Andrew P. Jackson shares his family photos and stories with Thomas Allen Harris at the Louis Armstrong House Museum during the borough of Queens roadshow for the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow earlier this year. Jackson has been the Executive Director of the Queens Public Library’s Langston Hughes Cultural Center for almost 30 years and is responsible over administration for the library, in which he had developed many innovative and popular programs including craft workshops, Kwanzaa celebrations, cultural fellowships and special events with writers, historians and a variety of artists.
Jackson reflects on his family’s history and their migration from Mississippi to New York in search of better opportunities. The well known curator recalls the importance of libraries and personal archives while he was growing up, including the story of how his mother, who herself was a teacher, was not allowed inside her local library in Mississippi due to the Jim Crow laws of racial segregation. Jackson also discusses why he took the African name of “Sejou Molefi Baako” after working with inmates at Rikers Island, and why he now wears African clothing as an expression of his heritage.
Andrew Jackson holds up photograph from his brothers' wedding.
Andrew Jackson showcases his family photographs with Thomas Allen Harris
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