Below you will find the nine videos embedded throughout this chapter with accompanying transcripts. We would like to thank Alexa Koboldt, who assisted with closed captioning and transcripts for these videos.
JL: You were. So you've lived there your whole life?
LB: Um, no.
JL: Okay, so where else have you lived?
LB: In Atlanta, Georgia.
JL: Oh, for how long?
LB: Um, about a year.
JL: Okay, so you moved to Atlanta for a year and then you move back.
LB: Yeah.
JL: And you were how old then?
LB: One going on two.
JL: And what about your parents? Where were they born?
LB: Um, my mom was born in Flint, and my dad was born in Flint.
JL: Okay, and they live there now?
LB: Um, yeah, you could say that.
JL: Okay, what about your grandparents? Are they still alive?
LB: Mmmm, yeah [laughs].
JL: And do you know… do you know anything about where they were born?
LB: Yeah. Um, my grandmother… um, hold on, this is, uh, confusing 'cause… Let me see…
JL: Most people's families are confusing, we find.
LB: One… actually two of them were born in Oklahoma, and then… the other two… one was born in Virginia and one was born in Flint.
JL: Alright… Um, okay, what I want to do now is ask you a couple of questions about your school history.
LB: Okay.
JL: Um, did you go to high school in Flint?
LB: Yes.
JL: Okay. Grade school?
LB: Yes.
JL: Okay. Alright, um, your parents, too?
LB: Yes.
JL: Alright, and how much school did your parents attend? Did they go to… Did they stop at high school? Did they go on to college?
LB: My mom has an associate's degree that took ten years.
JL: Okay.
LB: And, um, my dad… he, I think, finished high school… middle school… I don't think so.
JL: Mm-hmm, okay. What did she get her associate's degree in? Do you know?
LB: Mmm… travel agent.
JL: Okay, and she was working that whole time?
LB: She… business management. Yeah.
JL: Okay.
JL: So it sounds like, um, the Disney is… scenes… things to look at, things to read, things to hear? Things to sing—music? That whole sort of warmth, yeah?
LB: Mm-hmm.
JL: You said your mom read to you every night… the Disney stories.
LB: Mm-hmm.
JL: The same one over again or a different one?
LB: The… She would read… like, I would bring a book to her and, like, literally have her to read it to me. So… 'cause I had a sister and an older cousin, like… and she would, like, color with him and stuff. And then she had to focus on my sister, 'cause my sister is handicapped: She doesn't walk or talk. So, my way of getting attention is, like, sneaking a book in, like, hey, hey… book, book!
JL: Yeah, yeah. So, this is… this is good times you remember with your mom.
LB: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
JL: Okay.
Phase 2 Interview, MSU Auditorium, March 17, 2008
LB: Flint is a small… well, it's not a small community, but it's just like, everything, when the shop was took out, jobs are gone. So, there's nothing really for anybody to do. But, and like they see school now as a, like, a waste of time. Like, what is reading a book gonna do for me if I sit down and read a book for like two hours? But actually it does do something, what they… which they don't know, because their parents are now too busy trying to provide these things for them that they never had. And that they spend so much time trying to do that that they don't spend that time with those kids. And basically the streets teach them what they want to know.
LB: Actually, this is so random, but green was my favorite color. [laughs] I'm like, okay, this is a big school. What about Michigan State? So, I was at the library, and, like, I filled out a piece of paper and I was just like, well maybe they gon send me something in the mail saying they want me to come to their school. But they didn't, so I was just like, okay maybe I better send them something.
LB: My counselor in high school, he told me… he said, choose another school 'cause you're not gonna to get in, because… yeah… so that just like, it pissed me off, and I'm like, oh I'm going to Michigan State. He's not gonna tell me I'm not going. So I just started calling here harassing people. Like, um, when are… when are you sending out letters to… acceptance letters?
JL: Did you always know you wanted to go to college, not just which one? Tell us about that process.
LB: I… I didn't want to go to college since when I was little. I just wanted to be an astronaut. I didn't know how I was gonna go there, I just wanted to go to outer space. 'Cause I read about, uh, Mae Jemison being the, uh, first black woman to go to outer space to be an astronaut. Yeah. So, I'm just like, oh, I want to be her.
LB: Growing up it was always enforced, 'cause nobody else had been to college, my mom wanting something different from me, so she was just like, "Oh you're going to college." And I argued to see like, "No I'm not. I'm going to become this big star." And she was like, "How do you think you are gonna get there? College is a key component in education." And I'm like, "You can't tell me nothin'. No. I know. I'm not going to college." So probably about… I didn't actually decide that I was going here 'til, like, my junior or my senior year. Like, my junior year, I got involved in business management and then I came… I became Business Professionals of America president, like, 'cause I went to state competitions and stuff. And, like, I was surrounded around all these different kind of kids that I… could push me, like, to see, like, it's more out there than this. You know? Goin' out to Hollywood and not going to school, or trying to become an astronaut with no education. Joining NASA or just… this is this just crazy! This is, like, way more. You know? It's steps to take to get to those places that make it easier when you get there.
