A couple of days ago (8/25) was the 100th anniversary of the first Black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This is an example of a union that fought a long time to win increased wages and other rights, and is also a good example of co-occurring struggles for labor rights and civilContinue reading “Teaching about labor and workers’ rights”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Juneteenth: Resources for remembering, teaching and learning
Over the years I have written several social media posts about Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, but never anything here, so I decided to put them all in one place in hopes that others find them useful for their own knowledge building or teaching. I was in my late 20s before learning about thisContinue reading “Juneteenth: Resources for remembering, teaching and learning”
Harriet Tubman, Revisionist History and Fact Checking
Below is a photo of Harriet Tubman. Abolitionist. Leader/conductor of the Underground Railroad. Student of stars in the nighttime sky. Seer of visions. Spy for Union forces. A woman with a disability (inflicted upon her by a slaveholder). She was a woman who didn’t stop. She was a believer and a faithful witness. In aContinue reading “Harriet Tubman, Revisionist History and Fact Checking”
What “A Different World” taught me 30 years ago
Wow, that title makes me sound old. (Spoiler alert: I guess I am old.) When I was in college, one of the few things I watched religiously each week was A Different World. I loved Whitley and Dwayne Wayne and Jalisa and Walter and Kim and Freddie and all the rest. I watched the show inContinue reading “What “A Different World” taught me 30 years ago”
Mutual aid: How we care for each other
The term “mutual aid” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a collaboration between community members, and a voluntary exchange of resources between them. We generally may think of mutual aid as existing most often in communities that have been economically (and in other ways) marginalized, but mutual aid also exists in faith communitiesContinue reading “Mutual aid: How we care for each other”
Happy Birthday, Dr. King: I am sorry we haven’t bent the arc more yet.
Though we have an official day to recognize Dr. King’s birthday coming up next week, today (January 15) is his actual birthday. Going to college in Memphis and spending several years there after college, I visited the National Civil Rights Museum (at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated) many times. I have hadContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Dr. King: I am sorry we haven’t bent the arc more yet.”
“Small flat rigid squares of paper”: Books that shaped me in 2024
Several years ago, a friend introduced me to Anne Lamott, and specifically to her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. I have given this book to several people over the years, including to a special student this year who served as a teaching assistant for me. And I have re-bought myselfContinue reading ““Small flat rigid squares of paper”: Books that shaped me in 2024″
Prosody
During 2020 and 2021, I (like many others) took a lot of walks. Usually I walked alone, or sometimes with my daughters. A few times, I took walks with friends. One day, after walking with a friend who happens to be one of my favorite walking partners, I kept reflecting on our conversation long afterContinue reading “Prosody”
Inconceivable Truth: Podcasts in Teaching Part 2
I have written before about using podcasts in teaching: here, with how you might use the Do No Harm Podcast and here, with ideas for using The Call, which is an episode of This American Life podcast. For various reasons in the past week, I have been by myself in the car more than usualContinue reading “Inconceivable Truth: Podcasts in Teaching Part 2”
Synchronicity in classroom and community
This semester I am teaching in an interdisciplinary learning community (ILC), which is part of our university’s general education curriculum. The ILC is called “Introduction to Trauma Studies” and the two courses are the human behavior across the lifespan course that I teach and a literature/writing course which is taught by a colleague in the EnglishContinue reading “Synchronicity in classroom and community”
Teaching (toward) the Beloved Community 