My Reflection...

My Exploration

            After learning the demographics, history and issues in the African American community, I was afraid my journey was going to focus on negative aspects of the culture.  Most of my group’s research somehow related to racism, underrepresentation in higher education, over representation in the streets and various struggles.  When beginning my journey, I told my self to keep in mind that there are a lot of great ideas, food, music, stories, clothing, history, famous figures and successful people all from the African American community and not to get caught up in the negative aspects.  Throughout my journey I experienced an ongoing positive theme of accepting who you are and recognizing that your skin color does not limit or define you.

As I began planning my journey I told myself I was going to push myself out of my comfort zone and become acquainted with people I have never met.   I am from San Francisco where different cultures are represented in distinct communities.  However, this is not the case for African Americans in San Jose.  I began my journey at the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA), in hopes of being guided in the right direction.  After meeting with the Intern Executive Director, I realized this was not only the starting point of my journey, but also home base.  Milan Balinton, Intern Executive Director of the AACSA, was gracious enough to sit down with me on a couple of different occasions and explain the role of this organization in the San Jose African American Community.  This is where I learned about the Antioch Baptist Church, which is directly across the street from the AACSA.  I was lucky enough to meet Henry Gage Sr., member of the Antioch Baptist Church, and founder of the AACSA.  Through the AACSA website I also learned about and was able to attend a play, “Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune”, which portrayed several Civil Rights leaders and their role in African American freedom.   Meeting Milan really opened my eyes and got me thinking outside the perspective of a college student.  He was motivational in the sense that he is such a young man with so many projects, responsibilities and hopes for the community, not limited to the African American community.  He never thought he would attend college, let alone survive his suicidal thoughts growing up.  Now, he is a successful, African American, college graduate making differences in the lives of many people.  Becoming a multicultural teacher means you are willing to shift your perspectives as you gather information. My talks with Milan were not only inspiring, but made me think of how I am going to continue to learn new information and change my perspectives, only to better myself as a multicultural teacher.  This was just one of my first steps in the door, and I was happy about it.

One educator I met on my journey, Henry Gage Sr., also believed that multicultural teachers change their perspectives and should address inequalities in schooling.  Mr. Gage Sr. is a veteran Buffalo Solider, as well as a founder of the AACSA and had a wealth of knowledge to share.  His life in San Jose began because of the educational institutions Santa Clara County had to offer.  After living here and seeing very low numbers of graduates, he felt the need to become involved in the school system.  He attended fourteen years of board meetings and made changes to programs within East Side Union High School District’s schools.  He felt that inequalities and graduation rates needed to be addressed, to better the students and the entire community.  Tyrone C. Howard made me think of Mr. Gage Sr. and Jaime Escalante when he said, “Culturally responsive pedagogy embodies a professional, political, cultural, ethical, and ideological...teaching acts; it is centers in fundamental beliefs about teaching, learning, students, their families, and their communities, and an unyielding commitment to see students success becomes less rhetoric and more of a reality.”

Another person who was mentioned throughout my journey and given immense amounts of respect was Ms. Inez Jackson.  She left the segregated South and moved to California to be free of discrimination.  It wasn’t until she applied for a teaching position in San Jose, and was denied because she was a “Negro”, that she realized she has not escaped any kind of discrimination.  She said here in California segregation was not the issue; instead blacks were treated as though they did not exist.  She fought and fought until her voice was heard at school board meeting. She became the first black postal clerk in San Jose, and eventually founded the AACSA alongside Mr. Henry Gage Sr.  She created a library in the AACSA to give African Americans an equal opportunity at education and literacy.  Other libraries were still segregated or did not have books that African American students could identify with.  This is one of Milan’s biggest projects right now.  He wants to keep the Inez Jackson library and vision alive. He is in the process of partnering with the Martin Luther King Jr. library in hopes to reopen the Inez Jackson library. 

