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<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>The Blind History Lady has offered the following information
highlighting a
person that resided in Orange, New Jersey and the steps he took to transform
his
dreams into reality!</DIV>
<DIV>Please share with others.</DIV>
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<DIV>Warmly,</DIV>
<DIV>Joe </DIV>
<DIV>______ </DIV>
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style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri";
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY:
inline'>The
Mentor . Hello Blind History Lady Fans; February as you know is
Black History Month. In our Blind Family Tree we have too many ancestors of
color who’s trail has been swept away by time. But that does not mean that
we do
not have black and blind ancestors to celebrate. This months profile is of a
man
who enriched the lives of many as they enriched his life. He was fortunate
to be
mentored by his hero’s and became a hero to many whom he
mentored. Meet John Langston Gwaltney, born September 25,
1928
in Orange New Jersey, the son of a merchant seaman, Stanley and Mabel
Gwaltney. John was blind from birth. From John’s early
life,
Mabel tried everything that she could to see if there was a cure for her son’s
blindness. She took him to many doctors, chiropractors, faith healers and
such
who told her there was nothing they could do. She turned to herbal medicine
and
still no improvement in her son’s vision. His mother Mabel
and
oldest sister Lucy had the most influence over his life. Mabel relied on the
community and family to help her raise her five children. Their black
community
was close-knit and supportive of each other through businesses and
church.
She led by example in teaching her son to observe, question and seek out
knowledge. Lucy read to him from a variety of books. She
taught him what a campfire was by lighting a fire in the great iron pot in
the
middle of their living room. She taught him how to make cheese biscuts and
even
perfume. Being black was one handicap, but to be blind as
well, that left few doors open to him. The only blind occupations that his
mother thought a black man would be accepted at were music and ministry. To
that
end, she taught him at home from a young age. She cut out print letters and
objects from cardboard to teach him to read. There was
always
a piano in the house. She encouraged him to play every day. When
he
was 8, she introduced him to wood carving. Mable handed him a knife and a
stick
of wood. An Uncle was an excellent wood sculptor and took John under his
wing.
Family and friends introduced him to everything tactile for him to study and
transform into art. This became a life-long passion for
John.
At. school age, Mable wanted him to stay near her, but to get a good
education.
She wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt and pleaded her son’s case. Mrs.
Roosevelt
who was a proponent of the education of the disabled in their local public
school, helped John enter classes near their home. He got hooked
on
geography. Two elementary teachers in particular encouraged his studies of
the
world. His father told him vivid stories of the many people and places he’d
seen
as a seaman. At night John would go to bed dreaming of the adventures he
would
have when he explored for himself these far-away lands.
Each
week John would listen to CBS’s School of the Air. One episode had a woman,
Margaret Mead, a famous anthropologist as their guest. Her presentation took
root in his brain and he began to dream of becoming an
anthropologist. After graduating from High School, he
enrolled
at Upsala College in East Orange during the fall of 1947. He graduated with
a
degree in History in 1952. With scholarships in hand and
some
assistance through the New Jersey Commission for the Blind, John moved to
New
York to study for a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the New School
of
Social Research. He completed his master’s in 1957. His siblings acted as
readers for him when working on his vast research. Brother Robert was
helpful in
finding funding for some of the equipment John would need for John’s
expeditions. In 1956, John married Judith Jacobson. She too
became a
reader and supporter in his career. That first year of their marriage was
John’s
first field research project in Mexico. Judith went along with her husband
as a
research assistant. Although he wanted to keep on with
school,
he needed to earn a living too. He secured a teaching job at the Henry
George
School of Social Sciences. This high school attracted students wishing to
pursue
careers in the social Sciences. It was here that he first learned to
sharpen his teaching skills. In 1959 he
enrolled
at Columbia University in New York to begin his doctoral degree. Although he
had
excellent professors at Columbia, he learned much from Dr. Margaret Mead,
his
instructor that most left an impact on him. Mead was the woman
who
had begun his thirst for anthropology. Now here she was in person, working
with
him and most supportive as well! She helped him plan his major research
project.
She did not stand in his way because of his blindness. The
project
was the study of blindness in the Indians who lived in the village of San
Padro
Yolox in southwestern Mexico. The village was not accessible by auto. The
inhabitants spoke the ancient tongues of their Chinantec ancestors, not
Spanish.
The village was set in an area with rough terrain, steep hills, valleys and
drastic climate changes. Having done his research on the area
early
on, he knew he needed a few more skills under his belt He needed to walk or
ride
a horse to the village and other places he wanted to go. He took horseback
riding lessons and had some extra strong metal canes made up for himself to
take
along. His year’s study focused on how the village
maintained
its social order when so many of its members were blind. With a grant from
the
National Institute on Health, he had almost all of his expenditures
covered. In 1966 he returned to New York and received his
Doctorate from Columbia in 1967. The thesis was entitled “Role of
Expectations
in Blindness in a Oaxaca Village”. The thesis won him the Ansley
Dissertation
Award in the fall of 1967. He took a position as
instructor at
the State University in Cortland in New York where he was promoted to
associate
professor in 1969. In 1970 his book The Thrice Sky Accommodations to
blindness
and other Disasters in a Mexican Community was
published. In 1971 he accepted a professorship at
Syracuse University where he focused his attention on the black man in the
United States. Through interviews and research, he set out to demonstrate
that
there is a black culture. The culmination of his research was his book
Drylongso, published in 1981. In the book were many stories of the average
black
man or woman. Through his book he hoped that the white public would start to
see
the average black person as just like them and not the negative images
portrayed
on the nightly news and media. In 1986, he published
another
book entitled the Dissenters. This book was a collection of interviews with
revolutionaries from all walks of life. The premise was that the Dissenters
helped the general public stay in touch with reality. The book was nominated
for
a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award in 1967. John retired from
teaching in 1989. During his career, he also found time to work on
projects for the Smithsonian, The New York State Creative Artist Public
Service,
The New York Council for the Humanities and several National Science
organizations. Much more can be read about him in a book
entitled; The Second Generation of African-American Pioneers in Anthropology
Edited by Ira E Harrison and Deborah Johnson-Simon.
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you would like to schedule a presentation contact me at
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