Category: I Am The Future

Save the Date - IATF Showing at the Putnam on October 22nd, 2023

9/27/2023

Save the Date - I Am the Future showing at the Putnam
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm

Putnam Museum and Science Center
1717 W 12th ST
Davenport, IA (map)

PACG Board We will be working with the Putam to show our I Am the Future video and educate the community about the importance of being activists for civil rights. Look for more information soon. And if you are interested in helping with this fun event, please contact us at qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com.

Glenda Guster

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The new version of "I Am the Future" at the MLK Center - After Action Report

3/5/2023

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**WQPT PBS viewing of I Am the Future - After Action Report**

Civil Rights Forum

One year after the creation of I am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past, PACG’s 2022 Black History Month film project, was updated with the help of local PBS affiliate, WQPT. As a small nonprofit organization, PACG could not have done this on our own. Lora Adams, WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content, worked with her team for two months to make this possible.

In celebration of the updated version of the film and Black History Month 2023, PACG
held a special showing at Friends of MLK Interpretive Center in Davenport, on Thursday, February 23rd, for an audience of 20 people. Three of the interviewees were present to watch the video with community members: Rev. Gabriel Barber III, Dr. Henry Brockington, Attorney Catherine (Kitty) Alexander, along with film moderator, AbdurRahmaan Howard. Unable to attend the event was interviewee Mayor Bill Gluba.

In 1963, some residents of the Quad Cities attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The film highlights their first hand accounts and how their connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired each of them to become civil rights leaders in our community. As young men and women in the 1960s and beyond, Gabe, Bill, Henry and Kitty would have thought of themselves as the future. This is their story. We are grateful to them in so many ways.

As PACG President and I am the Future creator, Glenda Guster says, "I am benefiting now from these past acts of courage and sacrifice. I made sure my children knew this, and my grandchildren know now they are standing on bent down backs that were not broken by racism. I believe this video gives local civil rights activists an opportunity to tell their story about their involvement in the March on
Washington and meeting Dr. King. We hope this updated version proves to be both educational and inspirational, not only for Black History month, but throughout the year
and for years to come.”

Our project title came from a phrase that Glenda's church often uses when speaking of their children: "I Am the Future." (This phrase is from the Whiney Houston song The Greatest Love Of All.)

We would like to thank our panelists, Gabriel, Henry, Bill, and Kitty, Moderator, Abdur, PACG President and film creator, Glenda Guster, WQPT’s Lora Adams, the PACG Civil Rights Forum, Friends of MLK Interpretive Center, and everyone else who has supported this project.

You may view our updated video here. For those of you who attended our viewing, Lora Adams shared this version of We Shall Overcome sung by Cordova High School Concert Singers from Memphis, Tennessee. This music is used in our video.

Maggie Davis, Office Manager

P.S. Have you donated to PBS this year? Do it now.

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View the updated (2023) version of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the Board

3/2/2023

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It's here! View I Am the Future online

A Message from the Board

PACG Board of Directors

We are honored that WQPT offered to update our Black History Month video from 2022! As a small nonprofit organization, PACG could not have done this on our own. Lora Adams, WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content, worked with her team for two months to make this possible. Please enjoy it here. We hope to get it on our PACG YouTube channel as well.

For those of you who attended our group viewing at the Friends of MLK Center in Davenport on February, 23rd, here is the link to the video recording of We Shall Overcome. Part of this performance by high school students is featured in our video.

(P.S. Have you donated to your local PBS station? Do it here!)

Glenda Guster

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"I Am the Future" gets a makeover! - A Message from the Board

2/14/2023

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Announcing I Am the Future gets a WQPT PBS makeover!
Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00 pm

PACG Board of Directors

We are thrilled to let you know that our Black History Month video has been updated thanks to WQPT PBS! Please join us as we watch this together on PBS at the MLK Interpretive Center in Davenport on Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00. The show starts at 7:30 but we ask that you arrive early.

About a year ago when our new PACG president, Glenda Guster, took the helm of the organization, she had the idea of interviewing Quad City residents who had been personally impacted during the 1960s by Rev. Martin Luther King and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Typical of PACG, we organized a committee to get this project off the ground and the result was a 12-minute video we named I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past. Read about the original project here. And you may view that video on the PACG YouTube Channel: I Am the Future - Standing on the Shoulders of the Past here.

You have read a lot about this project over the past year because Glenda - on her own - has reached out to various groups and libraries to show our video. She gathers all of our featured speakers and hosts a discussion with them, addressing questions from the audience, after each showing. These have been very popular events.

