Reflections From The Tents and Friends

The Tents

Harriet Peterson, Superintendent

"We're in the process now of giving back to the community. That's very important to us. "

Comments from Harriet Peterson in the YouTube video, "The Tents of 87 McDonough Street", uploaded by Allison Trattner, 21 Aug. 2018.

Elizabeth Grady Austin

"...the Tents really is a lifetime organization and I’m so proud to see that you is willing to work and keep going on, too because we need the Tents. We look out for the elderly. We help them go and forth as much as we can. So it’s -- it’s a beautiful organization to be in."

Ms. Elizabeth Grady Austin, Brooklyn TENTS, Interviewed 2008 by Weeksville Heritage Center/Storycorps Oral History Project.

Helen Brown

"Yes, I've met a lot of nice people. Look at you all sittin' here, all these nice people I'm lookin' and at talkin' to."

Ms. Helen Brown, Brooklyn TENTS, Interviewed 2008 by Weeksville Heritage Center/Storycorps Oral History Project.

Friends of The Tents

Iya Oyatoki Okunwale

“My mother, Janie Neal, was a member of the TENTS. She was born in South Carolina but they moved to North Carolina when she was about a year old. She was the first of four children. Currently, I live here in my grandparents home. She really enjoyed being a member. They cared about and looked out for each other. I think her involvement was from the 90s until about 2012 (when she passed away/on). In my opinion, the organization is like a sorority, but its a Christian based Sisterhood/ Organization. Maybe some of the members were apart of it during her time?”

Reflections shared via text message with Prof. Spencer on 4/18/19.

Kelly M. Britt

"Through these rituals and roles, the organization empowered women to be forces of change in their communities"

Britt, Kelly M. “Clubhouse Excavation: The United Order of Tents.” Dilettante Army, 2019, doi:http://www.dilettantearmy.com/articles/united-order-of-tents.