LB: Personal statement. Like, I didn't even… I just thought it was just an essay. Just like, okay. And I got… at first I was just gonna send 'em some stuff and say… 'cause I like green, like, but… because I didn't realize how serious it was. Then, like, I guess, the year goin' by and like me being frustrated, I did. I learned how serious it was, and they're just like, okay. I was still, like, hesitant about sending my statement in when it was done, and she was, like, this is perfect. I'm, like, no it's not good enough. So it's not where I want it to be. It's just like, this is what they're looking for. I'm, like, they need more. They need… they need to know more. What more can I say about myself for them? Because, they're not going to let me in. And so on the side, even though I wrote that statement and I met the admissions counselor twice, it was just like, it's still not good enough, you know, that my personal expectations of myself. So I ended up not even telling her and writing, like, three more essays. It kinda just used to frustrate me when I would talk about these things, that she really didn't care to hear about that. But she cared just to know that I was going to school—that I was furthering my education.
Interview 3, July 21, 2009
Bump Halbritter: The second time we got together you were in the auditorium. You were all about talking about how much you loved being in the auditorium. Do you want to see yourself talk about how much you love being in the auditorium?
LB: Heck yeah. I love the auditorium! We still… look at me!
JL: Great shots.
BH: Yeah.
LB: Look at that background drop!
BH: Look at that, huh?
LB: That's amazing!
BH: Okay, so let's see what we've got here.
LB: [mumbles] … Look at them seats!
LB (in auditorium clip): I don't know, it just makes you think like… audience… space…
LB (on bench): You all see my face?
LB (in auditorium clip): … and time.
LB (on bench): I can't stop smiling!
LB (auditorium): They are watching you. They want to see what… what do you have to bring to a… society? Are you funny?
LB (bench): You got the shirt.
LB (auditorium): Ummm, are you offering jobs? Are you… what, what we can do for me as an individual? That's what a lot of people think like…
LB (bench): Yeah!
LB (auditorium): … so where do you stand? And then you just… I don't know it just makes you think, like what you said, and you just like… like, wow! If each one of these seats was filled, like, what… what do they have to say? Are they gonna clap? Are they gonna boo you? I… how can you… how can you help these people?
LB (bench): Look at that… y'all gonna make me famous!
LB (auditorium): Through entertainment… through laughter… what are they… what are they expecting from you, you know?
LB (bench): I love that background drop! Ah, amazing.
LB (auditorium):… and it just… It just drives me crazy because this is, like… peace… I don't know, it just…it just drives me crazy, like… Ugh!
JL (off camera in auditorium): Mm-hmm.
LB (auditorium): Yeah. It just… just makes your brain think of so many different ideas.
LB (bench): Man, I'm a scatter brain! [laughs]
[LB in auditorium exhales]
BH: I love that.
LB: That's sweet! Man, that's sweet! That's real sweet!
BH: So is there anything on campus or anything that you're doing now that seems… I… I just… the thing that I'm so struck about every time I watch… I've seen this a hundred times… believe me…
LB: That's striking.
BH: I watched it a hundred times while I was editing it. I've shown it all around the country, you know, shown this, that scene to people. And I'm struck every time I see it by how you were looking at that room, and it seemed to just fill you up with awe… you know? Does it still… do you still get that from there or something else giving that to you now? Do you just sit back and go [exhales]?
LB: This is like a piece of heaven. Y'all don't understand what that just did, man, it… it touched something here. It hit home. It took me home.
LB: Who taught you how to read?
JL: Who taught me how to read… my mom.
LB: Your mom? We talked about this before.
JL: Yeah.
LB: And… w—what is your… what was your mom's profession?
JL: She was a secretary.
LB: She was a secretary?
JL: Mm-hmm.
LB: Feminist!
JL: [laughs] No, she had to work 'cause it was… she was a single mom. It was just the two of us and we lived in my grandparents' house.
LB: Amazing.
LB (speaks directly to the camera): Y'all hear this story?
LB (speaking back to JL): And you were a high school dropout?
JL: Mm-hmm.
LB: And you went back and got your G.E.D.
JL: Well…
LB: And now you got your Ph.D. What inspires you?
JL: I had no idea what it was gonna be like to be that… but I knew what it would be like to be whatever I was gonna be if I didn't.
LB: Wow…
JL: Does that make sense to you?
LB: Wow… and it made you… yeah, it makes a lot of sense. And it took you in a whole 'nother turnpike. Wow. You amaze me. You don't under… you don't understand that you… I admire you in some sense of way. I just… you never know nobody's story until you dig in and you really want to know… and that just took me to a "awe" moment.
LB: Why did you study writing?
BH: Are you interviewing me now?
LB: I am interviewing you.
BH: Okay.
LB: Hello, Bump.
BH: Hi!
LB: How are you? Tell us about yourself.
BH: Well… are you really concerned about how I am or do you want me to get right to the question?
LB: That's… that's a casual, but, that's… that's just human nature now, you, you're taught to… you're taught to be that way.
BH: Mm-hmm.
LB: How are you?
BH: I'm well.
LB: Are you really well?
BH: Well, no, I'm really a mess, but aside from that, I'm good.
LB: Okay, so tell me about this mess! Get into detail. Break this down!
BH: Well, you see, I'm trying to make this movie with this… this really exciting young woman.
LB: Uh-huh.
BH: And, uh… and… and she keeps turning the camera on me.
LB: Oh, fo' real?
BH: Yeah, for real.
LB: Man…
BH: I'm trying to figure out, if I give her a camera and say, "Go show me… show me the stuff that the world needs to see about your life." I'm wondering what… what it is that she's going to show us, and I'm wondering… 'cause I want to be surprised. 'Cause that's what I'm interested in. I'm interested in being surprised. And so I'm wondering, what would she show me that would be really surprising? What could she show this… this beaten-down old professor to make him go, "Well, now, look at that! That's really interesting! I never knew that that's what was going on in the lives of at least these students!" What would you show? What do you think you might show?
