore says, “With the new building we will have the room to grow and expand our many missions and services to members with particular emphasis on our ‘Watch Care’ program to attract TAMU-C students and an overall strengthening of our Youth Department.”[12] Although University student membership has declined some in recent years, the church still works closely with students, hosting an event called Friday Night Live each Friday showcasing the university choir and guest reverend’s sermons. According to members of the church, the church has always tried to establish a link to the university. Mt. Moriah’s involvement in the community is not restricted to just the university; the Church activities have always included programs designed to help with the material needs of its members--including an annual Thanksgiving Dinner (hosted by the Commerce chapter of the NAACP) for the community and university students, delivery of meals for home-bound members of the community, and recording sermons to be broadcast on Channel 3, the university’s television station. The church reaches out to those in need by providing food, shelter, clothes and medical necessities.
In the conclusion of his history on Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church, Mr. Turner says, “This Church has become a historic landmark all due to the spiritual insight of its founding leaders. We have in the past 20 years or so made some cosmetic changes to the church both inside and out, but much of the Church with its built in symbolism remains just as they long intended it to. This church has stood the test of time and served its community well. For many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us.”[13] Just as the ancient temple was in Israel, Mt Moriah Temple Baptist Church has been a beacon of hope and a refuge in troubled times. As Mr. Turner reminds the congregation in his historical sermon, “for many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us,” a statement that can be extended to all in the community who have had contact with Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church. The Church has recently applied for and been accepted to receive a Texas State Historical marker for its contributions to the community.
[1] Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore awards scheduled.” Commerce Journal. June 16, 2009. <>
[2] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[3] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[4] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[5] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[6] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[7] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[8] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[9] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[10] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[11] Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
[12] Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to build new church,” The Commerce Journal, 10 March 1999.
[13] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
Newspaper Article
Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church
Commerce, Texas
Around the same time that the city of Commerce was being established, a community now known as the Norris Community was being established. It was located across the railroad tracks in a low-lying area close to the middle of Sulphur River. Though existing within the city limits of Commerce, the Norris Community functioned much like other African-American communities in the South at the turn of the century until Jim Crow laws gave way to integration following Civil Rights legislation and associated movements. For more than one-hundred years, the Norris Community was home to the vast majority of Commerce’s African-American population, including a number of businesses serving the community in the years before these citizens had access to the shopping, entertainment, and schools serving the white population. Barber shops, grocery stores, and restaurants lined the Norris Community’s unpaved streets for the vast majority of the 20th century, where many residents lived rich and fulfilling lives in spite of the lack of access to resources and opportunities enjoyed by the city’s whites. Until the mid-1970s, even the most basic of resources were denied the Norris Community residents--including paved streets, sewage, proper drainage, and even indoor plumbing (ETSU Special, June 1973).
Mt. Moriah Baptist Temple Church has been a major fixture in the Norris Community throughout the community's existence, serving as hub for community meetings, rituals like marriages and funerals, and activist efforts led by groups like the NAACP and the Norris Community Club. Established in 1896, Mt. Moriah was the first African-American church built in Commerce, Texas, and it has always been the largest and most influential. In fact, the vast majority of streets lining the Norris Community are named for Mt. Moriah church leaders such as Harry Champaign and A.C. Williams. The neighborhood park, which hosts the annual Juneteenth Celebration, was renamed for church leader Ivory Moore. More recently, Ivory Moore was honored again with the community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.”[1]
As part of the Cypress District Baptist Association, Mt. Moriah was, according to A Factual History of the Cypress District Association 1872-1973, “not too far removed from the black night of slavery and the dust of affliction had not wholly lifted from their longing path”[2] (“Forward,” Reverend John W. Williams). Formed in 1872, the Cypress District Baptist Association was responsible for organizing and building multiple congregations and church buildings across Northeast Texas. As Reverend Williams explains, the group of “ordinary people” meeting in Mt. Vernon, Texas, in 1872, formed the Cypress District Association precisely because they “would not be mastered by a negative past; neither would they be dominated by the social, political, and economic injustices of their times.”[3]
After Reverends Riley and Gilmore (representatives of the Cypress District) had obtained the land and built the church, “the problem arose as to what to name this new Cypress District church, and many names were considered by the congregation.”[4] In his account of the Church's history, Reverend Sanders speaking of the charter members of the church, says, “The task of naming the church faced these few members and the name Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was chosen.”[5] According to another source, the name Mt. Moriah was chosen because of the symbolic link between the church in Commerce and the Temple in ancient Israel, which was located on Mt. Moriah. As Turner explains, “you would think that with Rev. Riley’s background in missionary work this church would be the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, but this church was not intended to be an outreach Church but one that emphasized a place where people would come in, a Sanctuary type of Church, a Temple.”[6] Although the founders of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church saw the mission of the Church as a place of refuge and not an “outreach Church,” over the past one hundred and thirty-seven years, Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church has served both as a refuge from and liaison to the community.
The social, historical, and political climate of the Church and community in the decades between 1920 and 1940 has been described as turbulent. “Norris Community in those days was little more than a small community of people, the streets little more than dirt roads, and a small shot-gun style houses scattered here and there. The people, mostly poor, were common decent people working where ever and whenever they could--in kitchens, cotton fields, farms, oil mills, and odd jobs in and around Commerce . . .”[7] After soldiers began returning to Norris Community following WW II, the area “gained [a reputation] as a . . . rough community, a dangerous city. It was a time when men carried guns and women carried razors, Saturday night fights and bootleg whiskey were commonplace.”[8] Despite the turmoil, “Mt Moriah Church survived” and as Reverend Sanders describes, “[t]he Church was the Negroes' medium of mass-communication.”[9] However, despite these years of turmoil, “the 1960’s brought about a resurgence of enthusiasm” and “throughout the 1980’s and now . . . Mt. Moriah continues on, continues to live up to and to be its intended purpose.”
Part of the purpose of Mt. Moriah was to provide a refuge for its members and, as Turner notes of the 1930’s and 40’s, “WW II brought about a change in the community, as many young men went off to war, the depression of the 1930’s and the hard times of the 1940’s made living difficult for everyone. In such times of trouble Mt. Moriah stood as a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of comfort, and a resting place for life’s trials.” During this time the sermons of the Church were influential in helping maintain peace and hope in the Norris Community.
In the 1960’s, “the Church [became] home to a large number of college students away from home and the Church was elevated from a position of city and county importance to one of Texas area importance.”[10] During the 1960’s, the Church played a large political role in organizing voting drives with designated drivers to take community members to the polls. Potential candidates were often brought in to discuss their views, and as Mr. Turner explains, the Church was always careful to present both sides of any issue, inviting for example, both Republican and Democratic candidates to speak with the congregation.[11] The Church was also influential in establishing links with the NAACP in the Norris Community and many of the influential members of the city were members of the Church; A.C. Williams, Ivory Moore, Opal Pannell, Harry Chapman, and Bill Reed to name a few.
Reaching out to the community and the university continued from the 1960’s, and in a Commerce Journal article from 1999, Ivory Moore says, “With the new building we will have the room to grow and expand our many missions and services to members with particular emphasis on our ‘Watch Care’ program to attract TAMU-C students and an overall strengthening of our Youth Department.”[12] Although University student membership has declined some in recent years, the church still works closely with students, hosting an event called Friday Night Live each Friday showcasing the university choir and guest reverend’s sermons. According to members of the church, the church has always tried to establish a link to the university. Mt. Moriah’s involvement in the community is not restricted to just the university; the Church activities have always included programs designed to help with the material needs of its members--including an annual Thanksgiving Dinner (hosted by the Commerce chapter of the NAACP) for the community and university students, delivery of meals for home-bound members of the community, and recording sermons to be broadcast on Channel 3, the university’s television station. The church reaches out to those in need by providing food, shelter, clothes and medical necessities.
In the conclusion of his history on Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church, Mr. Turner says, “This Church has become a historic landmark all due to the spiritual insight of its founding leaders. We have in the past 20 years or so made some cosmetic changes to the church both inside and out, but much of the Church with its built in symbolism remains just as they long intended it to. This church has stood the test of time and served its community well. For many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us.”[13] Just as the ancient temple was in Israel, Mt Moriah Temple Baptist Church has been a beacon of hope and a refuge in troubled times. As Mr. Turner reminds the congregation in his historical sermon, “for many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us,” a statement that can be extended to all in the community who have had contact with Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church. The Church has recently applied for and been accepted to receive a Texas State Historical marker for its contributions to the community.
