"Mar" "Sell" Us". Director of Center for Social Change, Associate Teaching Prof (Africana Studies, Philosophy, etc.), and Doctoral Candidate in Education. Former Law School Dean of Students, K-12 DEI admin, and cultural center director. *Views are my own*
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I’m convinced that many college admin live in a world that doesn’t exist. I’m seeing many push “viewpoint diversity” and say that conservatives are being silenced when many of them have spent the last two years actively silencing pro-Palestine progressives/left-leaning students, staff, and faculty.
Rather than address gun violence, there has been a big push from media, politicians, etc. to treat gun violence as completely inevitable or an acceptable trade off for having expanded gun rights/access. That allows those in power to pretend they have no ability to make change. None of that is true.
In ~5 years the narrative drastically shifted from speaking up about wrongs and challenging oppressive systems to staying quiet and accepting oppressive systems for self-preservation. But many will find that self-preservation doesn’t really exist. It only delays the inevitable unless you fight back.
Rather than address gun violence, there has been a big push from media, politicians, etc. to treat gun violence as completely inevitable or an acceptable trade off for having expanded gun rights/access. That allows those in power to pretend they have no ability to make change. None of that is true.
This is awful, and I can’t begin to express my anger, rage, and disappointment that we live in a country that values protecting gun rights over protecting children. Adults continue to fail the children.
Congrats! To quote Du Bois, ""The honor, I assure you, [is] Harvard's"
Eric Adams should also probably contact the current mayor of NYC, whoever that is, about these very important issues.
One of the best things about Mamdani is that he seems to view being around people as an opportunity rather than an obligation. While others politicians are avoiding calls, not holding town halls, and running from people, he is hosting a scavenger hunt and seems to enjoy interacting with people.
Referring to Rudy Giuliani. Been free since 1997.
Dem consultants: “We can’t figure out how to engage voters/excite the base.” Dems, progressives, and apathetic voters nationally: “I wish my reps were like Mamdani.” Dem politicians: “Not sure I can support him. What about nonexistent moderates and republicans who won’t support us regardless?”
Growth is realizing that “Insecure” and “Girlfriends” were shows about best friends who fucking HATED each other.
I've said it dozens of times, but based on what is needed for the moment, Hakeem Jeffries might go down as the worst party leader of either party in recent memory. He is spineless, full of empty words, a bad politician, a supporter of unpopular policies, and ill-equipped to move the party forward.
All Trump's justifications use Bear Patrol logic: Homer: Well there's not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol is sure doing its job. ... Lisa: Dad, what if I were to tell you that this rock keeps away tigers? ... L: It doesn't work. It's just a stupid rock. But you don't see any tigers around do you?
For context, the requirement for an HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) is 25%+ Hispanic or Latino undergraduate full-time. There are over 500 HSIs, including many Research 1 institutions. Congressional appropriations for HSIs in 2024 was over $350 million. This will be devastating for many schools.
The fact that many respond to teaching about chattel slavery in the Americas by saying "Slavery was everywhere" shows that the problem isn't talking about slavery too much. It's not talking enough about slavery and racism, namely the construction of race to create, maintain, and perpetuate slavery.
I appreciate this framing much more than other outlets. Others are framing it as if Justice Jackson is breaking some sort of important norm rather than rightly calling out her colleagues for their hypocrisy and making a mockery of the law and the norms/precedents the Court, itself, has established.
Also, not the point, but many of these words aren't even commonly used. Even if they were commonly used, if the intent is to be more inclusive or empathetic, what's the real problem? Should this be a bigger worry or concern than the atrocities being committed in the country and world?
This is a fake culture war. Voters largely don't care or are favorable to inclusive terms. Voters DO dislike both parties: Dems because they are spineless, don't listen to constituents, and try to be GOP-lite and Repubs because they embrace fascism, favor billionaires, and create fake culture wars.
Yeah, that would be a really bad argument because it could apply to essentially every example we have of a genocide.
I don’t understand this argument at all or the connection to length or periods of time. The Holocaust lasted years, so according to this argument, it wasn’t a genocide?
Congrats!
I’ve talked to multiple higher ed admin, and they claim that the concessions are acts of self-preservation. What’s telling is that none have given a good answer when I ask what it says about institutions that they decided that equity for minoritized/marginalized populations isn’t worth preserving.
Some courses I've taught or developed: -Black Freedom Struggles -Connecting Social Movements: U.S. Civil Rights and African Liberation -Black liberation and Black liberatory solidarity from non-Black positionalities -Contemporary African American Life -Law, Philosophy, Education, and Race
Trump’s comments about slavery make it clear he wants to dilute/misrepresent Black history. It’s important we educate ourselves, our communities, and especially young people. I teach Africana studies so if you want to see my syllabi, need resources/articles, or I can help in some way, reach out.
