Healing Brooklyn-Japan Baseball Program

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis
Brooklyn-Japan culture exchange program
Brooklyn-Japan culture exchange program

Healing was the theme for our Brooklyn-Japan Baseball Program. Our multicultural assignment involved a global natural disaster project with Brooklyn and Japan–the Japanese government’s cultural exchange agency, Long Island University, Brooklyn Borough Hall, and the Brooklyn Cyclones.  What a time we  had this summer! It regarded youth survivors of Japan’s Tsunami and Brooklyn-NYC’s Hurricane Sandy.

We managed event planning details for this week-long event, we did program development, and directed public relations and media strategies. We produced two films, a press conference, social media campaigns and more. Our two new films “The Healing Game: Brooklyn-Japan Youth Baseball Program-Part 1,”  and The Healing Game-Part 2 (subtitled in Japanese) can be viewed on youtube. Click here for a link.

The Tumblr website that we set-up can be viewed here.

It was exciting to launch something new and different. The inaugural Brooklyn-Japan Baseball Program was full of wonderful moments and memorable collaborations. But most importantly, we celebrated our children’s friendship and survival from both of our nation’s natural disasters—Hurricane Sandy (2012) and Japan’s Tsunami and Earthquake (2011).

The program, called “Japan’s Tsunami Kids and Brooklyn’s Hurricane Sandy Kids Play ball,”  happened Wednesday July 23 – Sunday, July 27, 2014 in Brooklyn at Long Island University and Cyclones Stadium, Coney Island. The kids also attended a Yankees game in the Bronx, ate Dim Sum in New York City’s Chinatown and more.

We welcomed a delegation of 100 Japanese youth baseball players, coaches, guardians and translators. They all lodged downtown Brooklyn at Long Island University’s student dorm. They participated in cultural exchange activities and played ball with local Hurricane Sandy youth at Brooklyn’s MCU Park-Cyclones Stadium in Coney Island. The Hurricane Sandy kids came from Brooklyn, Queens and other local disaster areas.

Hat’s off to our three very talented college interns who always went above and beyond the call of duty to deliver professional-level work on this project: Vivian Lee, Mount Holyoke; Jennifer Yip, Amherst College; and Laura Bromley, Hunter College (CUNY).

Stay tuned for more highlights from our fun summer projects.

 

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Stories from stuff

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

Stories from stuff – Let go of your stuff with a story at a Show & Tell-NYC event Saturday, May 31, 5-7pm, @BuythatBag, 159 28th street, Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Here’s an excerpt from my story:
“I refused to dump mother’s possessions at the curb. But, I could not keep anything. I was in a dilemma. I justified leaving the old trunk safely in the house just sold. Since the new owners were distant relatives, I left hoping that they might find something useful. Their eyes lit up!  They knew of mother’s superstitious habit of hiding her money. My inner artist had long been submerged by grief on that last day at mother’s house. Today, I would have easily found a way to keep some colorful fabric to make quilts, other creations and donate the rest.

Show&Tell-NYC, May 31, 5-7pm, @buythatbag,Brooklyn
Show&Tell-NYC, May 31, 5-7pm, @buythatbag, Brooklyn“I refused to dump mother’s possessions at the curb. But, I could not keep them. I was in a dilemma. I justified leaving the old trunk safely in the house just sold. Since the new owners were distant relatives, I left hoping that they would find some use for that old stuff. My inner artist had long been submerged by grief on that last day at mother’s house. Today, I would have easily found a way to keep some of that fabric to make quilts and other creations and donate the rest to charity.

