By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)
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Dear Hannah,
On 2-4-2021, I hosted and moderated a conversation.
The participants in this conversation were all connected to the history and legacy of the Lemon Street Schools.
The Lemon Street Schools were segregated schools for Cobb County Blacks.
When integration closed the schools and absorbed them into the Marietta City School district, a lot of people were hurt.
A lot of their legacy was suppressed, ignored and marginalized … but still they rise.
That resilient spirit has been evident in all the conversations that we had … the recent one, and the ones previous to that.
What may not be as evident is how this conversation models the type of sensitive inclusion that will help us all do life in an understanding way.
See, I've been having this beautiful restorative conversation with the Lemon Street community for months now.
I hold the conversations as sacred because of the way they have inspired me.
These folks have helped me breathe again … and I don't want to disturb that groove at all.
I wanna keep it all to myself.
(continued below ...)
Love,
Daddy
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DBKB8NC2020080 LEarning (TheSeeSayShow - Lemon Street's Legacy) (2-8-2021) TRANSCRIPT
Podcast Introduction
Good morning, good people.
I recently hosted and moderated a conversation.
The participants in this conversation were all connected to the history and legacy of the Lemon Street Schools.
The Lemon Street Schools were segregated schools for Cobb County Blacks.
When integration closed the schools and absorbed them into the Marietta City School district, a lot of people were hurt.
A lot of their legacy was suppressed, ignored and marginalized … but still they rise.
That resilient spirit has been evident in all the conversations that we had … the recent one, and the ones previous to that.
What may not be as evident is how this conversation models the type of sensitive inclusion that will help us all do life in an understanding way.
See, I've been having this beautiful restorative conversation with the Lemon Street community for months now.
I hold the conversations as sacred because of the way they have inspired me.
These folks have helped me breathe again … and I don't want to disturb that groove at all.
I wanna keep it all to myself.
But there are bigger fish to fry … there's a bigger picture to paint.
So you have to open this conversation to others.
Doing so creates some risk … it creates the risk of divergent narratives and hidden agendas.
And the loss of control.
It also creates the opportunity, though, for common ground and healing.
It creates the opportunity for civil discourse.
Civil discourse - especially between dissenters - allows growth.
It allows the dissenters to see that they're just diametrically opposed points on the same circle … and that preservation of the circle might be a little more important than their points.
I said that once, but please hear me twice.
Grace and peace to you all - and enjoy today's show.
Opening Remarks / Panel Introduction
Thank you, Mark … I'd like to say good evening to everyone.
My name is Derrick Brown.
I teach at Marietta High's Woods-Wilkins campus in an annex of the old Lemon Street High school.
My connection to Lemon Street is through my family.
My mother Dianne Brown was one of the first Black students to integrate Elloree High School in our hometown of Elloree, SC.
Learning about her experience is what led me to the Lemon Street experience.
For several months now, I've been a part of what I regard as a beautiful conversation with Lemon Street graduates and teachers that frankly has informed and inspired me … and I’m not shy to say this … they feel like my family.
I'm talking to them and they have spoken a lot of life into me … and I'm very appreciative for that … and I thank them every time I talk to them … and I told them I'd probably get on their nerves thanking them … but I'm very appreciative of the dialogue that we have had.
Now tonight, I want to invite the audience to become a part of that conversation … part of that dialogue and its energy and its vibe … so I want to introduce our panelists and just to do a little Zoom check … and make sure that everyone's still connected.
Once I introduce you, please say hello so we know everybody's still there.
First up is Ms. Felecca Wilson Taylor, who is a 1964 graduate of Lemon Street High School … how are you doing this evening, Ms. Taylor [she does not answer]?
OK, I think she had to try to sign back on … so we'll check for her again in a second.
Next up is Mr. George Miller (Lemon Street High School Class of 1965) … how are you doing, Mr. Miller?
All right, and then our final two panelists are Mr. Louis and Mrs. Josetta Walker.
Now Mr. Walker taught at Lemon Street High School (1965), and then he taught at Marietta High School for the next 40 years.
He was Marietta High School’s first Black male teacher.
Mrs. Walker was Marietta High’s first Black female administrator, and helped to establish the Woods-Wilkins Center (what it was known as back then) as it as its first principal.
We thank all of our panelists for being with us tonight.
Now our format and approach tonight is a simple one … I will share a collection of images … these images represent people, places, and ideas.
The ideas are represented by short questions and fill-in-the-blank-statements.
I'll invite the panelists to respond to each of the images, and whenever the response answers a question we invite the audience to use the chat feature to respond to the questions as well … that'll help us all learn a little bit about each other.
If the audience has questions about any of the answers that they hear or if they have any other questions you can offer those in the chat as well.
When we're done tonight … and I want to stress this … we will not have shared Lemon Street's entire history … we probably will not have scratched the surface … but we will share its spirit and its vibe … and I think that's worth grabbing on to.
We're going to need to continue both the vibe and the discussion … and we're going to have a better idea of how to do that actually at around 8 PM when we conclude.
Now every few minutes, you're going to see posted in the chat a link to a sign-in sheet … please use that to let us know that you were here … it's very important to submit any questions … it's even more important to provide contact info so that we can follow up to let you know about the next time we get together … because there's going to be a next time … there's going to have to be a next time … or to answer any questions that we might not get to respond to tonight.
So thank you for your attention to these details … alright, is everyone ready?
Let's go.
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I am a “standup storyteller.”
I fuse rap, spoken word (poetry), oration (traditional public speaking), singing, and teaching into messages of hope, healing, and change that I write, direct, and produce to help people who help people.
Everything must change - and stay changED.
Tradition begins and ends with change.
Change begins with me and the renewing of my mind ... then continues through efforts to effect small-group discipleship (equipping others to equip others) with audiences that respect and embrace mentoring, mediation, and problem solving as tools of change.
I am the product of my mentoring relationships, peacemaking (and peacekeeping), and problem-solving ability.
My education began when I finished school.
After school, I enrolled in a lifelong curriculum that includes classes in ministry, entrepreneurship, stewardship, literacy, numeracy, language, self-identity, self-expression, and analysis / synthesis.
My projects execute a ministry that has evolved from wisdom earned through lessons learned.
I want to share this wisdom to build teams of "triple threat" fellows - mentors, mediators, and problem solvers.
We will collaborate in simple, powerful ways that allow us to help people who help people.
I now know that power is work done efficiently (with wise and skillful use of resources, interests, communication, and expertise).
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