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.