In my class, “Black Freedom Struggles”, we talk about slavery in detail. A comment I get from students across the board is that they had no idea how horrible slavery was and how it was much worse than they knew/imagined. If anything, most depictions fail to capture just how horrid and cruel it was.
I think that’s more an issue of enforcement and application not definition, which is my point.
It's also ridiculous because the museum focuses on humanity/human condition with slavery as a contrast aimed to dehumanize. The real focus is the people within the context of slavery/other forms of oppression. It takes great care to not downplay slavery while also not reducing people to just that.
Every time I see politicians, media, and people with an agenda talk about "crime", it reinforces this point.
“Nazis interacted with me and thought I was the type of person they should be nice to while they were out in public and recruiting” is absolutely not the gotcha she thinks it is. I wonder what it’s like to be devoid of self-reflection.
It is unacceptable and unconscionable to say that people who were intentionally and systematically starved just "died". It's not passive. They were killed. And it's important that every person and every media outlet call it what it is.
After delivering a talk today I want to say this about the moment: Students are still eager to learn, act, and fight to make the world better. And they’re looking to us for help. We can either wallow in self-pity or pick ourselves up and work alongside them to make the world better for us and them.
Playing is more important than work meetings. I’m with the 6 year old on this one.
Too many are waiting for history to repeat itself rather than meeting the moment when it rhymes. And too many are waiting to be saved by politicians who embrace power structures and systems that view most people as expendable and only useful as a means to maintain and hold power.
In DC, and I’ve seen the National Guard do the following: 1) Take pictures with people wearing MAGA apparel (It’s really weird to put toddlers and children in political apparel). 2) Look bored on their phones. 3) Bother an unhoused man. 4) Walk back and forth doing nothing. Great use of resources.
I’m in DC now (was a trip planned months ago). It’s much less crowded than I’ve seen in years. We’ve been able to walk right into places that normally would have a long wait or be really busy.
In DC, and I’ve seen the National Guard do the following: 1) Take pictures with people wearing MAGA apparel (It’s really weird to put toddlers and children in political apparel). 2) Look bored on their phones. 3) Bother an unhoused man. 4) Walk back and forth doing nothing. Great use of resources.
And because she's a person of color, some will assume she disagrees with the racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness, but many POC (especially non-Black POC) are 100% willing to adhere to the model minority myth and embrace racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness for adjacency to whiteness.
Agreed. “See how our ideological beliefs and policies benefit you” vs “Let us change our ideological beliefs and policies to accommodate you”. One leads to popular, equitable policies. The other leads to ineffective, moderate policies through “compromise” that satisfy no one and alienate many.
This is also global. Colonial power structures use language like “law”, “order”, “chaos”, and “safety” to establish a sole right to “defend” themselves/claim self defense and a “right to exist” to justify criminalizing, denying movement/ autonomy, relocation, and killing marginalized populations.
Crime isn't a neutral term. It is political and weaponized. A crime is an act defined by law as deserving of penalty/punishment. Criminalization is turning an activity into an offense/making it illegal. Both reflect biases and are determined/enforced based on who those in power want to target/harm.
Telling folks that the Kim Davis appeal is unlikely to go to the Supreme Court isn't the point, and I don't know why some folks refuse to get that. It's not about THIS appeal. Activists are simply telling folks that this is part of a larger plan that requires mobilization now rather than later.
"...is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"
A maxim of constitutional standing is American taxpayers have a very limited ability to challenge governmental actions; you know how that maxim came about? Black citizens sued and said we should not be taxed for grossly unequal facilities; the courts’ response was to limit taxpayer standing.
This is also global. Colonial power structures use language like “law”, “order”, “chaos”, and “safety” to establish a sole right to “defend” themselves/claim self defense and a “right to exist” to justify criminalizing, denying movement/ autonomy, relocation, and killing marginalized populations.
Since this is the last week before classes start, seems like a good time to share that I've joined the Delaware Law School faculty! It's bittersweet to end my time in DC but I'm ecstatic to focus on teaching and scholarship full-time. Onward!
Same. People keep waiting and saying we aren’t there yet, but I keep saying it has already begun, and we’re getting dangerously close to no return. People keep calling me pessimistic, but part of the reason we learn about and value history is to recognize the warning signs before it’s too late.
