Sacramento State is featuring a photography exhibit that tells its own story.

“We Stand on Their Shoulders,” a project done by Sacramento State Professor Emeritus of Business Law Felicenne Ramey, is being shown on campus to spread the advice to younger generations.

The exhibit is being displayed in the Library lobby until March 15 and is open during Library hours.

Her exhibit presents photographs of elder men and women accompanied by the significant messages Ramey has garnered while interviewing them.

One of the messages Ramey learned from her subjects is, “Get qualified so that when that opportunity comes along you can participate in it.” Ramey said these tokens of wisdom are worth passing along to students at Sac State.

“There’s a lot of wisdom out there,” Ramey said. “I can always find African-American women older than 80, (but) if these women live more than 90 years, (and men living longer than 80), I know they have a lot to tell.”

She said this idea prompted her to explore the minds of older people.

Ramey said she grew up in a segregated neighborhood but values the close-knit relationships she developed with friends and their families.

“My grandparents died before I was born,” she said. “When my friends’ grandparents would visit, we all called them grandma and grandpa … they would bring me treats like they would for their own grandchildren.”

Ramey said the stories her friends’ grandparents told of the times surrounding their upbringing astounded her.

“I would constantly sit under them and listen to their stories … I just couldn’t imagine what it was like to live in a time in which colored people weren’t allowed to sit here nor there,” Ramey said.

Ramey said this experience enabled her to realize what an enlightening resource these wise people were.

One message she gained from the interviews of married couple Clyde Grimes, 87, and Minnie Grimes, 84, was to not resist change but embrace it.

“They talked about going with the flow of things … and to take change and make an opportunity out of it,” Ramey said.

Minnie said she and her husband are close friends with the Rameys and they share many of the same interests.

“We met them in 1980 when my husband Clyde was appointed California deputy state architect and they attended a welcome party given in our honor,” Grimes said. “We soon found we enjoyed each other’s company and became fast friends.”

The Grimeses said they were happy to take part in Ramey’s project and learned a valuable lesson.

“It’s a great idea to record the images and stories of older people,” she said. “Most of us don’t think about recording our experiences because we don’t tend to focus on the time limitations we all face.”

Ramey said she has always had an affinity for older people and has always been a passionate admirer of the arts. Between her job and volunteer work, she said she did a lot of traveling; which exposed her to an array of arts and allowed her to network and connect with people.

She began teaching at Sac State part time in 1975 as a professor for the College of Business Administration and taught for 28 years. She then worked her way up to dean of the College of Business where she stayed for six years.

“(While traveling,) I would go to a lot of art exhibits and many of those art exhibits were of people, typically African-American children,” Ramey said.

Ramey said she wondered why she never saw exhibits of older African-Americans, and decided to change it.

Ramey considers herself an amateur photographer and never leaves without her camera by her side.

“Before I travel, I take my camera and ask for people who know somebody,” she said.

Ramey began her work in 2009. She asks her friends if they know any potential subjects for her work, living in the location she is traveling to, and is put into contact with them.

“My friends and the people that have introduced me to these older people have been (very) generous with their time,” Ramey said. “The fact that I’m retired lets me have more time.”

She interviews all her subjects in their home while taking photographs.

“I want them to talk and not be conscious of their pictures,” Ramey said. “The interviews stimulate them to talk.”

Senior mechanical engineering major Joey Santana said he felt encouraged by the exhibit to connect with the older generation.

“I want to meet these people,” Santana said. “I would talk to them … they seem to have something to say.”

The seniors emphasized the importance of living without stress or worry.

“A 103-year-old woman told me, ‘What can you do about it? Nothing. Let it flow,'” Ramey said.

Ramey hopes the exhibit being displayed on campus will enable younger generations to open their eyes to the wisdom and feel encouraged to talk to their elders.

“We stand on their shoulders,” she said. “They did a lot of hard work to make things possible for us … now I will have made it easier for people who come behind me.”

Alex Slavas can be reached at [email protected].