[Noozhawk’s note: Third in a series sponsored by the Hutton Parker Foundation. Click here for the first article, and click here for the second.]
Imagine cruising through Santa Barbara aboard a custom trolley, uncovering the history of the black/African-American community as you visit historic landmarks, businesses and homes.
Each stop brims with fascinating facts and stories that bring the past to life.
The tour, which premiered last year, is just one of the many creative and culturally enriching programs developed by Healing Justice Santa Barbara to honor and celebrate the history and contributions of the local black community.
“Black history is woven into almost everything we do,” said Leticia Fornay Resch, HJSB’s director of cultural arts and events.
The trolley tour was inspired by a historical timeline that Resch created with HJSB co-founders Krystle Farmer Sieghart and Simone Akila Ruskamp, chronicling the lives and accomplishments of the local black community.
That timeline is now accessible on the organization’s website, sharing facts that many residents may be unaware of, including the history of St. Paul AME Church and the origins of organizations like the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and the Franklin Neighborhood Center.
“As mothers, we understand that everyone learns differently,” Sieghart said. “We want to meet people where they are, so we need to get creative in the various ways we share our stories.”
One of the more popular ways that HJSB shares stories is through its very own, Chocolate Baby Story Time, which was conceived by Ruskamp after she noticed the absence of black stories and songs at the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Storytime, which she attended with her then 6-year-old.
“I could not find anyone who looked like me or my child,” Ruskamp said. “So, I created it!”
It was at the library where Ruskamp also first met Resch, who was working there several years ago. They connected immediately, sensing a similar history.
Their paths crossed again at the local Juneteenth celebration, where black-centered stories could be found, and Resch was the one reading them.
“It was these types of experiences that brought us together,” Ruskamp said. “We came together from a place of grief and mourning, and it is through joy and community-building that the three of us remain together.”
Given Resch’s background in film and media studies, she expanded Chocolate Baby Story Time into a television series featuring black community members reading books, which can be viewed on the HJSB website, or via its YouTube channel, making stories available to wider audiences.
Voices of Liberation is another show created by HJSB, engaging black leaders and community members in conversations that are aimed “to lead to equitable opportunities for the black community that promote sustainability, preservation, economic mobility, health and wellness, and education liberation.”
Plans to adapt the show into a podcast are in the works.
Broadening HJSB’s education initiatives, the nonprofit organization also consulted on the new ethnic studies curriculum to ensure the inclusion and accuracy of black history being taught to local students.
In addition, the Black Student Alliance created by HJSB invests in local black youth through internships and leadership opportunities.
There is currently an effort underway to help HJSB intern Chernor Diallo, who came to Santa Barbara from Liberia and graduated from Santa Barbara City College.
He is seeking funding to continue his studies at Westmont College after learning that federal financial aid is not offered to international students.
HJSB’s efforts reach a broad spectrum of the community, from students to their parents and caretakers.
In fact, Sieghart, Ruskamp and Resch recently shared their parenting knowledge and experiences, hosting their first-ever parenting fellowship retreat, empowering, educating and building community among parents and caregivers so that they can fight for social change in their own communities.
“As a black-led collective, our knowledge and experiences as mothers and caregivers is often undervalued, as historically, black women and femme caregivers have envisioned our highest ideals of liberation,” Sieghart noted.
“The fellowship encouraged participants to lean into our identities and share our knowledge.”
The women are now sharing their experience and knowledge at conferences across the country.
HJSB’s next major initiative is a film festival-quality documentary that can be a key educational tool for local organizations, schools and visitors, and they are seeking funding to support this project.
Click here for more information about Healing Justice Santa Barbara, and click here to make an online donation.