[1] Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore awards scheduled.” Commerce Journal. June 16, 2009. <>
[2] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[3] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[4] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[5] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[6] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[7] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[8] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[9] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[10] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[11] Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
[12] Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to build new church,” The Commerce Journal, 10 March 1999.
[13] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 16th November 2009 (First 20 min)
Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 16th November 2009 (First 20 min)
Moore begins this interview with a clearer articulation of the relationship between the university and the community. Moore makes the comment that the Norris community Center was used for speakers of both academic and political nature. He also says that part of his job with the university was to establish relationships with the community. As I mentioned in earlier notes, this may have been the start of the “Town and Gown” column…still need more information to clarify this point. I wondered in my initial field notes if Moore’s connections with the Norris community helped not only to start the column but also if the circumstances in the Norris community became fodder for his writing. One organization that Moore mentions in the interview is the “checkerboard” group. According to the interview this organization helped to integrate black and white students on campus. I am curious to see if the column will reflect any of this activity….
Throughout the first twenty minutes of this interview Moore mentions multiple racially charged incidents within the community or on the campus. I think it would prove useful to see if Moore was writing his column during this time and if he reports on these incidents. More specifically, if he does report on the incidents, it would be interesting to see if he used a particular lens to report on the incidents and what was that lens? Moore also mentions the involvement of the Black Panthers in the community and on campus. This is an interesting side note and could prove interesting. The Black Panthers are known more for their radical views on race relations. I wonder what influence if any that had on Moore.
I think that the most useful information in this segment is the historical “incidents” that are happening on campus at this time. I think I will be able to use them to set up the historical cont3ext of the column itself. And if all of these things are happening around the community it would seem odd if there was not a connection between the local happenings and the column.
Moore begins this interview with a clearer articulation of the relationship between the university and the community. Moore makes the comment that the Norris community Center was used for speakers of both academic and political nature. He also says that part of his job with the university was to establish relationships with the community. As I mentioned in earlier notes, this may have been the start of the “Town and Gown” column…still need more information to clarify this point. I wondered in my initial field notes if Moore’s connections with the Norris community helped not only to start the column but also if the circumstances in the Norris community became fodder for his writing. One organization that Moore mentions in the interview is the “checkerboard” group. According to the interview this organization helped to integrate black and white students on campus. I am curious to see if the column will reflect any of this activity….
Throughout the first twenty minutes of this interview Moore mentions multiple racially charged incidents within the community or on the campus. I think it would prove useful to see if Moore was writing his column during this time and if he reports on these incidents. More specifically, if he does report on the incidents, it would be interesting to see if he used a particular lens to report on the incidents and what was that lens? Moore also mentions the involvement of the Black Panthers in the community and on campus. This is an interesting side note and could prove interesting. The Black Panthers are known more for their radical views on race relations. I wonder what influence if any that had on Moore.
I think that the most useful information in this segment is the historical “incidents” that are happening on campus at this time. I think I will be able to use them to set up the historical cont3ext of the column itself. And if all of these things are happening around the community it would seem odd if there was not a connection between the local happenings and the column.
Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 6th November 2009
Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 6th November 2009
One question that I had of this interview was whether or not the time span between the interview and the publication of Moore’s column would make a difference in my research. As I reflected on this, I’ve decided that it will not affect the research. My purpose in watching this particular segment of interview is to gain a better insight in to Moore’s personal life and historical background. On one hand Moore’s telling of his history now is colored buy years of experiences and may not be completely accurate, but I think this a factor in all ethnographic research.
Moore grew up in Oklahoma and was a raised on a farm. He was part of a large family with seven boys and one girl. In this video, he does not mention where he fell in terms of being one of the older children or one of the younger. It may matter in terms of psychological temperament, but overall to my research the fact that he is from a large family seems to be the most important instead of where he fell within this family. His father died when he was only three which could play a significant role in his development, yet again I wonder how much of this information will be useful to me when I am just trying to set-up a small biographic / historic profile to contextualize my research.
One of the areas that I think will be extremely important is the information about Moore’s schooling. This video interview lacks specifics on the what, when and where of Moore’s scholastic endeavors. What I do know is that he finished eighth grade, that he rode the bus to high school and that he was recruited to play basketball at a college in Oklahoma. I think the specifics of what he studied would be interesting to the context of his column. This information may be available from the public library, when I am able to visit the archives I will also look for some biographic information on Ivory Moore.
One of the best quotes that I was able to get from this video interview was when Moore was talking about his opportunities at Paris Junior College. He says of the time that it “gave me a chance to start writing” I am really curious to see if this was the time in which he started his column for the paper. It seems like it would make sense that if he had time and was thus inclined that he would start the column. From the second video interview, I learned that Moore got to know many of the key players in the Norris Community when he came to Commerce. I think his sojourn to Commerce was after Paris. So even if he was not writing the Town and Gown column at the time of the quote, he was possibly honing his skills in anticipation.
This interview does give me some biographical info to start my paper with, I will be able to sketch out a rural background where education is important (Moore went to both high school and college). I think I can also draw a parallel to Moore’s upbringing on the farm and the rural conditions of the Norris Community. I would speculate that Moore’s upbringing was crucial to helping him communicate with and understand the struggles of the Norris Community.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Field Notes_Ivory Moore_30-March-2010
Thanks to Sunchai, I watched the first twenty minutes of a second oral history interview with Ivory Moore. Below are the field notes I generated for this segment of the interview. I think this interview will be helpful in establishing a more historical background for my project. Moore discusses the influence of the Black Panthers, and two different racially charged incidents on campus...within the first twenty minutes of video!
The first part is here:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29179883?access_key=key-1ijtnhf76xxtmdy6qyk
The second part is here:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29179885?access_key=key-2fi7ker2xmvyp6qypqwp
The first part is here:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29179883?access_key=key-1ijtnhf76xxtmdy6qyk
The second part is here:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29179885?access_key=key-2fi7ker2xmvyp6qypqwp
Monday, March 29, 2010
Field Working Chapters 3-5
I don't have as many handouts or notes for these chapters as I do for the first few chapters. Admittedly, I don't use these chapters as much as the first few. One of the highlights for me in these chapters is the section on reading artifacts. It begins on page 143 and goes through 155. this section includes a short story by Alice Walker, Everyday Use. I think the most important information in this section is the statement that "Objects are readable texts." I think this concept is comparable to Mutnick's article and the idea that we can "read" built structures.
Conceptual Map
Introduction:
I went through and reviewed my older posts for this semester in an attempt to create a conceptual map of my readings and my theoretical / methodology. Overall I think I tend to focus on the articles that deal with composition and research as a social act. I thought it would be effective to do a sort of highlight reel, so below I will feature quotes or concepts that really stood out from my posts. Along with the highlights I will add commentary relating the concept / idea with my overall theory of research and my project for the semesters.
From the Original Post:
Deborah Mutnick “Inscribing the World: An Oral History Project in Brooklyn”
“Pedagogy of the public sphere” (627).
I liked this terminology as a way to describe the ways we can learn and be taught from the everyday elements of our life.
Comments:
As I said above, I do like this terminology and I do see learning as a reciprocal process…I think this concept is directly related to my project. I think there is a lot that we can learn from Moore’s newspaper column about the way in which literacy is used as a tool for activism. I think we can also learn from the rhetorical strategies that Moore employees throughout the column. I think Mutnick is also making a statement that carries a broader implication. A “pedagogy of the public sphere” seems to imply a change in the focus of our teaching, one that uses the everyday, the public as a way to inspire and involve students, participants and teachers in a symbiotic learning environment.
From the Original Post:
The Literacy of “Argumentative Discourse”
On page 34, Street comments that in order to understand the approaches and consequences of literacy we can use three categories: Literacy Acquisition, Consequences of Literacy and Literacy as Social Practice. These categories illuminate what I see as the give and take of literacy. Literacy is approached or given in different ways dependent on the contextual situation and following the way in which literacy is practiced or approached there are consequences.
Street has become very well known for his ideas on literacy as social practice. I really like the majority of his work and picked this section of my post because of the way in which he divides the approaches and consequences of literacy. I think his focus on the contextual and situational aspects of literacy are important as well. I am hoping to see evidence of situation in Moore’s column. My hunch is that the column was used as a means of promoting the political agenda of the Norris Community Club and by extension, the Norris Community.
