As the year rounds to an end, it is again time to revisit my reading list from the past twelve months. It’s been an on and off year for reading. I haven’t had a ton of time between teaching and thesis research and writing. Per usual, books are divided into fiction and non-fiction, are listed in date order (the earlier the reading date, the nearer the top of the list), and in instances in which I wrote a review over at GoodReads, I’ve included the link.
Happy reading!
Fiction
1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
2. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
This week has been a LONG week in the world of Kindergarten. Tuesday was parent/teacher conference day, which meant I had nine 45-minute conferences scheduled nearly back to back, and over the course of the week, I have had or will have ten more conferences. I’m tired. But I am reminded how much I love spending time with these amazing little people.
During my lunch break on Tuesday, I was chatting with one of our middle school music teachers – Kingsley – who came to my classroom a few weeks ago just to see what hanging out with little people is all about. He’s used to working with middle school and high school students, so suddenly being in a room with the school’s youngest members is a big change. (I teach Junior Kindergarten which is for four and five year olds.) At lunch, Kings was saying, “Yeah, I went in there and the kids wanted to show me all around their room. And, you know, they’re short, so when they wanted to get my attention, they’d touch me or pull on my pant leg or tap my leg. And there were hands all over me, even on my butt. And I’m like, ‘Hey, whoa! Wait a minute! Don’t you even want to get dinner first?’ … And then I realized I just needed to get down on their level so we could really talk.”
I think that’s a common reaction when figuring out what it means to really connect with young children. Their context for understanding the world is different than yours and you have to get out of your own head and your learned ‘grown up’ way of seeing the world so that when they invite you in, you can readily and openly accept that invitation. And I have the opportunity to do that every day! I’m one lucky kid!
Kings has a blog where he makes note of all sorts of things of interest, including his thoughts on education. After visiting my classroom and several other Kindergarten classes, here are a few excerpts from his reflections:
“I can’t imagine teaching students at this age,” is one the first comments teachers say when they observe grade levels they do not normally teach. Last week I spent time visiting three kindergarten classroom and seriously, I would have NO idea what to do with those kids. …
I observed students learning how to draw the letter “D.” There was snack time in which the students struggled to open their snack packs of vegetables and of course needed my help to open. Free playtime was great as students tugged at my pants to show me around the room. The most fascinating part was watching these students have conversations with each other, which made no sense to me at all but seemed [to] work for them.
Then there were the teachers. I have a limited amount of “elementary school affect” that I use with my third graders. It’s when the pitch of my voice gets a little higher, I talk softer and slower, and express a calmness and comfort completely devoid of the sarcastic edge which is characteristic of my voice. These teachers had this affect to spare laced with patience and understanding that was remarkable and awe-inspiring. …
What connected these teachers to the way I teach my eighth graders was the way they talked to the students. When you think about talking to young kids sometimes you think about dumbing things down but the teachers did the exact opposite. They challenged the kids, consistently asked follow up questions and forced the students to talk up to the teachers expressing respect, dignity and belief in the students.
It doesn’t [matter] what age a student is, you can always challenge them and push them to be better. … That's what my time in kindergarten reminded me. We don’t teach subjects, we teach people. The time we spend with students is about helping them be the best people they can be. That is something that is so in the forefront of the kindergarten classrooms and sometimes get lost in the bustle of older grades.
I really am so lucky! And this week in particular, amidst the weariness that comes from many an intense conversation with interested and invested parents, I am grateful for the voices of other adults – be they my students’ parents or my colleagues – who help me see afresh the wonderful things happening in the life of my classroom.
Note: The photos in this post are images I have taken of students in my class over the past few years.
I like Glee. It’s my guilty pleasure and the only TV show I watch faithfully.
And this week’s episode struck a chord with me. To catch you up, in case you aren’t a regular watcher, Kurt Hummel is the only openly out gay student at McKinley High. And he faces relentless bullying, overt and subtle – gay jokes and taunts, getting thrown in the dumpster, being slammed into lockers, the whole gamut. This week’s episode in particular really highlighted the overwhelmingly oppressive darkness that results from being treated with less than your full humanity, and how sometimes even the most well-meaning friends, teachers, and family-members can’t quite get past the “Sorry you’re having a hard time, but if you’re gay, things are gonna be rough” into a place where they reject the norm of intolerance, declare it unacceptable, and live that resistance in word and deed.
