This semester’s Harman Writer in Residence is Sam Pollard, filmmaker, editor, producer and screenwriter. I did not know who Sam Pollard was before the event, so it came much to my surprise when I found out he is a Baruch alum.

At the event, Pollard discussed how he got involved in the film industry, being at Baruch, and what it takes to be passionate about something, and how much work and time that can take. Since Baruch has the reputation of being a business school, and not necessarily giving ample space to students who want to pursue creative careers, it always interesting to hear about people who pursue the arts against a backdrop of functionality and practicality. Pollard discussed being the protege of another filmmaker, and how at the beginning of his career, he was regarded as not being as skilled or as weathered as other people who edit. Pollard attributes that sort of pushback as one of his motivators for improving his editing skills.

As an English and Communications major at Baruch, it’s wonderful to see someone who was able to pursue their passion and have a successful career, able to come back and give back to the space that allowed them to pursue their creative endeavors.

On Sunday, May 7th, we visited the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and sat through the “Quarter Rican” play and musical. It is about this newly fresh father, Daniel, who is Puerto Rican married to his white girlfriend and he is in a dilemma because he wants his son to grow up embracing Puerto Rican culture and not be white-washed. He spends all his time worrying about this racial complex and forcing the baby to lean towards his father’s side more than his mother’s side, but what he doesn’t realize is that time is better spent teaching and raising the kid to be a good person. ‘As long as you raise a good man who becomes a good person.” and “as long as the kid knows where he comes from,” but doesn’t necessarily have to adopt all the norms and ways because maybe some might not work for him. 

I think that sometimes identity is not claimed but rather instilled in one when they’re little and they have the choice of expanding it or suppressing it. I compare it to religion because it’s something sacred and there is a saying and a question at the same time, “do you belong because you believe or you believe because you belong.” It basically means that when it comes to beliefs, most likely were influenced by those who raised us and we adopt their beliefs so we believe because we belong but as we grow older then that has the possibility of changing completely. We start to belong because we believe as sometimes people choose to change religions and convert. The same goes with identity, you are born into the world pure and innocent and personality-less and the environment around you develops you as a person so you have to perform accordingly if you would like to stay in that same environment. However, as you grow older you start to become more independent and realize you can make decisions for yourself so you have a choice to either remain in the same environment or distance yourself away from it.  

On Thursday, March 30th, we visited the Museum of the City of New York as a class. We were taken around to see different exhibits from different time periods but before the tour began, we made to look at the poster below, which speaks volumes about stereotypes and how often they can either make or break you if you try to adopt them. It lists stereotypes such as the future doctor, the quiet kid, the computer hacker, and the dragon lady. We also looked at street vendors like tricycle pieces set by artist Miguel Luciano who captions it, “Pimp My Piragua is a mobile public art project that commemorates the innovations of Latinx street vendors, transforming a traditional pushcart for selling shaved ice (piraguas) into a hyper-customized tricycle-pushcart with a high-powered sound system, flat screen monitors, and LED underbody lights – all while still fully functional as a piragua cart.” It just goes to show you how in desperate times and when   

one needs to go out there and make a living, innovation becomes a given instead of a luxury. People create the most simple yet creative and high/multi functional things. There happens to be 20,000 street vendors or food carts in New York City at the moment and only 5,000 are licensed meaning that majority fly under the radar but when noticed, they face severe fines and possibly dispossession which means an end to their only sources of income sometimes. 

We visited multiple exhibits beginning from even before slavery, into the 1920s, then Civil Rights, and the Cold War in the 1980s, and now modern day. But the one that stood out the most to me was the “Prohibition and Prejudice” one because it was shocking to learn that primarily Prohibition took place because there was a demand for sober workers during World War I and it wasn’t because of domestic violence towards women and children. Although women did make up a large portion of the working class during WWI since the men were sent to fight in Europe and women stayed behind to raise the children and work in the factories. It wasn’t until 1976 that women were able to apply and be approved for credit cards because before then they couldn’t and that hindered their ability to file for divorces due to the domestic violence since they couldn’t fund it and rather had to remain in those abusive relationships. Below you see 

events that took place during the early 20th century and which led to the Women’s Suffrage Movement where it all started with the outbreak of WWI and women being needed in the workplace and their growing demand for voting rights since they’ve established themselves as a big player publicly. All that time before they’ve been limited to just domestic duties.  

On Thursday, April 20th, we attended the Sam Pollard/Herman Program Event. It was a talk hosted by Baruch College inviting back its alumni, Sam Pollard (class of 19730, an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker whose career spans over more than forty years. He has released three new films in just the past few months, Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, Bill Russell: Legend, and Max Roach: The Drum also Waltzes. There was a lot covered during the talk as the conversation was very intriguing and inspiring in the sense that many of us in the class will soon be Baruch graduates. 

