Ongoing Update-The Jena Six

***For summary/analysis of the circumstances surrounding the Jena (Louisiana) Six, read this by the Friends of Justice. ***

***From the Alexandria Town Talk (6/27)***

JENA -- The prosecution and defense rested their cases today in the trial of Mychal Bell, 17, charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same in connection with a Dec. 4 fight at Jena High School.

...

If convicted on the charges he now faces, Bell could be sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison.

The trial resumes tomorrow. Bell's attorney called no witnesses. Is that strange?

***Update from the Alexandria (LA) Town Talk (6/26)***

All-white jury selected in Bell trial

JENA -- An all-white jury of five women, one man and a female alternate was selected today in the trial of Mychal Bell...

This gives me a sick feeling.

***Update from the Monroe (LA) News-Star (6/26)***

Until Monday, Bell, Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Robert Bailey Jr. had all been charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same crime. Those charges remain for all of the boys except Bell, who also faces a conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery.

There is also an unnamed juvenile charged, whose court records aren't public.

This contradicts what I read on the Friends of Justice blog, so I will have to do some more digging once I get off. The original post and updates are below. ***From what I've read in other papers, I believe only Bell's charges have been reduced.***

Two of the black students are to go on trial Tuesday on the charges, which supporters say are way out of line.

"The detective investigating told me it would be simple battery," Bailey said. "My son has never been in trouble before. He's never done anything wrong, now he's facing this. How can that be?"

...

The two facing trial this week are Theodore Shaw and Mychale Bell. Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and Carwin Jones face trial on the same charges, but no date has been set.

Shaw and Bell, have been jailed since their arrests, unable to make $90,000 bond.

More from the Times-Picayune (6/25).

***Update from Alexandria's Town Talk (6/25):

JENA -- LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters this afternoon reduced the charges faced by Mychal Bell -- one of the six Jena High School students charged in a Dec. 4 fight at the school -- to second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit second-degree aggravated battery.

He, along with five other students charged in the fight -- together called the Jena Six -- had faced charges of attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.

Earlier this morning, a plea agreement for a lesser charge was turned down by another member of the Jena Six, Theodore Shaw, who is on trial this week in the courtroom of 28th Judicial District Court Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr.

Shaw's attorney, Tim Shumate, tried to persuade him to plead guilty to aggravated assault, a felony, against the wishes of Shaw's father, Theodore McCoy.

"We are confident to go to trial," McCoy said. "They are trying to avoid trial because they don't have a case."

An ***Update*** from the Friends of Justice blog (6/25):

So this case goes to trial, beginning with jury selection tomorrow. All defendants now face the reduced charge of aggravated assault.

...

But aggravated assault is still a felony charge, and even if the defendants escape with probated sentences their lives will never be the same. Any minor slip-up could land them behind bars. A college education will become illusive because felons are denied all forms of federal assistance. Most decent jobs are unattainable for felons. And so it goes. We are calling the District Attorney to drop the charges to simple battery–the same charge filed against the boy who attacked defendant Robert Bailey at a dance short days before the incident at the school. Then there is the issue of the all-white jury that will almost certainly be selected tomorrow. We aren’t where we need to be, but we have traveled miles from where we were when this fight began–and in the right direction.

This is what worries me, as well. I see this all the time, everyday--young men who are deemed "unemployable" because of a felony conviction. In my area (here) about the only places they can go for work are the poultry processing plants. If they can't hang with the work there...

The post also mentions that "CNN will broadcast its Jena feature on Paula Zahn’s NOW program this evening between 7:00 and 8:00 (central)." I missed it, of course, but am going to dig around the CNN website now.

Tagged--8 Things about Me...

...my favorite subject!! And the lovely ladies Zan, ComebackNikki, and JustMe have given me a reason to write about it.

Rules:

• I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.


• Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.


• People who are tagged need to write their own blog post about their eight things and post these rules.


• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.


• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Random Facts:

1. Sometimes, I close my eyes tightly and try to make myself see colors.


2. One thing that I am ashamed of about my life is that in the area of consumerism, my reality doesn't fit my politics/ideology. I am materialistic. I live beyond my means. Way beyond. Somedays, I sit there waiting for my precariously balanced world to tumble down around my ears.


3. Re: my parents: My dad and I have a closer relationship than my mom and I. I feel tremendously guilty about that, given the sacrifices my mom has made.


4. My son is developing a really dry sense of humor, a bit like mine. We already have a "look" we share when we encounter ridiculousness. That makes me happy.


5. I am highly suspicious of AT&T. How come, two or three years ago, AT&T was my cell provider? And then I HAD to switch to Cingular and buy a new phone? And now, Cingular is AT&T again. I don't understand. Something ain't right about that to me.


6. Despite grumblings and protests, I seem to have an affinity for working with children. the ones in my family, from nieces and nephews to distant cousins, seem to really love me. The little ones are always asking to spend the night, the older ones always want me to take them somewhere. I have an affectionate relationship with most of my ex-students, as well. My mother told me Sunday morning that I reminder her of herself--the kids in the neighborhood always wanted to come to our house when we were growing up--my mom was genuinely kind to them.


7. I am back working at mastering (hah!) the art of soul food cooking. I'm currently focused on desserts. Last week, I made a not-too-bad peach cobbler (I cheated on the crust, though). Before the summer is over, I will have conquered pecan pie (which I don't eat), sweet potatoe pie (which I only eat if it is baked in a shallow pan without a crust--a sweet potato pudding, I suppose), pound cake (okay, I basically got that one; it's just too involved), and a red velvet cake.


8. Someone asked me recently what classes I'd like to teach. I hadn't thought about is--as a new PhD, I assumed the U.S. History survey would be it for me for a while. But, I've decided, if I had my druthers (hah!), this would be my line up (in no particular order):

• Southern Labor, ~1890s to the present


• African Americans, 1877 to the present


• The U.S. (anti-) Welfare System since 1945


• Women in United States History


• The U.S. since 1945

Mmm-kay. I tag Julie, Quinn, Evanne, Mathochist, Vox, Billie, Turtlebella, and No Snow Here.

Carnivals

I have been remiss, bad, just-plain-out-of-it when it comes to linking (and reading) the carnivals I usually keep up with.

One I'm not behind on: Fire Fly has the second Carnival of Radical Action.

The Carnival Against Sexual Violence comes out on the 1st and 15th of each month. Edition # 25 is up at abyss2hope.

The History Carnival is published on the 1st of each month. The current edition (#53) is at the American Presidents blog. The next wil be at Dr. Goetz's place on July 1. (I just noticed she's been blogging for five years. Wow!)

The Carnival of GRADual Progress (which offered me so much hope and support!!) is held monthly, around the 15th. The current edition is at When do you think you'll be done? (Isn't that THE most annoying question?). Next up, around July 15, at Fumbling towards Geekdom.

Help A Sista Out

I want a new layout for the blog. I want sidebars so that I can post permanent info, like the pseudonyms of friends and families and links to books that I think you ought to explore or that I reference (for when I get all academic on y'all's ass! :-). But I'd also like to be able to post temporary announcements and such. Who can I turn to?

Thing two--I want to do an academic/history post but nothing is catching my mush-for-a-brain right now. Can you think of any topics to which I can bring some historical light?

I'm bored, but serious. I need motivation.

Happy Birthday!

To my baby girl. She's five today. Y'all, she's going to kindergarten in the fall!!!

I am overwhelmed.

