As a child, Bea Gyimah’s parents would take her to the library for arts classes or to participate in summer reading programs. It was the most magical place, and she dreamed of writing her own book to share with readers someday. “It’s limitless, where you can go through a book,” she says.
At age 35, not much has changed. Gyimah’s friends make fun of her, she says, because the librarians all know her. She visits and volunteers at local branches often.
While majoring in English at LSU, her new dream emerged: publishing a multicultural journal. When she was hired by Baton Rouge Community College as an English professor, she found her collaborators for the project—her students.
Her Literature & Ethnicity students were assigned to write their ethnic autobiography, exploring how they view themselves in terms of gender, religion, sexuality, race or a pivotal event that shaped them. The pieces they turned in blew Gyimah away, to the point that she felt it would be wrong for her to be the only person reading them—these stories needed to be published.
From that, The Our America Writers’ and Artists’ Project was born, an organization that published its first journal of poetry and essays, America the Beautiful: In Spite of It All!, in 2013. The journals were distributed at BRCC and—you guessed it—local libraries.
This year, Gyimah launched the America, My Oyster non-profit, through which she will begin quarterly publication of a multiethnic, national magazine.
“Writing brought me out of my shell,” says Gyimah’s student, 23-year-old Antoine Lacey. “People usually perceive me as the kid with no voice … but I’m really getting my name out there now as a poet and graphic artist.” theamoa.org
“The students wrote about substance abuse, entering college later in life, enduring racism in the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina, motherhood, exploring family trees and studying abroad. … It was like a mosaic—you have all these beautiful pieces, and then there are these other pieces that are rugged and jagged and sharp. But you can create something beautiful through negative experiences. When a rose emerges from concrete, it’s still just as beautiful as a rose that emerges in a gorgeous garden.
I’m very proud of the students. Many of them are shocked about how deep they were able to get with their writing. There’s an essay in there by Miss Janice Mitchell; I have seen women cry when she reads it aloud at The Red Shoes.
We write to preserve histories and celebrate victories. People who look at this country as a land of opportunity and immigrate here all have stories. In America, there is enough apple pie for everyone. Not everyone is given utensils to eat it with—but if you want it badly enough you will grab it with your bare hands.