From the Original Post:
Brain V. Street “Literacy in Theory and Practice”
Literacy as a whole is a social event, but because of the social nature, literacy or more specifically the analysis of literacy, is problematic because of the multiple influences. Influences like ideology or cultures that are difficult to pin down.
Comments:
I think Street articulates the difficulty in examining literacy practices. Literacy and by extension the practices associated with it are legion. It is difficult to differentiate and explore the multitude of ideologies and influences that make up literacy, but at the same time it is this very difficulty that also makes this type of research so interesting and rich.
From the Original Post:
David Gold / Rhetoric at the Margins
1. Strong Service EthicNon-existent in modern colleges (at least to my knowledge and excluding the few clubs that promote service oriented learning). But Service across the curriculum required by all students in one form or another is non-existent, but I think it should be a requirement. Service is at the center of well-being and commitment. I think a service oriented program would also help students become more attached to the subject and the school at large.
Comments:
I liked this idea not just for use in the university as a whole but also in the individual classroom. I think part of researching in the community is service and service is an essential quality of humanity. I think the idea of service oriented research relates back to Mutnick’s concept of “Pedagogy of the Public Sphere.” If we are researching and in a sense using the public for our research it seems ethical to give back to the community, hence the idea of service. I don’t think it would hurt to have in our minds a way that our research could benefit the community we study. In terms of Mr. Moore’s column I am hoping to lay down a foundation for further research as well as help the community gain a greater sense of history and the struggle involved with the rights they enjoy today.
From the Original Post:
“All play and no work make Jack a numbskull and a parasite”: William Mayo’s East Texas Normal School
“Mayo geared his curriculum toward his student’s interests and needs, paying particular attention to how the school fit into the surrounding community” (115).
Reciprocity: page 129-130, Mayo made the effort to connect the school with the community.
Comments:
I was especially interested in William Mayo and his pedagogy. His desire to interact with the community seems to echo what we are trying to accomplish in class and with our projects. I selected two quotes from this post because they are both focused on Mayo’s emphasis on reciprocity. As with the other posts I see research and service to the community as a central part of what I want to do with my project and my career on a more broad scale.
Conclusion:
The list above is not comprehensive but it does represent the highlights of my posts. I also want to make use of Deborah Brandt’s Literacy in American Lives, Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways With Words, and Heath and Street’s Ethnography. Overall I see my interest focusing on the social aspects of literacy and the implications that this has for both research and pedagogy.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Field Notes_Ivory Moore_25-March-2010
Today I watched a brief (about 5 minute Interview) with Ivory Moore and other memebers of the Norris Community. The interview can be found in the NCOW archives
I used this opportunity to create some field notes. Unfortunaltley, I have to post a link to the notes instead of directly into the post becasue of formatting issues. Below is a link to my fieldnotes.
http://www.scribd.com/full/28925372?access_key=key-2gy002meibvrd8dredd1
I wanted to use the space here to add a few refelcetions on the filed notes...
1). I've been toying around with the idea of using triple entry field notes. I haven't perfected the process yet but the basci idea is to have a space to collect concrete data, a place to ask questions, and a section to speculate or ask additional questions. Granted this takes a lot of space but I think it forces (maybe bad word choice) the observer to not only collect data but to ask questions and make speculations on site. I think this will allow for greater recall and flexibility when it comes time to turn raw field notes into extended field notes.
2). I didn't spend alot of time with the concrete details of the interview like the clothing Mr. Moore was wearing or the surroundings ofhis home. I plan on re-watching the video and I may spend more time on these details.
3). One concern that I have is that I went into "the site" with a a view of what I wanted to find. This seems to relate to why I choose not to focus on the appearence of the room or Mr. Moore. I was looking for specific background on Moore himself and because of this I paid more attention to the dialogue between Mr. Moore and Dr. Carter.
I used this opportunity to create some field notes. Unfortunaltley, I have to post a link to the notes instead of directly into the post becasue of formatting issues. Below is a link to my fieldnotes.
http://www.scribd.com/full/28925372?access_key=key-2gy002meibvrd8dredd1
I wanted to use the space here to add a few refelcetions on the filed notes...
1). I've been toying around with the idea of using triple entry field notes. I haven't perfected the process yet but the basci idea is to have a space to collect concrete data, a place to ask questions, and a section to speculate or ask additional questions. Granted this takes a lot of space but I think it forces (maybe bad word choice) the observer to not only collect data but to ask questions and make speculations on site. I think this will allow for greater recall and flexibility when it comes time to turn raw field notes into extended field notes.
2). I didn't spend alot of time with the concrete details of the interview like the clothing Mr. Moore was wearing or the surroundings ofhis home. I plan on re-watching the video and I may spend more time on these details.
3). One concern that I have is that I went into "the site" with a a view of what I wanted to find. This seems to relate to why I choose not to focus on the appearence of the room or Mr. Moore. I was looking for specific background on Moore himself and because of this I paid more attention to the dialogue between Mr. Moore and Dr. Carter.
24/25-March-2010
24-March-2010
I called the library yesterday before I tried to stop by and Cheryl was out sick. My plan is to try and go tommorow barring any unseen distractions.
25-March-2010
I decided this morning to wait about the library for this week and make sure that Cheryl has time to get better. My goal this afternoon is to watch one or two of the Ivory Moore interviews and to take field notes as a way to get to know the writer of the "Town and Gown" columns. I think thgis background would be useful in situating the stories in his column.
I called the library yesterday before I tried to stop by and Cheryl was out sick. My plan is to try and go tommorow barring any unseen distractions.
25-March-2010
I decided this morning to wait about the library for this week and make sure that Cheryl has time to get better. My goal this afternoon is to watch one or two of the Ivory Moore interviews and to take field notes as a way to get to know the writer of the "Town and Gown" columns. I think thgis background would be useful in situating the stories in his column.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Research = delays, sidetracks, etc.
24-March-2010
Yesterday I met with Dr. Carter to go over my research proposal. For my class project, I am focusing on Ivory Moore’s “Town and Gown” column in the local Commerce newspaper, for more details see my previous post titled research proposal and follow the link. A few days ago I began my research by e-mailing Cheryl Westhafer (the libraries local historian). Here is the e-mail:
Cheryl,
I was hoping to come by Wed. morning and do some research on Ivory Moore's "Town and Gown" column from the local paper. Does the library have those? Best JP Sloop
Now Before I give her reply I want to share something I’ve learned about research….Gordon B. Hinckley, one of the past presidents of the Mormon church, gave the following quotation in a conference, he said, "Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." I’m not trying to advocate a religious experience here, but I find this analogy to work well for research as well. It will all become clearer after you read Cheryl’s response to my previous e-mail, here it is:
Hi,
Yes, we have some-but not all- of the newspaper columns. I'm out today with a virus (or the plague, I'm not sure which). I'm feeling a little better, but you might want to call first tomorrow to make sure I'm there.
I have a little info for you regarding Lebanon Cemetery as well.
Cheryl
“Yes, we have some but not all…” My original plan was to do a comprehensive coding of all of the articles that Moore had written. Setback number one…now I have to re-formulate my approach as well as the parameters of the study. This is not completely disastrous however because I can still address why the library doesn’t have them all and I may be able to find the others in another location. Oh and did I mention Cheryl was sick yesterday and the first time I went by this morning she wasn’t there? Delays, sidetracks and smoke…more later, I am going to call before I make a second trip.
Yesterday I met with Dr. Carter to go over my research proposal. For my class project, I am focusing on Ivory Moore’s “Town and Gown” column in the local Commerce newspaper, for more details see my previous post titled research proposal and follow the link. A few days ago I began my research by e-mailing Cheryl Westhafer (the libraries local historian). Here is the e-mail:
Cheryl,
I was hoping to come by Wed. morning and do some research on Ivory Moore's "Town and Gown" column from the local paper. Does the library have those? Best JP Sloop
Now Before I give her reply I want to share something I’ve learned about research….Gordon B. Hinckley, one of the past presidents of the Mormon church, gave the following quotation in a conference, he said, "Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." I’m not trying to advocate a religious experience here, but I find this analogy to work well for research as well. It will all become clearer after you read Cheryl’s response to my previous e-mail, here it is:
Hi,
Yes, we have some-but not all- of the newspaper columns. I'm out today with a virus (or the plague, I'm not sure which). I'm feeling a little better, but you might want to call first tomorrow to make sure I'm there.
