2015 Scholar's Speak Series - Chelsea Hannah

Prior to the visit to the YMI Cultural Center I was not realizing how important culture is to a person. While at the center i learned about culture and how important it is to keep this culture . This caught my interest and made me open my eyes to the actual history of our ancestors. The visit to the YMI Cultural Center in Asheville, NC was a great experience that i am happy i participated in. The speaker ,Sasha Mitchell, was very influential as to knowing and finding out about my culture. She gave a lot of information on how to find out about one's family history such as ancestry.com and familysearch.org. Listening to her speak about ancestry reminded me much about my mom who is my family's "historian" because she finds out all about my relatives. YMI stands Young Men's Institute which reminds me of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) which is also a men's cultural outlet. My mother has found and passed down information about my great, great grandfather , Charles H. Bullock who organized and managed colored branches of the YMCA in different parts of the country. He organized and was the first executive secretary of YMCA's in Charlottesville, VA and Louisville, KY. He also organized the first colored branch of YMCA in Brooklyn,NY and directed a colored YMCA in Montclair, NJ. His name still lives on in Montclair as a public school is named after him. I am very proud of finding that someone in my family is tied this close to something this important, helping young black men grow and lead them to the road to success. The YMI Cultural Center was a great learning experience because i was able to greatly relate with everything said and made me appreciate my culture and its importance.

Chelsea Hannah