Caribbean nick-knacks to donate

My mother told me that she inherited that old, heavy, wooden trunk from her mother. When my maternal grandmother arrived in Harlem from Trinidad, she found it on a sidewalk. She painted it with colorful flowers and it moved into her life.  My mother said that she used to sit and climb on it just as we did as children. That trunk moved with Grandma every time she moved—to various Harlem apartments, down to the Bowery, to 14th street, Chinatown, and eventually to our house on President Street in Brooklyn.  The trunk, now painted grey, was last kept in our basement. It was intermingled with my mother’s and grandmother’s things—vintage fabric and tapestries, sewing notions like zippers, snaps, hooks, buttons, beads and fibers including yarn, threads, twines, ribbons, sequins, lace, fringe, trimmings, tassels, and crochet, knitting, embroidery and art supplies. There were also nick-knacks, old greeting cards, and how-to booklets. My maternal elders were talented craftswomen who made everything with their hands—upholstery, apparel, costumes, rugs, curtains, quilts, pillowcases and other domestic items.” Excerpted from “Fabric of Our Lives,” published in my blog post March 12. 2013.

If you are de-cluttering, moving or simply letting go of your old stuff, tell a story about it at a grown-up  “Show & Tell” coming to Brooklyn – @BuythatBag, 159 28th street (Sunset Park), Saturday, May 31, 5-7pm. This event will benefit the Housing Works, an organization that helps HIV-AIDS survivors. Here’s the link for more information:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/show–tell-nyc-teams-up-with-housing-works-hwthrifts-259287471.html

 

BBC Radio Academy Award-Gold!

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

I am honored to announce that the BBC Radio program featuring my interview and storytelling among others, recently received the prestigious BBC Radio Academy Award-Gold Award for “Strange Fruit,” produced by Maggie Ayre.

Congratulations to the amazing producer Maggie Ayre and the awesome storytellers on the show. After reading my story on the Coming to the Table website about my Uncle Warren’s lynching, BBC Radio producer Maggie Ayre invited me to join her Soul Music program. The show also included Emmett Till’s cousin, Simeon Wright; Robert Meeropol, the adopted son of Jewish teacher Abel Meeropol, author of the poem/song; and April Shipp, a Detroit quilt maker who created a “Strange Fruit” quilt. Each of us engaged about the song, “Strange Fruit” and shared our own personal story.

radio
What kind of radio do you listen to?

What the judges said about  “Strange Fruit”:

“Using a simple format with moving interviews, this was immensely powerful storytelling through and about music. It allowed the lyrics to breathe, resulting in an impactful and brilliant show. This was ‘stop and listen’ radio.”

Here’s the link to BBC Radio Academy Award announcement: http://www.radioacademyawards.org/winners/index.cfm?winners_year=2014&winners_award_group_id=4&winners_award_category_id=21

“Strange Fruit” Headed to the Theater Stage: In addition, this amazing radio program inspired a theater production in England. Anyone want to join me for a trip to the UK this summer? I was only given bare details at press time. I received word second-hand from the producer that he is going ahead on July 10th at the Wirral Festival of Firsts. For updates, go to:  http://www.festivaloffirsts.com/home/4582210171.

To hear the original BBC broadcast, check out a past blog post by clicking here.

 

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Caribbean Mother’s Day

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

Caribbean Mother’s Day: I always marvel at mothers like my maternal grandmother Violet Chan Keong, who arrived in Harlem from Trinidad. She was newly divorced and travelling with three small children, including my mother. She left behind three older children.

Aunt Sybil, Agnes, Elaine in Trinidad
It took over a decade before my Trinidadian maternal Aunts Sybil, Agnes, and Elaine were reunited with their mother and siblings in NYC.

It would take more than a decade before they would reunite. Once settled in Harlem, my grandmother worked day, night, and weekends taking care of other people’s children and cleaning other people’s homes. She was very resourceful. Grandma came here to work.  Her side businesses included work as a seamstress, tailor, caterer and special events planner, especially Caribbean weddings. She taught me how to cook, clean, garden, sew, knit, crochet, manage events and read palms.

Like thousands of Caribbean mothers, Grandma Violet was motivated by the American dream. She saved every penny so she could send for her children and provide for the ones living with her. She did not worry about her daughters back home because they lived with our extended Caribbean family. Grandmother belonged to a unique network of tough West Indian mothers who learned by trial and error how to hold everything together in their cold new world.

