Interview with Diane Habia Hill, April 9, 2022

Okay, today is, this is Dan Kerr and I am here at Paul Robeson Memorial event in Petworth on April 9th. 2022. Do I have permission to record?

Yes. Yes.

Would you mind telling us your name?

My name is Diane Hill and I go by Habia.

Habia, could you tell us a bit about your connection to this community?

Well, I used to perform with Uzikee's wife, Januwa, I used tp model with her. That's how I got to know Januwa and Uzikee, but I actually grew up in the Petworth area. I grew up as a little girl, on Kansas Avenue. I went to Barnard. I went to Petworth, which was down the street, and I actually lived up on 613 Upshur street, for about 10, 15 years.

That's great, could you tell us a little bit about, uh, excuse me, uh what the meaning of this community is to you?

Well, this has always been a very family-oriented community. Before they started doing a lot of, you knoe, re-development, just a lot of homes. We families knew each other, we knew our neighbors. We had a lot of corner stores, you know, that are no longer in the area. So it brought a sense of community because we meet each other for the recreational center down the street. We meet there after school. Our church was in the area. So and then the families that close so we will walk back and forth to our families homes.

That's great. And you did mention something that I think I got a follow-up on.

Yes.

You said you used to be a model?

Yes

Could you tell us a little bit about that?

Yes. I started modeling with Januwa, I was six months pregnant with my daughter. She is now 41. So that's how long ago it was and Januwa and Uzikee had just started, had moved to the area and I met her at some, I think we were at Cramton Auditorium, and we introduced ourselves and she was looking for models and I started modeling with her. I didn't start right then. It was later when she ran into me and she asked if I would model for a luncheon she was doing for Marion Barry's wife and just so happened to..she didn't know that I was six months pregnant and then it was nice because Effi Berry was also pregnant and it's wonderful, my daughter and Chris would wind up to go on to school together, they went to Wilson High School together.

That's terrific. And could you...okay, I'm going to ask you a couple questions that you didn't talk about but what did...what was...what was the significance between fashion and community for you?

Oh my goodness, we grew up in...Well, I think we grew up with fashion. You know, we grew up with play clothes, we wear our school clothes and then our church clothes or social clothing. And so, I grew up with a family of seamstresses. My mom was a seamstress. My grandma was a tailor so fashion was it for us. We were always, you know, we dressed, we made, actually, we made a lot about things especially when we went out. Going out in clothes were made at home. Yes.

That's terrific and what have been some of those changes that you that you were participating in? Obviously, that was a significant moment.

Oh yeah, very significant because we color coded things, we'd go find the earrings to match our outfits. That was the era too. Even with our shoes. We would were shoes and we got a taps put on the bottom of our shoes. We wouldn't wear certain clothing, that was back when woman were getting darts in their clothing and get the clothes taken in. So, it was a certain way we look when we went out. Yes. Yes. We didn't have things that were hanging off us. They had to be fitted.

And tell us, uh, again I know we didn't talk about this before but what about... tell me a little bit about the meaning of the work that Januwa was doing with fashion?

Oh, wow, just a, I also used to dance. So I used to dance with Brother Ah and it was a creative dance. Just dancing from the spirit. Whatever you feel, it wasn't choreograph necessary dance. So, just dancing to the music and so meeting Januwa with her fashion's were more, she called it a fashion art, it was art form. And so we would put the garments on, we would take on the garment. We would just come to life. You just, you become the movement of the garment, you know, so the fashion, the colors, the Afrocentric part of it, but it was a blend of Afrocentric, plus it's African people, you know, it even clothes that we wore, everything wasn't necessarily African fabric, but just a design, you know, so I think what's a nice combination of the artistic side. The clothes we just normally wore and then the African blend. Yes.

That's terrific and on the movement side, on the dance side, are there ways in which you saw it as inspiration from African continent?

Oh, yes, because Brother Ah was... his music was of Nature. And so a a lot of his music was very soothing. It was a lot of just healing music too, but it was also very just natural, uh, nature movement. It sounds you would hear in nature, a lot of this music. Yes.

That's terrific. And how do you...in terms of the moment again. I guess we're thinking, This would have been the 70s. we're talking about?

Well 70's.. matter of fact, I graduated school in 1970. I met Januwa probably...a little later on...probably like 78 because my daughter was born in 80, so I'm thinking around 78, 1978.

And was that.. Was that scene, with dance, the fashion, and the modeling did that pull you...did that give you a sense of community?

Oh definitely, because we were a community. We're just as good group of people. Even with the dance. I used to dance with a company called Wosay And just seeing people that...from here, from America, born here and taking on that kind of culture. The dance, the African dance. The clothing. So Yes, I would say it was wonderful blend, and the community was just such a warm community and we were all learning together, you know, learning our African side. So yes, it was a nice blend of culture and to see some of you may want to school with and now see them like part of his culture. So that was really, really good, yes.

That's terrific. You talked earlier about your connection to Petworth. How did that African cultural movement kind of resonate in Petworth?

Well, I would say, Because.. what I just... I would say in terms of African community because I went to Petworth, I just think that the whole thing, Each one teach one. I said it because when we went to school, we would meet each other. I got friends and the further up Upshur, but would stop by my house. We're stopping, picking up everybody as we went to school. That was a nice sense of community. We wait for each other after school. So we walk home together. Unless it was just late, we would never walk by ourselves. So I think that was a wonderful sense of community. Also, back then we used to come home for lunch. We actually went home for lunch. So that was another sense of going...leaving school walking together... we just did a lot of things together, like Rex said, a lot of times. We just did things together because we knew our neighbors. Are we all live in the same neighborhood before the kids start getting bussed in different areas. So we knew our our friends in the neighborhood.

That's terrific. I'm going to ask you one other question because your earrings are so beautiful. How about jewelry and your connection to jewlery?

Oh, you know, I love jewelry. I'm an earing lady. I love jewelry, especially earrings. I think earrings are... they are... they tell a big statement for us. You know, in terms of how we wear them to match our outfits, but I got into um, like I said in the early seventies when I graduated high school is when I got more Afrocentric and uh and wearing my fro and, you know, just a longer earrings, you know, we were a little more conservative when I was younger, but then I got to my own style, yes.

That's great. And and do you know, what do you work with artists and our Jewelers or make jewlery?

Well, um, my ex was...he passed on, but he was a jeweler. And so the jewlery that he made was very cultural. Very ethnic. Very Afrocentric. Yes. Yes.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

Just to say, just to be here in the community, I don't live right in the city, I lived further up, Georgia Avenue now, but just to still see the vibrance of the area, of the Petworth area, and to see that even with Uzikee, to see that this, this, great work of art that he's done is right here in this community. I think it's wonderful because it was, it still is I'm sure, but just a very family-oriented neighborhood.

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

Thank you. Thank you, okay.