In the fall of 2022, Glenda contacted WQPT PBS in Moline about our video. Lora Adams, WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content, was extremely interested in seeing all of the raw footage we had and meeting many of our participants. She volunteered to rework our video, adding more than 15 minutes of new material and made some additional changes that we had originally wanted. WQPT did this editing for free!! (Have you donated to PBS this year? Do it now.)

We are honored that PBS was willing to update our video, making it something they will show for Black History Month, 2023. We are really proud that a local news organization saw the value of not just our video but of PACG itself. And none of this would have happened without the hard work of our current president.

Thank you Glenda for your continued devotion to this project!

If you are unable to join us in Davenport, watch on WQPT from home! Record it on your DVR, share with your friends and family, and keep an eye out for further showings. Their outreach will really help spread the word about the common good that PACG continues to do for our community.

Allison Ambrose

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Showing of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the President

9/27/2022

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I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past showing and discussion
Tuesday, October 25th at 5:00 pm

Rock Island Public Library
401 19th Street
Rock Island, IL 61201 (map)

Civil Rights Forum

Join us on October 25th for a free showing of our Black History movie, I Am The Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past.

In 1963, some residents of the Quad Cities attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Hear their first hand accounts and learn how their connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired each of them to become civil rights leaders in our community. We will have a discussion after the video.

For more information visit: https://www.rockislandlibrary.org/event/community-viewing-i-am-future-standing-shoulders-past-pacg

Glenda Guster

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I Am the Future: Standing On the Shoulders of the Past - PACG Event

2/14/2022

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"I Am The Future" - Standing On the Shoulders of the Past
A PACG Black History Month Project

As her PACG presidency begin in January, Glenda Guster decided that she wanted to interview acquaintances of hers who had important social justice experiences in the mid-20th century. So, PACG did what it often does - we established a committee to work on this idea!

It was decided that our goals for this project included

preserving local Black history
educating our communities, and
inspiring our membership in activism.

With this in mind, we approached four of Glenda's friends and asked if we could interview them about their experiences.

The following individuals agreed to speak to us about their experiences. These are short bios that help explain who they are:

Rev. Gabriel Barber III
Gabriel Barber was born in Clarksville, Missouri and came to the Quad Cities as a young man.

A World War II veteran, he was a US Army truck driver late in the war, eventually ending up in Bremerhaven, Germany. He remembers the winter weather being so cold the drivers could never turn off the motors of the trucks, and he still laughs about the challenges that presented.

Reverend Barber worked for International Harvester at the Farmall Plant in Rock Island for 30 years. He was the pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Davenport for 46 years. An active member of the Rock Island County Nursing Home Board, he ran a health care center and nursing home.

He was the first Black person to serve on the Rock Island County Board of Supervisors, and he served for 30 years. He is also proud to have been a longtime precinct captain of Scott County Democrats, as well as township chair and a member for 25 years.

The Gabe and Lee Barber Park in Rock Island was dedicated to Rev. Barber and his wife, Lee, in 2007.

Rev. Barber spent his life working to ensure that people of color have equal rights and educational opportunities, and he used his political and religious platforms to accomplish these things.

Mayor Bill Gluba
Bill Gluba was born in Davenport, Iowa. As a student at St. Ambrose University in the 1960s, he was active in the Young Democrats of America (YDA), the youth wing of the Democratic Party. His participation in YDA led him to attend the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 along with five other young white men.

He received a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Ambrose and a master's degree in political science from the University of Iowa.

He served on the Scott County, Iowa, Board of Supervisors as well as in the Iowa State House and Senate as a Democrat. He has unsuccessfully run for Congress in Iowa's 1st Congressional District three times, and he served as mayor of Davenport from 2008 to 2015.

Dr. Henry Brockington
Henry Brockington, the youngest of five siblings, was born in Florence, South Carolina, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a masters in physiology from Catholic University, Washington, DC. He obtained a doctor of chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic while teaching as a full-time faculty member. He was honored by being named the commencement speaker at his Palmer graduation.

He retired from Palmer College of Chiropractic after teaching there for 33 years. Dr. Brockington is proud to have been an educator for 40 years.

He explains: “There are two events that I participated in that I will never forget – the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, and the First Inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009. Additionally, the smile on my mother’s face when I graduated from Howard University is another moment that made me very proud. She was my inspiration for as long as I can remember.”

“My philosophy involves a few things,” he says. “Pay it forward. Don’t see injustice and just close your eyes. Treat everyone as a friend until they show you otherwise. Don’t dismiss a person by anything other than their actions.”