Grandmother participated in a sou-sou, an old-fashioned Caribbean savings cooperative similar to a lottery.  A group of people deposited an equal amount of money for a period of time (monthly or bi-weekly) with a trusted banker in the circle. After that time was up, each person in the circle got a turn to keep the full pot.

Grandmother’s sou-sou and her extra jobs provided for all of the family’s needs—a new home, trips back to Trinidad and raising the children who lived with her.  Her generation did not believe in banks, loans or credit cards. Everything was about sacrifice and integrity! There were lots of letters and barrels sent back and forth between Trinidad, “BG”-British Guyana and New York. Articles such as clothing, fabric, sewing supplies, toiletries, books, magazines and traditional food and religious items were shipped on a regular basis. My elders shared everything in their tight-knit Caribbean community, especially precious news, letters and photos from back home. I inherited quite a collection of exotic postal stamps, news clips and photos from that time.

Most importantly, I learned about my family’s cultural history —from our mother and grandmother’s stories. With each barrel sent and each new arrival from the old country, there were stories, photos and new chapters about Trinidad and Guyana’s independence. I was a teen when my Aunt Elaine, my mother’s oldest sister, arrived in NY. I was given her name as my middle name. Aunt Elaine’s son William lived with us in Brooklyn while he attended Howard University. I can recall the scene. There they were, sisters meeting for the first time–laughing and crying tears of joy. Circumstances, family drama, post-colonial politics and immigration laws were some of the reasons for this belated reunion. So, on Mother’s Day, I give a special salute to Caribbean mothers everywhere for your courage and sacrifices to start a new life. Check out how Mother’s Day is celebrated around the world: http://time.com/94286/mothers-day-2014-world/

 

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Genealogy Vacation Tips

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis
Review archival photos and artifacts before taking your genealogy vacation.
Review archival photos and artifacts before taking your genealogy vacation.

I love to combine vacations with genealogy research trips. I experience deja vu and can almost feel my ancestor’s spirits guiding me. To walk the same streets, eat the same foods and hear traditional music and language of my ancestors can be quite emotional. I sometimes feel pure joy and incredible sadness. But overall, a genealogy vacation can be exciting and rewarding for the whole family.

 

This year, my itinerary will include the Caribbean, Mississippi and Louisiana and England. Using oral histories, family stories, inherited photos and artifacts, I will dig for more stories. I planned months in advance. I also set appointments and allotted time to improvise or change plans.

 

Right now, I am finalizing a trip to New Orleans and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. My current research project is about family recipes—especially gumbo. There is a community of “gumbo people” that I hope to meet. I learned that you could do a lot of cooking, eating and tasting in a few days if you make a good plan.

 

My genealogy trip will also include family gravesites, churches and neighborhood landmarks. Colleagues have already made introductions for site visits and events. Most importantly, I did my homework and developed a few checklists.

My Top 5 Genealogy Vacation Tips:

  1. -Choose your research project: a specific family, individual or tradition.
  2. -Know where you are going. Call your relatives or their neighbors to plan a visit. Check the web for the church, courthouse, and libraries to confirm a time, location, and direction. Official buildings can close for repair without notice!
  3. -Learn what sources and events are available. Some original source records require prior reservations. Events can change venue and details. The drama of your ancestors’ lives is documented in a variety of newspapers, court, land transfer, tax, voting, school, health records and more. If your ancestor lived near a county line, you might find records in two different counties. Click here for a link to tips for onsite genealogy research.
  4. -Map out your strategy. Get familiar with the area using various maps like highway or Google maps. Small and large-scale topographic maps can help greatly with logistics.
  5. -Packing Tips: I pack as light as possible— notebook, pedigree charts or family group record, pencils (many repositories don’t allow pens!) camera, tripod, portable scanner, mobile phone, batteries, memory cards, magnifying glass, tape measure, white archival gloves, comfortable clothes and shoes.

Do you combine vacation and genealogy trips? What are your tips?