Joshua Mitchell Sr.

Hawkeye Community College, Instructional Technology Specialist University of Northern Iowa, Interactive Digital Studies Adjunct Instructor

My Family History

My family migrated from Liberia to Jamaica, then to Panama, and eventually to D.C. My great great grandparents, who were from Jamaica, worked on the Panama Canal. They raised a daughter who married a West Indian man (my great grandfather). He also worked on the Panama Canal. They raised my grandmother, who followed her boyfriend to the United States in the 19XXs, worked in Georgetown (D.C.) as a housekeeper for a lot of notable political figures, and had five children--one of them was my mother. My mother also worked in housekeeping and was pregnant with me at 16. Her life wasn’t easy. When she was in labor with me and had to get to the hospital, she traveled by bus, alone.

I was born in D.C., then moved to Panama until I was 4 (I speak Spanish), and spent the bulk of my childhood back in D.C. All my teachers and friends were either Hispanic or black. When I got the chance, in 8th grade, to attend the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the experience changed my life; I only wish everyone could go to an arts school. My show choir performed at the Kennedy Center with Mohammad Ali and Stevie Wonder; we worked hard from 8am until 8 at night; and I fell in love with classical music, like Italian arias and the Messiah. When UNI music faculty came to my High School my senior year and recruited me to UNI, I moved to Iowa and I’ve lived here ever since.

Living in Iowa

Something that I notice about Iowa (being a city boy) is that Iowa is very laid back. Even as a black man in Iowa, it still feels safe to me. I grew up during the crack epidemic in D.C. in a house with a lock on every bedroom door. When I came to Iowa I was amazed that bedrooms had no locks! Iowa to me has represented safety. However, I will never feel Iowan. Iowa is made out of small-town ignorance...not in a negative way but in that they don’t want to even know. “Iowa Nice” is a double edged sword. These are polite people. Iowans can be courteous and also be racist. Just b/c people say hi to you doesn’t mean they like you. People of color get monitored in Iowa, micromanaged. Something I noticed about Iowa in general: people who have traveled beyond Chicago and Minnesota are more open.

My Dreams

I’m good at digital technology (photography, video, editing, web development), the arts (singing, dancing, acting), and teaching. My life goal is to push people, to change lives, to help students realize there are other opportunities than working just 9-5 or settling for whatever. I would love to be involved in a school of the arts: the whole goal of a performing arts high school is dedication, discipline, and collaboration through artistic celebration. I think Iowa needs more of these kinds of avenues for creativity.

A Teacher Who Changed My Life

Mr. Colin Swinson, English teacher, Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Mr. Swinson got me to think outside of the box, and realize everything isn’t black and white. The way he taught his English class was so open and free, and yet we all came away from something. He also taught me to adapt to anything that comes my way. He would push his tie back and say “Sidenote!” to remind us we were off subject, and then go on these fabulous tangents. He treated us kids like we were adults. He was dope.

My Favorite Thing

a sign that I have: you are my sunshine

This sign reminds me of my mother because she used to sing this song to me. It represents positivity. She would always uplift us. I got this sign for myself; it’s right next to my night stand.

What #DIVERSITYISOURSTRENGTH means to me

Diversity is a vibe, a feel, an understanding. It’s being open to new things, and when you’re close minded, you don’t see it. I’m thinking about a Zoom meeting where I’m the only black person. You can strive for diversity, but you also have to model it. #DiversityIsOurStrength is about being open to new people and new things.

Hover on an Image
Abdullah Alayna Anna Audrey Benjamin Journey Kiesha Madison Sam Sofia Timothy Brooklyn AJ Austin Clifton Darian Gianni Harlem Isaiah Jimmy J-Zeom LayLay Marlon Quataz Roberto Sabina Tristen Tyrik Daniel Joshua Marlon Megan Lenstra Angela Waseskuk Beverly Smith Fernando Calderon Joshua Mitchell Sr. Mayor Quentin Hart Shuaib Meacham Mickye Johnson Sheryl Jones Travis Gratteau-Zinnel

Celebrating Our Diversity

Iowans champion education. Through this project, which focuses on Black Hawk County, Iowa, we acknowledge the state’s historical commitment to educational quality. We also urge Iowa educators to celebrate and capitalize on the rich diversity in our state and our classrooms.

The Iowa portraits above represent a few of the leaders, educators, and students in the Cedar Valley who will help guide our region and Iowa into the coming decades. We represent a sliver of Iowa’s educational diversity in Black Hawk County. Hover over each of our faces to find a short biography documenting our unique paths to Iowa, and summarizing our dreams, talents, distinctive qualities, and the teachers who changed our lives by treating us as special individuals.

Our various family stories are tied to opportunity and community. Like all Iowans who are not First Nation people, we are Iowa immigrants; some of our families arrived more than a century ago, others only recently. It’s this racial, ethnic, religious, and gender diversity, constantly changing and remixing each decade, that has made Iowa stronger, as each generation brings new traditions, enterprises, and perspectives to sustain the hundreds of communities between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. And yet, Iowa is too often defined and celebrated exclusively in terms of its White and rural cultural mainstream. (Ask yourself or someone else to envision what an Iowan looks like.)

We cannot say we want equal educational opportunities for all children and then fight to advantage our own. -Nikole Hannah-Jones

Iowa Nice... for Everyone

When we reflected on what it means to be Iowan, the idea of “Iowa Nice” percolated through our answers – the notion that Iowans are unconditionally nonjudgmental and community-minded. Iowa is a good place. And yet, many of us featured here – who are not White or rural – have not experienced “Iowa Nice” in exactly the same way. To fully celebrate our diversity as our strength, we must also address inequality as our challenge. As we have been reminded by yet another tragic murder of an African American man by law enforcement in our nation, this is a challenge for the soul of our society in Black Hawk County, the state, and across the country. We find hope in the millions who have peacefully protested, here and around the world, and gather strength from their vision to live up to our democratic ideals.

We get enormous inspiration from Waterloo, Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones – a New York Times journalist, originator of the 1619 Project, and Pulitzer Prize winner. Her career as a critical commentator on race in America was shaped by her daily bus ride in the 1970s from the East Side of Waterloo to the West Side, where she attended school. She could not help but be struck by the inequality she observed riding from one end of town to the other.

Through this project, we’d like to challenge Cedar Valley/Black Hawk County residents, all Iowans, and Iowa educators specifically, to consider what Iowa Nice means to our Iowa community writ large. How can we ensure that Iowa Nice extends to all Iowans? How can we see all residents of Iowa – regardless of racial, ethnic, gender, or religious status – as embodying the kind, humble, determined spirit of Iowa Nice? The answer lies not only in understanding each of our personal histories, but also listening to each other’s dreams for the future.

Dr. Shuaib Meacham, Literacy Education, University of Northern Iowa

Dr. Bettina Fabos, Interactive Digital Studies, University of Northern Iowa