The Goddess Professor Speaks

One hundred years ago today, white Tulsa citizens stormed into the Greenwood district of Tulsa and began attacking Black citizens. Like many incidents like these throughout American history, it started when a Black man was accused of doing something to a white girl/woman. I say "something," because it's still unclear what happened on the elevator where the "something" allegedly happened. One hundred years ago today, the Tulsa Massacre began. It would end only a day later ( fortunately just one day because it could’ve been much worse had it lasted longer) once the National Guard was called in, but after hundreds of Black people had been injured, thousands of Black people made homeless due to their homes be burned and destroyed, and an untold number of Black people killed. Untold numbers. Hmm. Some estimates say as high as 300 people were killed. Some records seriously lowball that number, but it's hard to do an accurate counting of the dead when their kille...

As I read " The Novel Frugality " in Vox last night, I couldn't help but think that this "new frugality due to corona" is in large part only experienced by people who have never had to struggle in their lives--apart from maybe Ramen-fueled college years. I'll be perfectly honest, my first thought was "awww, look. Wealthy folks and/or wypipo are joining the rest of the world and being less wasteful. That's cute." People who either grew up struggling or had parents who grew up struggling, and thereby maintained those struggling-life habits, and passed those habits on likely already had habits that prepared us for this. My parents grew up struggling and passed on those habits. My dad lived as a sharecropping family for a brief time as a child. (Then they got the fuck on down because they weren't dumb and no, just fucking no!) One of the most mind-blowing stories I've never forgotten from my dad was that when he was a kid, he and 3 siblin...

A friend posted this article on FB yesterday: " First Trailer for HBO's Lovecraft Country Blends Jim Crow Horrors with Supernatural Monsters ." I instantly watched the trailer, got excited, then instantly paused. I was hella excited to see Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Courtney B. Vance, and Michael K. Williams in a new show in which Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams are the producers. I had to look up Misha Green. She's badass too! She was the creator and writer for Underground and writer for some eps of one of fave shows: SOA . My excitement was on reserve after I watched the trailer because the show (taken from a book of the same name) puts black people in the Jim Crow South in peril from both racists (actual evil monsters) AND fantastical beasts (literary monsters). My first thoughts: "Damn! Wasn't racism, hatred, discrimination, terror, violence, and unpunished, state-sanctioned murder at the hands of racist people and systems monstrous enough? We gotta add movie mon...

The post below was written in 2015, but never posted. (Not sure why.) Goodness, has the world changed in those 4 years. Now, our "president"--45--and EVEN more police brutality and racial bullshit situations have forced us to talk about what we have avoided for far too long. The below post represented a turning point for me in what topics I use for class. I'm glad I made that turn. I now actively work to decolonize the classroom and reiterate bell hooks' call to use transgressive teaching. Join me. From https://www.flickr.com/photos/collegelibrary/10859112445 For the first time in too many years to count, I've decided to use articles in my classes that openly discuss race. I purposely selected " The Topics Dystopian Films Won't Touch " by Imran Siddiquee and a response to that article titled " Why The Hunger Games  Is about Racism " by Alissa Wilkinson because both articles focused on a book and film series that most students nowadays...

Yesterday was the day the U.S. observes the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for 2019. I've always been rather annoyed with how much the safe-negro version of Dr. King is trotted out on the day he's memorialized each year, and folks strip out the more raw, realer, in your face, often uncomfortable. statements from him. We so easily quote pieces of his " I Have a Dream " speech, but pay little attention to his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech--despite the fact that that speech lost him some support AND was given one year to the day of his assassination. What abo ut his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech--literally given the night before he was assassinated ? Too often, we look back at Civil Rights leaders who have become cultural icons and sanitize them down to a more palatable version of who they were in their life. This isn't only reserved for cultural leaders and icons. It happens upon d...

