John Mitchell Jr. Program: Research and Exploration

Over the past year, I have been working with the John Mitchell Jr. Program to create a TRUTH Commission with the city of Salisbury, MD. Our work has centered around addressing the de facto segregation and racial terror that has left entire communities desolate and abandoned. My work with the city, though on going, has lost much steam as many road blocks have prevented the creation of the commission as we fail to hold meetings, or event solidify the requested amount of members. During this presentation, I will review the John Mitchell Jr. Program under which I work, the partners I’ve worked with to create a TRUTH Commission, and the future of my work as we overcome roadblocks to racial healing.

Hello! My name is Celine Apenteng and I am currently a rising senior at George Mason University, studying conflict analysis and resolution with a concentration in Global Engagement and minors in Data Analysis and intelligence analysis.
Over the pas summer, I have been a part of the Student Internship Program under OSCAR and I’m here to tell you about the research project that I’ve been doing that had actually started in 2021. For starters, I have been working with the John Mitchell Jr. Program. This program works to progress the aspiration of racial equity and justice. To realize this, JMJP engages four mutually-supportive forms of practice. Those include narrative change, student programs, activism partnerships, and social media engagement. We focus on narrative change through community-led scholarship to ensure that what we do doesn’t change the history, but changes the way we tell it. We want to make sure that everyone whose history has been lost, who has been hidden in full view, is known for who they are and not what had happened to them. We center ourselves around student programs to make sure that our future is well maintained by the rising scholars of today. Further more, we focus on activism partnerships nationally, state-wide, and locally to make sure that we are engaging everyone we can; just as we do our social media to ensure that everyone knows of the projects we’re doing. The partners that I’ve been working with at The John Mitchell Jr. Program include director Charles Chavis listed at the top, as well as founder of The Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative, James Yamakawa, shown second. As well as Monica Brooks, President of the Wicomico NAACP branch, as well as the Maryland Lynching Committee. And last, but certainly not least, if not most importantly, the City of Salisbury and the Charles Chipman Cultural Center. Now many of you may be asking what I’m actually doing. I’ve been working to establish a truth commission in the city of Salisbury to address the racial degradation and targeting that has taken place over the past few decades. A couple decades ago, the city decided to build two major highways through the middle of city, destroying the black community there. Because of tat, many families, many legacies, and many homes were lost completely. they were destroyed, they were removed, and they were forgotten, 100% on purpose. Now my work as been made to cultivate a TRUTH commission so that we can address a lot of the de facto segregation and racial destruction that continues to be perpetuated against the Black and African-American community in the area. I have collaborated with city officials as well as other partners such as James Yamakawa and Monica Brooks to figure out who should sit on the TRUTH Commission so they can recommend strong policies that could be put into effect by former Mayor Day. Unfortunately the truth commission has come to a halt because of the lack of the communication between the city and us. Because of that, we are trying to out together a force to ensure that the Black and African-American community is not only preserved, but fought for. Our work as been descendent lead by descendants of the victims of racial aggression to ensure that not only are we sticking up for what is right, but so they are able to speak for themselves and so we can do what is right on behalf of them. Because the commission has been stalled, the next thing for us to do is, one, continue archiving the historic impact of the racial impacts on Black and African-American communities there. Two, build a coalition that can create partnerships between the local communities in the area that are struggling to survive because of de facto segregation and attacks. And last but not least, we will maintain of descendent lead efforts to make sure that what we’re doing is not only right by them, but right by the people that come after them. Thank you for listening, and I’m happy to answer any questions you have on my research.