Selma 50th

Photo courtesy of The White House

When I first started to hear about the celebrations for the anniversary of the famous Selma to Montgomery march, I was not sure about going. However, it did not take me long to make up my mind. Yea, I would have to take off from work, but you know that I decided a long time ago to not allow my job to control me. So, I booked a flight and the rest is history....

Great nephew, mom, and me waiting in the security line!

We got up early to head over to Selma from Mongomery and that distance is about 54 miles. On that drive, I thought about the Civil Rights Giants making that journey that must have been completing exhausting, physically and emotionally, but I sure hope it was empowering. I would love to hear the conversations that took place on that journey; I sure hope that they laughed a bit....

Arriving in Selma and seeing a sea of people, caused my heart to flutter. We patiently waited in the security line and made it through the gates just as The President was starting his speech:

"Fifty years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early travelers, and draw strength from their example, and hold firmly the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”  (Read the entire speech here!)

After the speech, there was nothing like seeing the Presidential Motorcade and The President of The United States crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

After the speech, there was a huge street festival with tons of food, vendors, and even a concert. You know that I love crowds, and this did my heart good.

Ran into the mom of a childhood friend!

Later that night a few of my friends dropped by my nephew's house, and we just happened to get our hands on FREE tickets to see Patti LaBelle in concert. Now, you know that we had been up all day walking, standing, and fellowshipping, BUT how could we pass up a Patti LaBelle Concert?  We figured that this was part of the whole Selma 50 experience.

Patti LaBelle

The day that the President spoke, people were not allowed to cross that famous bridge, but you know that a whole bunch of people and I got up Sunday morning, to go back to Selma, to climb that bridge to pay homage to people who I thought I could not love more, but after this weekend, I do love them more....

I know that Dr. King, Congressman John Lewis and all of the other Civil Rights Giants did not think that they were doing something that would draw thousand to Selma, including The President of the United States. However, they persevered, endured beatings, dogs, and fires hoses... and left an imprint on American History!!! (The following photos were taken from the great world wide web!)

After this incredible weekend, I recommitted myself to soar on wings like an eagle, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint."

It is good to read history, but sometimes it's important to live it!!!

Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

 

Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates had me captivated from the first few pages....

The first few pages stated that a girl named Minette "did not die a natural death nor did Minette die an easy death." And, I was curious to know more.

Joyce gives us much needed background on Minette, a Black Girl, and Generva Meade, a White Girl, who were college roommates in a Southern Pennsylvania college in the 70s.

We see Minette whose father is a Black minister in DC and her mother appears to be 'the good pastor's wife.'  Minette is at this prestigious girl's college on a scholarship.

Generva's father is a radical activist lawyer who works with Vietnam protesters, the Black Panthers, and other radical groups. Her mother is portrayed as unsure of herself with emotional issues. Generva is a descendant of Quakers who founded the school where she attended, and of course, she does not have to pay tuition.

After Joyce introduces us to the characters, then she shows us that Minette is a very unhappy girl who appears to be doing racial threats to herself in order to isolate herself from the other students. And, Generva has seen quite a bit in her life with her father participating in activism, and it weighs on her.

The story builds us up to Minette's death and also unravels Generva's father's past which directly impacts Generva's life.

At the end of the book, I felt quite satisfied, but I left wanting to know more about what happened to make Minette so unhappy.

With this book, I thought a lot about race and place, and their impact on our lives...

Awesome book that I highly recommend!!

Happy Monday, and Happy Reading!

My next read is a student's recommendation: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley.

Ordinary People Who Did Big Things!

Today feels likes the night before Christmas; not sure what to expect but you know to expect something good.


I picked up my mom, my favorite road traveling companion, and we made our way to Montgomery in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the famous Selma march.

On the road, moma did most of the talking, and she talked a bit about Dr. King, the Civil Rights Movement, and what she was doing during that time:

"I was home with my children; Cynthia was ten and Dot was eight, and I had the rest of the children."

"Dr. King was the first man to inspire me. Even if I was washing clothes and he came on TV, I would stop to listen."

I listened and thought and thought and thought, and was happy to share this time with my moma.

We made it to Montgomery to meet up with my nephew and his family, and we all made a pre-trip to SELMA to participate in a conversation on race. The honorable Maxine Waters was on the panel and other dignitaries. The discussion was in a small auditorium, at a small college in Selma, Concordia University, with regular people "Who Matter."

What I love about going to a huge march and march related events in small towns like Selma is that everything is small and there are a lot of ordinary people who are in the spotlight. We talked to a few people who live in Selma who were excited to talk to us about the march and to give us driving directions. I am so happy that it is their moment.

The movement would not have been possible without the people of Selma who were willing to get behind Dr. King.
 
Ordinary People Who Did Big Things!

Can't wait to get to Selma today....

My Current Situation: Snow Day!

View from my balcony!

The decision to close the schools was made last night, and I started to make my To-Do-List.....