Randomosity

• I have one student, bless her heart (yes that's a southern epithet), who asks me the most minute, detailed questions. I want to pull out my hair. It's not that I mind saying "I don't know," but that I resent saying it to questions like "What new Roman technologocal developments allowed them to beat the Carthaginian navy?" (I'm not kidding).
• My cab driver the weekend of the conference (was that really a month ago?!!) was Sudanese. He asked me had I ever been to Africa and I said no. He asked me did I want to go and I said, "Yes, I feel like I have to." He then asked me had I heard of Sudan. I nodded. He sighed and siad, "You've heard of Darfur?" I told him yes. Then, I asked, "Have you been to the area?" And he shut down on me, told me yes and it was somewhat bad, but it's getting better and that there is some new agreement that will end the trouble. I was stunned. The more I thought about it though, I began to wonder, what is it about nationalism that makes us dismiss and defend atrocities?
• Today, I heard some men inviting one of the history profs here to lunch. "Oh no," he said, "I'm on a budget, hence the fifteen cent ramen noodles." And I thought, "What the hell do you mean?!! The fat salary of a history prof won't rescue me from budgets and debt?" I had such high expectations. [/sarcasm]
• How invested in this world history class am I, that, when I jotted myself a note of what I wanted to include in this post, I wrote "Roman" noodles?
• I'm feeling all misty and stereotypically motherly today. My son is in Texas with my sister--he had to go to summer school for math. They come home every weekend and he always looks so sad on Sunday evenings when it's time to head back. Usually, I am the most unsypmathetic figure: "Next year, you're going to have to try. You're going to have to be responsible. Sorry you're missing all the summer fun!" But last night I got a bit teary when I talked to him and I missed him fiercely. He was all ready to get off the phone and I was asking the same questions in different ways. Ah, well.
• Belle will be 5 on June 21. Her mom is contemplating relaxing her hair. I started to elbow her in the face when she said that but 1) I've seen her fight two guys and beat the hell out of them and 2) I'm more of the "talk a lot of shit then say, 'just please don't hit my head or scratch my face,' school. We did talk about it though. Belle has excessively dry skin and we already have to wash her hair with medicated shampoo. On top of it, she has a temper and when she's mad, she pulls out her barettes or scratches her scalp until it bleeds. Her mom says it's getting harder to comb. To be fair, I don't comb her hair--I can't even make a straight part. I simply "brush it up" and reattach the barettes when she stays with me. But I don't think relaxing is the right answer.
• I love the camraderie between petit and bfp. It makes me feel good.
• Did elle ever say thanks to Quinn for all the links and book ideas for world history? Oh, nooooooo. elle is too shallow and self-absorbed. Thanks, friend.
• Zan tagged me. I'm getting to it!

Because I Missed Blog for Domestic Workers Day...

...and I promised my girl I would do it. And since she was nudged by my other blogmiga, I just have to take a break to talk about it.

I was going to write a semi-bitter post fueled by my experiences as the granddaughter and grandniece of women who worked as domestics and nannies--and I'll get to that in a minute. (though, BlackAmazon wrote something like I wanted to and hers is amazing).

But first, I looked around to see what other people were saying about domestic work. And though it is not connected to Blog for Domestic Workers Day, I saw this statement by Twisty at I Blame the Patriarchy:

Some women suggest that a marriage may be made tolerable with the introduction of a third party to muck out the filth. This bit of feudal reasoning, with its profoundly antifeminist essence, is problematic.

The implications of hiring a menial — always a woman — to perform low-status women’s drudgery suggest an unsophisticated grasp of feminist theory...

And so we see that marriage may be made palatable to women who view housework, rather than male privilege, as the primary agitator against equality in their relationships. To maintain the illusion that she can be married without simultaneously capitulating to the megatheocorporatocratic machine, the feminist wife cannot engage in stereotypical wifey-work behavior. Instead, she hires a surrogate drudge. Unfortunately, this merely demands that she oppress, in turn, women of a lower caste than herself, while doing nothing to address the power differential in her own relationship.

Good point, I think.

But hold up! Some of the readership disagree, using the tired tried and true observations:

"Cleaning as an activity does not make the 'underclass of women'; our attitude to women and women’s work makes the underclass."

"[W]hy are women the only ones guilt-tripped about being feudal exploiters?"

And more generally, "Since I am paying 73 bajillion cents an hour, how can I be exploiting anyone?!"

And I thought, something is being skirted, flirted, danced around here. Even the observation about women's work being undervalued = the reason domestic work is undervalued is missing a big point.

Which women's work is valued least of all? Who's being hired for this newly-fabulously remunerated, unexploited work? Twisty gets at it here. You see, this work is not being undervalued just because it is cast as women's work, but because it is cast as the work of women of color. And yes, white women have and do benefit from our assignment to low-status, low-paid work. From Dr. Evelyn Nakano Glenn, who expresses it much more eloquently:

White women may actually have a material interest in the continuing subordination of women of color in the workplace. To understand the contemporary divergence between the priorities and interests of White women and women of color, we must first understand the historic differences in their experiences as workers. A careful reading of the history of Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American women workers reveals a persistent racial division of "women's work." This division of labor has subjected women of color to special forms of exploitation, subordinating them to White women and ensuring that their labor benefits White women and their families.*

In other words, work may be divided by gender, but it's divided by race, as well, a significant factor to "overlook." From another article by Dr. Nakano Glenn:

In the first half of the [20th] century racial-ethnic women were employed as servants to perform reproductive labor in white households, relieving white middle-class women of onerous aspects of that work; in the second half of the century, with the expansion of commodified services (services turned into commercial products or activities), racial/ethnic women are disproportionately employed as service workers in institutional settings to carry out lower-level "public" reproductive labor, while cleaner white collar supervisory and lower professional positions are filled by white women.**

It's almost as if Dr. Nakano Glenn anticipated some of Twisty's readers' responses:

We may have to accept the idea that any policy to improve the lot of racial ethnic women may necessitate a corresponding loss of privilege or status for White women and may engender resistance on their part.

My point is, white women aren't just haplessly caught up in this unfair! capitalist! patriarchal! system that's got all us women down equally. They sustain it. They derive benefit from it. And not just the benefit of not troubling themselves with such menial work; in my experience, they derive a mental wage, a sense of "too good to do that work," or "generous me, I'm helping poor her!" or the ability to talk about domestic help and never once bring up issues of race and ethnicity.

And that is where my personal experience is, watching the outward expression of that mental wage. I hated, hated, hated that my grandmother and her sister were domestics.

Not because I was ashamed, but because of the way white people treated them and us.

Like never once saying, "I'm way younger than you; you don't have to call me ma'am!"

Or, giving my grandmother and aunt money, long after they'd retired, not because they didn't pay taxes for domestic help or because they objected to the fact that our government excluded domestic work from social insurance or because they appreciated the sacrifices my grandmother and her sister made. No, that money was proof that, just as their slaveholding ancestors argued, they took care of their negroes even after retirement!

Or, coming to their funerals and sitting on the front row with the immediate family because they had notions of their own importance. "Nanny raised us!" one of my aunt's "white children" exclaimed, then stood there regally as the family cooed and comforted her.

Whether or not hiring domestic help is exploitative is not solely a matter of how much you are willing to pay. Silly rabbits! The most common reasons for hiring--because you don't like housework and can afford to pay someone else to do the damnable stuff or your time can be better spent doing "more important" work... well, that reeks of privilege.

And before we label it as just the result of a patriarchal society's mandate that all women adhere to some standard of cleanliness that does all women an equal disservice (hah!)...

...why do certain women, who so radically dismiss so many other patriarchal demands, choose to abide by this one?
___________________________________
*"Cleaning Up/Kept Down: A Historical Perspective on Racial Inequality in
'Women's Work'," Stanford Law Review 43, no. 6 (1991): 1333-1356.

**"From Servitude to Service Work: Historical Continuities in the Racial Division of
Paid Reproductive Labor," Signs 18, no. 1 (1992): 1-43.

The Carnival for Radical Action

Note: The deadline for submissions is June 21st.

