The Rural We: Dorree Ndooki
She organized the creation of a Black Lives Matter-themed mural and a vigil in Great Barrington.
A rising sophomore at Skidmore College, Dorree Ndooki has been at home in Great Barrington during the pandemic. Although she very much wanted to be protesting with others in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, she needed to protect not just her own health (she has asthma) but that of her parents, who are in a high-risk population. Trying to find a safe way to participate in some sort of action, she recently came up with an idea to create a Black Lives Matter-inspired mural, which was unveiled at a vigil last weekend that she organized.
I wasn’t able to go out to the protests, so I tried to find a way to respond that would be meaningful and on the same level as the other protests in Great Barrington. I got the idea to do a mural, and reached out to the Railroad Street Youth Project, which ended up funding it. We had to see if the town would be okay with it, so we looked for a business where the owner would allow a mural on their property. Matt Rubiner and Erik Bruuun were more than happy to allow us to use the wall in the corridor by Rubi’s Cafe, and they gave me complete freedom to do what I wanted.
I made a rough sketch of the theme, which features Oluwatoyin Salau, a young, prominent Black Lives Matter activist found killed after a protest last month in Florida. But I’m not an artist, so I reached out to three friends, Mika Antonia Cook-Wright, Lanna Knoll, and Sarah Wohl, who are amazing artists. I met with them a few times, then let them create the final image. Taylor Slonaker also helped a lot. Then we put out notices and posted on our social media, looking for volunteers to help paint. The volunteer painters finished the mural in five days. Of course we made it COVID-safe, not having too many people working on it at once, and working in short shifts.
The event on Sunday was great. I spoke, Dennis Powell [president of the Berkshires NAACP] spoke about the origins of Black Lives Matter. Danny Lipson and his band performed, and Michael Whitney Brown invited singer Wanda Houston to perform with him.
This summer I’ve been interning for the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative, working with the director, Diane Pearlman, scheduling things and writing grants. I like media and film, (but also political science and French), so it’s been an eye-opening experience, and nice watching Diane run her company.
Last year during my first semester at Skidmore I did the London program for freshmen. It was the best experience I’ve ever had. I came back to campus but after six weeks we were all sent home. They want us all back on campus by August 24. I feel nervous about going back.
I was born in Tanzania, where I was the youngest of nine children In a very poor family. I probably would have been married off when I came of age. But my [American] parents used to travel to Tanzania a lot, and got to know my family. They offered to adopt me without blocking my family there. I have gone back to Tanzania and try to get there every other year or so. I love living in Great Barrington – it’s such a beautiful town.