This week, in the midst of feeling utterly alone, Kurt met a new ally in Blaine, an openly out student at another high school, who offers Kurt courage, hope, and assurance that change is possible and life gets better. Plus, Blaine can SING. (And DANG, can he sing! We know how I have a ridiculously intense sweet spot for men’s a cappella, and the Dalton Academy Warblers bring it, singing a cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” I’m fairly certain this pushes my previous Glee favorite song – Lea Michele and Idina Menzel’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s "Poker Face" to number two!)
As you may have noticed, I titled this post “Queering pop culture.” In the realm of feminist theory and resistance, to ‘queer’ something means to change the way it’s seen, to shake the assumptions that hold social constructions in place, to deviate from what is socially understood as normal, and sometimes to even try to redefine what normal is. For me, to queer something can be a very positive thing – it can jolt folks out of their ‘normal’ experience long enough to (sometimes, we hope) be critical about why we do what we do, who it benefits, and who it limits. When we queer our understanding of the world, it can free up space for all people to freely be more wholly who they are.
What I like about this episode of Glee (and several others – several with Kurt’s dad come to mind), is that it (intentionally or unintentionally) has the potential to queer viewers’ ways of understanding the world (which, I believe, is a good thing). Merely because of its willingness to place marginalized experiences, like Kurt’s battle with bullying, at the center of the public’s view, those stories can be told through the eyes of those living them rather than through the eyes of those who fit into the social norm. (For feminist theory folks, we’re talking margin-to-center stuff here, and pushing into the power of standpoint theory.) Listening to marginalized voices tell their own stories tends to show the deep complexities of oppression, power struggles, and lived experiences in ways that are often erased when dominant voices frame the story. (This is the same concept often talked about in the context of history. “The victor writes the history books.” How is Columbus’s arrival in the Americas told differently through the eyes of native peoples? How would understanding change if racism were talked about as not merely individual, but also historical, structural, and institutional? You get the idea.)
So, I am grateful that this piece of Kurt’s story, as told through his eyes and his experiences, (alongside and in conjunction with other stories in other places) has the potential to complicate general understanding of the human experience. While Kurt’s story is not necessarily unique, nor the first time that such material has been on television, its presence on a popular, prime time, network television show is noteworthy and worthy of recognition.
Plus, they sing and dance!
Even so, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out a few of the frustrations I felt in watching how Kurt’s story played out on Tuesday’s episode and how those things relate to larger concerns in society. In the show, after Kurt sees the Warblers sing, he has a short conversation with Blaine and two other Warblers over coffee.
First, one of the students explains that at Dalton everyone is treated the same because they have a zero tolerance harassment policy. While I understand the impulse to suggest ‘easy’ fixes to issues of bullying, harassment, and abuse, adopting a zero tolerance policy is not enough. To create a safe environment for all students requires the changing of minds, the disruption of prejudices and biases, and a communal commitment to holding one another accountable to treating all people with their full humanity. And those efforts require continual work to learn how to think and act differently (because it does NOT come naturally in a society like ours built upon prejudice and inequality). So, adopting a zero tolerance policy is not a cure-all. It is surely a beginning step, but does not and will not create safe spaces for all students without intense, committed, and continuous work.
Second, when explaining how the school’s zero tolerance policy works, one of the students said, “Everybody gets treated the same, no matter what they are. It's pretty simple.” In the ideal world, it would be simple. In the real world, it’s not. Even in his statement, the student uses language that can feel dehumanizing. My hope would have been that he said, “Everybody gets treated the same, no matter WHO they are.” While this could be chalked up to a simple grammatical slip-up, it is important to be thoughtful about language use. We want to always aim to use language that honors individuals’ full humanity, rather than reduce people to objects (WHO you are vs. WHAT you are).