LB: Man, I'd show you all kind of stuff. You give me a camera, I'll show you the world.
LB: This is my grandma's neighborhood. [clears throat] And how does this apply to my literacy? Um… well… gonna say… these things like this, small things like small neighborhoods, communities… They shape me… who I am… where I come from. We are going to take a walk into this house. [radio plays in background] This is a pastor speaking… as you may hear him. And… this is… uh… dining room… [radio plays in background] These pictures actually gon' come up… they… each picture tells a story. I'm very willing to say—Hi, Grandma!
Liberty's Grandma Collins: Hi, Liberty!
LB: I'm gonna have to talk to you in a minute… I'm going to talk to you about
my literacy. Do you know what literacy is?
GC: [mumbles] Yeah, people that can't read or write.
LB: I'm sorry?
GC: People that…
LB: Grandma!
GC: People that can't read.
LB: Er… uh… is that literacy?
GC: Illiteracy… is can't get a—
LB: Not "illiterate." "Literacy." Like…
GC: Oh, I don't know. What does that mean?
LB: So… what is literacy? That's exactly what I'm trying to find out.… We'll talk to her later. Heh heh…
LB: I wanna show you somebody in my grandmother's room. It might be creaky but, um… this… is why… I live. [laughs] … I know this is a bad picture but… this is the reason I live. This is the reason that I study… [sigh] say, "Hi," Jovanna. This is my sister, Jovanna. Now… right here we have Jovanna. Jovanna can't… read… write… Jovanna has no spoken language but to holler. Jovanna… I wanna let you know that Jovanna is… something wrong with her. She has… she doesn't talk to us. She can't talk. She is… my life, though. You'd see her in a clearer picture, but I don't know. You can't really see her 'cause she's laying in the bed. As you can see… [quietly] I hate to do this stuff, [back to full voice] but Jovanna… has this pump in her stomach that drives me crazy. It's a… it's her pump… and what it does is inside her stomach… what it does is, it, uh… it was supposed to help her move… and… relax her muscles. But unfortunately, it didn't even do anything but cause problems. It caused… scoliosis. And caused other problems to the cerebral palsy. This is a severe case of cerebral palsy. This is my sister, and this is the reason that… I, in life, take advantage of a lot of opportunities. Because it is a person here, today, right here in my life… who… never has dated… never has gotten into an argument or… Jovanna, do you know what love is? [exhales] [whispers] Yeah. [back to full voice] Do we know what love is? And… how does this define my literacy? You know… a lot of it has to do with her, because I found myself train braking for attention, because I was taught to always help with her. I love my sister to death. You don't have no words for the camera? No words, guys, no words. And, uh… [exhales] I'm going to… take a break on that note and I'll be right back… back with you… in a little while.
LB: Um… no one in my family seems to understand what literacy is.
Person offscreen: Nobody know? I've heard about it, but I don't know…
LB: Nobody seems to know what literacy is.
Offscreen: Literacy.
LB: So, um… I'm going to… take you to meet some more of my family.
LB: This picture is a Black woman and she has tears. I don't know what it represents.
Grandma Bell: Poverty.
LB: I'm sorry, Grandma?
GB: Poverty.
LB: Poverty!
GB: Mm-hm.
LB: Poverty! So speak on that 'cause we have a wise old woman over here, and I'm not sure that why.
GB: She's… Black ladies… if they don't have a education. I feel…
LB [over grandmother]: "Black ladies," she used the term "Black ladies" again. Um… Just like me. So maybe that's got something to do with my literacy where I don't… um… call everything "African-American."
GB: You don't read well?
LB: I read very well.
GB: But you don't understand, you don't comprehend what you read? You don't understand what you read?
LB: I understand everything I read, that's why we're making this project.
GB: Oh. I, well, okay.
LB: [laughs]
GB: I just thought maybe they gave it to you 'cause you mighta had a slight problem.
Voice off-camera: What were you sayin' that the… the painting represents?
GB: That lady is… she, she's sad!
LB: She's sad? Why's she sad, Grandma?
GB: There's a lot of things in life can make you sad.
LB: Like what?
GB: If you… if you don't have a job you can't, you can't… you can't take care of your family. A lot of Black women are the only person in their household. They have take care of the children.
LB: "Black ladies," once again she refers to them as "Black ladies." I like this term…
GB: But! More Black women… ladies are… more Black ladies have a edu—a education nowadays than Black men. There are… be more Black women are being educated, getting their education.
LB: They're getting their education. Understand—
GB: 'Cause they have to… they have to take care of their…
They have to be the man, the woman, the doctor, the lawyer. They have to be everything!
That's why I said she was crying. See the tears coming down? I wanted it in velvet…
and I found it in velvet, but it was too big.
LB: Uh here, comin' up, we have… Flint Northwestern High School. My grandmother went to this school, you know? This is a old school! This is [clears throat] This is Flint! I want you to speed up, driver… and I want you to take us to the other side of the woods. You know, right next door is a private school! It's a Catholic school! This is, this is Flint Powers! This is where people with money send their kids.
And their kids drive all the way from Flushing and Holly area to just come to school.