I've been away from blogging for quite some time, but I think it's time I get back to it. A LOT has happened since I was away. Lost an amazing president. One whose Administration will forever shape my life. Gained a new, insane president of questionable intelligence and allegiance. Learned of advances in technology. Realized the entire world seems to be going to shit all at the same time as democracy seems to die a little more each day. Accepted that my small humans are growing less small by the day. Lost some loved ones. Gained some new friends. Shed some toxicity. Gained new insights about me, the world, our places in it. Seen some kick-ass movies and shows. Learned some new languages--well, that's always a work in progress. Above all, I'm grappling with how fleeting life can be and how important it is to take the victories as they come and to gather your pebbles of joy and celebration and hold on to them, so you can take them out to remind you of the go...

The stage after the assassination. The circles are bullet holes. Fifty years ago today, Brother Minister Malcolm X stood before a crowded room in the Audubon Theatre and Ballroom to speak. Some time after he began speaking, someone yelled, "Nigger, get your hand out my pocket." A ruckus began, the bodyguards moved towards the commotion and in the distraction and confusion, several assassins approached the podium and shot down Brother Minister Malcolm X. In my plans to blog about lesser known Black Americans and their contributions, Malcolm X doesn't quite fit squarely into that category. He's well known. People know his name even if they aren't really sure what he stood for. There's a movie about his life. He's often held up in contrast to Dr. Martin L. King. Although he's not considered a "safe negro" like the other blacks who are discussed ad naseum year after year in attempts to "honor" February and Black History Month, h...

Recently, I read an article that claimed that Alberta King (Dr. Martin Luther King's mother) was assassinated too. She was shot by a mentally unstable person while playing the organ at her church. While this information is incorrect (yes, she was murdered but not assassinated), the larger point of the article was that despite the author's parents purposely ensuring that he was well acquainted with Black Historical figures, by and large, the activists were men and the women were mostly artists--writers, poets, playwrights, singers, etc. In working on this series of Remember the Past posts, I'm recalling all sorts of history lessons I was fortunate to receive throughout my youth. As I read that article, I realized that my lessons were not painted in that way so that the activists and fighters were mostly men and the women were in essence, the artsy supporting roles. From age 6 until 15 (with a few years absence), I was fortunate enough to participate in a play at my church...

I recently watched this video of Samuel L. Jackson describing his childhood in Chattanooga, TN. In this video, Jackson recalls going to work with his grandfather as a child and his grandfather being called "boy" by the white men who worked in the real estate office his grandfather cleaned. His grandfather called them "Mr" So-and-so, but they called his grandfather "boy." His grandfather also scolded Jackson about looking the men in their eyes when he talked with them and frequently asking them questions.  Conversing with and asking questions of whites wasn't something blacks were allowed to do. Even as a child, Jackson realized there was something odd about the dynamic between the two sets of men. The white men were called "mister" by his grandfather (and other blacks) while the white men were allowed to call the black men "boy." Boy. Mister. I've heard my own tales of the word "boy" my whole life. My own fat...

Family illnesses and life falling down around me has delayed my posts. Goodness have I got to catch up!  In the meantime, allow this next Remember the Past post to introduce you to Henrietta Lacks: The Unwitting Mother of Immortal Cells Thanks to efforts of writers, some  scientists, some  doctors, and Mrs. Lacks family after  they found out, Henrietta Lacks now receives the proper acknowledgement that she deserves. In life , Lacks was sadly not much different from other people of her era--lots of siblings, married young, produced lots of babies, died of illness at a young age. However, in death , although completely unknown to her family for TWENTY years after her death, Lacks' cells (taken from her without her knowledge or permission by George Otto Gey) would become the first human immortal cell line for medical research: HeLa Cells. Lacks grew up in the shadows of slavery in Virginia. After her mother died in 1924, her father parceled Lacks and h...

Yes, I'm a day behind, but here's to it... I dedicate this post to my wonderful, brilliant niece who might  be taking a new interest in history, and that makes me even prouder on so many levels. Today, I'll introduce you to Les Gens de Couleur Libres (The Free People of Color). Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape Painting by Agostino Brunias Some years back, a cousin asked had I seen the film Feast of All Saints.  I had not. She proceeded to tell me of the plot of the movie wherein the Les Gens de Couleur Libres--the Free People of Color-- living in New Orleans were an entire class of people living in the slave state of Louisiana before  the Civil War ended.  My mind was blown. I'd never heard of these people. I was mad that I had not, but I instantly wanted to know all I could. Growing up, I always knew there were Blacks scattered throughout the country prior to 1863 and 1865 who were free through various means--buying t...

