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Rylee Barnsdale's Feature Article: "A Great Day in Ypsi": Residents recreate iconic 1958 Harlem photo
"Sweet Music of Harlem" by Debbie Taylor
Transcription:
Rylee Barnsdale: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. On Saturday, May 3rd, the local nonprofit YpsiWrites celebrated a great day in Ypsilanti down at the recently reopened Ypsilanti District Library Michigan Avenue branch, paying homage both to Art Kane's famous "A Great Day in Harlem" photograph and to the creative spirit embedded here in our community in Ypsi. Today, I'm here with one of YpsiWrites' writers of Ypsilanti, Debbie Taylor, whose book, "Sweet Music in Harlem," served as another major inspiration for Saturday's event. Hi, Debbie! Thanks so much for being here today!
Debbie Taylor: A pleasure! Thank you for having me!
Rylee Barnsdale: So, first of all, your book, "Sweet Music in Harlem," this is a picture book that was also inspired by Art Kane's photograph of 57 different Harlem musicians in 1958. Can you tell us about why that photograph was inspiring enough for you to come up with the story?
Debbie Taylor: Sure. My husband is a jazz expert and quite the jazz fan, and he was wearing a t-shirt with that photograph on it. And one morning, I posed the question, "Who are these people?" And he could rattle off the names and their instruments and what type of jazz they played. But I was more interested in the children who were sitting at the bottom of the photograph. I said, "Well, who are this children?" And he said, "Just neighborhood children, I guess." As most writers will tell you, sometimes a story idea will come in a flash, and some will come after they percolate. And in this case, the idea came in a flash that one of those kids would be racing through Harlem to get some item or somebody who was in that photograph, and that's how the idea came.
Rylee Barnsdale: And the book has been out for a while now. It was published back in 2004. Is the overall message that you've conveyed throughout the story something that you still see as relevant today? You know, these ideas of community building and bringing folks together through something as unifying as music or taking a photograph, right?
Debbie Taylor: Yes, yes. You know, community is incredibly important through the arts, whether it's music or art or dancing. It is a really sort of organic natural way to tie people together. And music and art in general are so accessible to so many people, and I'm just really delighted that Art Kane's photograph and my book was part of bringing the YpsiWrites'" A Great day in Ypsi" to pass. But community is always just really important, and it's important for all of us to embrace community in ways that we may not have thought about before and just ways that are really enriching and edifying for people.
Rylee Barnsdale: And I'd love to talk a little bit about the event itself: this Great Day in Ypsi event that took place on Saturday. How did these two ideas, these ideas from this book and this famous photograph, how did all of these different pieces come together for you and YpsiWrites to develop this event and bring it to the community?
Debbie Taylor: Well, so much credit goes to Ann Blakeslee of YpsiWrites and her team. She had gathered some of the writers of Ypsilanti and others for a brainstorming session about the future of YpsiWrites and how YpsiWrites could continue to serve the community well. And this was just one of many ideas that were offered that day. And that's how it came to pass. And I think it was latched onto right away because it was something that was interesting and accessible to a lot of people, at the perfect location, and I think people really liked the idea. So, I just give all credit to Ann and her team at YpsiWrites.
Rylee Barnsdale: This event was paying homage to this photograph and to the messages from "Sweet Music in Harlem:" these ideas of community building and bringing folks together. A great amount of people, I think over 60 people, came on Saturday to the library to recreate this photo--this really historical photo. And I'm curious in the planning process, when you're working with Ann and the other writers of Ypsilanti, were there any ideas or messages in addition to the ones we've already discussed that you maybe were hoping the attendees would walk away from the event with? Once the photo was taken, what were you hoping that folks then took back into the community with them?
Debbie Taylor: I think the notion that everyone is a writer. Whether you're blogging or whether you're on your phone or whether you're writing articles or grants or notes to your grandma, you are a writer. And I think we really want to support people in whatever writing endeavors there might be, whether it's writing homework assignments or picture books or essays. But I think that everyone's a writer and also that there are supports in the community to help you become an even better writer. I think that was the message. Yes.