Sam Pollard mentioned how he grew up in the 50s and 60s and how he used to live on 99th street on 2nd avenue, just a few stops away from Baruch College on the 6 train. He transferred from BMCC to Baruch and within the first months here he was lost and unsure of the area he wanted to major in so he went to his advisor. Many students who come to Baruch often play it safe and go the Zicklin school route and so did Mr.Pollard but he hated his marketing and finance courses. When asked about his interests and hobbies, he answered, “I like to read and watch old films” so his advisor recommended a one-year film program that he should look into. He applied and got in and the rest is history. During Mr.Pollard’s teenage years, media consumption was happening from 5 channels only while now there is just so much stuff to watch and read about that we often take it for granted and our brains just can’t handle the excessive amount of information. It was at an early age and specifically at 14 years old that he came to realize how much power lies within those who control media and information flow. It was when he joined New York City Military Society and was introduced to cultural icons like Malcolm X, Frederick Douglas, and James Baldwin. He became aware of the duty he had to fulfill of making films about unheard stories and “showing the shades of gray because when you make a film you have to make sure you show all sides of a person and even the not so pretty.” 

When asked how he was able to produce five films in one year, Mr.Pollard responded, “I have a lot of work but I also have a lot of support.” He reiterated over and over again that he’s not alone in this journey and hasn’t been because he is surrounded by a great team that helps him be better everyday. Also, he jokingly emphasized that “when you have the freedom to do something it takes longer to produce films but when you take other people’s money then it becomes easier because they give you suggestions sometimes.” Mr.Pollard does fund himself sometimes and he looks for people to do it for him the other times and perhaps the con to that might be being under supervision or watch. Those who finance the whole thing obviously care about the success of the project so they will be attentive to the work and express their ideas and opinions on major aspects at least if not everything all together.     

My, my, where do I even start? The Quarter Rican was by far the most unique play I’ve ever been to.  The sounds, the lighting, the set design, it was all such an amazing experience. Courtesy of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, just off the side on 47th street and 8th avenue, nestled right into the Theater District. It looks so nice and cozy on the outside, and it gets even better on the inside. It used to be a firefighter station, but got closed down soon after, which definitely explains how so much can fit into what I initially thought was a repurposed apartment building.
Anyway, back to the play. It follows the story of a half Puerto-Rican man named Danny, who is concerned about his son’s future, who happens to be, Quarter Rican. He worries about how he can teach his son about his heritage without forcing it onto him, so that his child knows his roots and knows his culture. And throughout the entire show he is reassured that he will be fine, creating his own, “Puerto Rican starter kit” from which he will draw upon once his baby grows older than one and so.
I love the lesson that Quarter Rican teaches about identity, about not being afraid to be yourself and not being afraid of passing on the culture running through your blood and soul. I love how freshly it depicts the struggle of being different and having to live with it, and making the most of it, for yourself and for your children. I love the musical numbers, “La ballada de Pablo” being one of my favorites, though to be honest, they were all great. I also loved how on the wall behind the entire show were captions, but they were in the opposite language the people on stage were speaking. If they were speaking English, the captions were Spanish, and the other way around. That’s so cool.
This play was so great to see.

On our class trip to the Tenement Museum, we had dived into the well-preserved life of the Levines, who at that time would have been no one special. Just another family stuffed into an apartment on Orchard Street, all 7 of them in various stages of development. Funny enough, there were exactly seven of us who managed to make it to the tour, so we got an accurate depiction of what it would be like stepping over one another trying to get to each vantage point. I was completely enamored with every tiny detail, from the cloths from where two hired girls would sew and prepare frills and lace for dresses, to the repurposed barrels and crates for what I’m pretty sure were biscuits, to the little table which contained breads and jars and kettles, and a little book on if memory serves was a government handbook of some sort, sorry if not. But above it all I loved how I could stand in the midst of all the relatively peaceful proceedings of everyone observing what they were, and imagine just how loud it would’ve been in this little place. Between the sounds of the treadle sewing machine, the sounds of the stalls and haggling and the buying just outside the window in the street below, the sound of a mother cooking food, a child frustrated in their crib, it all coalesces into an image I can’t help but not love. It was a life for them, and for them it worked out.

Also I can’t not help but mention this. So, at I think 1902, the price of kosher meat was raised to an uncomfortable amount, and many Jewish wives went out into the streets to protest. Notable events included someone throwing a brick through a butchery window and a police officer slapped in the face by a piece of meat, that I think was beef.

On the class trip to the Museum of the City of New York, I found myself in awe that this city had so much history packed into it, a history of change, of people fighting for better lives. What I noticed was that each exhibit (which mind you all of which was neatly organized into one single room) had a tablet on which was written a timeline of each major event to happen for each and every movement, or series of changes. What struck me about that was that as we went further and further into the exhibit, all these timelines began to overlap. They began to overlap more and more and more till the point where I began to imagine all these people fighting for their rights, for justice, and for everything they needed, they fought shoulder to shoulder in the annals of history. And more likely than not they probably did. They probably did go to support each other at their protests. They probably did have common interests because more rights for one means that there is precedent for another to receive their own. And upon such an avalanche of progress we have, we are, and we will continue to push for a better future for everyone. I hope.
Also, I will add that the tour was such an amazing experience, I learned so much and that I would love to go see their other tours if I find the time.

Sorry for the camera angle.