I have a little info for you regarding Lebanon Cemetery as well.
Cheryl
“Yes, we have some but not all…” My original plan was to do a comprehensive coding of all of the articles that Moore had written. Setback number one…now I have to re-formulate my approach as well as the parameters of the study. This is not completely disastrous however because I can still address why the library doesn’t have them all and I may be able to find the others in another location. Oh and did I mention Cheryl was sick yesterday and the first time I went by this morning she wasn’t there? Delays, sidetracks and smoke…more later, I am going to call before I make a second trip.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Research Proposal
For some reason I was having a difficult time coping and pasting into Blooger today so here is a link to my research proposal:
http://www.scribd.com/full/28811443?access_key=key-26w68qcccjzrm4c8epql
http://www.scribd.com/full/28811443?access_key=key-26w68qcccjzrm4c8epql
Monday, March 22, 2010
Field Working Chapters 1 & 2
For this week's reading / posting assigment, I went through some of my old notes, handouts and powerpoints that I used when I taught 102. I made pdf files out of the materials and tryed to link them to the blog...first time using scribd. If for some reason the links don't allow enough access and you would like a copy of any of the notes etc. just let me know and I can e-mail them to you. Looking forward to class...more to come project wise.
Interview Plannning WorkSheet
FW Handout for Pages 93-115
Power Point Field Working Chapter 2
Subculture Worksheet
P0wer Point for Fw pages 93-115
http://www.scribd.com/full/28745045?access_key=key-1vwkca71hd9oqbtbx2k9
Field Notes Handout
http://www.scribd.com/full/28745043?access_key=key-2oa4xyssmr1pzg1nkao9
Site Proposal Handout
http://www.scribd.com/full/28745042?access_key=key-oi72pfs36ndojvyueut
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
“All play and no work make Jack a numbskull and a parasite”: William Mayo’s East Texas Normal School
The following selections are taken from David Gold’s book Rhetoric at the Margins, specifically the chapter titled “Challenging Orthodoxies.” Since I am attending Texas A&M-Commerce the most current incarnation of East Texas Normal College I was really interested in the pedagogical values that were being taught by Mayo and his colleagues. Below are some of the highlights for me from this chapter.
Normal schools defined: “Normal schools or teachers training colleges” (115).
Mayo’s Motto: : “Ceasless industry, fearless investigation, unfettered thought” (114).
“Mayo geared his curriculum toward his student’s interests and needs, paying particular attention to how the school fit into the surrounding community” (115).
Four Key Features of Mayo’s Teaching:
1. “his attention to local community needs” (116).
2. “his emphasis on oral production in the training of future teachers” (116).
3. “his insistence on “learning by doing”” (116).
4. “his almost obsessive focus on prescriptive grammar” (116).
Mayo’s catalogue quote on page 121.
“The more texts investigated by a class, on a subject, the more interesting and profitable is its discussion” (123).
“The use of language is learned by using it, the rules of grammar by their applications, composition by the expression of thought, and elocution by reading and speaking. Thus the student becomes a master of himself and can use his knowledge” (125).
“Normal Methods…do not make “the student a mere passive recipient for the learning of others, but [put] him to thinking and telling his thought for himself” (128).
“Education does not consist in the mere accumulation of facts” (125).
Reciprocity: page 129-130, Mayo made the effort to connect the school with the community.
On the basics like arithmetic, algebra, geography: “Every person, whatever his vocation in life, ought to posses s this amount of knowledge in order that he may perform intelligently his part as an active American citizen” (131).
“Under Mayo’s direction, students at east Texas participated in a rich rhetorical environment, in which literature, drama, oratory, debate, and writing were woven into the daily fabric of campus life” (133).
Mayo on public performance for Teachers: “The ability to speak well in public was critical not only to their future professional lives but their professional development” (135).
Normal schools defined: “Normal schools or teachers training colleges” (115).
Mayo’s Motto: : “Ceasless industry, fearless investigation, unfettered thought” (114).
“Mayo geared his curriculum toward his student’s interests and needs, paying particular attention to how the school fit into the surrounding community” (115).
Four Key Features of Mayo’s Teaching:
1. “his attention to local community needs” (116).
2. “his emphasis on oral production in the training of future teachers” (116).
3. “his insistence on “learning by doing”” (116).
4. “his almost obsessive focus on prescriptive grammar” (116).
Mayo’s catalogue quote on page 121.
“The more texts investigated by a class, on a subject, the more interesting and profitable is its discussion” (123).
“The use of language is learned by using it, the rules of grammar by their applications, composition by the expression of thought, and elocution by reading and speaking. Thus the student becomes a master of himself and can use his knowledge” (125).
“Normal Methods…do not make “the student a mere passive recipient for the learning of others, but [put] him to thinking and telling his thought for himself” (128).
“Education does not consist in the mere accumulation of facts” (125).
Reciprocity: page 129-130, Mayo made the effort to connect the school with the community.
On the basics like arithmetic, algebra, geography: “Every person, whatever his vocation in life, ought to posses s this amount of knowledge in order that he may perform intelligently his part as an active American citizen” (131).
“Under Mayo’s direction, students at east Texas participated in a rich rhetorical environment, in which literature, drama, oratory, debate, and writing were woven into the daily fabric of campus life” (133).
Mayo on public performance for Teachers: “The ability to speak well in public was critical not only to their future professional lives but their professional development” (135).
Monday, February 22, 2010
David Gold / Rhetoric at the Margins
In the chapter “Integrating Traditions” from his book Rhetoric at the Margins, David Gold quotes Julian Roebuck and Komanduri Murty as saying that “black colleges also tend to share several important institutional features that contribute to students success, most notably a strong service ethic, close student-teacher relationships, and a highly personal, at times authoritarian teaching style” (Gold 61). I was very interested in how this description would play out in our colleges today. Here are my thoughts:
1. Strong Service Ethic
Non-existent in modern colleges (at least to my knowledge and excluding the few clubs that promote service oriented learning). But Service across the curriculum required by all students in one form or another is non-existent, but I think it should be a requirement. Service is at the center of well-being and commitment. I think a service oriented program would also help students become more attached to the subject and the school at large.
2. Close student-teacher relationships
I think both universities that I have attended have had close student-teacher relationships, yet after reading about Tolson and his students I think the idea of a close relationship between teachers and students is defined differently. Not many students go to professor’s houses until the wee-hours of the morning to practice debate. I think the times are different, but students do benefit from the attention of professors.
3. Personal / Authoritarian teaching style
Although I am not an advocate of the Authoritarian teaching style, I would argue for more respect from students…I do really like the idea of making teaching personal. I do see teaching as a performance which does imply a bit of impersonal, but I think we can be fairly transparent in our teaching. I think that the occasional personal story often helps students grasp a concept that may have been foreign to them otherwise.
1. Strong Service Ethic
Non-existent in modern colleges (at least to my knowledge and excluding the few clubs that promote service oriented learning). But Service across the curriculum required by all students in one form or another is non-existent, but I think it should be a requirement. Service is at the center of well-being and commitment. I think a service oriented program would also help students become more attached to the subject and the school at large.
2. Close student-teacher relationships
I think both universities that I have attended have had close student-teacher relationships, yet after reading about Tolson and his students I think the idea of a close relationship between teachers and students is defined differently. Not many students go to professor’s houses until the wee-hours of the morning to practice debate. I think the times are different, but students do benefit from the attention of professors.
3. Personal / Authoritarian teaching style
Although I am not an advocate of the Authoritarian teaching style, I would argue for more respect from students…I do really like the idea of making teaching personal. I do see teaching as a performance which does imply a bit of impersonal, but I think we can be fairly transparent in our teaching. I think that the occasional personal story often helps students grasp a concept that may have been foreign to them otherwise.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Archives
This is an exterior shot of the original Mt. Moriah Buliding.
This is a shot of the interior sanctuary of Mt. Moriah.
Rev. Riley was one of the first poastors of the Church.
These images are from the TAMU-Commerce archives. I have posted the link below. The archives have a lot of material on the Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist church, including a speech by Harry Turner for a 1996 reunion of the Norris School.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Street and Olson
This week’s reading included excerpts from various scholars on the literacy debate. I was particularly interested in the excerpts from Brian V. Street and David Olson and I wanted to post some of the highlights from each of the excerpts.
