On December 10th, I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a great event here in Baltimore. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is displaying an exhibit about the life of baseball great Roberto Clemente, and had asked me to participate in an event that they wanted to do as part of the exhibit. Naturally I jumped at the chance to do it.
Clemente In Context was a panel discussion about the life, legacy, and struggles of Roberto Clemente, and what that means to African Americans, Afro Latinos, and issues of race as they stand today. Joining me on the panel:
Modesto Lacen- Actor
Danny Torres- Sports Journalist
Miriam Jimenez Roman- Educator, author, activist
Juan Flores- Educator, author, activist
Clarissa Mendez - Activist, advocate
moderator: Michelle Joan Wilkinson--Reginald F. Lewis museum; Dept. of Collections and Exhibitions
The panel was quite well received, and very informative. The audience was well engaged by the panel, and were really appreciative of the information that was provided. It took a while for the audience to finally trickle in, but I enjoyed the opportunity to participate nonetheless. It was quite comfortable being on the panel; we all warmly greeted each other, and no one came with an ego. It was great for me, considering that I'm already friends with Miriam and Juan. I had actually participated in their conference on/about Afro Latinos last month in November back in NY (Afro Latin@s Now! Conference), so it was great for me to get to see them again. I really enjoyed meeting the other panelists, and hope to continue a long lasting friendship with all of them.
After the panel discussion, I had a lecture based on my book(s). I have to admit, I was a bit nervous in the beginning; this was my first actual lecture since becoming a published author. Once I started talking, however, I just went with the flow. I have to admit, I personally felt like I babbled a little bit, but I think I did a pretty good job. Maybe next time, I'll use index cards to keep me more focused on what it is I'm trying to say; it felt like I was jumping subjects a lot (imho). My lecture lasted for about an hour, plus a (very) short Q&A afterwards (like I said, I babbled a bit).
After the lecture, the event was capped off with a book signing in the museum's Gift Shop. I had copies of both of my books, Juan and Miriam had copies of their book, "The AfroLatin@ Reader", and Danny had copies of some articles that he had written about Roberto Clemente; he even donated the proceeds of the sales of the articles to the Lewis Museum. It was great to experience all of this, and I was glad to meet people that were impacted by both what I had written in my books, and what I had stated during my lecture. I was glad to have met people who identified with what I was saying, and had experienced that same struggle that I did. In return, they thanked me for being able to articulate what they have felt (in some cases, for a very long time) in a book format for the masses to see. A few of them worked with children, or specifically in the educational system, and wanted to connect with me to have me come and address their students at some future date. This was all great for me, because it showed that a lot of my hard work and activism is finally starting to pay off.
So...December 10, 2011 will forever live in infamy for me. This was truly a great experience, and I hope that it is a start for better things to come.