The second edition will be held at Fire Fly's. What it's all about:

The Carnival of Radical Action
Most of us are organizers or activists in our real lives. Or at the very least, we think about it an awful lot and wish we had the skills and/or knowledge to organize. But contrary to the images of protest that make front pages and cause our hearts to swell–actual organizing is not as easy as it looks–nor is it very glamorous.
More often than not, the process it takes to actually get to the glamorous protest part is boring, tedious, filled with infighting, or done by one or two overburdened people who haven’t quite figured out how to say no.
And yet, the organizing part is so vitally important to achieving liberation (whatever that may be). It was through tons and tons of grass roots organizing and hard work that the right managed to come to power in the U.S. the way it has. The Zapatistas and the U.S. based Civil Rights movement both also have a history of achieving goals towards liberation through grassroots organizing.
So how does one go about doing this grassroots organizing?
That’s what this carnival is all about. I will be accepting any posts/submissions that have anything to do with organizing on a grassroots level. Some topic ideas that you might feel inclined to think about:
How do you do radical leftist organizing in the Midwest [or wherever you are]? How do you confront racism/sexism/disableism/homophobia/classism etc within your group? How do you work with a community instead of on a community? How do you confront accessibility issues (that is, you’re all working class mothers and there’s rarely a time to meet or the site where you meet is not wheelchair accessible etc)? What’s been the major problem/setback your group has faced? How did it over come it? What has been a successful tactic in your organizing (for example, you found that taking pictures of violent cops and posting them online is more successful in stopping the abuse than reporting them to their superiors)? If you’re a life time activist, what are some problems you see today with organizing compared to when you first started? Or, if you’ve never organized before, write about why you never have.
This carnival will be about sharing strategies more than finding a “right” answer. In the world we face today where there are so many intersecting forms of oppression, one answer will not fit every community. But something that worked for one community might work for another if they alter it and adjust it to suit their own needs.

The deadline for submissions is June 21st.

Update on the Jena Six

A rally outside the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in support of the Jena Six:



And from Sylvia:

in an effort to rally up support among the netroots, Tom, an ally at his blog Automatic Preference, has started writing a petition for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the charges brought against the Jena Six for racial discrimination, incorporating other criminal justice situations in recent events that have showed indications of disproportionate charging and sentencing arrangements being given to African-American children and young adults. It’s his first time creating a petition, and he’s asking for assistance, input, and feedback. Please stop by and give him your support. The plan is after the petition is developed and established, the link will be e-mailed to the numerous grassroots organizations and national organizations involved to let them know that the AfroSphere and the progressive netroots are supporting their fight for justice for the Jena Six.

Update

World history is kicking this girl's ass!!! But, would I be deemed too much of a nerd if I admit that I'm enjoying it? And that I can now pronounce Pisistratus? And that I got my students to engage on different theories of why some early civilizations are "understudied?"

My students really got into the lecture on Sparta--one of them told me, "You should see 300." I started to direct him here. Indeed.

Today is BFL's mother's funeral, so I'm getting out of here momentarily. Up until yesterday, she was managing, with this effort that sort of showed in her face and in her words, to hold it all in. Primarily, she stays busy. We've had a hand in everything--picking out the coffin, the dress, finding people to dig the grave, answering the phone, preparing food for all the family that has come from out of town. But yesterday, she wasted some of the baby's milk and she started to cry. She called me and said, "People keep calling saying, 'If there's anything you need' and I want to tell them, I need my mama."

So, think of her, pray for her today.

And I'll be back shortly.

Allied Media Conference

First, there are some fabulous bloggers who want to go and I want you to help send 'em.

Fabulosa Mujer
Hermana Resist (donations can be made through her pay pal email: csdistro@gmail.com
Please Professor Black Woman
Black Amazon
The Primary Contradiction

Please think about donating!!!!

Second, an expanded look at the track sponsored by INCITE! at the conference, borrowed from Fab:

INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence Co-Sponsoring Track At the Allied Media Conference .

Here’s the track INCITE is co-sponsoring:
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AMC WOMEN OF COLOR / TRANS FOLKS OF COLOR TRACK:
Using Documentary to Organize Against Violence and Colonization
Presenter: Rosemary Gibbons, Boarding School Healing Project
A Century of Genocide in the Americas: The Residential School Experience is a short but powerful documentary about how Indian Residential Schools became a haven for institutionalized sexual abuse. The inspiration for the film comes from the First Nations survivors who have taken legal action against the institutions that perpetuated this destructive cycle; these are the very same institutions whose purpose and mandate was to “provide” for their well being. This video takes a historical look at how the systematic removal of First Nations children from their families and community not only made the them easy targets for pedophiles but also how these vile acts turned many of the victims into predators. The second half shows First Nations peoples taking legal action against not only the pedophiles, but also against the Canadian government and churches while at the same time using their traditional ways of healing in order to bring back joy and balance back within their own lives and also within their communities.
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NO! The Rape Documentary
Film screening followed by a discussion with Director Aishah Shahidah Simmons
Through testimonies from Black women survivors, commentaries from acclaimed African- American women scholars and community leaders, including Johnneta Betsch Cole, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Elaine Brown, and Beverly Guy-Sheftall; impacting archival footage, spirited music, dance, and performance poetry, NO! unveils the reality of rape, other forms of sexual violence, and healing in African-American communities.
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Empowering Our Communities Through Oral History
Presented by: Emily Lawsin
What is Oral History? How can we use oral histories to help our communities? In this workshop, participants will learn different strategies of how to prepare for, conduct, process, and present an oral history interview. We will focus on how to phrase questions to get the most out of an interview, while managing recording equipment. We will also look at creative ways to document and present oral histories to empower marginalized communities.
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Accessibility: from Academia to the Internet
Presenters TBA (possible presenters include: Andy Smith, Nadine Naber, UBUNTU, Laila El-Haddad, and Anjali Teneja, Susana Adame)
This panel will look at two spaces not commonly thought of as realms of radical women of color organizing: academia and the Internet. What are the different opportunities and limitations within each of these realms? From the publishing of This Bridge Called My Back in the late 80s, to the recent publishing of INCITE! Color of Violence Anthology, college classrooms have nurtured radical women of color feminists. Yet academia on the whole remains an inaccessible, hostile space to women of color. The Internet maintains a reputation as the domain of only the privileged. Yet with every passing day, more women of color are starting blogs, sharing resources and building supportive communities through the Internet. Undeniably, the most important work being done to end violence against women and other systems of oppression is taking place in the streets and at the grassroots. How can we create new/stronger relationships between the worlds of academia, the Internet, and grassroots organizing?
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Peoples’ Statistics: Information Gathering For Organizing
Presenters: Andrea Ritchie and Remy Kharbanda
What role does research and information gathering play in our organizing work? What barriers and power relations are created and reinforced by existing research and information gathering methods and frameworks? How can they be challenged and broken down through empowering, collective and participatory production of knowledge about our communities? How can we value our own voices as “experts” in our lives instead of those of government, academics or big non-profits? How can we integrate information gathering and research into our base-building and organizing work? How do we ensure community ownership and engagement with research processes throughout? What resources exist to support us in collectively building knowledge for critical reflection and action?
Join RFR, a research collaborative dedicated to supporting and facilitating integration of participatory research and popular education in community based organizing, for a collective participatory exploration of these questions and more!
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Zine-making and Women of Color
Presented by: Nadia Abou-Karr
A zine is an independent publication, usually photocopied and distributed cheaply, with little or no profit. What makes this format appealing and useful for women of color? What are the obstacles faced by women of color zine-makers? Why do we do it? This session will tackle these concerns. It will be tailored to fit the needs of those in attendance, and can include open group discussion as well as a zine-making how-to guide, encompassing content, layout, printing and distribution.
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Building Inter-active Web Communities
Presented by: UBUNTU
UBUNTU is a Women of Color and Survivor-led coalition of individuals and organizational representatives, formed in Durham, NC in the wake of the Duke Rape Case. Out of rage, pain and hope they generate strategies and actions that prevent, disrupt, transform and heal sexual violence. Broken Beautiful Press is an online project of UBUNTU with the goal of fostering an inter-active web community for collective expression and community transformation. The site offers downloadable media arts projects which can be used as educational and organizing tools. This workshop will explore the Broken Beautiful Press model of engaging with the Internet for healing, transformation, education and organizing.
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Radical Women and Transgender Persons Of Color Blogging Caucus
Is it possible to organize online?
Although many people have sung the praises of online organizing, all too often nobody wants to hear about what a woman/transgender person of color has to say, much less how she is organizing. At the same time, however, many of us have found ways to expand and challenge traditional ideas of what online feminist organizing should or could be.
This caucus will be a space for women/transgender bloggers of color to come together and consider ways in which blogging can be used as an organizing tool. What have we done in the past? What’s worked? What hasn’t? What could we try differently? What could we do more of? How can we continue to push the boundaries of what online organizing “should be”? How can we use blogging as a tool toward ending violence against all women/transgender persons of color and our communities? Let’s work together to figure this out!
This is a women and transgender persons of color safe space.
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Beyond the Hijab: Struggling Against Stereotypes
Film screening followed by workshop/discussion
With Director Habibah Ahmad, Manhattan Neighborhood Network’s Youth Channel
Beyond the Hijab: Struggling Against Stereotypes is a documentary about 18 year-old Habibah Ahmad, an Afro-American Muslim woman, and her daily struggle against discriminatory labels. The video is a vivid exploration of race, religion, identity and religious intolerance in post 9/11 America. It provides a rich and challenging look inside the life of a young person torn between many alliances and facing intolerance as she tries to find her way in life.

