Julia Weber
Assistant Editor
This season, Sean Hawkins — affectionately known at Chautauqua Institution as “Cousin Sean” — assumes the role of executive director at Chautauqua’s African American Heritage House. Also taking on a new leadership role is Kwame Alexander, former Michael I. Rudell Director of Literary Arts, who was appointed the inaugural distinguished fellow at the AAHH.
“We’ve had a mission over the past two years to really engage with the Black community and make sure that people felt welcome, felt safe and felt like there was an opportunity to just enjoy their time at Chautauqua. This is an opportunity for us to do that in a formal manner,” Alexander said.
Hawkins explained that during the off season, he was initially approached by AAHH board member Ted First, who proposed the idea of assuming the executive director role.
“‘It sounds good,’ I said, ‘but let me call my cousin, because I lean on him for everything that I’ve been doing lately,’” Hawkins recalled.
The new leadership comes following the death of longtime Executive Director Erroll Davis.
“Erroll always represented [the AAHH]. He was the face of this place; when you thought of this place, you thought of Erroll Davis,” Alexander said.
Although Hawkins never met Davis, he said he has been learning about the legacy he leaves through hearing stories from others who did know him.
“The Bible says that a good man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. Erroll definitely left a lot of footprints,” Hawkins said. Hawkins explained that each memory of Davis that others share with him makes him feel closer to Davis.
“I get to do my best in trying to press forward with the torch that he left,” Hawkins said.
Alexander said he intends to build on the community-building work he has already done in other roles.
“I’ve had a lot of different jobs here at Chautauqua and met a lot of different people. I’ve been inspired by my four years here, and hopefully the work that I’ve done has had some sort of impact on the community,” Alexander said. “I think this is a way for Sean and I to concentrate that inspiration and that impact in one location with art, with music, with conversation all centered around the African American experience.”
This summer, the AAHH will introduce both new programming and a fundraising campaign for an extension that will be added to the building.
The AAHH will commence its Innovator-in-Residence series, in which an individual — perhaps a writer, comedian, scholar, chef or otherwise — will make an appearance at the AAHH and engage in a conversation, performance or lecture with the community. The AAHH will also host pop-up events throughout the summer; these include a celebration of life for Chautauquans who have died in the past year, hosted at 12:15 p.m. on June 30 at Alumni Hall.
For Alexander, the goal is to create a welcoming, open space where people can convene and converse.
“… My vision is that that door will be open, that the lights will be on, that there will be music here, that you’ll feel the energy,” he said.
Ultimately, Hawkins and Alexander want to build on the legacy of the leaders who preceded them.
“We want to take what they’ve done, learn from them and build on it — make it that much better — to lay the groundwork for the next person who is going to come in at some point and build on what we’ve done [and] have even better ideas,” Alexander said.
