By Sonya Bernard-Hollins, editor
editor@comvoicesonline.com
KALAMAZOO (Mich.)-Students of the all-girls documentary film crew on the life of Merze Tate, wanted to interview someone from Oxford University. Tate was the first African American to graduate from the prestigious university in 1935. So, how did they get there? Through 21st century media–Skype.
On November 5, members of the film crew met at Fortitude Graphic Design and Printing in Kalamazoo, where there were able to Skype in to David Smith, who is the Librarian and Archivist of St. Anne’s College at Oxford University in England. Smith, who admits to never having used Skype before the interview, brought a new perspective to Tate’s experiences at Oxford Univeristy. He shared the history of St. Anne’s College which Tate helped contribute funds for its development. When Tate attended Oxford, she was a member of the Society of Home-Students. These female students who could not live in the male dorms, lived in various buildings on campus. In 1879, Oxford University “extended a university education to women who could not otherwise have afforded it,” according to the school history.
Members of the 12-member film crew who participated in the Oxford interview included: Kennedy Shelton, director; Tori Zackery and Layla McKissack, videography; Charita Quinn, photography and Claire Khabeiry, reporter.
Although Khaibeiry was the principal reporter, other students chimed in after her interview to ask Smith questions they yearned to know.
Zackery, a ninth grader at Kalamazoo Central High School, asked about race relations for Tate at Oxford.
“In the United States we had segregation in the 1930s,” said Zackery. “How was it for Merze Tate being African American in England during those times?”
Smith shared that race relations in Europe were much different than those in the states, and Tate was not judged by her color, but by her academic achievement.
“Merze had already had a degree from Western Normal School (now Western Michigan University) and a masters from Columbia University,” said Smith. “So she was well qualified for her academic career at Oxford…her race didn’t matter.”
The students’ film documentary is a part of a collaborative effort with Merze Tate Travel Club and Media Arts Academy, founded by Debra Warfield. Warfield has created various documentaries with students in the past and recently unveiled, “Racism Through the Eyes of Youth,” production in conjunction with the RACE Exhibit. The Merze Tate Travel Club began in 2008 to expose young women in grades 5-12 to people and places around them.
Tate, a graduate of Western Michigan University (1927) went on to become a history professor at Howard University. Throughout her lifetime she was an educator, inventor and world-wide traveler with the U.S. State Department where she was Fulbright Scholar in India from 1950-51. The film will be debuted in February at various universities and organizations.