Go! Help someone go!

A Long Day

Today, I began teaching. Thoroughly cognizant of the fact that this is my first post-PhD class, I was uncharacteristically nervous.

Today is the third day of my first ever more-than-one-day toothache. Whoever said toothaches were worst than labor and delivery was not far off the mark.

Today, I went with Best Friend Louisiana to pick out the dress her mother will wear when she is laid to rest next Wednesday. I still do not know what to say. I still have to stop myself from asking, "How are you doing?" Isn't that a stupid question to ask?

Today, the only thing that is making me feel better is time spent with her:

I'm behind on All My Carnival Links...

...but charge it to my head and not to my heart.

For now, Sylvia has The First Carnival for Radical Action.

Children, Race, and Racism

The circumstances of the Jena Six, and particularly some of the comments have me thinking about the ways children of color versus white children learn about race and racism in the society. That's as clear as I can state that at this point--I'm still thinking and perhaps what I mean will become more clear to me as I write this.

The first time I remember thinking about race is when I was four, in kindergarten, and holding hands with my friend, a white girl named Robin. I remember quite clearly that we were walking from the main elementary building to the little kindergarten building at our school. I looked down and noted the color difference of our entwined hands. And I remember being a bit jealous of her lighter skin. I don't remember a time when I didn't know (and as a child, believe) what the children in A Girl Like Me know, that white was good and pretty and just plain better.

I learned about racism from my parents and older relatives, too, who taught me to be careful (always careful) and suspicious, to fashion "the mask"' that shielded the real me.

When I taught fourth grade, one little black girl in my class was incensed that another black student, in describing her recently deceased grandmother, said that her grandmother was in heaven. "That's not true," she told me privately. "How do you know?" I asked. "Because black people don't go to heaven." That was one of the things that almost killed me during my brief teaching career.

My son has not expressed (aloud, at least) signs of the inferiority complex yet, but he has expressed concern about the dearth of black teachers at his school and is beginning to get that awkward feeling when he is the only black child in a group of children. Last night, he cuddled with me for a minute and, knowing my usual summer pattern of nonstop Food Network-watching, asked why I wasn't watching the channel. "Nothing good on," I said. "No Paula or Rachael?" he asked. "Nuh-uh." "What about the Hispanic guy you like?" He was talking about Emeril. That floored me--of course I used cues like hair and skin color when I was his age, but living in a biracial town, I encoded everyone as black, white, or other. No other distinctions (even erroneous ones like his) for me.

And of course, these children of whom Vox speaks, have learned definite lessons about race and racism:

In the past two months, we’ve heard of Shaquanda Cotton (14, shoved a teacher’s aide, sentenced to up to 7 years in prison, released last month after one year), Desre’e Watson (6, threw a tantrum at school, charged with two misdemeanors and a felony), Lucilia (13, forced to have sex by pimp after running away from abusive home, in and out of prison for prostitution), Gerard Mungo Jr. (7, sat on dirt bike — not running at the time — on sidewalk waiting for father, arrested, processed, and let go; bike was confiscated), and the Jena Six (high school students, defended themselves against racist white bullies, charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder).

And now an 11-year-old Ojibwe boy, whose name was not released, was arrested because he failed to appear in court as a witness (or rather, his mother failed to take him) in a case where a 13-year-old boy bullied him and his mother assaulted his attacker. Police handcuffed him and dragged him out of class.

I've said all this to opine that we know that children of color, sometimes from early ages, know about, experience, construct ideas about race and racism.

So where does the assumption, the expectation, that white children do not, come from? I'm thinking of LaSalle Parish School Board Superintendent who dismissed white children's (in Jena) hanging nooses from a tree with "“Adolescents play pranks... I don’t think it was a threat against anybody.” An of the case in Ohio, where after white children at a football game "yelled racial slurs, painted their faces black, beat on frying pans, and wore Afro wigs when their team played a predominantly black opponent"* the president of the youth football association said, “Their actions, albeit unwise, foolish and insensitive, were meant to be totally supportive and not intended to insult or offend anyone in any way.”

Let's, for a minute, pretend that the men who made these statements are sincere. How do we arrive at the conclusion that white children, who live in the same racially coded and stratified society as children of color, do not construct notions of race and hierarchy, cannot knowingly use symbols and language of racism? Of course, their constructions and personal knowledge are different than those of children of color, but to posit that they are absent?

I think it is related to the idea of colorblindness--who else cannot afford to see color? More generally, I think the assumption stems from the positioning of white as normative, as somehow not a race or color, and of "whiteness" as default rather than privileged. Of course, this obscures the works of "whiteness" scholars, who posit that whites spent (and spend) an inordinate amount of time creating and strengthening notions of whiteness and protecting its benefits.

I think a question like "how do white children learn about and construct race and racism," is not solely what I want to ask--there are millions of individual answers to that one. I need to focus on narrowing my questions but also in examining, beyond these two examples, how this assumption is perpetuated.

Insights?
_____________________________
Rachel's words from here.

The Jena Six

H/T Vox and Sylvia

One of the thing that makes blogging hard for me sometimes is the fact that, sometimes there are topics that I want to talk about, but when bloggers I respect and read regularly cover the same topic much better than I ever could, I think, "Well, since so-and-so already said it..."

I read about the Jena (Louisiana) Six on Vox's blog a couple of weeks ago (she updated here). Before I go any further, here is the situation, summarized by Shawn Williams from an article by Howard Witt who writes for the Chicago Tribune (though this may be the same story here at the Baltimore Sun--doesn't require registration)

In his May 18, 2007 story, Mr. Witt tells of an incident that happened at the local high school in Jena where black students decided they wanted to sit under a tree whose shade had been reserved for white students only for years. When campus officials gave their blessing to the students request to sit under the tree, a series of events began that have apparently launched the town into a downward spiral.