Third, Blaine offers Kurt some advice. He says, “You can refuse to be the victim. Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt. And you have a chance right now to teach him.” I agree; prejudice is ignorance. But, prejudice is often backed by power. In our society, individuals, groups, institutions, etc. get away with homophobia, racism, sexism, and so many others, because our social systems support them. Society is not inherently neutral. Lines were drawn long before we showed up on the scene, and while we didn’t pick the setup, it’s been laid out for us. Battling ignorance IS about education and about sharing information that changes the ways the world is understood, but we’re already starting on biased ground. The battle truly is an uphill climb. Plus, the battle is bigger than changing individuals. It involves changing individuals and seeking to change the larger culture that places limits and restrictions on those who don’t conform to a socially built idea of ‘normal.’ So, while perhaps Blaine’s advice is accurate and appropriate for Kurt, for Glee, and for the audience, I feel the need to acknowledge some of the complexities in accomplishing what Blaine suggests.
Okay, enough of my being down on the details.
As Emma Pillsbury would say, “Yay, Glee!” Plus, I must offer a shout out to actors Chris Colfer (who plays Kurt Hummel) and Max Adler (who plays Dave Karofsky). You gentlemen are amazing in your attention to detail. You knock my socks off!
Also, if you’re interested in other pretty mainstream examples of queering pop culture, a good example is the video below. The men of the University of Rochester's YellowJackets filmed a parody of the video to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.” Much like Glee’s version of “Teenage Dream” could be interpreted as a musical conversation between two same-sex participants (Blaine and Kurt), the YellowJackets reimagine a song originally written about a hetero- couple in a queer context. (The video below has Swift’s voice as audio. If you want to hear the YellowJackets sing it, go here.)
From my perspective, the more we queer pop culture, the more space exists for everyone to feel safe and comfortable being exactly who they are. There has been a lot of news coverage in the past few months about young people who have taken their own lives as a result of bullying focused on the victim’s sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Information from The Trevor Project tells us that suicide rates have not gone up, only the level of media attention they are receiving. Young people all over the country, and all over the world, are feeling hopeless, voiceless, and alone. Queering pop culture is one (of many) ways to help people feel less alone. Seeing media representations of characters and experiences to whom and with which they can relate matters.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Trevor Project, check them out here. Also, the It Gets Better Project, founded by writer and media pundit Dan Savage, is a space designed to give voice to experiences often pushed to the margins. Their tag says, “Many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.” There are many great videos in their archives. If you haven’t seen the video by Fort Worth, Texas City Councilman Joel Burns, it is especially worth watching.
And, on a final, final note, if you feel the need to hear more delicious a cappella, give this a try. It’s the Leading Tones from The Ohio University (Ohio represent!) singing Ben Folds' "Brick." (Did you know Ben Folds pulled together a WHOLE album of collegiate groups singing vocal arrangements of his songs?! It's called Ben Folds Presents: University a Cappella! Hell to the yeah!)
It’s been buzzing around the internet the last little while, but have you seen the work of Bill Rankin? He’s a historian and cartographer, and the curator/developer/mastermind behind Radical Cartography.
He does all sorts of map-making that intentionally pushes the boundaries of how folks think about maps as information organizers, transmitters, and social tools. For example, his 2005 map called "Suicide" shows the difference in rates of suicide by white men and white women geographically in the U.S. (you might be surprised), and his 2006 map "U.S. Economic Empire" shows the percent of nations' GDP that was exported to the U.S. in 2003.
But what seems to have gained the most attention recently are his 2009 "Chicago Boundaries" maps, one which maps race/ethnicity in the city limits and the other which maps income in the same area. Here's what he says:
“Any city-dweller knows that most neighborhoods don't have stark boundaries. Yet on maps, neighborhoods are almost always drawn as perfectly bounded areas, miniature territorial states of ethnicity or class. This is especially true for Chicago, where the delimitation of Chicago's official “community areas” in the 1920s was one of the hallmarks of the famous Chicago School of urban sociology. And maps showing perfectly homogeneous neighborhoods are still published today, in both popular and academic contexts alike.
My alternative is to use dot mapping to show three kinds of urban transitions. First, there are indeed areas where changes take place at very precise boundaries — such as between Lawndale and the Little Village, or Austin and Oak Park — and Chicago has more of these stark borders than most cities in the world. But transitions also take place through gradients and gaps as well, especially in the northwest and southeast. Using graphic conventions which allow these other possibilities to appear takes much more data, and requires more nuance in the way we talk about urban geography, but a cartography without boundaries can also make simplistic policy or urban design more difficult — in a good way.”