Two schools right next to each other! And the kind of education they get. I want you to pull up some more so they can see this. See what's going on. Versus this, this is their backyard. I don't know if you see that, but it don't look nothin' like the one that we just seen. This is… this is Powers Catholic. This is an overview of Powers Catholic, man… This is… this is the building right next door and if you think I'm lying look back, look back and get a shot! They're right next door to each other. Is that segregation or what? What do you think that is? How can… how can good… what is the definition of good literacy anyway? What could be said from it, you know? Two fucking high schools next to each other. Excuse my French!
Phase 4: Flint, MI, January 30, 2010
JL: When we first started the project, we were… we were more interested in… the, how people's literacies were changing with technology.
Others: Yeah.
JL: And we're still interested in that… um… but I think what's become more important to us is just to hear… the stories that students tell in the way that I was just explaining to you, you know. Because… we're teachers and in talking to teachers… we think that the most interesting and smartest things about students aren't things they can see. And so that's what's become really important to us so the technology piece is a… is a piece of it still… um… but we're not chasing that… you know, through the project as much. So, that's where we're going with that.
Willie Stacker: In five years where you see Lib?
Connett Stacker: In five years where's she…?
WS: Yeah.
CS: She'll be out this house. She'll be on her own. Uh… She'll be doing something that she love to do. She's not gonna do anything that she don't like to do. So… hopefully she'll be doing… being successful at something that she loves.
WS: And there's another question that they aks was um… what would be the shocking thing is, uh… I think that's what the one question…
JL: Yeah like, I would never have predicted… what can you imagine her doing instead?
CS: That Liberty would get married and settle down in the next five years and just be a… a mom… she don't even like li'l kids that much.
WS: That's what I said.
LB: I do, I love Bump and Sawyer.
BH: I was gonna say, you love my kids!
LB: I mean Bennett—Bennett and Sawyer.
CS: Yeah, other people kids, but…
WS: Other people kids. Yeah.
Offscreen: Big difference.
CS: Right… to have kids of her own, no.
WS: That's gonna be the shocking… that's what I said, to have kids, though.
CS: Yeah, she love 'em when she can spoil 'em and take 'em back, yeah.
WS: And drop 'em off.
LB: [laughs]
JL: Mm-hmm.
BH: So you said you saw her… you know, maybe having her own business or something… her own…
WS: Right, that's what I thought.
BH: So w-what would, would… is that what you imagined for her, would you imagine her working in an office…? Would you imagine her…
CS: No, I don't imagine her working in an office. I imagine her…
uh… Lib like to make her own hours, her own rules. And so I imagine her being her own boss.
WS: And don't like anyone tellin' her what to do.
CS: Even if it's like, uh, contractin' or somethin'. I don't know,
but I imagine her makin'… I don't make it… I don't imagine her confined to a
nine-to-five job. She don't like that. So if she did, it would be where she had to travel, uh… and get on a plane and get off the plane like that and go… uh…. some type of job like that…
JL: Would you be surprised if she stayed in Flint here?
[WS to LB: You're droppin' food all over]
CS: I would be really, really, really surprised…
LB: I think you'd be, more so, hurt.
WS: I wouldn't.
CS: Hurt and surprised.
WS: I wouldn't.
JL: You'd be hurt if she stayed in Flint?
CS: Yeah, I would 'cause, uh, I… I just think that, uh, that
would be limiting her. I think she is bigger than Flint.
WS: No.
CS: And uh…
[LB laughs and JL reacts]
CS: He can, he he wanna baby her, he want her to stay around where he can keep an eye on her. But she is bigger than Flint. [others laugh]
CS: Um… she is gonna, she no… uh, I'll be surprised if she stay here.
WS: She'll be here. [laughs]
JL: Uh-huh.
LB: Right here!
WS: Right here.
JL: That seems like a good scene to…
BH: Yeah.
WS: She'll still be here.
BH: How could you not love that?
LB: [laughs]
BH: All right, Liberty, show me… show me what we're supposed to order here on the menu. Where is it? Hang on… lemme… zooming in…
BH and LB: The Mickey Mouse pancake…
BH: And… two strips of bacon or two sausages.
LB: [laughs]
BH: Look at that… so is that what you're getting?
LB: That is not what I'm getting.
BH: Does it come shaped like Mickey Mouse or anything like that? It does!
JL: No wonder she likes to come here!
BH: That's what I say.
LB: I wrote it, it's… it's at home.
BH: Uh-huh?
LB: I wrote a paper and I kept the paper because it's like… somethin' that I identify with, it's called "Train-Breaking for Attention." And I just wrote about, you know… 'cause I never knew what form my literacy or… why did I start reading and writing? Why did I like reading and writing so much? And… throughout the process of our class, you know, I… that took data to back up,
it was kind of like a researcher, I did data on, you know, everything that I was… I was learning, and what times did I write? And why did I write at those times? And why did I read and write?
BH: Uh-huh?
LB: And I remember that my mom said I would… "Book, book!" [laughs]
BH: Mm-hmm.
LB: "Read!"
BH: Mm-hmm.
LB: "Read!" The book would come… like, she'll tell you I used to sit at the mailbox… like we had this little slit mailbox on the porch [inaudible] by the house… I used to sit there and wait and I knew… and it's so funny 'cause I knew what time the book was coming. How does a little kid, I couldn't tell time, but I knew what time the sun hit the… and I would… sit there… wait for the book to get there and she was gonna read that book. [laughs] Somebody was gonna read the book. I was gonna learn… the ABCs… somethin'…
BH: You still like reading and writing this, so much? As much? I mean… so that's where I, you know, like… it had a big part of your life, like, when did it, when did that stop?