According to Mr. Witt's article the following events have occurred since the initial action by the black students last September:

* The next day three nooses were hanging from the tree
* Once three white students were identified as having hung the nooses on the tree, the school superintendent suspended them for only three days. (The principal had suggested expulsion). The superintendent felt the nooses represented a "youthful stunt."
* Fights broke out at the high school between black and white students.
* Unknown arsonists set fire to the central wing of the school (November)
* A white youth beat up a black student who showed up at an all-white party
* another young white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store
* A group of black students at the high school allegedly jumped a white student on his way out of the gym, knocked him unconscious and kicked him after he hit the floor (December)
* LaSalle Parish district attorney, Reed Walters, opted to charge six black students with attempted second-degree murder and other offenses (for their involvement in the above incident).
NOTE: The white youth who beat the black student at the party was charged only with simple battery, while the white man who pulled the shotgun at the convenience store wasn't charged with any crime at all.

Now, Jena is about one hundred miles south/southeast of my hometown. As someone interested in rural Louisiana (Jena, in the center of the state, has a population of around 3,000) personally and as a historian, I have to talk about this case.

Sylvia's post is amazing--full of updates, sources, links, and ideas to help the Jena Six, including this link to where you can donate. Yesterday, Alexandria's (a small city in central Louisiana) The Town Talk noted that 2 of the boys remain in jail in lieu of $90,000 bond. Since their trial has been continued until June 25, they face another month in jail, waiting.

I'm trying to do what I do--find people within the community and see what they're thinking and feeling. **Zan shared this in her comment:

This particular story has been going on for a long time, yes. It was going on when I was working for The Town Talk seven months ago. I was in charge of the message boards. If you wanna know how bad it really is, go read the TT's message boards. It's really clear there how racist things are. We had people defending the noose-hanging as a prank, etc. And of course the claims of 'reverse racism' when the kid got beat up.

**The Louisiana Public Defender's Association also made note of the case back in December, here.

**Sylvia has this link to the blog of a former Jena High student, Reginald M.

I attended the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and Arts which pulls students from all over the state, so I'm sending an e-mail to my classmates' group to see if any of them who live there or are from there want to talk. The Town Talk's archives contain stories from late last year about many of the events, including one that describes "racial tensions plaguing the Jena community" as the "biggest" story of the year in Central Louisiana. Jena has a weekly newspaper here.

Online, I've found the writings of a Pastor Eddie Thompson, a white Pentecostal preacher who lives in central Louisiana. Pastor Thompson was quoted by Witt as saying, “I’ve lived here most of my life, and the one thing I can state with absolutely no fear of contradiction is that LaSalle Parish is awash in racism—true racism.” But Pastor Thompson reminds me of the southern Senators during debates on the civil rights bills of the mid-20th century--he is incensed that, rather than letting the community heal itself, "Attorneys and leaders of national race-based organizations have hi-jacked any local efforts to overcome racial tensions." And though he acknowledges the racism in Jena, he believes, "the racism found here in America is subtle compared to what is going on around the world." Picture this American's jaw dropping to the floor. His invoking of meddling carpetbaggers and noble locals who shall overcome is not surprising.

I've also found CenLamar: Social and Political Activism in Louisiana. Here is their summary of the events. They re-posted Witt's article as well. CenLamar is a left-leaning blog so I'll be honest and say I'm hoping they'll talk more about it.

As far as my opinion--before I attended LSMSA, I attended a school that sounds remarkably like Jena's. As I told Vox, I feel this story. I'm not going to even pretend to be objective at this point--my question is not, "Did race play a factor?" but "Did the other factors even matter?"

Well, I Have at Least 2 Conversation Sparkers...

The New Additions!!!

"Tay," born to Best Friend LA and family on April 9. I'm trying to get his picture to upload from the new cell phone which I have no idea how to operate. Here he is!!!

And "J," born to Best friend TX and family on May 21. My son and nephew are in the first pic, too.

Holiday

You know, Ragey is right. I can't force the words.

And Quinn is right--this brain probably does need a holiday.

So I'm taking one until the words and or ideas do come.

Which means I could be back tomorrow, given my gift for gab. :-)

Or, it could be after May 31, when I report that, "Teaching World History is the best thing that ever happened and my major was all wrong!!!" I'm hoping if I say that, the fear will dissipate. After all, I was brought up in the "name it, then claim it" Baptist tradition.

In any case, coming here to say, "I am taking a break," makes me feel less pressure--not that anyone's saying, "elle, you must blog!" but this makes me feel better.

See y'all!

So What Do You Do...

When it seems you have so much to talk about, but very few words? When you're usually addicted to your blog, but can't think of a post for the life of you?

What my family and friends have long thought impossible has occured...

I am speechless.

The Allied Media Conference

From the AMC website:

The Allied Media Conference is an annual, weekend-long gathering of influential alternative media-makers and committed social justice activists. The AMC brings together a unique cross-section of media workers, community organizers, daring filmmakers, ambitious radio producers, serious publishers, skilled web designers, and artists whose work "makes revolution irresistible." This year's theme focuses on participatory media that transforms the producer and receiver, "Breaking Silence, Building Movements."

One of the caucuses, facilitated by BfP, is the Radical Women and Transgendered Persons Of Color Blogging Caucus. What they'll be addressing/discussing:

Is it possible to organize online?
Although many people have sung the praises of online organizing, all too often nobody wants to hear what a woman/transgendered person of color has to say online, much less how she is organizing. At the same time, however, many of us have found ways to expand and challenge traditional ideas of what online feminist organizing should or could be.
This caucus will be a space for women/transgendered bloggers of color to come together and consider ways in which blogging can be used as an organzing tool. What have we done in the past? What's worked? What hasn't? What could we try differently? What could we do more of? How can we continue to push the boundaries of what online organizing "should be"? How can we use blogging as a tool toward ending violence against all women/transgendered persons of color and our communities? Let's work together to figure this out!
This is a women and transgendered persons of color safe space.

The 9th annual Allied Media Conference will be held June 22-24, 2007 in Detroit, Michigan. GO!!!! I'll be reminding you every week 'til then.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Oh. My. God.

Graduation was Friday. I had approximately 15 houseguests. There were 7 kids in all here. Remind me again why I like children.

Then I made the long trip to Louisiana. Got back last night shortly before midnight. Slowly melted into an exhausted puddle on y bedroom floor before congealing and pulling my self into bed.

Graded exams are due today. By noon. And I'm writing y'all.

Upcoming conference--Advisor read my paper at the hours long graduation. Mind you, it still has no conclusion!! She said it read well, but "Here are a few suggestions." I must've looked crazy because she put her arm around my shoulders and said, "Oh, elle, I know. Always something." Actually, her suggestions are minimal--I just need to make the changes and send the damn thing to the commentator.

As my signature pages are on their way back to me, I have no excuse not to finally print out the dissertation and give it one last go-over before submitting it. Plus the fee to microfilm it. And the fee to copyright it. And the cost to bind it. While still reeling from renting the cap and gown abd dreading paying for the hotel room and any other expenses incurred at the conference. Who told these people grad students had money?

Speaking of the conference, the organizers are looking for people to blog it. I want to do it so badly, but I'm afraid that I'll get their and be unable to make myself do it properly. Isn't that horrible?

I'm teaching World History to 1500 for the first summer session, which begins May 31. Which gives me all of six days (after I get back, pack up for the summer, and go home) to prep. For a class I've never taught. That isn't my specialty.

I wrote my next blog post about Union Parish, but I don't like it and have no idea when I'll edit it. So for the next couple of weeks, this is going to be a wholly unacademic, insignificant blog--I'm just going to complain about my life, okay?

Back to recording grades.

elle, phd

thanks for all the input! i changed my title, but i'm waaaay too lazy to change the address.

Life in Rural America (Union Parish, part 1)

Finally, I'll begin with the schools in Union Parish, where I taught briefly. I also plan to talk about the community, the economy, and anything else that the Union Parish residents who are offering input would like. Here's my perspective as a teacher. Next up, the perspective of some parents.

