The University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu’s James & Abigail Campbell Library presents a panel discussion about “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine,” a PBS documentary that highlights the vibrant cultural and social spaces at the heart of the African American experience.
The event — from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, in the library’s second-floor Exhibition Space — will feature a panel discussion that will incorporate snippets from the documentary. The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Paula Major, a full professor for the Division of Elementary Education at UH West O‘ahu.
“The significance of the panel discussion will showcase how Black people have the unwavering ability to economically and communally prosper, to continuously fight against White supremacy, and to define Blackness in all the ways that help shape America,” Dr. Paula Major said.
The featured panelists will be Dr. Akiemi Glenn and Liz Derias. Glenn is the founder and executive director of the Pōpolo Project, a community organization whose mission is to redefine what it means to be Black in Hawai‘i through cultivating connections between individuals, our communities, our ancestors, and the land, highlighting the vivid, complex diversity of Black cultures and identities in the Pacific and around the world.
Derias has over 20 years of national and international social justice, youth and community organizing, popular education training, and policy and advocacy experience. She is currently the co-executive director of an organization named CompassPoint, which provides capacity building training to racial justice organizations.
The focus of the discussion will be “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine,” a four-part series that chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” The documentary is hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who is also the series writer and executive producer.
“For centuries, ‘the Grapevine’ has connected Black Americans in formal and informal networks not just as a way of communicating but of building and sustaining communities large and small,” Gates said in a press release about the documentary. “From churches to fraternal and sororal organizations to Black Twitter, this is the story of the making of Black America and how, in the making, a people did more than survive the onslaught of enslavement and segregation. They redefined America and its cultural gifts to the world. All of us are grateful to our partners at CPB and PBS for giving us the opportunity to explore this history and what it can teach us as we struggle to overcome the challenges of our times.”
The following are details about each episode in the series, which premiered on Oct. 4 on PBS Hawai‘i:
- Episode One (Oct. 4). As early as 1775, free Black people in the North and South built towns, established schools, and held conventions ─ creating robust networks to address the political, economic, and social needs of the entire Black community. This episode is available on YouTube until Nov. 1.
- Episode Two (Oct. 11). With the hopes of a multi-racial community dashed, African Americans turn within, creating a community that not only sustains but empowers. From HBCUs to Black businesses to the Harlem Renaissance to political organizations, Black life flourished. This episode is available on YouTube until Nov. 8.
- Episode Three (Oct. 18). To survive a period of economic cataclysm and global war, African Americans relied on informal economies, grassroots organizations and cultural innovations behind the color line to sustain themselves and dismantle the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. This episode is available on YouTube until Nov. 15.
- Episode Four (Oct. 25). Despite the gains of legal desegregation, all Black political and cultural movements – from Black Power to Black Twitter – continued to provide a safe space for a community riven by class, sexuality and generational divisions to debate, organize and celebrate. This episode is available on YouTube until Nov. 22.
The Nov. 1 panel discussion is free and open to all UH West O‘ahu students, faculty, and staff, and to the general public. Guests are encouraged to wear face masks while inside the library building.
“I would encourage people to attend because this will be an informative event that shares the richness and contribution of Black people and their often unknown historical impact on American society,” Dr. Paula Major said.
Programming was made possible, in part with support from the UH West O‘ahu Student Activity Fee Board. Event organizers are UH West O‘ahu faculty and staff members Alphie Garcia, Dr. Camonia Graham-Tutt, Carina Chernisky, Dr. Kim Compoc, and Dr. Paula Major.
To learn more about the event or to register, visit go.hawaii.edu/2qB. For questions, email uhwolib@hawaii.edu.