LB: What that, like, readin' all the time and writin'? Um… in college. My… sophomore year. They didn't put no mustard on here for me.
LB: And this is, uh, DuPont. And… the park had a lot of… family, uh, functions there. They took away the, uh… see-saw! And, like, all the little stuff that they used to have like the little, uh… paw over there… that they had at Ballenger Park where people would have open houses… But it's no longer there.
LB: I think I'm taking you out to the 'hood… you wanna go straight, straight, straight… [laughs]
Ben Froese: Got it.
LB: Another liquor store. It used to actually be a 7-11 before. And then it was a gas station at one point. Another liquor store! Taco House! And this house, I used to be obsessed with when I was little, to the left, it was like… like 'cause it had the rose on it and it's pink.
BF: Oh, yeah.
LB: [laughs] And… the house, it's just that it's faded now from what it used to be. Yup. Straight, keep goin' straight… This is a Sunoco gas station… you don't wanna go there!
BF: What, uh…
LB: Another liquor store.
BF: … Do you know what that green building was?
LB: Um, it used to be like a… car shop or something. But I don't know what it is anymore.
[sound of the car's turn signal]
LB: And we're turning. Another liquor store, that's D&H; you don't wanna go to that liquor store anymore. Or this one comin' up. That's a funeral home.
Casey Miles: How come you don't wanna go to them?
LB: Mm… Heh! Um, how come you don't wanna go to them?
CM: Well, you say, you say you don't want to go to those.
LB: Oh, no, no, how come you don't wanna go to them? Because,
they're… I don't know how to paraphrase… um, you'll get robbed. [laughs]
CM: Okay…
LB: [laughs]
LB: Mm… stay… I guess you gotta… look like you're from Flint or look like you got some street sensibility, 'cause people are just…
waitin' and lurkin' to see… [laughs] So if you came with a Canadian accent…
BF: Yeah.
LB:… at about… ten o'clock, twelve o'clock at night, you'll be on the twelve o' clock news.
BF: Oh, man.
LB: And this one too, Hinky Dinky. [laughs]
Aunt Camille's Beauty Salon, Flint, MI
Camille Long: Well, I'll put it like this… we, this area here is, like… the hood… We call it the hood, the ghetto, the hood… you just do what you can to make it around here. And… it's just a struggle. You know? It's just a struggle 'round here on the streets of Flint.
JL: Mm-hmm.
CL: You know, so… if a kid is comin' and, you know, tryin' to go to school, tryin'. You know, just a little support just to help 'em, you know… try to make it through, and just try to work with 'em.
JL: Yeah, yeah.
LB: This my superstar right here.
JL: Yeah, I want to ask him a question, too.
LB: Yeah.
CL: This is my son Ali so… he's in the struggle right now
so we are really goin' through the struggle.
JL: What grade are you?
Mujahideen Ali: Seventh.
JL: Seventh? Yeah, my son is too, so you're 13?
MA: Twelve.
LB: Ali, what you wanna do when you grow up?
MA: Be a professional football player.
JL: Do you?
LB: Okay, what…
JL: Do you play football?
MA: Yeah.
LB: What—what position do you play?
MA: Linebacker and quarterback.
LB: What school you wanna go to?
MA: South Flushing.
LB: What college?
MA: Michigan State.
JL: Yes! Whoo! Alright… see, now, look, you have a tour guide through Michigan State. Liberty can tell you all about it, where to go…
LB: He comin' out here for Lil' Sibs Week!
JL: Are you?
MA: Yeah.
BH: So, if, if you don't wind up playing football… what…
MA: My backup plan is a engineer.
BH: You're gonna be an engineer? What… what kind of engineer? What, what kinda, what…
MA: Um… the one who draws up the blueprints… of the buildin's…
BH: Cool! Excellent. So do you know any professional football players? Do you know any, any football players from around here?
MA: Yeah, a couple… Robaire Smith… yeah.
BH: Cool. You know any engineers?
MA: No.
BH: No engineers. Hmm, why engineering then? What about it that seems… really cool?
LB: Makin' money.
MA: Uh, I just… like drawing.
BH: Yeah…
LB: [whispers] And money.
MA and LB: [laughter]
JL: And money. You've got somebody whispering a cue in your ear.
CL: Right.
BH: Uh-huh.
LB: [again whispers] Money.
Everyone: [laughter]
JL: So she's—it looks like she's an influence on you.
MA: Yeah, a big influence.
JL: Yeah. You spend a lot of time with her?
MA: Every weekend, everyday.
JL: Yeah?
MA: We call each other every day.
[sound of hair clippers in the background]
Loretta Bennet: I want Lib to be able to go out and let young girls know… that you still can make it, you know… um… everyone can make it, it doesn't matter why you stay… um… in the heart of a bad situation or in the richest areas, you can still make it, there's hope… out of hope. So that's what I can say about Lib.
CL: And Lib, she's our hope…
Loretta B: Yes.
CL: She still leaves the door open for the younger people, just… let 'em know… 'specially like… my son…
MA: Such as myself.
CL: Yeah, he's comin' up behind her, she's, you know, she's just… a good mentor to them and…
Loretta B: She reaches out, she reaches out to kids…
CL: … some of her other cousins.