This. It’s not an action with good or honest intent. It’s an authoritarian act where he’s daring someone to try and stop him. And when they don’t, he knows he can go further. He did it in LA. He’s doing it in DC. And the plan is to expand and intensify.
I agree they aren’t likely to take up THIS case, but i don’t think it’s unlikely that the Court takes up a case in the near future with a more “sympathetic” plaintiff or in response to a state arguing “states rights, “federal overreach”, or “religious freedom” that will weaken/overturn Obergefell.
We can’t even get every history teacher to agree the Civil War was about slavery even though the states explicitly said it was the reason in writing. I’d settle for more folks having competent history teachers at this point.
I don’t think those are conflicting positions at all. But in my experience, prosecutors often cause just as much harm. The system is not set up to protect or support victims, and public defenders advocating for their clients are not uniquely terrible in this area.
Ms. Rachel, the children's content creator, has taken more action and has been more outspoken about Gaza than almost any U.S. political leader. That tells you all you need to know about how spineless those who represent us are, and for their cowardice, they deserve to be primaried and voted out.
While Pete Buttigieg has an utter lack of authenticity and moral courage, he makes up for it with verbosity and platitudes, making him a champion for inept and spineless liberals everywhere.
Great opportunity to share the 1965 debate between Baldwin and Buckley, that Baldwin won 544 to 164. It was pretty much Baldwin kicking his ass and Buckley spouting bad arguments and thinly veiled racism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tek...
My colleague wrote a great book about it, for anyone interested. He has fun stories about trying to locate the original tape! Apparently one existed that had more of the student content than the recording most people have seen. a.co/d/bMTVGFQ
Great opportunity to share the 1965 debate between Baldwin and Buckley, that Baldwin won 544 to 164. It was pretty much Baldwin kicking his ass and Buckley spouting bad arguments and thinly veiled racism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tek...
Disagree with this take by Sotomayor. Article III establishes the Supreme Court and gives the Court judicial power, but it would seem that Congress has the power and authority to structure the Court in line with how they see fit. That would include term limits and changing the number of Justices.
I personally find it unproductive to sneer/jeer at those saying they regret their vote but I do think it’s important to acknowledge the doubt some have. Many claim to regret votes only to vote for someone similar/the same person. Many “regretted” their Trump 2016 vote but voted for him in 2020/2024.
This is dope. Thanks for sharing with us.
To: UCLA cc: All the institutions that already paid bribes bcc: Every other higher education institution
While these polls are mostly just a reflection of name recognition, I will say that though I don't share many of his politics, I have more respect for someone like Beshear, who defends trans kids in a very conservative state, than I do for Newsom or Buttigieg, who threw trans people under the bus.
that they're taking Medgar Evers' name off of a ship while re-erecting Confederate statues isn't some kind of hypocritical inconsistency on the general subject of historical remembrance; it's a consistent commitment to white supremacy.
The Trump admin is not just praising the Confederacy. It's pushing for a return of the Lost Cause narrative and the prevailing thoughts of The Dunning School. It is part of a larger plan to rewrite history and give credibility to racist historical thought in their attempts to shape the future. /15
DuBois also pointed out that Black freedman and poor white people were divided due to race, allowing white planters to regain control. DuBois noted that in allowing white planters to regain control, it ended up disenfranchising Black people AND poor whites. /14
He noted many accomplishments of the Reconstruction: Public health/sanitation, public infrastructure, public education in the South for the first time, welfare laws, charitable institutions for all, extension of voting for landless white people, etc, many remaining even after Reconstruction. /13
DuBois also emphasized that the white elite planter class tried to retain control and land and used terror to repress Black people and Black voting. /12
DuBois pointed out how enslaved people on Southern plantations would stop working (representing a strike that Southern elites weren’t ready for). He also noted that post-emancipation in the South didn’t turn to chaos like the Dunning School argued. /11
DuBois wrote Black Reconstruction in America in 1935, and people dismissed it or argued he was wrong, most accepting the Dunning School line of thinking. However, historians have now come to accept that he was very much right about facts and analysis. /10
DuBois wrote about the Reconstruction in the Atlantic (1901), “The Souls of Black Folks” (1903), and “The Gift of Black Folk” (1924). Dunning himself praised a presentation/essay that DuBois delivered in 1909 about Reconstruction, but Dunning didn't change any of his views. /9
There was pushback, especially from Black people. John Lynch, a Black writer, military officer, and politician, wrote “The Facts of Reconstruction” in 1913, which critiqued the Dunning school. DuBois wrote "Black Reconstruction in America" (a must read), challenging the Dunning School thought. /8
This Dunning School thought argued Reconstruction was a failure and many people within this school of thought and trained by Dunning went on to get academic jobs throughout the country, especially the South. They influenced generations with these myths, which are still felt today. /7
