{"id":83632,"date":"2021-03-02T07:14:28","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T12:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=83632"},"modified":"2021-03-03T07:41:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T12:41:15","slug":"i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I exist and I\u2019m part of this world\u2019 – Growing up black in Owego"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tioga Trails building, located on the corner of Lake and Main Street in Owego, recently set the stage for a display of artwork, to include a piece created by resident Kathye Arrington. With February being recognized and celebrated as Black History Month, we were able to interview Kathye and talk about what Black History Month means to her, how she infuses it into her art, and what it was like growing up black in Owego, N.Y.<\/p>\n

On how she chose what to create for the display, she replied, \u201cThey wanted me to bring something that reflected my personality, and also some of my culture; the theme of my artwork is family. So I have a lot of artwork that depicts family. This young man is surrounded by his parents, and if you look in the back, it\u2019s symbols of his ancestors. The symbols used in the framing symbolize faith, love, strength, wisdom, these things that his parents instill in him.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Kathye, she said Black History Month means family. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt means pride. I think about all the things that my parents and grandparents taught me about community and taking care of each other.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She said that how she was raised played a big part in how she perceives Black History Month, and added, \u201cMy father and my mother were very strong and they always made sure we knew who we were, and did not let people tear us down or tell us that we were less than who we knew we were. For me, Black History helps me know who I am, and that I exist and I\u2019m a part of this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathye Arrington grew up and went to school in Owego, which has a population that is over 95% Caucasian. Growing up black here had challenges.<\/p>\n

\"Growing<\/a>

Kathye Arrington\u2019s artwork, pictured, tells a story. (Photo by Dominick Matarese)<\/p><\/div>\n

In our recent interview, Kathye stated, \u201cThere were some black kids, but there weren\u2019t a lot of them. I just thought most black kids were like me, middle class. But when I went to college I ran into a lot of inner city kids and it was eye opening.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI knew a little about them, but they looked at me like I was foreign. They would say \u2018oh well you don\u2019t sound black because you have this accent, and you aren\u2019t part of the black community,\u2019 and I said, \u2018there\u2019s no such thing as the black community, just like there\u2019s no such thing as the white community.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She elaborated by saying; \u201cIt\u2019s interesting. You have to find people who are willing to open up or willing to listen to you or accept who you are. I hate the word when they use colorblind, because I wouldn\u2019t want to be colorblind to you because that means I don\u2019t see you; or I don\u2019t acknowledge you\u2019re there, and I think everyone should be celebrated no matter what their background is.\u201d<\/p>\n

She touched on some of the racially divisive experiences she had growing up, describing, \u201cI grew up in the seventies; it was different because that was five years after segregation, and it\u2019s funny because people thought it was all over; but no, it took a long time. I think when things started to really change and when people started to open up more was more in the eighties. I still remember when Martin Luther King Day was coming up and there were so many people around here that were not for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Growing<\/a>

Kathye Arrington\u2019s artwork, pictured, tells a story. (Photo by Dominick Matarese)<\/p><\/div>\n

She continued, \u201cWhen I got [to Owego] I realized that there were a lot of kids that weren\u2019t used to me. I got called everything from the \u2018N word\u2019 to whatever. I remember it was mostly boys that were more aggressive, and I got in a lot of fights with boys. And it hurt my feelings because I felt like because I was black they couldn\u2019t see me as a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her Father, former Owego Mayor Edward Arrington, played a big part in how she grew up, and she said both her parents taught her that you couldn\u2019t hate. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because someone hates you, you can\u2019t give it back.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She said her father just wanted to help, and that was his motto. She talked fondly of him, stating, \u201cI still remember when we had the flood in 2011, I didn\u2019t see him for hours, he was out here trying to help people, and next thing I know there\u2019s people in the house, and we\u2019re housing people, and they\u2019re saying \u2018Ed said we\u2019re spending the night here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the candlelight vigil for Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in front of the courthouse last summer, and the daily protests where a small group held up signs in favor of the \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d movement, she commented, \u201cI was impressed and shocked because that was never something I thought I\u2019d see in Owego.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said of the movement, \u201cThat was the thing that really touched me this summer with \u2018Black Lives Matter\u2019; several years ago when they said \u2018Black Lives Matter\u2019 it was just black folks, and people were like \u2018all lives matter\u2019, and then when I saw a bunch of white people, Asian people, and realizing that they get it – it touched my heart, especially seeing so many young people. It gave me hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

She compared the racial justice protests of last summer to other movements, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a watershed moment, much like in the sixties when my parents were younger, and the civil rights movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathye is a strong believer in the power of community, and ended the interview by saying, \u201cThis country is a family and we really have to start treating each other like a family.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tioga Trails building, located on the corner of Lake and Main Street in Owego, recently set the stage for a display of artwork, to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":83633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018I exist and I\u2019m part of this world\u2019 - Growing up black in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I exist and I\u2019m part of this world\u2019 - Growing up black in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Tioga Trails building, located on the corner of Lake and Main Street in Owego, recently set the stage for a display of artwork, to...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-02T12:14:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-03T12:41:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/03\/History1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018I exist and I\u2019m part of this world\u2019 - Growing up black in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/03\/History1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-02T12:14:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-03T12:41:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/03\/02\/i-exist-and-im-part-of-this-world-growing-up-black-in-owego\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/03\/History1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/03\/History1.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":237,\"caption\":\"Owego resident and artist, Kathye Arrington, is pictured by her artwork outside of the Tioga Trails Building, located on the corner of Main and Lake Street in Owego. 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