Loretta B: And see, that's why Lib… comes in… helpin' him out like that, givin' him a lot of support, takin' him to the… college.
CL: Just, uh…
Loretta B: And showin' him…
CL: … mentor him…
Loretta B: … when you… leave high school, you can go to college.
CL: 'Cause a lot of kids don't even believe…
Loretta B: Right.
CL: … they don't have nobody like Lib.
Loretta B: Yes, absolutely.
JL: They don't know what that work is like.
BH: It's not only a place where you can go, it's a place where you can expect to go.
Everyone: Right, right.
MA: Sometimes I might not get my lesson… enough… and I'll
call Lib and she'll help me out.
LB: If I can't help him out, I'll find somebody who can.
BH: You know, so we're, we're a bunch of teachers and we teach… up at Michigan State and we have students from… all over Michigan. Is there
anything that… what should we be paying attention to? What, uh, important things that you… that might, we might be missing?
Maurice Collins, Jr.: We stayin' in a part of town where… it's good and it's bad… you know, but… It's up to… us workin' together… to get us outta this bad.
CL: Right.
MC Jr.: And if there's no communication… we still stuck at square one. Trying to figure out what's the problem.
CL: How to get out of the bad.
CL: Well, I, um… I just, um… well, the idea of what you guys are doing now, I… I really like that because it's like you tryin' to get to know… you know, the person. So, it'd be like if you guys could just like, you know, get to know your students… I guess, a little more, you know just… you know, how to get into 'em a little more, you know, talk to 'em and just try to… feel 'em a little more, you know, that could be… one more student saved.
Liberty Bell: I wanna show you somebody in my grandmother's room. It might be creaky but, um… this… is why… I live. [laughs] … I know this is a bad picture but… this is the reason I live. This is the reason that I study… [sigh] say, "Hi," Jovanna. This is my sister, Jovanna. Now… right here we have Jovanna. Jovanna can't… read… write… Jovanna has no spoken language but to holler. Jovanna… I wanna let you know that Jovanna is… something wrong with her. She has… she doesn't talk to us. She can't talk. She is… my life, though. You'd see her in a clearer picture, but I don't know. You can't really see her 'cause she's laying in the bed. As you can see… [quietly] I hate to do this stuff, [back to full voice] but Jovanna… has this pump in her stomach that drives me crazy. It's a… it's her pump… and what it does is inside her stomach… what it does is, it, uh… it was supposed to help her move… and… relax her muscles. But unfortunately, it didn't even do anything but cause problems. It caused… scoliosis. And caused other problems to the cerebral palsy. This is a severe case of cerebral palsy. This is my sister, and this is the reason that… I, in life, take advantage of a lot of opportunities. Because it is a person here, today, right here in my life… who… never has dated… never has gotten into an argument or… Jovanna, do you know what love is? [exhales] [whispers] Yeah. [back to full voice] Do we know what love is? And… how does this define my literacy? You know… a lot of it has to do with her, because I found myself train braking for attention, because I was taught to always help with her. I love my sister to death. You don't have no words for the camera? No words, guys, no words. And, uh… [exhales] I'm going to… take a break on that note and I'll be right back… back with you… in a little while.
Lyrics:
Out of the same old mixture and into the brand new picture, she stepped away.
Out of the rough and tumble, and into the social stumble, I'm gonna make my way.
Counting too many tomorrows.
'Cause I can't see the future for the days.
Only too many tomorrows.
Today.
Today.
Oh, today.
BH: The artifact I brought is the artifact that I keep with me at all times. This is called my bag of tricks.
JL: This is your bag of tricks. Have you always called it that?
BH: This is known as Bump's bag of tricks.
JL: Look at the bag of tricks. Hold it up so we can get a good look here. Okay, it appears to be… like a clear intestine filled with all kinds of coils and innards and… various…
BH: Yes.
JL: … convoluted things.
BH: And as such it demonstrates everything that I've eaten today.
JL: [laughs] What is in the bag of tricks?
BH: Any number of… dongles.
JL: That is a dongle.
BH: This is, this is the current dongle that I use all the time because this fits my laptop and, uh, and most of the modern Macs right now. This is an old style. I have… stereo out cables. This is the portable version; I usually carry speakers along as well to do all this stuff because…
JL: So you have a bigger bag.
BH: I have a, I have a box of tricks.
JL: Ah…
BH: So here's a firewire cable, yeah, here's another one of those cables.
JL: Oh, that's another one of those.
BH: More audio cables. I also have audio jumper cables here; so depending upon where I am, I am covered to be able to get stereo into potentially a single… audio source.
JL: How many of those are there? Three? Two.
BH: Yeah, I've got… and here's a microphone extension cord. So then here's also… the kind that has the stereo adapter and that's another stereo cable. This is a stereo… cable that goes to RCA outs.
JL: And now it looks like the entire table is covered with intestines of all shapes and sizes.
BH: Oh, here's the other one I was very proud of… This is my life. My life as a… as an audiovisual writer.
JL: So, I was going to ask you… why on earth you would have chosen this of all things, it's a very complicated thing, you know, it's not… easy to carry around, I imagine.
BH: No.
JL: You have an even bigger box of things.
BH: I have an even bigger box of things that has speakers in it, because I can't always trust that there will be speakers in places.