Foner (cont): "And it was only after the Civil Rights revolution swept away the racist underpinnings of that old view—i.e., that black people are incapable of taking part in American democracy—that you could get a new view of Reconstruction widely accepted." /6
Foner (cont): "It was a justification for the white South resisting outside efforts in changing race relations because of the worry of having another Reconstruction. All of the alleged horrors of Reconstruction helped to freeze the minds of the white South in resistance to any change whatsoever." /5
Historian Eric Foner describing the Dunning School: "It was part of the edifice of the Jim Crow System. It was an explanation for and justification of taking the right to vote away from black people on the grounds that they completely abused it during Reconstruction." /4
Specifically, they argued that Black people were incapable of governance and segregation was necessary, which would rule out multiracial governance. They also said allowing Black people to vote and hold office was an error. /3
William A. Dunning (1857-1922) was a Columbia prof who wrote about Reconstruction and created a school of thought with PhD students, arguing the South was hurt by Reconstruction and American values were "trampled" by the U.S. army. The terms "scalawags"/"carpetbaggers" were popularized by this. /2
When talking about "The Lost Cause", it's also important to explain what shaped the narrative, the Dunning School, which perpetuated racist beliefs that were in textbooks through the 1960s (and later), arguing the virtue of the Southern cause and calling Reconstruction a failure when it wasn't. 🧵/1
Democrats should gerrymander in response to Republican attempts to gerrymander in Texas (also Florida and other states). They can't play by the rules while the other side blows up the rules. But I believe the best resolution for the country is national fair districting and ranked choice voting.
Democrats should gerrymander in response to Republican attempts to gerrymander in Texas (also Florida and other states). They can't play by the rules while the other side blows up the rules. But I believe the best resolution for the country is national fair districting and ranked choice voting.
The Wire Season 2 was fantastic. People didn’t like it because they misunderstood what the show was really about and instead just wanted a show that conformed to stereotypes.
In my program, you have to submit a 20-25 page Written Project Proposal and an oral exam. I finished my draft of the proposal and after editing, sent it to my committee. They’ll give me some feedback prior to my oral exam this fall.
Draft submitted to committee. Comps defense date pending.
AI isn’t neutral and isn’t free from bias. AI is a reflection of society, which is embedded with biases, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., and a reflection of those who create it, who have been deeply conditioned by those biases and -isms.
It would never, ever happen, but imagine Dolly Parton running as an independent. She would win in a landslide.
We have too much access to each other in the worst ways, making us think we know people when we don’t and taking away the excitement of getting to know people through real interaction. We also created the unreasonable expectation that people should respond to us immediately when texting/calling.
South Carolina (continued): "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." /10
South Carolina: "But an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations, and the laws of the General Government have ceased to effect the objects of the Constitution" /9
Virginia: "...the Federal Government, having perverted said powers, not only to the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern Slaveholding States." /8
Georgia: "The people of Georgia...present...the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery." /7
Texas (continued): "...in this free government *all white men are and of right ought to be entitled to equal civil and political rights* that the servitude of the African race, as existing in these States...is abundantly authorized and justified by the experience of mankind" /6
Texas: "We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment..." /5
Mississippi (continued): "and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.” /4
Mississippi (continued): "Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions…" /3
Mississippi: "...it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course. Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world." /2
If you defend or honor the Confederacy, you are defending and honoring slavery and racism. Putting up monuments honoring the Confederacy means you are honoring slavery and racism. There is no debate because the states told us explicitly why they were seceding and why the Confederacy was formed. 🧵/1
AI isn’t neutral and isn’t free from bias. AI is a reflection of society, which is embedded with biases, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., and a reflection of those who create it, who have been deeply conditioned by those biases and -isms.
It will never stop being infuriating that many of the same people who want to debate the definition and nuances of using the word “genocide” have little to no problem describing what’s happening as a “war” without any level of examination or scrutiny of definitions, terms, or actual events.
I just had exactly this conversation this morning. I’ve had this conversation thousands of times at this point. Some people get angry with me. They call me a Doomer. That’s fine. I just don’t know what people see.
When I'm asked that question about higher ed "going back to normal", I compare it to climate-related disasters. Rebuilding isn't guaranteed depending on who/where you are. High costs, disruption, shortages, lack of trust and government support. Many will relocate instead. Others will sadly suffer.
You’re taking that comment as me making an excuse?
There was literally a tactic called “The Jordan Rules”, which was based on physically challenging him and essentially beating him up. People are ridiculous.