Ella Joyce (E.J.) Stewart

Fifty years ago when North Carolina's agricultural landscape was flourishing, African American women were surrounded by strong-spirited black men who loved the land and their children. Now, all across North Carolina, the farm equipment stands silent; there are echoes in the barns; the sound of children working and playing are no more. Where did the farmers go? We know that many families fled to small towns and urban areas for hourly wages. What happened to the families who stayed? Where, now, are the old women who still survive long after the men have died and the children are grown and gone? Starting within her own community, Ms. Stewart has visited with and documented the life of some of these fascinating women. In this presentation, Ms. Stewart shares how these women have developed other interests and created binding comaraderies.

Langston Hughes' The Best of Simple demonstrates the value and power of writing and telling what you know through observations. Jesse B. Semple (Simple) editorializes about such topics as race, love, and politics. Hughes' folksy wit and wisdom offered a vision of the world which gave Black people a sense of hope in a hypocritical society. Ms. Stewart's insight into Mr. Hughes' observations draws parallels between his account of life in Harlem and her short story "Cheese," written sixty years later, about life in rural eastern North Carolina.