JL: Has this always looked the same for you? Has this… the contents of this bag… been the contents of this bag for as long as you can remember, or has it accumulated things over time?
BH: It has accumulated things like this. This is, um, an adapter to turn the old firewire plug into the new firewire plug.
JL: So when you said this is my life, I carry it everywhere… wh—what's the everywhere? Is there any place you don't take it? Any place in your working life you don't take it?
BH: I didn't take it to Carolina [The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]—oddly enough—last week when I went there because I… I trusted that… we were gonna be in a room that I had sized up a little bit and that I knew that Todd… was equally… Todd Taylor was equally crazy about this stuff as I am, so he would have stuff… I knew I could f-finagle something there, so I didn't have to carry this.
JL: Does that mean that you expect to be the one with that knowledge and who knows how to do these things—the one—wherever you go?
BH: Always. Always.
JL: So you never see anyone else with one of these bags that looks like yours.
BH: Usually not. I've never seen another one.
JL: Let's say you went to, you, the, the major conference you go to.
BH: Mm-hm.
JL: Four Cs [Conference on College Composition and Communication]. And… you walked around holding this bag aloft.
BH: Mm-hm.
JL: People would think you were strange, but would they understand what was in it? Would they say, "Oh yes, those are various audiovisual things, and I see that…"
BH: I don't know that, but if somebody did know that… then I would know that that's somebody who does what I do.
JL: So you probably have a repertoire, then, of things that you do in case you… because your—your work is so stuff dependent.
BH: Mm-hmm.
JL: Just in case you happen to leave it at home or in the other car, whatever… so you have… a repertoire of plans B? Is it something you teach people to have, who do this kind of work?
BH: Always have a backup? Sure. All of these cables here represent… at least one… layer of plan… plans B… CDEF. Thanks for that. So… not knowing what the sound system is gonna be in any one particular place, you can't go in and say, "Well, I've got an adapter, I've got—I've got a cord"… a cord may not be the cord that connects.
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: So, um… uh, and this is one of the things that I, you know, when I'm teaching movie making, I'm able to show folks this… bag of tricks and say, you know, "It's not enough to have a cable, you may need to have several."
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: Because… the cable doesn't matter. What matters is connecting… the source… and the destination.
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: So, that's what this all is, and it's—it, it works as a teaching tool but it also works as the, you know, the very… practical, um, way of just… Uh… approaching any particular situation and being able to do something. And it all, and that all started from being a musician.
JL: Hmm… say more about that.
BH: Well, because if you don't know, you know, you…. when you're a musician, you get paid to play a gig. You don't get paid to show up with guitars and amplifiers and, and microphones. You get paid to play a gig. And if you show up and you don't have extension cords, and the only power outlet… you know, for your band is in the kitchen… and, but the stage is… not in the kitchen, then… how are you gonna play? So… you know, if you're gonna make—if you're gonna put on a show, you gotta have all the stuff to put on a show. And that's what this is. And this is the stuff that's invisible to people who go out and buy… this… and say I'm gonna make a movie.
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: You know… this is literally the… just… this is the gateway to making a movie. It's all of this that makes… the movie happen.
JL: Hm… so what if, um, you had this bag and this display of stuff… and… you saw me being interviewed over here and somebody asked me the same question and I produced a notebook… you know, for this to represent the same scenes and moves and work. If you could trade places with the person with the notebook… and the life that that entailed… given that, you know, carrying this stuff around… has got to be a pain in the ass, having people bother you about it and misunderstand what you do, all that other kind of things…
BH: This stuff and this stuff and this stuff and this stuff… yes…
JL: Uh-huh.
BH: And this stuff.
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: Yes…
JL: What would stop you from saying, "Sure! That looks much more portable. I'll take it. Here's my bag. There's a flight of stairs"?
BH: That's a really good question… because as I was schleppin' it into this office today, I was wondering the same damned thing.
JL: [laughs] I'm sure it occurs to you.
BH: Um… this is the way I write. This is, uh, um, a process that I've found is helpful across all the media in which I write, so there's a text… traditional alphabetic, text-only piece of writing… that I could do with, um, with a notebook. But… having used all this stuff… makes me think about ways to approach that work. Not because it's what I'm gonna generate, not because the media that I'm gonna generate… is dependent upon this… but because… the moves of inquiry are dependent upon it. To go out, find stuff, bring it back, figure out ways to get that stuff connected in ways that they're not connected right now. 'Cause that's the operation of scholarship as I understand it. It's to go find stuff that isn't stuck together, that's out in the world, and… to exercise your intellect in your voice by sticking it together.
JL: Mm-hm.
BH: And helping out, helping other folks see it that way. Here it is.
JL: Can you ever imagine a scenario in the future… in which you don't have that with you? You're in the same line of work.
BH: My god, I hope so. [laughs] I hope it becomes so much easier. I mean it would be—I think that what'll happen is… you know, so in—in the book I just wrote, I write about duct tape… In, in some ways, this is duct tape. All of this shit on this table is nothing but duct tape, because what this does… is this stuff… represents one person's desperate attempt… to be… equipped with enough stuff that I can potentially jury-rig something together… when I'm in a situation, knowing that it's germane to what I do, but it's not germane to what everybody else does. So my… in the future… should I not have this, it's because it actually becomes germane… to many people's work. So, if it goes the way that I think it's going in the way that I think it will go… um, potentially there'll be a—this will—this kind of technology right here will be as dead as… as, you know, those… curly cables that, that we used to have on our telephones. You know, that… allowed us to walk away from the telephone as it was planted on the wall of the kitchen, so that we could go in and watch TV in the other room… with the one phone that wouldn't move.