To Do List:

Wholefoods
Read
Nap
Make arrangement for the upcoming AP conference
Ride the trainer
Pack for trip to Montgomery tomorrow

I didn't nap or ride the trainer, BUT...I'm ok with that!

Snow Days are the best!

Good Soil!

Former student and me!

Children are always Good Soil.....

I remember working in our garden with my Dad and my sister Tracy. I can lovingly remember that Alabama soil. It was dark, thick, and malleable. If handled with special care, that soil could produce food over and over again, and children are the same way. If handled with care, they will yield good crop over and over.

I recently reconnected with a former student that I taught around twelve years ago, and she mentioned that she and I did not have the best relationship, but she also remembered that  we share the same birthday, and that we are both the ninth child in our families. (Swoon!)

I am in a hair transition stage, and that's another blog for another day, and I came across this former student's Facebook page. She braids hair, and I had been entertaining getting my hair braided. I sent her a message, and she pinned me down to a date and reassured me that "It'll be fine; I promise."

This former student braided my hair, and our relationship was no longer teacher and student, but a familiar relationship between a stylist and her unsure client.

When I taught this student, it was in one of the worse yet most rewarding teaching situations. That school had non-effective administrators and horrible working conditions but some of the greatest students that I have ever taught and some of the most gifted and talented teachers that I have ever worked with. 

Based on the patience and respect that this former student displayed as she braided my hair, even if the teaching and learning environments were not ideal, quite a few of the seeds and the soil managed to flourish.

 Having my hair braided by my former student had the feel of reaping a good harvest.

Teaching is one of those careers where a person may not always feel valued or appreciated, but I always remind myself that this job is about my growth and the soil in which I plant my seeds.

Former student from that same school who is a Spelman College and Columbia University Graduate: Good Soil!

Children are Good Soil!

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, I thought a lot about my trip to Ghana last summer. For awhile I had been wanting to see those slave castles, and it finally happened.

At a slave castle in Ghana

The Book of Negroes is the story of a fictitious African woman named Aminata Diallo who was captured in West African at the age of eleven and sent to what we now know as the United States to be turned into a slave. The novels starts with Aminata as an old lady working with abolitionist telling her incredible story of survival.

Lawrence does a great job of helping the reader to visualize what may have happened on a ship that carried precious people who would later be turned into slaves.

When I was inside of those castles in Ghana, and I think that it is quite ironic that they are called castles, my mind could not even began to wrap around the idea of human beings being kept in such small quarters until it was time for them to be forcibly shipped out of their country and their lives changed forever.

The inside of a slave castle

I didn't think about what those ships must have smelled like, and that is one of the many things that struck me about this book... Lawrence talked about the smell of the ships and how people could smell the ships from very far away. Not sure why, but this really left an imprint on my mind and magnified the horrors of enslaving human beings.

The Door of No Return

When we hear of slavery in the states, we often hear or read about slavery in the southern states, but in this novel, Lawrence takes us to South Carolina, New York, Novia Scotia, Sierra Leone, and England through the eyes of Aminata. We also get to see glimpses of what may have happened during the American Revolutionary War.

Entrance to the river where Africans took bathes
before they were taken to slave ships.

The most fascinating thing about this novel is that The Book of Negroes is an actual historical document that is an archive of freed African American slaves who requested permission to leave the United States in order to settle in Nova Scotia. According to Lawrence, parts of the Book of Negroes can be found in the Novia Scotia Public Archives, the National Archives of the United States, and in the National Archives in Kew, England. (I'll be making my way over to the National Archives of the US soon.)

Memorial inside of s slave castle.

When I finished this novel, I felt joy that many of my people went through the horrors of slavery and survived.... I AM STILL HERE!

My people, read this book and learn.

Alive and Energized!

I never lie to myself; if I tell myself that I am going to do something, I do it.

I joined a challenge to post a blog every day during the month of February, and I did just that. I even posted an extra blog just because I could. I enjoyed giving my blog daily attention, and my love for connecting to people through this blog intensified. (I'm quite excited about this!)

I was at a cycling conference in Columbus, Ohio a few years back, and one of the panelist was a doctor who stated that our bodies do not respond well to inactivity. My People, I must add that I do not believe that our lives respond well to inactivity either.

During February, I was purposefully active, and it was totally liberating!

I posted a blog every day, attended two book club meetings, a Super Bowl party, a book talk and signing, a lecture series on Alice Walker, a talk and museum tour, and on top of that, I read for pleasure just about every day, completed two application for summer programs, exercised with my trainer three days a week, rode my bike five days most weeks, taught great lessons, and prepared most of my meals myself.

And, I am not tired; I actually feel alive and energized... My life responds quite well to activity.

Here is a look at some of my February activities:

Delta Sigma Theta Book Club

Super Bowl Party

Natalie Baszile book talk and signing

Bike Ride

Brunch with cycling teammates

Curator of the National African Art Museum

New friend Darcy!

African American Book Lovers Book Club

Tressa and me...meeting up just because!

My soul and life are glad!

I guess you thought that after February I would stop posting for awhile, but you can't get rid of me that easily.

This is the Day.........