When people ask me why I gave up teaching, my answer amounts to something like, “I loved the kids, but teaching in poor school districts is hard.” They ask for examples—after all, aren’t teachers always complaining that there’s not “enough”—resources, time, money? And so I give them examples.

Like how, my first year, I had 33 fifth-graders in a small classroom in which you still had to get permission to turn on the air conditioner. Or, how our playground had one small swing set that the fourth through eighth grade had to share and a decrepit basketball court that the boys claimed, early-on relegating girls to the status of observers and facilitating the habit of standing around in small, exclusive cliques. Or, how the only ancillary was PE (no music, art, etc.) twice a week, for 45 minutes, if the PE teacher came on time--he wasn't going to keep them over if he was late.

That 45 minute period was the only during-school planning period we had. In addition to the lack of a planning period, there was no duty-free lunch, so you had to shuffle your kids through a 20-minute lunch break during which cafeteria employees and district officials expected you to keep the kids virtually silent.

Oh, and the textbooks that fell apart and (to the horror of a historian!!!) the social studies texts from pre-the fall of Communism. I taught there from 1999-2001. Some of my kids’ textbooks had my cousin Trinity’s name in them. Trinity was in the fourth and fifth grades in the 89-90 and 90-91 school years.

But mostly I tell people about the fraction test that I tried to give my fourth-grade class back in the winter of 2000 (yes, I remember). Black and white copies in my school were like some illicit drug—available, but you had to pay dearly, by begging and describing why you needed them, and endure abuse, from the office staff and teachers’ aides, to get them. Keep in mind, there is no Office Depot or whatever right down the street. The local bank would make a few copies for you for 25 cents per page or, if your pastor or church secretary felt sorry for you, you could use the church's copier.

The school wanted us to use, primarily, the purple ditto copies. When I taught fourth grade, the new principal quite generously offered us 200 black and white copies per month (hah!). By the time of the fraction test, mine were used up. And though a co-worker offered to let me use some of her allotment, the principal said no. So I made ditto copies.

Blurry ditto copies on which the kids couldn’t see into how many sections a shape was divided or how many were shaded or if that number was 1/3 or 1/8 or 1/2. So I showed it to the principal.

And he said, “I’m sorry.”

I made a transparency of the original and had my kids copy the problems from the overhead. By the time they finished copying it, after I walked around pointing out errors and reminding them, "please don't begin until you have all the problems copied!", and I'd read over them aloud to make sure we were all on the same page (many children have problems transferring from board/screen to paper), they didn't have time to take the test that day. So, I took the original, drove the 20+ miles to Ruston and made copies.

And I realized, as much as I loved my kids, with a base salary of $18,600 (with a master’s degree), I couldn’t keep supplementing and buying things and trying to fill in the gaps. And I wasn’t one of those super-creative teachers who could make everything from scratch (scratch materials cost money, too, btw). That's always been strange to me, the expectation that teachers are to be these selfless, constantly giving, unconcerned about money, always super-resourceful, uber-noble individuals. Teaching in poor circumstances does inspire you... sometimes. I learned to love construction paper, glue, and cardboard. I learned to hoard nubby pencils, loose leaf, newspapers, and boxes.* But, sometimes, it just makes you exhausted beyond words.

So, I sent out the three PhD applications I’d been thinking about.
________________________________________________
* On supplies, for comparison, my son attends public school here that is consistently ranked highly in the state accountability system. The school does not send out supply lists in the summer. Instead, the PTO puts together the supplies the teachers want, boxes them by grade, and sells them at a marked up price to raise money for the PTO. The teachers there have no qualms about sending out a note the night before requesting that the kids bring something to school the next day, sending lists of things for you to buy for school activities, requesting certain types of notebooks or brands of supplies, or requesting that all the children bring a sack lunch on certain days. In Union Parish, doing such things were frowned upon because they 1)presuppose that the parents had time and money to go to the store 2) assume that the small local stores would have a wide variety of supplies for reasonable prices 3) ignore the fact that perhaps the parents of children receiving free or reduced price lunches (as the majority in my school did) had no money (especially in the middle of the week) to buy a lunch (duh!). Though the faculty at my son's school are nice, they are a bit cushioned and smug, I think, and sometimes I want to point these things out to them.

Cotton Wool

Once, I read this romance novel (not literally once; I've probably read thousands), and because it was a Harlequin Presents, the hero and heroine were English (maybe not the hero. Apparently, while white English women are teh shit, the white English men are all bland and blond and boring. No, the hero was probably Italian. Or Greek. Or some "exotic other." But I digress.)

The heroine had a really hard life (her parents had done one of the standard Ds necessary in the line--Died, Disowned her, or Distanced themselves), as hard as it can be for the 21 years that you're gorgeous and brilliant until you meet your BILLIONAIRE husband (speaking of which, I don't read the Presents line anymore, but as I pass the titles, I am amazed by how many BILLIONAIRES there are in the world. And virgins. And sheikhs. But I digress). Because her life had been so hard, the hero, who back then was probably only a meager millionaire, revealed his love (after being a complete asshole out to ruin her for 180 pages) by telling her something like, "If I could, I would wrap you in cotton wool and ease all your pain."

And, being the ignorant American, I thought, "What the hell is cotton wool? (And fortnight. And gaol. But I digress). When I realized it was just cotton, I thought, "Ohhhh. How sweet."

That phrase has stuck with me since I was a teengager. The feminist in me balks at it--another attempt to pedestal-ize and "protect." But, part of me can't help loving the sentiment and that tenderness implied in the statement (even if it is a sentiment and tenderness predicated on the concept that this is a "hard, cold" world for women). And sometimes, I feel that way about people.

See, this isn't just a sarcastic explanation about why I no longer read that particular line. It is a response to these posts by Bint and Kactus. These are strong, smart, wonderful women whom I respect. When I hear of their suffering, I think about that phrase.

The cotton wool seems impractical, but I hope they know they are wrapped in love, respect, and admiration. And I hope it does ease the pain.

Who Gets to "Peaceably Assemble?"

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me...

Remember, at the end of School Daze, when Lawrence Fishburne is ringing that damned bell, then utters a solemn, "Wake up"?

Yeah.

From Nezua:

THERE IS NO PEACEFUL RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY IN AMERICA. There were signs earlier, it's true. But now it can be said to be official. File this along with what you read on blogs about habeas corpus and wiretapping, this latest display of contempt for our rights: here is a clear example of excessive use of police force, of tyranny by weaponry, of unwarranted police aggression, assault and battery—on women, children, and citizens alike.

See BfP here and here.

H/T Sylvia, who adds

Say whatever bullshit you desire about your racist and classist preferences of designating living, breathing people as “alienz,” but I have a hard time thinking that born and bred, tried and true American citizens are receiving any better treatment from our so-called “representative democracy.”
It is not a crime to seek a better life.
It is not a crime to seek out opportunities for your families.
It is not a crime to agitate for fair policy.
It is not a crime to challenge unjust laws.

Suggestions?

Okay, a few people have mentioned that I'm going to have to update the name of the blog. I, of course, am 96.37% in favor of "elle, phd." But I'm thinking that after all the hectivity of the last few weeks, maybe we can all ruminate on some options.

One I've discarded: Sistorian, you know, because I'm a sister and a--

You get the point.

One I sort of like: This Woman's Work, because I'm a woman and I study women and their work, etc., etc.

Anyway, while I 1) clean up the final draft 2) decide what I want to write about Union Parish, LA and 3) get ready for a conference, please leave suggestions in the comments.

Sway me from elle, phd. That's so predictable :-p

May Day

Lord, as a labor historian (there's a discussion going on on h-net about whether or not I should even be calling myself that!!) I have to at least acknowledge today.

Happy May Day, people.

For today, at least, I give you permission not to dwell on the sad state of labor in the U.S.