Brain V. Street “Literacy in Theory and Practice”
Street differentiates between what he terms the Autonomous and Ideological models of Literacy. Defined as follows:
Autonomous: Texts embody ‘autonomous’ meaning which does not change over time and space.
Ideological: The meaning of literacy depends upon the social institutions in which it is embedded.
I tend to side with Street and see literacy as a very social beast. Since I side with Street I am going to list the tenets of his Ideological model with some commentary:
1. It assumes that the meaning of literacy depends upon the social institutions in which it is embedded.
2. Literacy can only be to us in forma which already have political and ideological significance and it cannot, therefore, be helpfully separated from that significance and treated as though it were an ‘autonomous’ thing.
3. The particular practices of reading and writing that are taught in any context depend upon such aspects of social structure as stratification, and the role of educational institutions.
4. The processes whereby reading and writing are learnt are what construct the meaning of it for particular practitioners.
5. We would probably more appropriately refer to ‘literacies’ than to any single ‘literacy.’
6. Writers who tend towards this model and away from the ‘autonomous’ model recognize as problematic the relationship between the analysis of any ‘autonomous’, isolable qualities of literacy and the analysis of the ideological and political nature of literacy practice.
In a nutshell, Literacy as a whole is a social event, but because of the social nature, literacy or more specifically the analysis of literacy, is problematic because of the multiple influences. Influences like ideology or cultures that are difficult to pin down. I really liked Street’s examination of Literacy and will probably use his theory in my own research.
David Olson “The World on Paper: the Conceptual and Cognitive Implication of Writing and Reading”
I was interested in Olson’s examination of the beliefs and doubts about Literacy. In a very truncated form, I want to list some of the beliefs and Olson’s arguments against these beliefs.
Beliefs:
1. Writing is the transcription of speech.
2. The superiority of writing to speech.
3. The technological superiority of the alphabetic writing system.
4. Literacy as the organ of social progress.
5. Literacy as an instrument of cultural and scientific development.
Doubts:
1. Writing systems capture only certain properties of what was said, namely, verbal form – phonemes, lexemes, and syntax – leaving how it was said or with what intention radically represented.
2. Saussure “The linguistic object is not defined by the combination of the written word and the spoken word: the spoken form alone constitutes the object.”
3. Similar to the debate between writing and speech.
4. On the flip side of social progress is the way that literacy can be used as a means of social control.
5. Establishing a link between cultural development and literacy is a slippery slope.
I don’t know that my quick reader’s digest version encapsulates the entire argument, but I like the list approach which does give a quick overview of the debate. I think what I gained from both of these articles is affirmation of my position in regards to Literacy. I do see Literacy as a social practice and the debates over Literacy are contests spaces with many differing opinions.
Brain V. Street “Literacy in Theory and Practice”
Street differentiates between what he terms the Autonomous and Ideological models of Literacy. Defined as follows:
Autonomous: Texts embody ‘autonomous’ meaning which does not change over time and space.
Ideological: The meaning of literacy depends upon the social institutions in which it is embedded.
I tend to side with Street and see literacy as a very social beast. Since I side with Street I am going to list the tenets of his Ideological model with some commentary:
1. It assumes that the meaning of literacy depends upon the social institutions in which it is embedded.
2. Literacy can only be to us in forma which already have political and ideological significance and it cannot, therefore, be helpfully separated from that significance and treated as though it were an ‘autonomous’ thing.
3. The particular practices of reading and writing that are taught in any context depend upon such aspects of social structure as stratification, and the role of educational institutions.
4. The processes whereby reading and writing are learnt are what construct the meaning of it for particular practitioners.
5. We would probably more appropriately refer to ‘literacies’ than to any single ‘literacy.’
6. Writers who tend towards this model and away from the ‘autonomous’ model recognize as problematic the relationship between the analysis of any ‘autonomous’, isolable qualities of literacy and the analysis of the ideological and political nature of literacy practice.
In a nutshell, Literacy as a whole is a social event, but because of the social nature, literacy or more specifically the analysis of literacy, is problematic because of the multiple influences. Influences like ideology or cultures that are difficult to pin down. I really liked Street’s examination of Literacy and will probably use his theory in my own research.
David Olson “The World on Paper: the Conceptual and Cognitive Implication of Writing and Reading”
I was interested in Olson’s examination of the beliefs and doubts about Literacy. In a very truncated form, I want to list some of the beliefs and Olson’s arguments against these beliefs.
Beliefs:
1. Writing is the transcription of speech.
2. The superiority of writing to speech.
3. The technological superiority of the alphabetic writing system.
4. Literacy as the organ of social progress.
5. Literacy as an instrument of cultural and scientific development.
Doubts:
1. Writing systems capture only certain properties of what was said, namely, verbal form – phonemes, lexemes, and syntax – leaving how it was said or with what intention radically represented.
2. Saussure “The linguistic object is not defined by the combination of the written word and the spoken word: the spoken form alone constitutes the object.”
3. Similar to the debate between writing and speech.
4. On the flip side of social progress is the way that literacy can be used as a means of social control.
5. Establishing a link between cultural development and literacy is a slippery slope.
I don’t know that my quick reader’s digest version encapsulates the entire argument, but I like the list approach which does give a quick overview of the debate. I think what I gained from both of these articles is affirmation of my position in regards to Literacy. I do see Literacy as a social practice and the debates over Literacy are contests spaces with many differing opinions.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Since we are visiting the Norris Community next week I thought it would be interesting to put up a copy of the narrative I wrote for the Historical Marker at Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church. Alot of the narrative was taken from Harry Turner's notes. It gives a pretty good history of the church in the community.
Narrative History
Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church
Commerce, Texas
Context
The City of Commerce Texas is “located in northeast Hunt County, between the South and North Sulphur rivers [and] was incorporated on September 25, 1885.”[1] Around the same time, a community now known as the Norris Community was being established located across the railroad tracks in a low-lying area close to the middle of Sulphur River. Though existing within the city limits of Commerce, the Norris Community functioned much like other African American communities in the South at the turn of the century and until Jim Crow laws gave way to integration following Civil Rights legislation and associated movements. For more than one-hundred years, the Norris Community was home to the vast majority of Commerce’s African American population, including a number of businesses serving the community in the years before these citizens had access to the shopping, entertainment, and schools serving the White population. Barber shops, grocery stores, and restaurants lined the Norris Community’s unpaved streets for the vast majority of the 20th century, where many residents lived rich and fulfilling lives in spite of the lack of access to resources and opportunities enjoyed the city’s Whites. Until the mid-1970s, even the most basic of resources were denied the Norris Community residents--including paved streets, sewage, proper drainage, and even indoor plumbing (ETSU Special, June 1973).
