- Collection:
- Athens Oral History Project, 2014-2016
- Title:
- Lemuel LaRoche (Life the Griot) and Alexander Stephens, 20 January 2015.
- Creator:
- LaRoche, Lemuel, 1976-
Stephens, Alexander Maxwell, 1988- - Contributor to Resource:
- Stephens, Alexander Maxwell, 1988-
- Date of Original:
- 2015-01-20
- Subject:
- Georgia--Athens
African American social workers
African American social workers--Georgia--Athens - People:
- LaRoche, Lemuel, 1976-
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, Clarke County, Athens, 33.96095, -83.37794
- Medium:
- interviews
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Lemuel LaRoche talks growing up in a community of Islamic-background in New York, his parent's influence on his beliefs and creative work, and his early poetry and writing. He describes his move south to Atlanta, becoming aware of racism in the South, and talks about his experience of racial profiling at Gordon College. LaRoche discusses transferring to the University of Georgia, confronting racial ignorance, and working on understanding different mindsets. He recalls expanding his sense of community, working to address the division between the university and community, and working on various community engagement programming. He describes co-founding of the student organization Dreaded Mindz along with hip-hop performer Montu Miller, its history and growth, the meaning behind its name, and its eventual dissolution. LaRoche talks about deciding to pursue a Master's degree in social work, and his transition from working with incarcerated adults to at-risk youth. LaRoche recounts learning to play chess as a child, and how he incorporated its real-world applications to found Chess and Community, a non-profit focused on developing leadership and critical thinking in at-risk youth through chess. He describes people's reaction to chess, developing the idea of the Chess and Community Conference, and mobilizing grassroots community funding. LaRoche discusses the state of the juvenile detention system, the prison-industrial complex, and the mistrust of the Athens community that views itself as the university's experiment. He discusses his personal beliefs on raising awareness and community involvement, shaping the next generation of thinkers, and fighting what he labels as the "programming" of society. He reflects on fatherhood and parenting in the face of police brutality.
Interviewed by Alexander Stephens.
Lemuel LaRoche was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 4, 1976. His father was a poet, and had a great influence on LaRoche's written work. Early in his life LaRoche moved from New York to Georgia, where he graduated from high school, attended Gordon College, after which he transferred to the University of Georgia. His career has focused on community engagement and outreach, through which LaRoche the organization Dreaded Mindz with fellow member, Montu Miller. LaRoche also founded the non-profit Chess and Community in Athens, Georgia, an organization aimed at building leadership in at-risk African-American youth. - Metadata URL:
- http://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL361AOHP-007/ohms
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule.
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Athens Oral History Project, AOHP 007, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
- Extent:
- 1 interview (126 min.) : sd., col.
- Original Collection:
- Athens Oral History Project
http://russelldoc.galib.uga.edu/russell/view?docId=ead/RBRL361AOHP-ead.xml - Holding Institution:
- Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
- Rights:
-