Thinking

Three people have given me the Thinking Blogger Award (a distinction that means the world to me, btw), and I've been promising to sit down and think about who I'd like to give it to. Not going to do a full post at this moment, but a wonderful man at the top of my list is leaving the blogosphere.

Quaker Dave.

I am so very, very sad to see him go.

Carnivals

Quickly (as usual):

22nd edition of the Carnival against Sexual Violence is up at abyss2hope.

History Carnival at Clioweb coming to a computer near you shortly.

I Haven't Forgotten...

...the promised series. Just been busy with more pressing matters.

And I've been thinking, maybe y'all should get together and raise a collection to send me to a spa or on a cruise or something...

...cuz it's DR. ELLE, now, baby!!!!!!!

What of Rural America?

I want to do a short series on my neck of the woods back in Louisiana, brought on by a number of recent events. I'm prompted by a post to the St. Louis White Citizen's Council of the 21st Century Council of Conservatives Citizens' blog. I was going to link, but I'm not trying to leave trackbacks.

Anyway, the post was about the nationally televised case at Spearsville High in which two fifth-graders had sex in school. Initially, the poster was alarmed because wikipedia said Spearsville was 96.7% white and it just couldn't be white kids having sex. It couldn't!!

Fortunately for his psyche, a Spearsville resident wrote in to let him know that the students were black and that Spearsville High was nowhere near majority white. He was relieved and started going on about how black children mature (sexually) more quickly and he knew it couldn't have been white kids, and how the guy who responded to him wrote about Spearsville High going to hell in a handbasket because of black children in school there.

And I thought...

1) Not once is anyone talking about how the census counted not one black person in Spearsville in 2000, when I know that the village has a significant black population (there's an all black subdivision, for one). Let me just say, the fact that the historical trend of undercounting (and not counting) people of color/ignoring our communities continues ought to tell you something about our life in North Louisiana.

2) The letter-sender-inner glossed over the horrible state of education and schools in Union Parish (which I will happily tell you about in an upcoming post). No money, corruption, overpaid administrators, underpaid teachers, you name it, they got it.

3) In the high-speed car chase mentioned in the post (in which a black Spearsville High School student was killed), black people in Union Parish are very loudly suspecting foul play. The kid was being chased by police who (allegedly) left the scene of the crime then returned and were (allegedly) seen doing something questionable to the car. Now, whether or not that is true, my point is to give you an indication of how very much the police are distrusted by the black community in Union Parish. And trust me, it's for a good reason.

4) The racial divisions there are so sharp it's almost unbelievable. Almost.

So I will tell you about how this little area of rural America is dying and how so many of us who care, who crack about our country, backwards homes love them and worry and have absolutely no idea what to do.

Caution!

Intense navel-gazing in process.

Watch out for undue self-absorption, crying jags, unprovoked anger, ceaseless guilt, and self-thrown pity parties.

I'll tell y'all all about it later.

When Will It Be Taken Seriously?

From the beginning, the fact that police and school officials defended their actions by dismissing the initital shootings at Virginia Tech as a "domestic issue" has shocked me. From BfP:

The most horrible thing I’ve heard throughout the coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting has been that police did nothing after the first shootings because they had believed it to be “just” or “only” a “domestic” issue. Nobody will even call it for what it is. They thought some crazy asshole had killed his girlfriend. Sad, but not important enough to shut down a thriving campus. Disturbing, but not urgent enough to send swat teams up and down the hallways, banging on doors, pushing people out of classrooms at gunpoint.

This window they provided of how people, fuck it, how police still think about "domestic" abuse--unimportant, only between two people, normal--I just don't have the words to express my disgust.

Her name is Emily Jane Hilscher, and she was not just a "domestic" abuse victim and she was not, as this vile account tries to fetchingly entitle “The girl who led to massacre.”* Why, why, why are we still having to assert and defend women's humanity?

Then, as I am/was typing this post, I click more links (in the comments here) and find that the shooter may have actually been stalking Hilscher, that their may never have been a romantic relationship. Thus the dismissal of her death is further problematized by the fact that it was based on assumptions and undoubtedly, the purview of people who think they've seen it all before. I can't wait for the articles that discuss how she led to her own stalking.

I know that I am not being coherent; I just can't right now, because I am so fucking angry. So, so, damned mad.
__________________________________
*I included the link so that you could go leave a comment. Please leave a comment.

Look What Gwyn Wrote!

Not that it's surprising--Gwyn and writing kind of go together. But I felt this the moment I read it.

Side Step
I remember being eleven and doing steps in front
of the four-story tenement we called home
twist
sophisticated lady—you know that’s me
spelling Mississippi
and saying ooo-chie-wally-wally
long before nas and the bravehearts made it a hook
I remember older black women looking at us
and shaking their heads as we battled the girls around the corner
to see who could pop that coochie and twist like this
I remember pumping with all my might
and not really knowing what I was pumping
but most of all
I remember what it felt like to be with my girls
as we each took our turn in the circle
giving off more attitude than anyone under fifteen had a right to
and knowing that we were the baddest girls out there
because we deemed it so
we said things little girls shouldn’t even know
but when I remember how we were when outside
playing
and what it was like to be one with them
and how later we’d jump double-dutch
or skate around the block
I think of how innocent we all were even as we chanted
“my man made me do it, he really, really, really . . . got on down”
slapping our hands and stomping our feet in unison
we must have felt invincible
and all of our steps occurred in the dawn
before we learned that black women’s sexuality
should be concealed
lest it be used against her in the court of public opinion
itself steeped in legacies and histories of lies
when I remember what it felt like to be so free
from cloaked and hidden sexualities
it amazes me that girlhood games gave it to me
and I hold on to it now as I smile at kim, foxy, trina, and khai
maybe they took the side step and remembered what we all forgot
I wonder if I can reclaim some of that innocent
yet brazen and brave little black girl back

Prayers

I'm just now sitting back down and seeing news reports about the shootings at Virginia Tech.

I'm keeping them in my heart.

I'm It

Sylvia tagged me... and I need the brain break!!

A- Available or Single? The body is available but the mind is way too preoccupied.
B- Best Friend. V and KHB.
C- Cake or Pie. Cake.
D- Drink of Choice. Most Commonly--Strawberry Margaritas. But I have some good memories from my early 20s with Pink Panties
E- Essential Item. My computer and wide-ruled notebooks.
F- Favorite Color. Brown.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms. Worms.
H- Hometown. Small town, North Louisiana (I am still at least nominally pseudonymous, right?)
I- Indulgence. Romance Novels, Smirnoff Ice, and beef fajita quesadillas. All together. Preferably in bed.
J- January or February. February--January always seems rushed
K- Kids. One. If you ever hear that I have another, say to yourself, "Damn, elle slipped up!!"
L- Life is incomplete without… Humor. I need it desperately sometimes. Oh, and chocolate. Life is not worth living without chocolate.
M- Marriage Date. I don't think so.
N- Number of Siblings? Two plus Trinity.
O- Oranges or Apples? Oranges.
P- Phobias/Fears. Really (sadly) I worry that my dissertation won't meet expectations. And I worry about my child. And in the phobia category--anything that slithers, hisses, or is green.
Q- Favorite Quote(s). From my good friend, Kate September: "My writing is a bunch of good intentions and no time." "Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment." - Elie Wiesel (thanks, Dave); "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." -John F. Kennedy
R- Reasons to smile. 1) The dissertation is progressing. Unevenly and with a healthy dose of blood, sweat, and tears, but it's progressing. 2) The school year is almost over.
S- Season. Autumn.
T- Tag Three. Mon, Fab, and Southern_Lady. (If you haven't already)
U- Unknown Fact About Me. It will stay unknown.
V – Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals. I'm thinking of what I could oppress for lunch right now.
W- Worst Habit. Spending way too much time on the internet. (Had to keep that one from Sylvia. Hell to the yes!)
X – X-rays or Ultrasounds. Depends on what you're looking for. Your doctor should decide.
Y- Your Favorite Foods. Most any ;-p Seriously, when my mom is not trippin' , I love her soul food.
Z- Zodiac. Sagittarius.

