In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine. This story was recorded in partnership with our friends at the Stoop Storytelling Series, here in Baltimore.
Chisom (00:07): Growing up, I was a very shy child. Speaking up in class used to make me very nervous. So for a while, I sat comfortably with the label of quiet kid ,until, thank God, my parents put me into a lot of activities like karate, ballet, and hip hop, soccer and swimming, a whole lot of activities that just were really uncomfortable for a natural introvert. And with all of these activities, I learned how to really express myself with confidence, and I carry that all the way through high school, where I got into other activities that made me uncomfortable.
Chisom (00:56): And so fast forward to my senior year of high school. I became the president of our high school's African Student Association. Shout out to North Stafford High School in Virginia, and shout out to our club sponsor, Walisa Sabb. Love them, love them.
Chisom (01:15): And so being president, I learned a lot of things really fast. For one, I learned how to work with a team, not leading in front of or behind, but right next to the people I was in the club with. And by working together and really supporting each other through our roles and encouraging each other to step up and just do our best, we became more than a club, really. We became family. And that trait of ours was really passed down from our first president who was before me, Bernard, may he rest in peace. He allowed us to really come close together, and I took the same ideals from him to not only be performing within a school club, but be able to connect with those around me in whatever we were doing.
Chisom (02:15): At first, we started as a dance group, performing Afro Dance, and that was really fun, but we wanted more. So within three years, we worked to become an organization which had connections outside of our high school, within our community, and we became a group that had more than just our dances to us. We had our Black History Month celebration performances. And through the doing all of that, I had ASA or African Student Association become a group that's very close to my heart.
Asset ID: 2022.05.29
Find a complete transcript on the Peale's website.
Photo by Aaron Curtis
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the recordings for this project do not necessarily represent those of the Peale or the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