I am thankful that on this journey of mine I was able to meet and learn about successful and influential African American community members of San Jose.  This journey opened my eyes and inspired me to venture out into other communities.  I felt honored that I could meet with Milan and see what he truly does everyday.  His job is not easy, and his journey at the AACSA is filled with projects and tasks.  However, he takes it day by day and showed me that a small difference goes a long way.  That is something I am going to take with me as I become a teacher.  Even just being a resource or an open minded listener can help students more than it may seem.  There are also those who make huge differences in the community, like Ms. Jackson and Mr. Gage Sr.  These people have changed the community and allowed many to believe they too can be successful.  As a future multicultural teacher I will continue to be a life long learner and will not cut my journey short here.

Auntie Cheryl

My Beautiful Auntie Cheryl

Originally, Auntie Cheryl was going to be my starting point for this project, but I decided I rather challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone.  At the end of my journey, I thought it would be interesting to get my Aunt Cheryl's opinion about her ethnic identity and role in the African American community.  Auntie Cheryl was born in Oklahoma where she grew up in a segregated community.  She moves to San Francisco at age three with her mother and siblings. Her grandmother was similar to the women in "The Help", she was a housekeeper for other people's children.  She did not want this for her own , so she strongly pushed education, which was also pushed upon my aunt. My Auntie Cheryl's mother always told her that what other people say does not matter and that she has to work towards what she wants in order to be successful.


Auntie Cheryl said that discrimination was always present in her life, but she tried hard to ignore it.  She said dating people of the opposite color was always a huge issue and it was an even bigger deal when she married my Chinese uncle.  But, she remembered what her mother told her and did not let outside people's judgments bring her down.  She has even been followed in stores, because people assume she is black, therefore she steals.  She said she ignored the racism even though it was a slap in the face growing up because she knew the color of her skin wasn't everything.  Auntie Cheryl's mother pushed the importance of Civil Rights leaders and and told her children there is no excuse for them not to become successful. One thing that my aunt told me she used to do was play the game of code switching in school.  Not only would she get grief for being black, but she would also get comments for being "too white".  So, my aunt would try to talk more black and switch up her vocabulary.  This got old for her real fast and she realized she is not going to pretend to be someone she is not, instead she is going to be herself.  


My aunt's mother became the first African American Deputy Sheriff in San Francisco.  She was always a role model for her children, and allowed them to believe they were more than just their skin color.  My aunt said, part of growing up is accepting who you are and realizing that your skin color does not define you.  She also said that you need to have a strong sense of self to make it in typical American society and not to make excuses for yourself.  This is something that I saw throughout my journey in Milan, Mr. Henry Gages Sr., Ms. Inez Jackson, Mary McLeod Bethune, the other characters in the play, and in my Auntie Cheryl.  My Aunt listened to her mother, learned from past Civil Rights Leaders and became a successful African American woman.  She started out as a teacher and then became a principal.  Eventually, she became Assistant Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District until she retired a couple of years ago.  She spends her free Sunday's singing in different Gospel Choirs all over San Francisco.

"Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune"

Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune is a play put on by San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild and Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble, including youth and young adults from San Jose. The play is a vivid depiction of the epic march of blacks from slavery to freedom. 

Mary McLeod Bethune

"Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves. A scholarship to Scotia Seminary in North Carolina in 1888 launched her career as educator and activist. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, she founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, which later became Bethune-Cookman College."- Biography.com Mary McLeod Bethune Biogrpahy

Mary McLeod Bethune is an educator and a civil and women's rights activist.  She is a child of former slaves and began her life picking cotton.  She strongly believed that education provided the answers to racial advancement.  The character of Ms. Bethune served as the narrarator of the entire play introducing other civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglas, Billir Holiday, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and many others.  Each character came out and performed either a scene, song or poem of how they played a role in fighting for equal opportunities among African Americans.