Rylee Barnsdale: Another part of Saturday's event was the announcement of YpsiWrites' writing theme for 2025, which is "Telling Our Stories." Ann Blakeslee, the founder of YpsiWrites, described this theme as something to focus in on how writing can shape and strengthen a community, especially a very creative community like the one we have here in Ypsi. How did this event, or the process to develop it, how do those pieces kind of encapsulate that theme to you as a local writer and a writer of Ypsilanti?
Debbie Taylor: Well, I think, during the conversations we had in the planning phases, just talking about all the people who were willing and excited about the project was very exciting. Bookstore owners and shop owners and nonprofit folks and just people who are in the community were really supportive of the idea. And also the idea that we were going to be able to do this at the newly reopened Michigan Avenue branch of the library was really exciting as well. I think just pulling all those people together and having the enthusiasm and the energy was just really exciting for us.
Rylee Barnsdale: And I know that, unfortunately, you were not able to attend the event on Saturday, but knowing how it all came together and how the community received it with this very large group of people that came to take a photo outside of the library and learn a little bit more about YpsiWrites' mission, what does that say really about the community here that we do have in Ypsi and the dedication to creativity and the arts that folks here seem to have?
Debbie Taylor: Well, it just sort of highlights the fact that Ypsilanti is a gem! And if you could see it from outer space, Ypsilanti, we have a little circle around it. It would be glowing because there's so many creative people here! And I couldn't attend because I was attending my nephew's graduation at Ohio University in Ohio, or I would have been there. But again, it speaks to the creativity in all areas that Ypsilanti is known for. It's very exciting and very thrilling that there were more people in this photograph than in the original photograph that Art Kane so brilliantly took.
Rylee Barnsdale: This is WEMU's On The Ground Ypsi. I'm talking with Debbie Taylor, a writer of Ypsilanti and author of "Sweet Music in Harlem." Bringing the conversation back to YpsiWrites, the organizers of the event and this really wonderful organization that puts a lot of emphasis on uplifting writers and creatives in the community and making sure their voices are heard, why is it so important for YpsiWrites to continue celebrating all of its creatives, its writers, its artists, its musicians, its photographers, whatever the case may be? Why is it so important to continue uplifting and celebrating them in ways like this event did, bringing folks together to convene and to celebrate the arts and encourage more artistic expression?
Debbie Taylor: Well, I think one of the best things about YpsiWrites is that it has lots of different programs and opportunities for people to write and to get together. And, of course, people can create quietly and by themselves and independently, but sharing is so importantto all kinds of creatives. And I think YpsiWrites really supports that and offers, again, creative ways for people to gather, create spaces, and I think it's very respectful of the community, respectful of the history of Ypsilanti, the future of Ypilanti and the people who are in Ypsilanti.
Rylee Barnsdale: With all of these ideas of how the Ypsi community comes together in these really impactful ways, but particularly impactful to the arts and artists within the community, how do you hope that this photo and this particular event will inspire future writers and storytellers within the communities to either start that project that they've had just in the back of their head for so many years or to get out to another one of these YpsiWrites events once they come around to continue this cycle of creation throughout the community?
Debbie Taylor: I hope people will look at that photograph and say, "Hmm, I could have been there. I should have been here. And I'll be in the next one, whether it's another photograph or I'll be at the next workshop or I'll be at the book signing or I will be at the next event." I hope it will inspire people to think of themselves beyond their jobs, beyond their role in the family, beyond their own community, but to think of themselves as creatives, whether it's writing or other art forms or musicianship. I'm hoping that people will see themselves in that photograph and say, "Ah, yes! I belong there!"
Rylee Barnsdale: Debbie, thank you so much for being here today! Hopefully Saturday's event has inspired some of our friends and neighbors to go about and write or come together to celebrate the creativity here in our community. And thank you for being a part of it!
Debbie Taylor: Oh, my pleasure! Thank you all very much!
Rylee Barnsdale: For more information on today's topic and links to the full article, visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting at Eastern Michigan University!
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