An Exploration of Other Ways of Knowing in Houston,Texas
A Collaged Archive
📸:Texas Southern University Archives and Special Collections
Mirror Moment(s): Other Ways of Knowing
According to page one of the scrapbook, John Bland was the Progressive Youth Association Houston Sit-In Movement secretary. John is also the creator of this scrapbook preserved within the Texas Southern University Archives.
This archival source is included in other ways of knowing because it documents the language & history as it was unfolding of a movement. In this exploration, I am interested in how archives can serve as other ways of knowing for future generations.
From page 16 (pictured above) alone, John has documented the language the media was using to discuss the protests the Progressive Youth Association was creating & participating in. We see this in the two intentionally cut newspaper clippings on the far left & far right of the page. However, almost to counteract the media’s perception of the organization, in the center, John has placed what appears to be four vertically stacked membership cards.
These membership cards allow us to gain insight into the structure & values of the Progressive Youth Association. On the first 1961 membership card, we can see John’s name listed as secretary. The first card also states that it represents a “$10 member.” This differs from the second 1961 membership card which is representative of a $2 member.”
Therefore, it would not be far-fetched to conclude that members had a once or recurring membership fee to support the organization. The third membership card clearly states the language the Progressive Youth Association used to define its “Purpose and Objectives.”
John made this scrapbook page,& utilized the same & new methods throughout the project, of newspaper clippings to collage a narrative of the troubling times he was witnessing and living through. It has become clear that we can’t trust artists to reflect the times (Nina Simone) or to truly disturb the peace James Baldwin), but we can document the times as it is unfolding before us. Our grandmothers have scrapbooks & walls of their home lined with photos. Someone in the family always has a tin cookie box filled with archives for safekeeping. In what ways are you choosing to personally document the times we are bearing witness to?
Please tell a friend to tell a friend & share D.O.T.S. with the folk in your community 💛.