The first week of the internship at the Jones High School History Museum though initially unclear was clarified by a meeting between one of the project leaders Dr. Robert Cassanello and the participants of the internship. An initial itinerary for our work with the Jones High Museum was provided, this included projects which could be worked on immediately such as an in depth written history of Jones High and short biographies of notable alumni.
The meeting while allocating biographies and histories also discussed other aspects such as organization and investigation of the contents in the museum. Though delayed by the change in Administration of the Public School which houses the museum, the project leaders as well as the internship participants attended a meeting on Friday May 19th at Jones High School which allowed the students to meet the administration of the school as well as the powerful alumni association which would provide access to the Jones High Museum. The team was provided a period in the beginning of the meeting to introduce ourselves as well as the projects we are associated with around the school and the area. The meeting allowed for glimpses into what the school was like and provided access to the Jones High School History Museum for a short while.
The Jones High School visit was aided by the connections made in the community and within the school through the connected “Marching Forward” documentary project, which both Oswmer and myself are involved in heavily. The Jones High Museum visit also provided the opportunity to get the local legend James “Chief” Wilson, as well as his former student, friend, and fellow musician Ernest “Pete” Boyd in the museum to comment on artifacts which they helped to preserve in the museum. We were also able to film this commentary for the upcoming “Marching Forward” film, though not directly related to the internship the film allows for a deeper understanding with the school and history as well as forging connections within the museum and school.
In addition to the Jones High school and museum, I was also able to attend a Board of Trustees meeting at the University of Central Florida, where I was able to present the poster created for the “Marching Forward” documentary. The presentation provided for the opportunity to bring awareness not only to the feature length documentary on Jones High, but also of the outreach by the College of Arts and Humanities in the Parramore neighborhood. This message was extremely well received at the meeting and drew quite a number of interested individuals including members of the UCF Board of Trustees, Orlando Health executives, and individuals associated with marketing at the university. The event provided an opportunity to speak about the internship as well as the museum in general providing an interest by the UCF community in the ongoing projects.
In the following week I expect to get a good basis for the writing of the history of Jones High School, which will be used by future members of the Jones High Museum to provide a concise and informative basis for educational outreach by the museum. To start the research I am hoping to read into the education of African American schools in America, as well as honing in on the local African American history of Orlando through the Orlando Sentinel, specifically highlighting the “pink or green pages” which was the weekly pamphlet for African Americans in the publication before the integration of Orlando.
Jones High Museum Internship - Kyle Aulow 