Dr. Brockington has received numerous awards for teaching. He also received the President’s Award two times from the NAACP. A member of Scott County Democrats for 25 years, he has served as chair for every committee of the NAACP. He is currently the treasurer for the Quad City Minority Partnership.

Attorney Catherine (Kitty) Alexander
As an undergraduate student at Grinnell College in Iowa, Ms. Alexander and six other young white women went to an event in the Amana Colonies where they heard Dr. Martin Luther King speak. This encounter with Dr. King was a life-changing experience.

Ms. Alexander received her masters at Rosary College and her JD at the University of Iowa. She was an assistant city attorney for the City of Davenport and served on the Iowa Supreme Court Commission on Unauthorized Practice of Law. Her employment history includes being an apprentice labor arbitrator and a visiting lecturer for the University of Iowa, as well as working with the Iowa Women’s Political Caucus, Scott County Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of Iowa.

AbdurRahmaan Howard, Moderator
AbdurRahmaan "Abdur" Howard is a 14-year-old 9th grade student at Davenport North High school, where he is in the dual enrollment program. This will allow him to earn an associate degree from Eastern Iowa Community Colleges while attending high school.

Abdur has a love for the arts, classical music and social justice. The bulk of his time is spent in the musical arena, either at the Adler Theater, attending the symphony; at the Second Baptist Church Music & Arts Academy; or with the Quad City Youth Symphony, where he is a violinist with the String Ensemble. In his spare time Abdur does spoken word poetry at local venues.

Abdur continues to further his education. He has a multitude of career interests, with the medical field at the top of his list.

In June of 2021, Abdur was selected to be a moderator for the PACG “Race, Adolescence and Trauma” webinar, featuring Professor Kristin Henning. His demonstrated maturity and quick mind made him our choice to moderate our Black History Month project this year.

We hired Mickle Communications to videotape the interviews at the MLK Interpretive Center in Davenport. The Putnam Museum has expressed interest in showing our video as part of their Black History Month programming. We hope to be able to announce that this will be available on Sunday, February 27th.

Our project title came from a phrase that Glenda's church often uses when speaking of their children: "I'm the future." (This phrase is from the Whiney Houston song The Greatest Love Of All.)

As young men and women in the 1960s and beyond, Gabe, Bill, Henry and Kitty would have thought of themselves as the future. We are grateful to them in so many ways. As Glenda says, "I am benefiting now from these past acts of courage and sacrifice. I made sure my children knew this, and my grandchildren know now they are standing on bent down backs that were not broken by racism."

PACG Webmaster

Project moderator AbdurRahmaan Howard in front of the mural at the Friends of Martin Luther King Interpretive Center in Davenport, Iowa

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Save the Date - IATF Showing at the Putnam on October 22nd, 2023

Save the Date - I Am the Future showing at the Putnam
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm

The new version of "I Am the Future" at the MLK Center - After Action Report

**WQPT PBS viewing of I Am the Future - After Action Report**

View the updated (2023) version of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the Board

It's here! View I Am the Future online

"I Am the Future" gets a makeover! - A Message from the Board

Announcing I Am the Future gets a WQPT PBS makeover!
Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00 pm

Showing of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the President

I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past showing and discussion
Tuesday, October 25th at 5:00 pm

I Am the Future: Standing On the Shoulders of the Past - PACG Event

"I Am The Future" - Standing On the Shoulders of the Past
A PACG Black History Month Project

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Save the Date - IATF Showing at the Putnam on October 22nd, 2023

Save the Date - I Am the Future showing at the PutnamSunday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm

The new version of "I Am the Future" at the MLK Center - After Action Report

WQPT PBS viewing of I Am the Future - After Action Report

View the updated (2023) version of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the Board

It's here! View I Am the Future online

"I Am the Future" gets a makeover! - A Message from the Board

Announcing I Am the Future gets a WQPT PBS makeover!Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00 pm

Showing of "I Am the Future" - A Message from the President

I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past showing and discussion​Tuesday, October 25th at 5:00 pm

I Am the Future: Standing On the Shoulders of the Past - PACG Event

"I Am The Future" - Standing On the Shoulders of the Past​A PACG Black History Month Project

Archives

Categories

Save the Date - I Am the Future showing at the Putnam
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm

**WQPT PBS viewing of I Am the Future - After Action Report**

Announcing I Am the Future gets a WQPT PBS makeover!
Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00 pm

I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past showing and discussion
Tuesday, October 25th at 5:00 pm

"I Am The Future" - Standing On the Shoulders of the Past
A PACG Black History Month Project