Long and short, he used city-block level data from the 2000 U.S. Census (rather than 'neighborhood' data) to map race/ethnicity (using the categories stipulated in the Census). Every color-coded dot represents 25 people. A pink dot represents 25 White people. A blue dot reps 25 Black people. Asians are shown in green, Hispanics (again, the language of the Census) are in orange, and "Others" are in gray. The result: whatever people might suggest to the contrary, segregation very much continues to exist in Chicago my friends. (In case you had any doubt.)
But the visual is stunning – both for showing levels of racial integration (or its lack) and population density.
Running with Rankin's idea, Eric Fischer used the same technique to map over 100 U.S. cities. (And he just posted up the results less than a month ago.) The results are amazing to look at, in addition to being amazingly informative. Plus, being on Flickr, the images have numerous tags to help readers identify neighborhoods, landmarks, and so forth. And, as readers look through, some are also commenting on the many ways history impacts population divisions -- such as the effects of redlining in Detroit and the geographic boundary of the Pima Maricopa Indian Reservation just east of Phoenix.
Go check it out. It’ll give you something to think about.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love maps?!
UPDATE (November 2010): It recently came to my attention that Bill Rankin is the downstairs housemate of my good friend and old roomie Sarita. Imagine that. Small world, eh?! - November 2010
UPDATE (July 29, 2011): Bill Rankin recently posted a short (5 minute) video explaining his map of Chicago. It's super interesting and totally worth watching. Here it is:
There are days when I wonder if anything is safe to eat. (Like yesterday when the prepackaged garden salad I got from the school cafeteria looked as if it hadn’t even been washed. The lettuce had weird dusty black ick all over it. And it wasn’t dirt. And it didn’t stick like mold. I don’t know what it was, but it was disgusting. And dirty. And don’t mock me; you wouldn’t have eaten it either.)
On an increasingly common basis I think about ways I can become more closely connected to the source of my food. I want to KNOW the conditions in which it was grown; how it was altered chemically, genetically, or environmentally; and frankly whether it’s safe for me to eat. In many ways, it’s a hard balance. Living in a very urban space on a below-the-poverty-line income, I have limited options. (BUT, I do have options, AND I have the cultural capital to know about those options and how to access them, so really I’m not in the same bad situation as many, many others.) But, in the process of feeling safe about the source of my food, I have rarely felt that the government had my best interests (aka – my health and well-being) at heart.
Slow Food USA has created a video and a petition they hope will help change that. They're asking Congress to better regulate the food industry and thus help ensure the health of all Americans. So we're talking about making corporations accountable for actions (or the lack of actions) that produce/protect a healthy food supply; demanding that the USDA and FDA communicate better with one another; and supporting legislation that simplifies food safety regulation.
Sounds good to me. Here's the video:
And, if you're interested, you can look at and/or sign the petition.
It’s feeling about time that I get back to my “Video Spotlight” roots, as it were. Usually I post up short three or four minute videos. Not today. Today I’m asking you to take 13 minutes to listen to this BRILLIANT segment from this past Thursday’s The Rachel Maddow Show. Rachel discusses the rise of women candidates in the GOP and the logical analysis that women candidates can have an influence on women’s votes. She also explains that women (brace yourself) might not vote based on chromosomes, but rather on issues. Shocking, right?! Just as the number of women candidates in the GOP rises, so too rises that number of right-wingers, including women, who take the previously extreme view that abortion should be banned for ALL people, including victims of rape and incest. So, will women citizens vote for women candidates who propose greater and greater limits to women and girls’ reproductive rights? Hard to say. I hope not. They surely won’t have my vote.
In addition, the segment features a discussion with the wonderful Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University, who shares this gem:
"There is no place in the world and no time in history where restricting women's reproductive rights makes a people or a nation more free or more equal. These extreme positions on abortion are without any question a war on American girls and women, and the fact that there are women who are both complicit and participatory in it is really neither surprising nor unprecedented. It has always been true and it is incredibly important that we recognize that, despite the fact that we can be very proud of these women as women and as politicians, that the question is: how do women as citizens fair on the other side of them either being elected or not elected?"
