Institute set to celebrate Black history
Uzuri Project marks 25 years in Hot Springs of gathering stories, helping youths
HOT SPRINGS — The Uzuri Project Youth Institute history project will celebrate its 25th anniversary about Black people in the Hot Springs community.
Against the backdrop of Black History Month, the People Helping Others Excel By Example organization, or P.H.O.E.B.E., will show and display the history and culture of Hot Springs’ Black American community with documentary films of oral histories and guest speakers.
The event — “That Audacious 25th Year Anniversary” — is set for Feb. 19 at The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa.
Cheryl L. Batts, CEO and founder of P.H.O.E.B.E., said this year’s event is called “Audacious” because “we’ve had the audacity to last … we’ve had the audacity to fight.”
Batts said she hopes this year’s event is “put together well enough so that [attendees] will have a better pictorial idea of what it is we’ve been doing for the past 25 years.”
According to a news release, the youth institute was created “out of a need to support both youth in the community and seniors and their oral histories.”
Batts said the initiative began when she returned home 25 years ago to Hot Springs and wondered what happened to her neighborhood, noting she recalled “well-manicured lawns and beautifully painted houses” from her childhood memories.
“Back then every house was taken care of, so I couldn’t figure out what had happened between the time that I left and the time that I got back,” she said. “So we started out just researching and documenting the African American presence in Hot Springs.”
What Batts found in her research was most Black Americans who first came to the area “were the children of the slaves and the sharecroppers who moved [here] and started Hot Springs. They sent their kids away to go to school, and to get educated. And these kids never came back, because there were no jobs for them,” she said.
What was lost during this time period were the oral histories, so Batts said that was what she was aiming to recapture.
“So that started 25 years ago. And since that time, we have done over 100 oral histories,” video documented interviews, Batts said. “And we have about 1,500 pictures.”
Many oral histories were captured in video form through a program titled “Emerging Leaders,” which is part of TUPYI.
Through the program, local Black American youth between the ages of 10 and 17 learn leadership and social skills by interviewing senior citizens and gathering their stories. Acting as a journalist, they research, write, and prepare information about the oral history of their community elders, according to an informational brochure.
“Most young people do not have senior citizens in their home. Most of their parents are 20s, 30s, and 40s. And their grandparents are 40s, and 50s, maybe 60s,” Batts said. “Like sometimes they had never even seen anybody that old in their immediate family.
“I can remember one of the kids came with his older sibling. He was just kind of looking at the person. And then he said, ‘Did you come over on the covered wagon?’ So that made a big laugh. He was like, ‘No, I didn’t come over on the covered wagon.’ And so we realized that group could have fun together.”
Joining the team of special guests for the anniversary event will be Christopher Crawley and Diana Hampo, TUPYI alumni, and Cicely Hicks, Candance Evans, Jamaal Hollinshed and others who will encourage the audience to “Remember when.”
“Wear your best glitz and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of People Helping Others Excel By Example and The Uzuri Project Youth Institute to Hot Springs and its African American history and culture,” the release said.
There will be music and giveaways for adults and children at the event. Diane Elam, author of “Trash Tawking,” will be signing and giving away books to young people on site. The Garland County Library will be joining the event again this year in celebrating Black History Month with free books. There will also be a special performance by the Hot Springs High School Dance Troupe.
Updates will be given on the restoration of the John L. Webb House, and on the Pleasant Street National Historic District, and members from the community will be honored at the event.
“Again, this is and will be a Red-Carpet experience! Our doors are open to everyone, you will not want to miss this event,” the release said. “For over 25 years, we have had Free Admission (and) that will not change! However, donations will be gratefully accepted.”
“Most young people do not have senior citizens in their home. Most of their parents are 20s, 30s, and 40s. And their grandparents are 40s, and 50s, maybe 60s.”
— Cheryl L. Batts, CEO and founder of the People Helping Others Excel By Example organization