I enjoyed the play a lot.  I loved that it was primarily youth who performed and took on these powerful, influential roles of our past African American leaders.  I was one of very few non-blacks in the audience.  I think more than anything, the African American community was surprised but delighted to see people from other communities attending this play.  I found the play to be educational as well.  It refreshed my mind of how important these figures are to our history and how much of an impact they have made.  One thing that I really enjoyed during the play was the use of the drums. The drums were used throughout the entire play, in between scenes and during scenes.  From the beginning, the character of Ms. Bethune addressed the use of the drums how how important they were for slaves to communicate and how important they were to Ms. Bethune personally. I never knew how important music and drums were to African American slaves. Slaves would send each other messages and communicate through song and music.  This was a form of resistance as well as a way to communicate, since slaves were not even given the freedom to talk among one another.  

“For I am my mother’s daughter and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.”- Mary McLeod Bethune

Palm Sunday Mass at Antioch Baptist Church

I decided to attend Palm Sunday Mass at the Antioch Baptist Church.  I am used to attending Catholic masses where you aren't given the opportunity to speak much and interact with one another, so this was a very different mass for me.  When I first walked in the ushers and greeters were very welcoming and friendly.  I was not the only non-African American person in there, in fact there were a number of Hispanics.  Prior to attending mass, one of the Interim Reverends, Fannie Davis, told me that their community is mainly made up of Hispanics and Asians.  Despite the mixture of races, I did not feel uncomfortable attending mass.  More than anything I was happy the mass was more interactive, and involved with the people.  The Pastors were energetic and had a sense of humor that kept the audience entertained and engaged.  Everyone who made eye contact with me asked how I was doing and greeted me as if they knew me from somewhere.  This made me feel very comfortable and accepted.  I couldn't help but have a smile on my face.  

The Gospel Choir an Antioch Baptist Church's Palm Sunday Mass

I remember, during the Fellowship song everyone got out of their seats and begin walking around hugging and greeting one another.  This was not something I was familiar with at all.  People from the altar were coming to the main floor, pastors were greeting new members and old members, children were acknowledging one another.  It felt really good for all these people who don't even know me to sincerely hug me, shake my hand or ask how I am doing.  I felt equal and safe.  Another memory that stuck with me is the live music that took place at the mass.  This was also something new to me.  I absolutely loved hearing the choir sing, the pianist play and the drummer drum.  Something about loud drums, on a sunny Sunday morning at mass puts me in a good mood.  One elderly man had been a member of the Antioch Baptist Church community for over thirty years.  He was given a special time to say his goodbyes to the entire church.  He was old and very sad and men had to escort him to the podium.  He said that his heart bleeds because he loves his church that much.  As soon as the pianist hit the first key the elderly man burst into perfect song and began singing for the whole church.  It was amazing and something that really stuck with me.  This is when I realized how important song and music is in the African American Community.

Antioch Baptist Church

The Antioch Baptist Church has been a part of the San Jose community for well over one hundred years.  On August 2, 1893, a group of African Americans gathered in the home of Brother and Sister Henry Hawkins, in order to establish a Baptist Church of worship in the city of San Jose.  This gathering of men and women became the founders of the Antioch Baptist Church.  The Antioch Baptist Church has endured earthquakes, floods, the depression, wars, and the civil rights movement.  the Antioch Baptist Church is the first black Baptist Church established in San Jose.  After speaking with Milan and Mr. Gage Sr., I thought it was only right to visit the church, seeing how affiliated the AACSA and the Antioch Baptist Church are with one another.

Early Day Picture Dated 1893 of Antioch Baptist Church, San Jose

Similar to the AACSA, the Antioch Baptist Church also has several other partner and programs to reach the community.  They are accepting of everyone and make that very clear.  They also provide food drives for veterans, homeless and families who need extra support.  They also have a choir, Sunday school, Bible Study, Youth groups, women's and men's classes, and other opportunities to get involved.  

Antioch Baptist Church Present Day

Inez Jackson

Both Milan and Mr. Henry Gage Sr. spoke very highly of Ms. Inez Jackson.  Inez Jackson was church secretary for thirty-five years at the Antioch Baptist Church, across the street from the AACSA.  She and Mr. Gage Sr. were both members of the church and are both founders of the AACSA, as she was the person who discovered the vacant firehouse. 