Significance
Mt. Moriah Baptist Temple Church has been a major fixture in the Norris Community for just about as long as the community itself, serving as hub for community meetings, rituals like marriages and funerals, and activist efforts led by groups like the NAACP and the Norris Community Club. Established in 1896, Mt. Moriah was the first African American church to be built in Commerce, Texas, and it has always been the largest and most influential. In fact, the vast majority of streets lining the Norris Community are named for Mt. Moriah church leaders like Harry Champaign and A.C. Williams. The neighborhood park was renamed for church leader Ivory Moore, which hosts the annual Juneteenth Celebration. More recently, Ivory Moore was honored again with the community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.”[2]
Overview
Part of the Cypress District Baptist Association, Mt. Moriah was, according to A Factual History of the Cypress District Association 1872-1973, “not too far removed from the black night of slavery and the dust of affliction had not wholly lifted from their longing path”[3] (“Forward,” Reverend John W. Williams). Formed in 1872, the Cypress District Baptist Association was responsible for organizing and building multiple congregations and church buildings across Northeast Texas. As Reverend Williams explains, the group of “ordinary people” meeting in Mt. Vernon, Texas, in 1872, formed the Cypress District Association precisely because they “would not be mastered by a negative past; neither would they be dominated by the social, political, and economic injustices of their times.”[4]
According to church historian and long-time Norris Community resident Harry Turner, “[o]ne of the leaders and prominent ministers of this association” was Reverend Henry C. Riley, “a missionary evangelist for over fifty years and a well known Baptist preacher in Hunt County and the surrounding area.” Riley would soon join James I. Gilmore in the organization and construction of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Until meeting Riley and beginning conversations that would lead to the establishment of Mt. Moriah, Gilmore was a preacher in a local Baptist church and teacher in a black school in Wolfe City, Texas. As Turner explains, “Since both men were well known throughout the area, it was inevitable that they should meet.” After meeting each other, Reverends Riley and Gilmore went to work “visiting with, talking to, and getting to know the people in Commerce and the Norris Community [and] the Spirit led them to desire to have a church built in Commerce.”[5]
According to the Special Warranty Deed of 1920, Mt. Moriah Church paid ten dollars for the parcel of land “beginning at the intersection of the west line of Green Street with the north line of Ross street; thence W to the intersection of the N. on line of Ross street with the E. line of a street (unnamed so far known) running N. on the line between the William Bond and David Anders surveys; thence N. about 210 feet to the S. line of a lot formerly sold by J W Mitchell and wife to Thos. Shields (the West end of said Shields lot now being known as the Nettie Greer lot); thence E. with the S. line of said Shields lot to the west line of Green Street; thence S 210 feet to the place of the beginning” (Deed attached).[6]
After Reverends Riley and Gilmore had obtained the land and built the church, “the problem arose as to what to name this new Cypress District church, and many names were considered by the congregation.”[7] In his account of the Churches history, Reverend Sanders speaking of the charter members of the church, says, “The task of naming the church faced these few members and the name Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was chosen.”[8] According to another source, the name Mt. Moriah was chosen because of the symbolic link between the church in Commerce and the Temple in ancient Israel which was located on Mt. Moriah. As Turner explains, “you would think that with Rev. Riley’s background in missionary work this church would be the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, but this church was not intended to be an outreach Church but one that emphasized a place where people would come in, a Sanctuary type of Church, a Temple.”[9] Although the founders of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church saw the mission of the Church as a place of refuge and not an “outreach Church,” over the past one hundred and thirty-seven years, Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church has served both as a refuge from and liaison to the community.
The social, historical, and political climate of the Church and community in the decades between 1920 and 1940 has been described as turbulent. “Norris Community in those days was little more than a small community of people, the streets little more than dirt roads, and a small shot-gun style houses scattered here and there. The people, mostly poor, were common decent people working where ever and whenever they could--in kitchens, cotton fields, farms, oil mills, and odd jobs in and around Commerce . . .”[10] After soldiers began returning to Norris Community following WWII, the area “gained [a reputation] as a . . . rough community, a dangerous city. It was a time when men carried guns and women carried razors, Saturday night fights and bootleg whiskey were commonplace.”[11] Despite the turmoil, “Mt Moriah Church survived” and as Reverend Sanders describes, “[t]he Church was the Negroes medium of mass-communication”[12] However, despite these years of turmoil, “ the 1960’s brought about a resurgence of enthusiasm” and “throughout the 1980’s and now . . . Mt. Moriah continues on, continues to live up to and to be its intended purpose.”
Part of the purpose of Mt. Moriah was to provide a refuge for its members and, as Turner notes of the 1930’s and 40’s, “WWII brought about a change in the community as many young men went off to war, the depression of the 1930’s and the hard times of the 1940’s made living difficult for everyone. In such times of trouble Mt. Moriah stood as a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of comfort, and a resting place for life’s trials.” During this time the sermons of the Church were influential in helping maintain peace and hope in the Norris Community.
In the 1960’s, “the Church [became] home to a large number of college students away from home and the Church was elevated from a position of city and county importance to one of Texas area importance.”[13] During the 1960’s, the Church played a large political role in organizing voting drives with designated drivers to take community members to the polls. Potential candidates were often brought in to discuss their views, and as Mr. Turner explains, the Church was always careful to present both sides of any issue, inviting for example, both Republican and Democratic candidates to speak with the congregation.[14] The Church was also influential in establishing links with the NAACP in the Norris Community and many of the influential members of the city were members of the Church; A.C. Williams, Ivory Moore, Opal Pannell, Harry Chapman, and Bill Reed to name a few.
Reaching out to the community and the university continued from the 1960’s, and in a Commerce Journal article from 1999, Ivory Moore says, “With the new building we will have the room to grow and expand our many missions and services to members with particular emphasis on our ‘Watch Care’ program to attract TAMU-C students and an overall strengthening of our Youth Department.”[15] Although University student membership has declined some in recent years, the church still works closely with students hosting an event called Friday Night Live each Friday showcasing the university choir and guest reverend’s sermons. According to members of the church, the church has always tried to establish a link to the university. Mt. Moriah’s involvement in the community is not restricted to just the University; the Church activities have always included programs designed to help with the material needs of its members--including an annual Thanksgiving Dinner (hosted by the Commerce chapter of the NAACP) for the community and university students, delivery of meals for home-bound members of the community, and recording sermons to be broadcast on Channel 3, the university’s television station. The church reaches out to those in need by providing food, shelter, clothes and medical necessities.
In the conclusion of his history on Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church, Mr. Turner says, “This Church has become a historic landmark all due to the spiritual insight of its founding leaders. We have in the past 20 years or so made some cosmetic changes to the church both inside and out, but much of the Church with its built in symbolism remains just as they long intended it to. This church has stood the test of time and served its community well. For many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us.”[16] Just as the ancient temple was in Israel, Mt Moriah Temple Baptist Church has been a beacon of hope and a refuge in troubled times. As Mr. Turner reminds the congregation in his historical sermon, “for many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us,” a statement that can be extended to all in the community who have had contact with Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
[1] The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, Ed. Otha and Billie Spencer. Wolfe City: Henington, 1985.
[2] Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore awards scheduled.” Commerce Journal. June 16, 2009. <>
[3] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[4] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[5] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[6] Special Warranty Deed. State of Texas. Maria Schmucker Notary Public, 22 Apr 1920.
[7] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[8] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[9] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[10] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[11] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[12] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[13] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[14] Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
[15] Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to build new church,” The Commerce Journal, 10 March 1999.
[16] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
Narrative History
Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church
Commerce, Texas
Context
The City of Commerce Texas is “located in northeast Hunt County, between the South and North Sulphur rivers [and] was incorporated on September 25, 1885.”[1] Around the same time, a community now known as the Norris Community was being established located across the railroad tracks in a low-lying area close to the middle of Sulphur River. Though existing within the city limits of Commerce, the Norris Community functioned much like other African American communities in the South at the turn of the century and until Jim Crow laws gave way to integration following Civil Rights legislation and associated movements. For more than one-hundred years, the Norris Community was home to the vast majority of Commerce’s African American population, including a number of businesses serving the community in the years before these citizens had access to the shopping, entertainment, and schools serving the White population. Barber shops, grocery stores, and restaurants lined the Norris Community’s unpaved streets for the vast majority of the 20th century, where many residents lived rich and fulfilling lives in spite of the lack of access to resources and opportunities enjoyed the city’s Whites. Until the mid-1970s, even the most basic of resources were denied the Norris Community residents--including paved streets, sewage, proper drainage, and even indoor plumbing (ETSU Special, June 1973).