And, if you need a little laugh/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you humor/sorrow in your life, you can give this little “Rachel Maddow is a lesbian vampire” segment from yesterday’s show a watch too. Wow.
Earlier this month, CitizenLink (a Focus on the Family affiliate) did a report that offered "back-to-school tools that'll help you identify and push back against the gay agenda in the classroom." (Note: Typically in my posts I link to organizations and groups I reference, but I’m not particularly fond of Focus on the Family and their affiliates, so if you’d like to see their sites directly, I encourage you to do so, but you will need to seek them out directly. They will come right up when you search for them by name.)
As a classroom teacher and an active LGBTQ advocate and ally, the CitizenLink broadcast makes me disheartened, sorrowful, angry, and hurt. Originally I sat down to write a satirical, comedic blog post on this topic, but I think I need to offer a sincere response. (Even so, comedy can be a great tool when confronting homophobia and bigotry. Bryan Safi over at Current TV has a great comedic response to Focus on the Family’s broadcast on his regular segment That’s Gay, which I enjoy thoroughly. You can watch his response here.)
Two things in particular about the CitizenLink report concern me:
First, CitizenLink’s Education Analyst (and I cringe at that title because it sounds so impartial and unbiased, but no one is truly objective and I’m trying to be respectful, so…) Candi Cushman makes a suggestion that concerned parents should check their child’s school library catalogue and search for key terms such as ‘homosexuality,’ ‘gay,’ and ‘lesbian.’ She says that if lots of items come up in the search then the school probably supports ‘the gay agenda.’ She argues that school libraries reflect school philosophies and if a library has a lot of ‘gay books’ then kids can check them out and teachers can use them as classroom resources. My thought is that libraries are meant to be the storehouse of available knowledge, which suggests that all ideas and opinions should be represented. If the ‘gay books’ are absent or restricted, then the library has failed to do its duty as a holder of knowledge and, at its worst, is participating in censorship. To blame a school for having books and resources is to deny trust or respect to its users – teachers, staff, students, and families – to be self-selective and judicious about material use. It also suggests that ‘gay books’ make people gay which, shockingly, is not true.
So, first, I’m concerned that Focus on the Family is suggesting a censorship of books and resources.
Second, CitizenLink’s anchor (or whatever) Stuart Shepard talks, along with Cushman, about ways to “identify and push back against the gay agenda in the classroom.” He says,
“Teachers send a lot of things home in the backpacks. It's important to read what's in there and kinda look for language that might be suggestive [of the gay agenda]. Often bullying is one of the ways that it's disguised. It talks about a Safe Schools Week or a Bullying Seminar."
In my experience, bullying takes many forms and attacks many people for many different reasons. Sexual orientation and gender identity, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of your friends or family, are only some of those reasons. At some point EVERYONE is the victim of bullying. I promise. To suggest that schools’ efforts to confront bullying supports ‘the gay agenda’ (whether you agree with that statement or not) denies the reality that ALL students can benefit from having less bullying in their lives – as protagonists and as victims. Cushman goes on to talk about ways to confront ‘real’ bullying, but as a professional educator I am shocked that ‘safe schools’ and ‘bullying’ are apparently buzz words synonymous with ‘gay activists’ and ‘gay supporters.’ I can pledge, proudly, that I will continue to actively fight bullying in my school and community and that INCLUDES fighting to protect LGBTQ folks and their friends and families. Mark me down as a ‘gay activist’ and ‘gay supporter.’ I welcome the label. And apparently families should now fear me. Though I’m still confused as to why. Bullying, in all its forms, hurts everyone, and we should do everything in our power to actively confront it.
Cushman goes on to talk about ways that “cute little pictures of furry animals” are used to “sneak… homosexuality lessons into things with innocent sounding titles.” She references the children’s book And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole, which tells the true story of Roy and Silo, two male penguins at New York City’s Central Park Zoo, who adopt an egg in need of nurturing and hatch and raise their daughter Tango. I’ve read the book. It’s lovely. And for the children in my classroom who have same-sex parents, it made them feel a little more recognized and understood in the world, and for my students who came from families put together in other ways (and there are many ways to build a family), the book gave them one more way to understand what it means to be a family.
