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Tayari's Blog: Meet Ruth Dargan, Witness To History

Posted by TayariJones on April 17, 2008 08:08 AM
Filed under Current Events

The Root has posted video of Kyle Dargan interviewing his grandmother, Ruth Dargan. Ms. Dargan was a police detective during the infamous Newark Riots in 1968. (That's her on the right.)

In an essay that accompanies the interview, Kyle writes:

Periodically, I get a phone call from my grandmother that begins with her saying, "Listen to this," or simply with her reading aloud a vignette she'd just written about her life in Newark, N.J. Usually, I tell her the brief tales sound good and encourage her to keep writing. "I'm leaving all this stuff for you so you can write my story after I'm gone," she often tells me, in reply. I ponder her statement and then reply, as warm and loving as only a grandson could, "You ain't dead yet!"

I am so bummed that I can't embed the video so you can just watch it here. (You have to follow this link.)They talk about the death of MLK, Barak Obama, and the housing crisis. She read "The Audacity of Hope" in bookclub and wasn't all that impressed.

On a silly and superficial note, I had to smile at Kyle's appearance in this video. You can see he got all cleaned up to sit with his grandmother. His hair is cut and his facial hair is all orderly. And the argyle sweater. So sweet. (If you're in the mood for comparison, here's a snapshot of Kyle.)

OK. Back to business. This intergenerational sit-down is really interesting, and progressive. She is his grandmother, certainly, but she is not being interviewed as a "granny." This is no old lady rocking on the porch, hulling peas and rattling off memories. Ms. Ruth Dargan she not just a witness to history, she is also a player in the stories unfolding before our eyes.

April 24, 2008 09:06 PM