Significance
Mt. Moriah Baptist Temple Church has been a major fixture in the Norris Community for just about as long as the community itself, serving as hub for community meetings, rituals like marriages and funerals, and activist efforts led by groups like the NAACP and the Norris Community Club. Established in 1896, Mt. Moriah was the first African American church to be built in Commerce, Texas, and it has always been the largest and most influential. In fact, the vast majority of streets lining the Norris Community are named for Mt. Moriah church leaders like Harry Champaign and A.C. Williams. The neighborhood park was renamed for church leader Ivory Moore, which hosts the annual Juneteenth Celebration. More recently, Ivory Moore was honored again with the community Citizenship Award, now the “Ivory Moore Most Influential Citizenship Awards.”[2]
Overview
Part of the Cypress District Baptist Association, Mt. Moriah was, according to A Factual History of the Cypress District Association 1872-1973, “not too far removed from the black night of slavery and the dust of affliction had not wholly lifted from their longing path”[3] (“Forward,” Reverend John W. Williams). Formed in 1872, the Cypress District Baptist Association was responsible for organizing and building multiple congregations and church buildings across Northeast Texas. As Reverend Williams explains, the group of “ordinary people” meeting in Mt. Vernon, Texas, in 1872, formed the Cypress District Association precisely because they “would not be mastered by a negative past; neither would they be dominated by the social, political, and economic injustices of their times.”[4]
According to church historian and long-time Norris Community resident Harry Turner, “[o]ne of the leaders and prominent ministers of this association” was Reverend Henry C. Riley, “a missionary evangelist for over fifty years and a well known Baptist preacher in Hunt County and the surrounding area.” Riley would soon join James I. Gilmore in the organization and construction of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
Until meeting Riley and beginning conversations that would lead to the establishment of Mt. Moriah, Gilmore was a preacher in a local Baptist church and teacher in a black school in Wolfe City, Texas. As Turner explains, “Since both men were well known throughout the area, it was inevitable that they should meet.” After meeting each other, Reverends Riley and Gilmore went to work “visiting with, talking to, and getting to know the people in Commerce and the Norris Community [and] the Spirit led them to desire to have a church built in Commerce.”[5]
According to the Special Warranty Deed of 1920, Mt. Moriah Church paid ten dollars for the parcel of land “beginning at the intersection of the west line of Green Street with the north line of Ross street; thence W to the intersection of the N. on line of Ross street with the E. line of a street (unnamed so far known) running N. on the line between the William Bond and David Anders surveys; thence N. about 210 feet to the S. line of a lot formerly sold by J W Mitchell and wife to Thos. Shields (the West end of said Shields lot now being known as the Nettie Greer lot); thence E. with the S. line of said Shields lot to the west line of Green Street; thence S 210 feet to the place of the beginning” (Deed attached).[6]
After Reverends Riley and Gilmore had obtained the land and built the church, “the problem arose as to what to name this new Cypress District church, and many names were considered by the congregation.”[7] In his account of the Churches history, Reverend Sanders speaking of the charter members of the church, says, “The task of naming the church faced these few members and the name Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was chosen.”[8] According to another source, the name Mt. Moriah was chosen because of the symbolic link between the church in Commerce and the Temple in ancient Israel which was located on Mt. Moriah. As Turner explains, “you would think that with Rev. Riley’s background in missionary work this church would be the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, but this church was not intended to be an outreach Church but one that emphasized a place where people would come in, a Sanctuary type of Church, a Temple.”[9] Although the founders of Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church saw the mission of the Church as a place of refuge and not an “outreach Church,” over the past one hundred and thirty-seven years, Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church has served both as a refuge from and liaison to the community.
The social, historical, and political climate of the Church and community in the decades between 1920 and 1940 has been described as turbulent. “Norris Community in those days was little more than a small community of people, the streets little more than dirt roads, and a small shot-gun style houses scattered here and there. The people, mostly poor, were common decent people working where ever and whenever they could--in kitchens, cotton fields, farms, oil mills, and odd jobs in and around Commerce . . .”[10] After soldiers began returning to Norris Community following WWII, the area “gained [a reputation] as a . . . rough community, a dangerous city. It was a time when men carried guns and women carried razors, Saturday night fights and bootleg whiskey were commonplace.”[11] Despite the turmoil, “Mt Moriah Church survived” and as Reverend Sanders describes, “[t]he Church was the Negroes medium of mass-communication”[12] However, despite these years of turmoil, “ the 1960’s brought about a resurgence of enthusiasm” and “throughout the 1980’s and now . . . Mt. Moriah continues on, continues to live up to and to be its intended purpose.”
Part of the purpose of Mt. Moriah was to provide a refuge for its members and, as Turner notes of the 1930’s and 40’s, “WWII brought about a change in the community as many young men went off to war, the depression of the 1930’s and the hard times of the 1940’s made living difficult for everyone. In such times of trouble Mt. Moriah stood as a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of comfort, and a resting place for life’s trials.” During this time the sermons of the Church were influential in helping maintain peace and hope in the Norris Community.
In the 1960’s, “the Church [became] home to a large number of college students away from home and the Church was elevated from a position of city and county importance to one of Texas area importance.”[13] During the 1960’s, the Church played a large political role in organizing voting drives with designated drivers to take community members to the polls. Potential candidates were often brought in to discuss their views, and as Mr. Turner explains, the Church was always careful to present both sides of any issue, inviting for example, both Republican and Democratic candidates to speak with the congregation.[14] The Church was also influential in establishing links with the NAACP in the Norris Community and many of the influential members of the city were members of the Church; A.C. Williams, Ivory Moore, Opal Pannell, Harry Chapman, and Bill Reed to name a few.
Reaching out to the community and the university continued from the 1960’s, and in a Commerce Journal article from 1999, Ivory Moore says, “With the new building we will have the room to grow and expand our many missions and services to members with particular emphasis on our ‘Watch Care’ program to attract TAMU-C students and an overall strengthening of our Youth Department.”[15] Although University student membership has declined some in recent years, the church still works closely with students hosting an event called Friday Night Live each Friday showcasing the university choir and guest reverend’s sermons. According to members of the church, the church has always tried to establish a link to the university. Mt. Moriah’s involvement in the community is not restricted to just the University; the Church activities have always included programs designed to help with the material needs of its members--including an annual Thanksgiving Dinner (hosted by the Commerce chapter of the NAACP) for the community and university students, delivery of meals for home-bound members of the community, and recording sermons to be broadcast on Channel 3, the university’s television station. The church reaches out to those in need by providing food, shelter, clothes and medical necessities.
In the conclusion of his history on Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church, Mr. Turner says, “This Church has become a historic landmark all due to the spiritual insight of its founding leaders. We have in the past 20 years or so made some cosmetic changes to the church both inside and out, but much of the Church with its built in symbolism remains just as they long intended it to. This church has stood the test of time and served its community well. For many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us.”[16] Just as the ancient temple was in Israel, Mt Moriah Temple Baptist Church has been a beacon of hope and a refuge in troubled times. As Mr. Turner reminds the congregation in his historical sermon, “for many of us it has been more than a Church, it has been a part of us,” a statement that can be extended to all in the community who have had contact with Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church.
[1] The Handbook of Commerce Texas 1872-1985, Ed. Otha and Billie Spencer. Wolfe City: Henington, 1985.
[2] Kellar, Brad. “Honoring Influential Citizens, 2nd Ivory Moore awards scheduled.” Commerce Journal. June 16, 2009. <>
[3] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[4] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[5] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[6] Special Warranty Deed. State of Texas. Maria Schmucker Notary Public, 22 Apr 1920.
[7] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[8] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[9] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[10] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[11] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[12] A Factual History (with Pictures) of Cypress District Baptist Association. Rev. A.D. Sanders.
[13] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
[14] Turner, Harry. Personal Interview. 13-November-09
[15] Vanderpool, Rick. “Mt. Moriah to build new church,” The Commerce Journal, 10 March 1999.
[16] Turner, Harry Eugene. Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church History, Mt. Moriah Worship Service, 9 Nov 1997
Street's Anthropology Section
This week I was interested in the Anthropology section of Street and Lefstein’s book, Literacy an advanced resource book. I wanted to talk about the ideas found in two different but related quotes from this section.
“Literacy can be roughly defined as communication through visually decoded inscriptions” (56).
Literacy various widely in form and content across societies [sic] contexts of use. Levels of prestige, communicative norms, identities of users, and social dynamics all shape literacy in particular ways in each society or community” (56).
Similar to each of these quotes is the generality with which they attempt to define the concept of literacy. I think this is a good approach but one that can also be problematic. I agree with the idea that literacy is a socially defined activity, but where I see this view as problematic is its implications for teaching. Maybe this comes from my desire to legitimize my profession…but wherever the impulse comes from, I worry that if everything is “literacy” what is it that I am trying to teach students. This may be an oversimplification of the idea, but I think this is a valid question for teachers to ask. I think that we commonly focus on a specific set of literacy practices to teach which seems to work. I think Street is correct that defining literacy is difficult because it is such a diverse and loaded term. But that is the fascinating part of studying it…even if legitimizing exactly what it is becomes difficult. Re-reading this post I’m not sure if it makes sense…hopefully it does to some degree.
“Literacy can be roughly defined as communication through visually decoded inscriptions” (56).
Literacy various widely in form and content across societies [sic] contexts of use. Levels of prestige, communicative norms, identities of users, and social dynamics all shape literacy in particular ways in each society or community” (56).