At the end of the day, it sounds like Focus on the Family thinks bullying is okay and books/furry animals encourage being gay. All of this is simply a crock of shit. And as I teacher I will proudly, adamantly, and unapologetically stand against bullying and utilize any and all books and resources (though not as likely cute fuzzy animals) to help my students understand the complex reality of the world around them. My intention is not to make Christians or others who don’t condone homosexuality or gender variance to feel unwelcome, but it is my responsibility to create an environment where all people feel welcome, valued, seen, and heard – including folks who identify as LGBTQ. Rather than censoring access to knowledge or promoting one idea of the world, my job is to help students and their families develop critical thinking skills that allow them to make their own life choices while honoring the freedom of others to do the same.
If you’d like to see the full video of the CitizenLink broadcast, it’s here (9min30sec). (Image from here.)
I wish folks would take the time to really learn a bit more about Islam (and from the source, not second-hand from idiots like FOX News) and spend some time thinking about the many ways Christianity is privileged in our "separation of church and state" society. I'm not saying anyone needs to 'turn Muslim' but a little open-minded willingness to ask sincere questions, listen honestly, and reflect humbly could do us all a world of good.
And, getting off my soap box, one of my favorite lines from Stewart's monologue was this:
FOX Newscaster: "There are a number of people asking, 'Why are these mosques being built in my community?'" Jon Stewart: "Oh! Oh! Oh! I, I think I know the answer to this one! There are Muslims in your community. And they can't find a prayer rug room in the church or synagogue."
Through my work at Chicago Children's Museum I spent roughly five days a week last April and May (2009) documenting and helping to facilitate workshops for parents and professional development trainings for educators about the connections between play and learning. Our 'Communities at Play' team (or CAP, as we called it) set up short-term residencies in Chicago Park District buildings located in four Chicago neighborhoods -- Englewood, Humboldt Park, Pilsen, and Rogers Park -- and listened to what people had to say about play, its value, and the barriers they face in supporting children's play in their communities.
Then I spent from June to October (2009) analyzing all the data we had collected, merging it with data from online surveys the Museum had conducted between October 2008 and April 2009, and drafting the first version of what would become the "The State of Play in Chicago's Communities" report. After MONTHS of revisions and delays within the Museum, the final report is now available to the public. Yippee!
In some ways the final report is markedly different from what I originally wrote and I mourn portions that were taken out and language that was removed by editors who had the final say, but much of the report's core remains the same. If you would like to read the report, you can find it here (pdf). Also, all of the photographs of adults in the report were taken by me (as are the photos in this post).
It's nice to see that all the efforts put forth by the CAP team and participants is finally available to the world. Go read the report!
This video was filmed and produced at the school where I teach, features Damian, our assistant principal, as Michael Jackson and members of our faculty, staff, and student body as the other dancers, singers, and actors. The video was shared with the entire student body (K-12) yesterday during one of our regular school-wide gatherings. Who's bad?!
If you're like to see the video with an inset of the original MJ video, you can watch that here.
I was reading the New York Times yesterday evening and ran across an article by Dan Barry titled "This Land: Border Towns Across Rio, Worlds Apart in Drug War." The article brought me to tears. As I've mentioned before, I spent some time in the border region of El Paso and Juárez back in 2002, so as I read of the escalating violence, increase poverty, and growing fear of those bound to life on the 'wrong' side of the river, in my mind I couldn’t help but see the faces of the children and families I met while I was there.
I wonder if Christina is still running the children’s library and organizing HIV/AIDs efforts in her impoverished community. I wonder if Alma – whose house burned to the ground while we watched – is safe somewhere. And I wonder about the children I met -- Carlos, Junior, Melissa, Armando, Esperanza, Elian, Jonathan, and the others. Most of them would be in their early teens now. Are their families still together? Are they split across borders, hundreds of miles apart? Are they involved in the cartels? Are they safe? Did those who wanted U.S. citizenship receive it? Those seeking asylum? Are they in school? I know that I will never have the answers to these questions. So, when I read the Times article, I can’t help but wonder if the slain children, the families trying to figure out how to survive, the communities torn by violence, drugs, and poverty have the faces of people who shared their meals with me, told me their stories, and offered me their kindness.