R.I.P. Eddie Robinson

Lord, I've been remiss in posting about him. But you can't imagine what Coach Rob meant to generations of black children who grew up in North Louisiana. Grambling was our school, whether you had a family member who attended or not (I did--my grandfather and my Aunt Jo graduated from there).

One of my best childhood memories revolves around Grambling football. One Saturday, every fall, we'd get up, when it was barely light, to get ready for the homecoming parade. We had to drive a little bit and you had to get up early to get a good spot. So, we'd freeze to death, but be so excited. And it was wonderful--from the high school bands who emulated the Tiger Marching Band (including the Carroll High band affectionately known, in North Louisiana, as "Little Grambling") to the ultimate appearance of Miss Grambling.

After the parade, we'd go eat. No light fare on Homecoming Day, uh-uh. The more grease, the better, apparently. So, sometimes we went to Spivey's Chicken in Grambling--I still remember the slogan of Spivey-licious--but it was usually too crowded. And other years we went to the Griff's Hamburgers in Ruston, across the street and a world away from Louisiana Tech. The cooks there did their own thing to those burgers and they were good--if you didn't mind the arterial damage.

And then there was the game. Baby, the Orchesis Dancers would have you wishing for rhythm and synchronization. Those sisters were always on point. And halftime? I won't even go into the show the bands put on--you know all the stereotypes. :-) 90% of the time, I didn't even know who won the game and I had a good time anyway.

And Eddie Robinson presided over it all for fifty-seven years. Yep, I had to spell that one out. Fifty-seven years of dignity, humor, grace and love. Love for football and, more importantly, love for the generations of players whose lives he touched.

“When he walked on that field in 1941, it wasn't flat, it wasn't even, it was slanted up sharply,” [LA Senator Mary] Landrieu said. “It's not level yet, but because of his life it's getting there and we all are beneficiaries of that.”

God bless Coach Rob.

F*ck Don Imus

I walked into my labor history class late today, in the midst of a discussion on Don Imus. My professor said, "Ms. elle, please join us. Do you have any comments?"

"Not any that should be spoken in a classroom," I answered (in fact, my whole commentary at that point consisted of the title of this post). He laughed and assured me that whatever I wanted to say would be okay. All semester, we've joked that a camera was hidden somewhere, documenting for posterity (and eventual trials) our way-left-of-center commentary and reviews. Today, my professor said, the camera was off.

I really didn't have much to say. I'm sick of the "If rappers do it, why is it wrong for poor Imus?" And I feel badly for anyone who was shocked by this--naive, naive souls. But mostly, I am tired. As Deborah Gray-White says, it's too heavy a load--this burden black women bear of having to constantly defend ourselves against racism and sexism. I wanted to ask, "Where the hell did that even come from?" but that would imply that there was some logic, some reason behind Don Imus and people of his ilk.

And there's just not.

Some better analyses:
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson speak for black women?

Four Questions

“Nappy Headed Hos”

Dear MSNBC: It's time to FIRE Don Imus.

Two Weeks Ain’t Enough! and Imus Updates and Commentary

Easter Pics

My older nieces and nephew. Almost 18, 16, and 17. My 20-year-old niece was recuperating from Sunrise service.

My son's little brother, my goddaughter Belle, my nephew, my godson G, and my son immediately after church.

The kid and his little brother. I cherish the moments they get along.
My oh-so-grow-up cousin. Eight going on 28!
My sister pretending to watch the annual, after-Easter-services softball game. Apparently, it was too cold to smile.
A fuzzy Trinity and me.

Another cousin, Crys
The kid and Belle.

My Belle

Just because she is the most amazing going-on-five-year-old on the planet, a post dedicated to my goddaughter Belle! (Just ignore the ketchup beside her mouth.)

With my son at a church league basketball game over spring break.

With Trinity's son.

Blissfully eating pickles as I bled over my dissertation across the table.

Easter Sunday with my godson G and the Kid.

At the softball game.

Blog Against Sexual Violence

Today is the Blog Against Sexual Violence Day sparked by A Day to End Sexual Violence. While I regrettably don't have time to write up a post (at least today), I'm going to provide links tomorrow. Thanks to Marcella for coordinating this.

Predictions

The other day, in comments to one of my update posts, Rachel teased

You're not a real grad student until you've either fallen asleep in the library while trying to complete a paper or you've been kicked out of the library because it's closing time.

Turns out, she's quite the sage.

This morrning, I did my usual MWF routine: dropping the kids off at school, getting stuck in traffic, debating on getting breakfast, going to the library. But I was soooo tired today just thinking of wrapping everything up so I can spend Easter with my family and submit my new, revised groundbreaking dissertation by Tuesday. Around 10:45 A.M., after shifting papers, reorganizing my books, scribbling on a notepad and generally getting nothing accomplished in my carrel, I decided I had to take a nap. I was so sleepy, it was the only way I would get anything done today.

So, I prepared to lay (lie? I never know) my head on the desk. Only, with breasts like mine, my head was still inches off the desk. I grabbed a three-inch binder full of articles, placed the sweatshirt I keep in the carrel on it and tried again. Still, the boobies are too high. I realized I could slide my chair way back, so that my breasts weren't on the desktop. But having them there, just hangin' in the wind wasn't comfortable for my breasts or my back. So, on top of the binder I place a really thick volume of the 1960 Congressional Record, an empty book bag, and the sweatshirt. Success!! I took some deep breaths and fell asleep.

30 minutes later, I woke up with neck pain and the beginnings of a headache. But I was still sleepy and determined. So, I sat up, draped the sweatshirt over my head (both to shield my eyes from the light and to cover my face because I know I looked a complete fool), pulled my arms into my t-shirt (it was cold!), and went back to sleep--sitting up.

I woke up mildly refreshed, called a former union official (who has agreed to let me interview her, but that will have to be in the eventual book), and came downstairs to check my e-mail and give y'all the required dose of TMI. It's the strangest thing--it's like I am exhausted, but still motivated. I really want to do this, sleep be damned :-)

I'm on my way back up. I have four hours before I have to pick up the kids and I need to make them count.

Inspiration...

...from one brilliant, funny woman. I present the "elle cheer," a most encouraging modification of an old standby:

*picks up pompoms*
Who’s a doctor of history?
ELLE’S A DOCTOR OF HISTORY!
What do we want?
A P. H. D.!
When do we want it?
NOW!

I love my blog friends.

I Haven't Forgotten!

Comebacknikki sent me these ages ago. I kept procrastinating, because number five is hard. I've decided to do it later, but in the meantime, y'all answer it--the thing I need most in this world is more books to read!!!

1. What is your favorite 80s hair band?
BonJovi, hands down. Though, I did/do love me some Aerosmith. And, I have a separate post drafted for Queen.

2. If you could chose another career & instantly acquire the knowledge/credentials to start working in said field tomorrow, what would you choose to do?
Catering and event planning. I have a million related ideas in my head.

3. Have you ever said "I love you" and not meant it?
No. Something in me won’t let me do it.

4. What person do you trust the most?
“The most” is hard! There are at least six people I trust with my life. I’ll go with my sister--I can tell her things I can't tell my parents :-)

5. What are the five books you think everyone absolutely should read?
Leave your answer in comments.

Carnivals--Quickly!

Taking a quick break and wanted to point y'all to:

History Carnival 51


From abyss2hope, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and April 5th is Blog Against Sexual Violence Day. The Carnival Against Sexual Violence will be up April 3 is up.

I am trying to learn to link/leave trackbacks. I never seem to do it correctly! If these are wrong, I promise to correct them later on today.