Similar to each of these quotes is the generality with which they attempt to define the concept of literacy. I think this is a good approach but one that can also be problematic. I agree with the idea that literacy is a socially defined activity, but where I see this view as problematic is its implications for teaching. Maybe this comes from my desire to legitimize my profession…but wherever the impulse comes from, I worry that if everything is “literacy” what is it that I am trying to teach students. This may be an oversimplification of the idea, but I think this is a valid question for teachers to ask. I think that we commonly focus on a specific set of literacy practices to teach which seems to work. I think Street is correct that defining literacy is difficult because it is such a diverse and loaded term. But that is the fascinating part of studying it…even if legitimizing exactly what it is becomes difficult. Re-reading this post I’m not sure if it makes sense…hopefully it does to some degree.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Deborah Mutnick “Inscribing the World: An Oral History Project in Brooklyn”
Mutnick’s article was published in College Composition and Communication in the summer of 2007 and documents “a university-school oral history project at an elementary school in Brooklyn.” I was really interested in the theory behind this particular project as well as the methods that Mutnick and her students used to collect the data. I thought what I would do for this post is to list some of my favorite quotations as well as the terminology that I found intriguing. Where possible I will try to explain the quotation or define the terms to the best of my ability.
“Places are sensuous, laden with the repetition of life. As we pass through or dwell someplace, we recreate it” (626).
What a great way to describe how we all make our mark on the places we inhabit.
“Pedagogy of the public sphere” (627).
I liked this terminology as a way to describe the ways we can learn and be taught from the everyday elements of our life.
“Competing Counterpublics” (629).
This term is attributed to Nancy Fraser…I like the idea that we are not the only people who inhabit a space, there are years and years of people who have inhabited the space we now inhabit. I think it also address the “other” not just the dominate culture or ideology, which are competing for public recognition.
“Phantom Public Sphere” (629).
I don’t have a good definition for this term, but I believe it also address the “other” in the sense that the “other” occupies a space that is not legitimized or recognized, making it a “phantom” space.
““read” built structures” (630).
Not a direct quote, but I like the idea that we “read” structures / buildings. Mutnick goes on to explain that we also “read” the history / social memory of places as well. Good stuff.
Towards the end of her article, Mutnick describes the setting and start of her oral history project. She says that she begins with the following quotation from the play Junebug/Jack:
“Everybody has a story, their own story. But it seems like it has to come to the place where people think their stories are silly and aren’t worth anything anymore. Trouble is, seems like some people are always wanting to tell our story for us. But, we got to tell it ourselves! Otherwise how we gonna know it’s us? And if we don’t listen to the stories of others, how we gonna know who they are?”
Mutnick then describes three lessons we can learn from this quote.:
1) Everybody’s story has value
2) We have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are.
3) We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them.
I think these are great mantras that could be used as pedagogical guidelines in specific composition classes.
“Call and Response” (633).
I thought the phenomenon that Mutnick described in relation to call and response was fascinating. I thought it would make an interesting study to trace this phenomenon in public settings.
Mutnick’s article was published in College Composition and Communication in the summer of 2007 and documents “a university-school oral history project at an elementary school in Brooklyn.” I was really interested in the theory behind this particular project as well as the methods that Mutnick and her students used to collect the data. I thought what I would do for this post is to list some of my favorite quotations as well as the terminology that I found intriguing. Where possible I will try to explain the quotation or define the terms to the best of my ability.
“Places are sensuous, laden with the repetition of life. As we pass through or dwell someplace, we recreate it” (626).
What a great way to describe how we all make our mark on the places we inhabit.
“Pedagogy of the public sphere” (627).
I liked this terminology as a way to describe the ways we can learn and be taught from the everyday elements of our life.
“Competing Counterpublics” (629).
This term is attributed to Nancy Fraser…I like the idea that we are not the only people who inhabit a space, there are years and years of people who have inhabited the space we now inhabit. I think it also address the “other” not just the dominate culture or ideology, which are competing for public recognition.
“Phantom Public Sphere” (629).
I don’t have a good definition for this term, but I believe it also address the “other” in the sense that the “other” occupies a space that is not legitimized or recognized, making it a “phantom” space.
““read” built structures” (630).
Not a direct quote, but I like the idea that we “read” structures / buildings. Mutnick goes on to explain that we also “read” the history / social memory of places as well. Good stuff.
Towards the end of her article, Mutnick describes the setting and start of her oral history project. She says that she begins with the following quotation from the play Junebug/Jack:
“Everybody has a story, their own story. But it seems like it has to come to the place where people think their stories are silly and aren’t worth anything anymore. Trouble is, seems like some people are always wanting to tell our story for us. But, we got to tell it ourselves! Otherwise how we gonna know it’s us? And if we don’t listen to the stories of others, how we gonna know who they are?”
Mutnick then describes three lessons we can learn from this quote.:
1) Everybody’s story has value
2) We have to tell the stories ourselves in order to know who we are.
3) We have to listen to others’ stories in order to know them.
I think these are great mantras that could be used as pedagogical guidelines in specific composition classes.
“Call and Response” (633).
I thought the phenomenon that Mutnick described in relation to call and response was fascinating. I thought it would make an interesting study to trace this phenomenon in public settings.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week 1 The Literacy of “Argumentative Discourse”
This week, I was most impressed with the work of Brian V. Street and Adam Lefstein. I was specifically intrigued with what they termed the different approaches and consequences of Literacy. Their discussion can be found in Unit A5, pages 34-47 of the Literacy An Advanced Resource Book. On page 34, Street comments that in order to understand the approaches and consequences of literacy we can use three categories: Literacy Acquisition, Consequences of Literacy and Literacy as Social Practice. In my dissertation I will be focusing on the Literacy practices of Mormon Missionaries and these categories seem very relevant to the work I will be doing. These categories illuminate what I see as the give and take of literacy. Literacy is approached or given in different ways dependent on the contextual situation and following the way in which literacy is practiced or approached there are consequences. In her scholarship on literacy sponsorship, Deborah Brandt echoes this idea by illustrating that sponsors can have both a positive and negative effect on their recipients. The one area that I see a little differently is the idea of literacy as a social practice. I completely agree with Street that Literacy is a social practice, however I think the social nature of literacy could be seen as an underlying motivation behind the give and take of acquisition and consequences. At any rate though I really liked Street’s way of envisioning and separating the ways in which literacy works in our culture.
Although Street gets the spotlight for my post this week, I was also very interested in the work of Martin Nystand and John Duffy. Their article, “Towards a Rhetoric of Everyday Life” showcased the scholarship of Kenneth Burke, whose name I had heard in reference before, but new relatively little about him. After reading the Duffy article I think I will need to add Burke to my comps list along with James Gee and possible James Berlin, both of whom were mentioned in Duffy’s article. If I understood Duffy’s interpretation of Burke, I want to know more about his views of literacy as a social practice.
This week, I was most impressed with the work of Brian V. Street and Adam Lefstein. I was specifically intrigued with what they termed the different approaches and consequences of Literacy. Their discussion can be found in Unit A5, pages 34-47 of the Literacy An Advanced Resource Book. On page 34, Street comments that in order to understand the approaches and consequences of literacy we can use three categories: Literacy Acquisition, Consequences of Literacy and Literacy as Social Practice. In my dissertation I will be focusing on the Literacy practices of Mormon Missionaries and these categories seem very relevant to the work I will be doing. These categories illuminate what I see as the give and take of literacy. Literacy is approached or given in different ways dependent on the contextual situation and following the way in which literacy is practiced or approached there are consequences. In her scholarship on literacy sponsorship, Deborah Brandt echoes this idea by illustrating that sponsors can have both a positive and negative effect on their recipients. The one area that I see a little differently is the idea of literacy as a social practice. I completely agree with Street that Literacy is a social practice, however I think the social nature of literacy could be seen as an underlying motivation behind the give and take of acquisition and consequences. At any rate though I really liked Street’s way of envisioning and separating the ways in which literacy works in our culture.
Although Street gets the spotlight for my post this week, I was also very interested in the work of Martin Nystand and John Duffy. Their article, “Towards a Rhetoric of Everyday Life” showcased the scholarship of Kenneth Burke, whose name I had heard in reference before, but new relatively little about him. After reading the Duffy article I think I will need to add Burke to my comps list along with James Gee and possible James Berlin, both of whom were mentioned in Duffy’s article. If I understood Duffy’s interpretation of Burke, I want to know more about his views of literacy as a social practice.
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