The article talks of walking across the border. I’ve made that walk. It names streets and describes markets on both sides of the river that I’ve frequented. It describes communities that, for a brief time, welcomed me into their membership.
I read this article, and I don’t know what to do about it. I feel very far away. And very small. In the article, they mention the work of Annunciation House, which is the organization that hosted me while I was in the region. They are continuing to serve as a voice for the voiceless, a hand of aid to the helpless, and a source of comfort and solidarity for the downtrodden. So, as I struggle to make sense of the continuing terror overtaking Juárez, I direct our eyes to their work. Perhaps we can support them as they support others.
Life's busy, but I wanted to highlight that Dessa Darling, an Minneapolis-based author, spoken word artist, and emcee that I really dig just dropped her first full length album -- A Badly Broken Code (which you can get more info about, download a free track off of, and/or buy here). Dessa's a member of the Doomtree Hip-Hop Collective and is also a founding member of The Boy Sopranos, an a cappella group. And she teaches composition, songwriting, and hip-hop at the college level. (Awesome, right?!)
I love the strong voice and raw talent she brings to her music. Swing by her MySpace page to hear a great sampling of her work, and below is the first video single, Dixon's Girl, from her album:
Being a woman in music, especially in hip-hop is not easy. Dessa wrote up a little essay at the turn of the year about her experience being a woman in hip-hop. Here it is:
My membership in Doomtree has been the largest single factor in my career as a hip hop artist. I make music with with smart, funny, good-hearted guys who aren’t particularly concerned with the fact that I’m a woman. So my gender hasn’t played a very large role in my process of making music. My gender has, however, affected the presentation of that music.
The fact that I’m female seems to be more interesting to listeners and critics than it is to the people I work with. And I think I understand why. Women are rare in hip hop and novelty is interesting. My private fear, as a person who hopes to have a sustainable career as an artist, is that people might become interested in me for the wrong reasons. Youth is brief and beauty is fleeting, and I don’t want to tether my reputation to variables that are so temporary–and that are completely distinct from my art and from my character. The challenge for me has been to find a way to work as a rapper without diminishing my gender (in effort to fit into a pretty masculine environment) or exalting it (for some easy coverage). It’s a surprisingly fine line, and honestly I’ve made missteps on either side of it.
The other primary challenge is probably even better known to actresses than to rappers. It involves trying to understand the motivations of men who profess to be interested in professional collaboration. To be totally frank, I’m a little nervous that this paragraph will come off as whiny–but it’s an honest account of my experience, so here goes:
As an artist, it’s marvelously exciting when someone you admire offers you a professional opportunity–it’s one of the best feelings in this line of work. As a single, female artist in her late twenties, one of the worst feelings you can have is when you realize that someone has offered you a professional opportunity because he’s hoping for a romantic encounter. The artist part of you feels disappointed because the proposed collaboration was not motivated by a respect for your art. The female part of you feels insulted for being deceived. The human part of you feels embarrassed for having hoped…and then been duped. Repeat this experience at a regular interval, year after year, and it’s hard not to feel a little jaded about the way that people work.
But all said and done…I love being a woman. And I love being an artist. And I’m privileged to live in a culture that allows me to be both in almost any manner that I please. The challenges are offset by the genuine responses that I get from listeners, and by the thrill I get working with the other artists in Doomtree.
I have a warm-and-fuzzy place in my heart for Jay Smooth. (If you didn't already know that about me, where have you been?! If I haven't shared my crush with you before, shame on me. Jay Smooth is the tops.)
Anywho, here's a shout out to all those for whom the holidays aren't so merry and bright. Jay says it so much better than I could:
Sending you love, joy, and wishes for a peace-filled, satisfying new year!
i don't know what i am anymore, and i think that's just fine. i've returned to academia, taking the good with the bad. if you ask me what i do, on the bad days i'll say i'm a "slave to an instituationalized oppressive system." on the good, i'll say i'm a "student who is an adventurer in the art of learning" (P. Freire).
