Raquia Hunt | CIIP 2023 Blog Portfolio

Posted: July 5, 2023

Orientation Week

Orientation week was amazing! This week, I had the opportunity to meet meet and get close with a lot of new people, inside and out of my group. I loved the fact that we all seemed to mesh nicely given that a lot of us had just met each other for the first time; even the random groups were great and not awkward. The workshops were also very informative and filled with invaluable knowledge. During this week, I learned much about Baltimore, its history, and what its residents are doing to shape its future. The workshops were very helpful in making me realize my position in Baltimore as a Hopkins student, given the history of Hopkins’ ties to the community. Now I can be more conscious of how the name Hopkins might be perceived in different spaces and be mindful that not everyone will be receptive to that name. The workshops were also helpful in getting me into the right headspace to help the nonprofit I am working for by teaching me about the asset-based approach and proper allyship. My favorite part of orientation had to be the scavenger hunt and the cookout afterward. It was really eye-opening to see all the places that are outside the Hopkins bubble and get a chance to actually talk to some of the members of the community we would be serving. I also got to use some of the helpful tips from the workshop while navigating the city and finding useful modes of transportation (I had no idea Baltimore had a subway!). The cookout was super fun too, and it was nice to be able to kick back and relax with other members of the program in an informal setting. Another cool aspect of orientation week was learning about the different kinds of social work going on in Baltimore. Before, I was kind of closed-minded about the types of social work that could be done, focusing my attention on fighting inequality or working with the youth. However, after Dr. Rev Heber Brown’s talk, I realized that social justice can take many forms such as food justice and so on. One of the most challenging parts of orientation was hands-down the 9 am to 5 pm timeslot. It was hard the first couple of days to get up early and be engaged throughout the entire orientation day, but it was a good opportunity to practice getting up early and being present which will be useful for the work week coming up. Overall, I really enjoyed orientation week and I am super excited to start at the Eubie Blake Institute this week.

Week 1

This week at the Eubie Blake Institute, I had the opportunity to interview quite a few people on their interest in Eubie and the events that they were hosting. During these interviews, I was able to learn more about a variety of topics, such as community-based archiving and the role of Baltimore club music in the birth of Hip Hop. In attending events, I also got a chance to see people actively interact with the programs that the cultural center offered and hear about how the center and the specific event impacted them. All in all, it has been a very fun and informative week! One social issue that I became aware of was the importance of archiving especially in the black community. I had never really thought about archivist and their contributions, but, after interviewing one working out of Eubie, I began to see that archiving is a way of recording history. It is especially necessary for the black community because many parts of the black culture have been either misrepresented in history or completely neglected. For this reason, archiving in the community is, as I now realize, very important. The archival project underway at Eubie is of vinyl records dating back to the 1920s; it is well-known that many African Americans used music as a way to talk about the issues that they were facing. It is interesting to see how that evolved over time as well as the stylistic choices they made (in terms of music style and album art). It was very interesting how all those facts can be observed and recorded with the archival process. Overall, my first week went great and I am interested to see how my role at the Institute will continue to evolve and how I can be more involved!

Week 2

A challenge that I have had to face this week is getting used to interviewing people on short notice because at Eubie Blake you never know who’s going to show up. It was a bit nerve-wracking trying to find meaningful questions to ask and interacting with individuals who are doing such important work that they are passionate about. On that note, another challenging thing I found from this week is trying to convey the passion that these program leaders have in the articles that I write. Sometimes, I had to write on topics that I know nothing about and after talking to the program leader or event curator, I always want to convey as much of their passion as possible. However, I have noticed, as the week went on, that it is getting easier to interview people and start engaging in conversations with them. I look forward to digging in a little more and forming closer relationships with the people that I’ve met so far, and meeting new people.

A highlight of my week was an event that I attended about the impact of Baby Laurence, an African American tap dancer, and the legacy that he left behind. The program was explosive, to say the least, there was a live band that improved their set based on the responses and vibes of the crowd. In the end, there were multiple audience members that got up and danced (hip-hop, tap dance, etc.) along with what the band was playing. Seeing so many people be engaged in learning about history and our culture was very inspiring.

Week 3

A typical day at my placement varies a little, depending on if there is an event taking place or not. Usually, when I come in I start to work on my articles and listen to any interviews I have done. When there are events happening and the curator is there, My boss will introduce me to them and then I give them a short impromptu interview. I’ve met a wide variety of people working towards the same social goal but from different aspects. I’ve met archivists, DJs, Tap Dancers, Musicians, etc. Even among all these vastly different people, their goal is the same: to spread awareness of the rich culture of arts and music in underserved Baltimore communities. It has been exciting to meet so many people and get a chance to talk to them about their passions and how they incorporate their passion into the work that they are doing in the Eubie Blake Center and outside of it.

Week 4

Initially, at the start of the summer, my goals were to become more involved in the arts scene in Baltimore and learn more about how the arts have impacted different communities in the city. After a few weeks at Eubie and meeting so many passionate people, I have begun to look at the arts from a social work aspect. One of the major takeaways that I’ve gotten from interviewing people and attending events is that an arts education can be majorly beneficial in the lives of young people and it is severely underfunded in underserved communities. It is often the first thing that is cut when budgeting constraints come and with those cuts goes programs that foster children’s creativity and imagination. So my goals this summer have evolved from wanting to just learn about the arts in Baltimore to wanting to help programs create new ways to support young people in their artistic endeavors.

Week 5

This week Eubie was bursting with youthful energy because this was the first week of the summer camp. The camp kids are so energetic and hyper, but they also seem to be very engaged with the different programs they do throughout a typical camp day. It has been interesting to watch the camp leaders adjust their approach to the campers depending on the age range ( because the camp hosts small kids up to teenagers) and the individual personality of the group or a specific kid. That is a skill that would be most useful to me as a pursue a career in medicine as I would be coming into contact with many different ages and people of various backgrounds who all need help. I have been using this skill in my intern position while I interview people about a broad range of topics and because I get a chance to help out with the camp a little.

Week 7

This summer I saw intersectionality in how underserved communities often comprise black and brown individuals in Baltimore. These communities often are also low-income which leads to decreased resources flowing through the neighborhood and decreased resources mean that some programs/privileges/opportunities are bound to be removed from the community. It is really a snowball effect. In the last few weeks, I have seen and met so many talented kids who have a passion for various forms of art and creative outlets, so it is sad to think of how underfunded arts education is and how inaccessible it is to certain neighborhoods. Through the summer camp at Eubie, I have seen how arts education helps children, specifically those who are neurodiverse and learn a little differently than what the standard education system is catered towards. It has been interesting to see how these different factors intersect with each other and how community organizations can better support the community.

In terms of potential collaboration, A member from my cohort and I were attempting to collab between Eubie Blake Cultural Center and the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Our two placements are within walking distance of each other, and the MCHC offered a Jim Hensen exhibit this summer which Sharon (MCHC’s intern) and I thought would be a wonderful experience for the summer camp kids at Eubie since they have field trips anyway. Her supervisor and the camp’s supervisor are currently in contact about that. In the future, collaborations between the two seems like it would be great with more foresight since they are so close to each other.