PRINTThrough my eyes
Columbia children get a chance to tell their stories
Sara Stogner
Dayviar Sanders, 8, photographs a sign in the J.W. "Blind" Boone Community Center.
July 17, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Somewhere in Columbia’s First Ward lies a small, insignificant glass shard. Through the lens of 10-year-old Aaniyaha Williams, though, it’s not some discarded piece of a long-forgotten bottle. It’s a diamond.
She photographed the glass as part of the New Media Network, a program that helps children in Columbia’s First Ward express themselves. The program provides children in the First Ward with media access to counter the negative images of the neighborhood and raise awareness of youth issues in the area. Right now, the program focuses on photography and audio recordings.
Holly Hobbs works with Dayviar at Douglass Park in late June. Providing one-on-one time is ...
Dayviar practices with the camera in the J.W. "Blind" Boone Community Center before heading out ...
Holly Hobbs and Robbin Williams wait patiently for the small group of children to gather in the computer lab at the J.W. “Blind” Boone Center. For the first time, they’re offering a summer session, and although the group is significantly smaller, they can give each child more one-on-one attention. Holly is the go-getter. The children gravitate to her and often pile onto her lap while the photos upload. Robbin is the level-headed organizer. Rather than raise his voice, he’ll spend five minutes patiently convincing 6-year-old Elsaun Hutchinson to climb down from the baseball field fence in Douglass Park. When technology fails them, as it often does, Holly turns to Robbin.
They met two years ago and bonded over their mutual interest in community development. They wanted to start a program, and they wanted to start it immediately. Holly comes from a background in music: She has a masters in anthromusicology, which is the study of how music and culture interact. Robbin brings a background in community development to the equation. After partnering with local organizations and finding a meeting place at the center, Holly and Robbin founded the New Media Network. They chose the First Ward because it’s located in the center of Columbia, the heart of the city, and they saw the need for such a community program. Media coverage of the neighborhood is often dominated by negative images, or the area is completely ignored, Holly says. Eventually, she and Robbin hope to branch out to other areas of the city.
Past the frequently photographed flag at the center and over the diamond-littered bridge, lies Douglass Park, which serves as a frequent backdrop in their images. During the summer, the park is full of familiar faces: 8-year-old Dayviar Sanders runs off to talk to his father, and 11-year-old Monique Ellis rushes over to take photos of her baby sister. The entire neighborhood seems united by a thread not visible to an outsider. Although smiling faces are a common feature in their images, the children are acutely aware of the less-than-ideal aspects of their neighborhood, too. On a Wednesday in April, a man asks one of the older boys in the group to watch his young son for him from across the street. The child obliges, and the man continues to the corner — a quick exchange and he’s done. Later that day, the group headed back to the center at 5:50, and at 6:35, someone called in a shooting at the park. The kids’ conversations are riddled with jokes about the ghetto and getting shot. Robbin wishes he could record them to show people exactly what they are thinking — negativity and all.
For Holly, the shooting is just a confirmation that they are doing the right thing in the right place. The children are confronted with the realities of death and violence all the time. Although violence is present in the children’s lives, the program has never had issues with safety.
“It’s very important to us to create a situation in which children can reframe the way their neighborhood is portrayed in their own words,” Holly says. “A lot of times, kids don’t have the vocabulary to talk about really serious issues that are bothering them. The camera is a vehicle.” The photographs help the children work through issues individually, and Holly has seen some success already. At the end of each session, the photos are put on display at Tellers and Ragtag Cinema. Afterward, the children get to take them home. The J.W. “Blind” Boone Center also frames and hangs the photos.
On June 25, 6-year-old Laquan Ellis is on a mission to photograph a lifeguard. He stands at the fence and yells to one sitting up by the slide. “Hey, lifeguard!” he says. “Can I take a picture of you?” Holly and Robbin insist that the children ask permission from anyone they photograph, but Laquan isn’t having any luck.
The images produced in the sessions constantly amaze Holly and Robbin. The children intuitively understand photography concepts that volunteers are currently learning in their photojournalism classes at MU. “We hope that this will showcase just a small portion of talent in the First Ward,” Holly says. “We hope people stop seeing these kids as liabilities but as resources.”
The group stops at the pool for some ice cream. Because not everyone has money, Qayshanta Blackman and Monique run back to the center for Holly’s purse. Robbin quickly follows. To the concession worker, Holly says, “They can all get one thing.” The cost: $8.25. During the break, Dayviar records the sounds of the pool with an iPod, and Laquan finally captures an image of a lifeguard.
Once the children return with their work, they spend time editing and thinking of titles. Holly tells them that titles don’t have to be obvious; they can be symbolic. It’s here that the real meaning of the photos becomes apparent. Without the title “Diamond,” Aaniyaha’s photo truly is just a piece of glass.
Back in the lab, Qayshanta and Monique upload their pictures while the boys are preoccupied with the iPods. When young Elsaun has the iPod, he transforms into a young Bernard Shaw, cool and collected. He starts recording, “We’re going to talk about respect ... .” He turns to Robbin to ask him questions like a professional talk show host. A drummer is performing in the center later that day, and the practice is audible in the lab. Robbin asks Elsaun if he thinks they should move closer to the drums. “I think that is the goodest idea in the whole wide world,” Elsaun says. The performance starts, and the iPod has to be dragged away from Dayviar — he was dancing to the drum beats he recorded earlier.
At the end of the day, when Holly and Robbin are alone, they spend time uploading the remaining photos and discussing the day’s session. After another computer snafu, Holly shakes her head. “We can’t work like this,” she says.
The three hand-me-down computers and three cameras have good days, and they have bad days. Qayshanta interrupts because her iPod ran out of power. She is recording the drummer’s music to use as background for the next video slideshow Robbin creates.
Feeling left out, Laquan opens the door to the lab. “I want a camera,” he says with a pout on his face.
