The temperature was stifling when members of Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice <\/a>visited the Griot Museum on St. Louis Ave. in July. Thieves had stolen copper from the institution’s air conditioners, and visitors and the wax mannequins alike seemed on the verge of melting.\u00a0 \u00a0But perhaps it was fitting that we should be uncomfortable, because the museum itself is full of uncomfortable reminders of the black experience in America.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGriot\u201d [pronounced “Gree’-oh”] is an African word for storyteller, and the purpose of the museum is to preserve the memories and tell the stories of the people who were captured and brought to America early in the history of our country.\u00a0 It features reproductions of conditions on a slave ship, and a replica of a typical cabin inhabited by slaves during the early 1800s.\u00a0 There are life-size wax models of African-Americans with Missouri connections….Dred and Harriet Scott, George Washington Carver, Percy Green, the Rev. Earl Nance Sr.\u00a0 There is information about the first black woman millionaire in America, who was from St. Louis.\u00a0 There are stories and photos depicting the black response to one of the most unique (and formerly racist) traditions in St. Louis, the Veiled Prophet ball.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A special treat was an exhibit of illustrations for childrens\u2019 books by artist Bryan Collier, titled \u201cDefining Moments.\u201d\u00a0 After experiencing the museum and viewing the illustrations, some of us sat around a table, sipped ice water, and wondered about our own \u201cdefining moments.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>During the early 1960s, when the struggle for civil rights was at its peak in America, many of us were in college.\u00a0 There was no Facebook or Twitter; for most of us getting \u201cthe news\u201d meant an occasional trip to the library for a newspaper or a few minutes before a TV in the student union.\u00a0 We were worried about classes and grades and boyfriends.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Others of us were married and raising children and pretty much oblivious to anything going on in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So on that sweltering afternoon at the Griot, we took a few minutes to reflect:\u00a0 <\/span>Would we have had to courage to join the Freedom Riders?\u00a0 What would we have been willing to sacrifice in the struggle for civil rights?\u00a0 Is the struggle over in 2011?\u00a0 What, if anything, are we willing to give up today?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Questions worth pondering, then and now.\u00a0 Hopefully, it\u2019s never too late for a personal \u201cdefining moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Image credit: MPeck via Wikimedia Commons]<\/em><\/p>\n

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