Parsons Public Library will host “African American Women Domestics: The Story of Two Kansans, a presentation and discussion by Angela O. Bates on Monday, February 10, at 6:30 in the library multi-purpose room. Growing up in rural Nicodemus, Kansas, sisters Ernestine and Charlesetta Williams learned basic cleaning and cooking skills from their mother and grandmother who had been enslaved in Kentucky. When the sisters moved to California in the 1950s, their domestic and cooking skills provided many employment opportunities, even in Hollywood. Eventually Ernestine opened her own restaurant in Pasadena before returning to Nicodemus in the 1970s to operate a barbecue restaurant. Bates, daughter and niece of the two sisters, will discuss her family legacy of domestic work and share mementos that Ernestine and Charlesetta collected. Angela Bates is the executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society. She presents educational programs across the nation covering Nicodemus, Exodusters and black towns in the West, Buffalo Soldiers, and black women in the West. “When I watched the movie The Help, I reflected on my own experiences as a child of a domestic cook, said Bates. My mother and aunt shared wonderful stories about their experiences with such greats as Walt Disney, John Wayne, Bob Hope, and others. This rich history makes me proud of their accomplishments and appreciate the skills that I now possess as a professional cook. Bates operates Ernestines Café near Nicodemus, where Ernestines Bar-B-Q Sauce is still being bottled and sold. Bottles of the barbecue sauce will be available for purchase at the presentation. “African American Women Domestics is part of the Kansas Humanities Council The Way We Worked Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and discussions examining the theme of work and working in Kansas and how these stories help define us. The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities. For more information about KHC programs, visit kansashumanities.org. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which will take place at the library, 311 South 17th St. For more information, contact the library at 620-421-5920.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 16:36:05 +0000
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