The Goddess Professor Speaks

" She's 83 " has been trending on Twitter and that's a damn shame. (As of this writing, Lady Hussey is still trending.) This relates to the racist, offensive encounter between Susan Hussey and Ngozi Fulani at an event hosted by the current Queen Consort Camilla, King Charles wife (former Duchess of Cornwall and former, former longtime side-piece). For too long, we've let age excuse shitty behavior--well, let me clarify, we've let age excuse shitty behavior from white people, even when they were WELL past an age at which they should've known better and even when we've allowed them to be called "kids" when they were in their 30s and 40s . I reject that and I call it bullshit. 1) because I have my own racist encounter as to why, and 2) no other race is allowed to use age as an excuse for being shitty or offensive. Years ago, while at a professional thing (I won't name what, but those who know me and were there know what.), a friend and I and...

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...

In recent days, many of my white colleagues/friends have been afforded the amazing opportunity of either getting on the wasted doses vaccination lists or being considered as educators by local places offering vaccines. (Wasted dose lists are pharmacy waiting lists that you can add your name to and they will call people at the end of the day if they have doses that will go to waste if they aren't used.) I'm ELATED that so many people I know who have largely adhered to all the covid protocols and thereby been mostly locked away in their houses, have been able to secure vaccine doses OR an appointment to get one soon. I immediately considered jumping on this bandwagon, and then I reconsidered. I feared that once I, a Black woman, showed up with my work ID that suddenly higher ed faculty would not be considered educators--despite EIGHT of my white colleagues already getting the vax, as of this writing. Or that I would be questioned as being a higher ed faculty (people are often sur...

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...

Virginian politics has been imploding for about a week now due to blackface AND sexual assault allegations. Gov. Ralph Northam initially said "Sorry. That was wrong." Then , "nope, wasn't me." And lastly , "hell no, I won't go." Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has denied allegations of sexual assault made by two women, and has asked for a full investigation. AG Mark Herring pre -confessed to wearing blackface when he saw how hot the water was getting for Northam. So far, no one has resigned. The citizens are split on whether some, all, or none of them should resign. And all the damn chickens are in the yard roosting their asses off. Although controversial as hell at the time (and still is for some), Malcolm X's statement after JFK's assassination about chickens coming home to roost has plenty of relevancy here. His statement seemed callous at the time, but in a world where the U.S. supported and sanctioned violence, murders, coups, etc. ...

I finished watching Black Earth Rising last night. More about that later, but one thing that I kept thinking every episode was how beautiful Michaela Coel  is. Her beautiful brown skin, amazingly shaped eyes, toned af body, and prominent African features. This was highlighted all the more because of the subject of the show--the Rwandan Genocide--and how many beautiful black/African people were in the show. https://blackexcellence.com/?s=benefits+of+melanin+rich+skin Then I awoke this morning to a post in an FB group asking for POC (people of color) to comment about how they'd feel if this poster was hung in their child's biology class in a school that is 3/4 predominantly white that has had racial tensions, and the bio teacher is also white. There are so many things to unpack here. First, it's interesting that the poster offers scientifically supported reasons to celebrate and love melanated/melanin-rich skin. Note: I'm going to use melanated because I love t...

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...