Operating mostly from an instinct I’ve developed as a pastor (say “yes” whenever you can, especially to invitations to make connections in the community), I accepted mentor Marie’s invitation to volunteer at a yearly remembrance event hosted by a racial and economic justice organization she’s a part of.
The event commemorates the death of a Black man killed by police. Unlike the memorial held each year on the anniversary of the shooting, this yearly summer picnic is a community celebration. It’s designed for families in one of the city’s historically African American neighborhoods and features free food, games, and other fun activities in Medgar Evers Park there. For the purposes of this study, my note focus on my encounter with Marie there, and what I learned about Team R’s participation in the event.
After an hour or so working on setup tasks (tables, tents, etc.) and chatting casually with organizers and other volunteers, I saw the opportunity to say hello to Marie. She obviously recognized me and greeted me warmly, but we didn’t talk any more at that point.
Later on Marie needed a volunteer to go with her on an errand: picking up dry ice for the food coolers and asking several local businesses for used oversize boxes we could use for garbage receptacles.
As we drove to the dry ice store, I asked her how she got involved with the organization hosting this event. She tells me a kind of conversion story about ending up at organizing meeting with a bunch of folks, including the family of the police shooting victim whose killing had catalyzed so much community activity. She then asked me how I’d gotten involved, and I tell her it’s because she told me about it.
This exchange was a helpful lesson for me about the importance of more deliberately positioning myself in my interactions with members of this networked organization.
I must not have given more context than that, because she then asked me to remind her how we knew each other. I was slightly surprised by this question, but in retrospect it seems totally understandable in light of “all the activism she’s doing” (her words) but also how little we had interacted and in such a different context. She mentioned that Reggie and Michael are supposed to be coming by later in the afternoon.
As we worked together solving minor problems of supplies for the event, she told me more stories about her work with this justice organization and her deepening commitment to more collectivist than individualist values. Eventually she went back to more active coordination, sending me on one last trip to purchase boxes after our failure to solicit any donations of them in the neighborhood.
When I returned from that errand my shift was over, so I caught up with Marie briefly to report in and say goodbye. She asked if “I’m available to mentor.” I told her I was a little confused by her question, and she clarified that she would love to call me as a possible sub for outings when she can’t make it. I told her that seemed plausible, especially since I was hoping to start going out on more outings anyway as part of my research. But I added that I wanted to check in with Sam and Hannah first before we made any plans.
Data collection
- Field notes?: Yes
- Audio recording?: No
- Photographs?: No
Implications / reflections
- This event seems like an ideal outing for Tapestry mentor teams, perhaps especially teams comprising Black youth and white mentors. A number of Tapestry youth live in this neighborhood, and the event centers African American cultural and economic priorities in the context of a recreational gathering. There may be opportunities for team learning and bonding here that would be much less accessible in predominantly white neighborhoods and spaces.
- The momentary surprise, and accompanying awkwardness, of Marie not remembering that she herself had encouraged me to attend this event was a helpful reminder that a meeting or two at large, somewhat chaotic Tapestry events isn’t a basis for expecting people to know or even recognize me. This was a common theme of my connections with Tapestry participants across time.
Image credit: “Mural in LA’s Leimert Park” by joey zanotti via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). For illustration only—not a research artifact.