San Jose Mercury January 5, 1959

In 1944, Ms. Inez Jackson gave up her job and life in segregated Oklahoma to move West where her husband was working on the shipyards.  All that she had heard was how California was free of discrimination.  Ms. Jackson was formerly working in a segregated school in Oklahoma and wanted to become a math teacher once she arrived in San Jose.  When she got to the school board they told her, "We don't allow Negroes to teach school." They offered her a job scrubbing the floors instead.  

"People had always talked about segregation in the South, but this was worse. California wasn’t supposed to be segregated and it wasn’t- they just eliminated a group of people. It was as if Blacks didn’t exist."- Inez Jackson

Ms. Jackson took the only job she could, which was picking prunes and working in the canneries.  Eventually, Ms. Jackson became San Jose's first black postal clerk along with many other accomplishments over the next forty-four years.  She also became the first black president of the YWCA, which is one of the largest and oldest women's organizations in the United States and one of the founders of the AACSA.     

“She is a backbone. One of the pillars of the San Jose community"- Former President of NAACP

Henry Gage Sr.

Henry Gage Sr.

After my second meeting with Milan, we had to cut short because he had a meeting right after with one of the AACSA's founders.  On my way out I was lucky enough to be introduced to and have a conversation with Mr. Henry Gage Sr.  As I sat down with Mr. Gage, he told me all about how he is a Buffalo Soldier and how he arrived in San Jose.  A Buffalo Soldier is one who served in the Army's 92nd Infantry Division, which was made up of African Americans and was the last racially segregated unit in the US army.  Buffalo Soldier is a term that Native Americans gave the black cavalry unit after the Civil War.  

The Buffalo Saga from  "Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier" 

"Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier"is a similar story Mr. Gage's recollection of being a part of a racially segregated US Army during WWII.  The story also gives an explanation of what a Buffalo Soldier is and what kind of ridicule and unjust treatment they endured."

Mr. Gage Sr. returned from the Vietnam War at the age of twenty-two in 1967.  He chose to retire in San Jose because of the educational institutions it had to offer, since he had four kids to educate.  After he retired, he realized the San Jose educational system was not up to par as he had hoped.  He spent fourteen years working for the East Side Union High School District trying to make a difference.  He told me he changed Foothill Continuation School because no one was graduating until he stepped in.  


In 1976, Henry Gage Sr. and about eight others formed the first board of the Antioch Baptist Church, across the street from the AACSA.  Mr. Gage and a few other members of the church at that time discovered a vacant firehouse, and created a community center for African Americans, which is now present day AACSA.  Ms. Inez Jackson was actually the person who discovered the firehouse and told Mr. Gage about it. The mission statements evolved from the Mexican American Heritage Plaza, which was just down the street.  At this time, every community would have a center for themselves, and this was the start of a new community. Mr. Gage told me that, after thirty years, the organization is still loose and not fitting his vision, but he is not going to give it up.  This is why he has meetings with people like Milan, to pass on his knowledge, visions, history and ideas.  


When Mr. Gage and I said our goodbyes he handed me his business card, as he is also an author.  He gave me two phone numbers to reach him on, and told me one was a "special phone number".  His explanation is as follows:
332 is the fighter group number of one of the two "Tuskegee Airmen"
25 is the average age of the pilots
66 is how many pilots there were total

Back side of Mr. Henry Gage Sr.'s Card

According to the U.S. Air Force, "The Tuskegee Airman were an elite group of African-American pilots in the 1940s. They were pioneers in equality and integration of the Armed Forces. The term  "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen not only battled enemies during wartime but also fought against racism and segregation thus proving they were just as good as any other pilot.  Racism was common during World War II and many people did not want blacks to become pilots. They trained in overcrowded classrooms and airstrips, and suffered from the racist attitude of some military officials. The Tuskegee Airman suffered many hardships, but they proved themselves to be world class pilots.  Even though the Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth as military pilots they were still forced to operate in segregated units and did not fight alongside their white countrymen."
Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen patch

Tuskegee Airmen