N Search of Hip Hop Xpress rolled out of Champaign-Urbana today headed to East St. Louis, Illinois. The focus of the trip was to support a celebratory event at The Joseph Center for veterans that the Eagles Nest was hosting. The Eagles Nest is a not for profit 501 c 3 organization dedicated to serving the developmental needs of homeless veterans. The entire trip was exciting because it was the first time that N Search of Hip Hop Xpress hit the highway. The response was phenomenal. I'm surprised we didn't cause an accident because so many people traveling on the highway were in awe of the trailer, passengers as well as drivers. Eventually, we whipped out our Flip Video camera to capture the moments.
When we arrived, it felt like it was 100 degrees. I used an MP3 device to get the event going while we set up the trailer. The set up takes close to an hour if we want to showcase the technology on the trailer. All of the technology was a hit, however, there was particular interest in the IPAD as well as the archiving turntable. One gentleman went home and brought back a collection of 45 records. He indicated that he had a recording of James Brown when he was nineteen years old that he wanted to share with us.
Once Ms. Watts, the coordinator of the event, learned the full capacity of the trailer. She expressed a desire for us to assist them in capturing the oral histories of the veterans at the center. Their end goal is to contribute the documents to the Library of Congress. This is the exact purpose that N Search was created for - to provide a means for capturing histories while providing a learning opportunity for young people of Hip Hop generations to capture those stories.
As intended, Hip Hop Xpress served as an authenticating agent for us to capture great stories today because there was an overwhelming response from the veterans and the coordinators of the event. After we packed up and started heading back home, I started thinking about the various outcomes that could emerge from the recording project, and one of the most critical aspects of N Search of Hip Hop Xpress is providing the foundation for inter-generational learning to occur between Hip Hop, Black Power, and Civil Rights generations. To help accomplish that task I got on the phone and called one of my students involved in the Youth Media Workshop, Jay Walker. Jay Walker is one of the students that produced the inter-generational documentary, "And the Beat Goes On: Capturing the spirit in the legacy of the Douglass Center Drum Corps." Jay will be instrumental in capturing the stories in East St. Louis, but also providing an example on how Hip Hop generationers in East St. Louis can contribute to the process for developing and sustaining their community.
When I arrive back on campus I will be reaching out to the Graduate School of Library Information Sciences, Community Informatics, Youth Media Workshop, and others involved in ESLARP to facilitate the opportunity to capture the oral histories of the homeless veterans that reside at the Joseph Center in East St. Louis, IL. Capturing the stories of our homeless veterans as well as exposing young people to the life stories of men who have served our country is a great example of how Illinois is developing new and innovative methods for inter-generational community redevelopment and sustainability. More soon...
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