Hopefully, you had a chance to read my first post in this Remember the Past series; it was about Dr. Charles Drew. In this next post, I'm going to introduce you to Elizabeth Keckley: The First Lady's Seamstress and Confidante . Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave in Virginia in 1818. She became a seamstress and made dresses for the women of the area. Through her work as a seamstress, she was able to purchase her and  her son's freedom in 1855. In D.C., she made beautiful dresses for the socialites. Her reputation for style, flair, and expert fit helped her score the ultimate client: First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, who was known as a clotheshorse. (It's believed that she overspent her 1861 clothes stipend by $6,000 .) Keckley ended up becoming more than just FLOTUS Lincoln's dressmaker; she became a friend and confidante.  The death of both women's sons within several months of one another helped bring them even closer. After President Lincoln was assass...

Yesterday, I started my Remember the Past series with the intent to highlight lesser-known Black Americans during this February.  My first post is about Dr. Charles Drew, the Father of Blood Banks. However, shortly after posting that first entry, I discovered that February 1 is Langston Hughes' birthday.  Hughes is obviously well known and studied in many high school classes, so he doesn't quite fit into my intended theme for Remember the Past, BUT I had to commemorate his birthday, esp. since he's one of my favorite poets.  I've been exposed to Hughes' work since middle school, so it wasn't a big surprise that I'd choose to do extensive research projects on him during grad school. When thinking of my admiration for Hughes, his work, and the impression it left on my life, words fail me.  So, I'll just say Happy Birthday Mr. Hughes! I'll leave you with one of poems that had a very lasting impression on me. Let America Be America Again ...

As discussed in this post , I intend to do posts about Black Americans' throughout the month of February. Beyond February, I intend to post about historical figures. This is the first post. Charles Drew: The Father of Blood Banks Dr. Charles Drew was a doctor and surgeon who developed ways to store blood plasma in blood banks. I chose him first because the story of his life and death left an indelible impression on the 6 year old me. I now know the story I learned of his death is a myth (explained below), but his life's work and its contribution to life today is still VERY impressive. During high school and college, Drew excelled in many sports; the sports helped him attend college. He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts. After receiving his B.S. degree, he worked as a biology teacher at Morgan State University (then Morgan College) in Baltimore, MA. After two years at Morgan, he attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He excelled in his studies, and...

As I've described in other posts recently, I've been a student of history, esp. Black American History, since I was barely in elementary school. However, in recent years, I (like many others, such as Morgan Freeman ) have begun to question why we should have one month designated to one particular race's history--even if it is my race. Why shouldn't we study all races all the time ? My questions stem from my anger over the fact that children in most American schools are getting a piss-poor education in history, period, full stop, end of. So many of my students have no tangible, working knowledge of so many things of history. Even fully grown adults who are intelligent in so many other ways lack knowledge of history and frequently, the desire to even learn (even if they admit they know they should know). Ted Gup complained about this in his article "So Much for the Information Age." Each February, most schools trot out the same old figures of Black History...

I used to hate that I was from Memphis (and loathe  that I'm from the South). As a child, I felt ashamed that my city was the place that killed Dr. King and took that wonderful, transformative man from his family and from the world. As I got older and began to understand the full weight of American history, especially the history of Blacks in this country, my shame often turned to anger. As I aged, I understood better that my city  didn't kill Dr. King but evil citizens who were in  my city killed Dr. King. And while there is plenty of evidence to suggest collusion with city leaders (which would suggest that the city did  help to kill him) and even the United States was found to be responsible for his death , the city itself did not kill Dr. King, and the assassination didn't stop his work. The more I studied his assassination and history, I also realized that if it hadn't have been Memphis, it would've been another city. It just so happened that it was my city. I s...