JL: Mm-hmm.
BH: So… that's all gone, that technology's dead. Hopefully this will be too.
JL: Sounds like you want some company in your work.
BH: I want company. And I want… I want, I want my shoulder to hurt less. [both laugh]
Mei: Hello everyone! I'm going to plant tomatoes. It's my first time to try—I'm going to see—in my life! So, I'm very excited to [do] it, and I don't want to mess it up.
Host: You'll be fine.
Mei: Okay, so…
Host: So, dig a hole in the middle.
Mei: … in the middle. How deep that should it go?
Host: Deep enough for that thing to fit in there, because it's all gonna go in, just the way it is.
Mei: Is this, oh, is this deep enough?
Host: Uhh… try it and see. Put the tomato in.
Mei: Mmm-hmm.
Host: There you go.
Mei: Do I need to get these out of here?
Host: No. No, it'll grow right through that.
Mei: Do you think it's good?
Host: Okay. Yeah, now cover up… And then you tamp it down really good. Nice and hard. Bring more soil down there… from the sides. There you go. Perfect.
Mei [narrates from off camera]: During this month, I feel like I'm more close to American culture because I am not living in the two circles: Chinese circle and American circle in the MSU [Michigan State University]. Now I'm living in a very pure American cultural environment.
Mei [narrating in the scene of the action she is filming]: Hello, Julie and Bump! Now I'm in Napa Valley's thrift market that is organized every Thursday night. So I ordered… this is the menu. We can see they have Signature Combo, Signature Slide, The Light Sider, something… They all look pretty good, so I ordered this one: California Rice Bowl. And they say it's pretty good, so I would like to try it, with chicken. It's very funny that I found this: There's a monk here! I'm figuring out if it's a Western monk or a Chinese monk.
Mei [again, narrates from off camera]: During this month, although it isn't easy, I fit here well. People like me, and, uh, I like them, too—appreciate
their help to me. And I appreciate their attitude to me. For example, I went to a carry-out res—Italian restaurant. The woman in there, she asked me where I'm from. She's very wondering who I am, why I came to this city, and, uh, how ca—how did I get here? And I tell her all her—all the answers. And she feels so surprised to see a Chinese young girl's flew here by herself do the internship… doing internship here and, uh, will go back to China soon. She feels my traveling is kind of magic for her as a woman working in that carry, carry-out restaurant for all her life. And her sky may be just as big as the window of the carry-out restaurant. She didn't have too much time to explore the world in other—out of that window. So, for her, my experience is magic. I feel like it's not that kind of magic or different. It's… I just go with the life. I'm wondering, what if I stay here longer: two months, three months, or a few years? Will people still treat me well—still like a guest, like a tourist? Or how will people treat me after a period of time?
[sound of streetcar traveling]
Mei: Oh, hello.
Conductor of the approaching streetcar [speaking to the conductor of Mei's streetcar]: … making my release, just like this. You understand what I'm sayin'? Man? Huh? Do you hear me? Talk to me, Dawg!
Conductor of Mei's streetcar: Everybody say "happy birthday" to him.
Mei and others from the streetcar: Happy Birthday!
[Mei laughs]
[sound of streetcar traveling]
"Yixin Mei: Napa Valley Internship [Original]"
Mei [narrates from off camera]: During this month, I feel like I'm more close to American culture, because I am not living in the two circles: Chinese circle and American circle in the MSU [Michigan State University]. Now I'm living in a very pure American cultural environment. So I feel like during this month, although it isn't easy, I fit here well. People like me, and, uh, I like them, too—appreciate their help to me. And I appreciate their attitude to me. For example, I went to a carry-out res—Italian restaurant. I got the spaghetti and meatball. The woman in there, she asked me where I'm from. She's very wondering who I am, why I came to this city, and, uh, how ca—how did I get here? And I tell her all her—all the answers. And she feels so surprised to see a Chinese young girl's flew here by herself do the internship… doing internship here and, uh, will go back to China soon. She feels my traveling is kind of magic for her as a woman working in that carry, carry-out restaurant for all her life. And her sky may be just as big as the window of the carry-out restaurant. She didn't have too much time to explore the world in other—out of that window. So, for her, my experience is magic. It is amazing. I heard when I am leaving that restaurant, I still heard she said, "Oh, this girl is so sweet! She is amazing!" So I loved. I feel like it's not that kind of magic or different. It's… I just go with the life. I'm wondering, what if I stay here longer: two months, three months, or a few years? Will people still treat me well—still like a guest, like a tourist? Or how will people treat me after a period of time?
[narrating as she is filming] Hello, Julie and Bump! I'm now in the San Francisco right now. Crazy girl starts her first day in only one-day trip in San Francisco.
[footage shot with no soundtrack]
[loud sound of streetcar as Mei begins narrating as she is filming] There is China Town. Is that the biggest one?
[sound of streetcar traveling]
Mei: Oh, hello.
Conductor of the approaching streetcar [speaking to the conductor of Mei's streetcar]: … making my release just like this. You understand what I'm sayin'? Man? Huh? Do you hear me? Talk to me, Dawg!
Conductor of Mei's streetcar: Everybody say "happy birthday" to him.
Mei and others from the streetcar: Happy Birthday!