Mission Impossible

Ok, it is Thursday. Several days after Spring Break. Everyone should be back in the proper time zone and all of that by now. And it isn't St. Patrick's Day yet (I don't think it is, is it?)

Where are my students????

They look like my students, they talk like my students, but these can't be my students!! It is like zombies or something have taken over their bodies. My more coherent students have offered the following "insights":

1. Graduation is finally in sight.
2. They are still on Spring Break. (Also expressed as "from this point out, it is like a permanent Spring Break.")
3. It is hard to get back into the routine of school after being gone for a whole week.
4. I dunno.

Teaching today was tough. I put up a good fight, but really, I'm quite tired myself and could use a little more Spring Break. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of staying on vacation. Over the weekend, I'm going to have to think about some new things for the last few weeks of class--this group has definitely gone over to the "dark side" and I gotta find a way to pull them back into the light!

Office Meditations

When I make plans to be productive at the office, I am constantly interrupted by students. Today, however, is the first exception ever. Thanks Spring Break. It has been wonderfully quiet on campus since we (the faculty) came back from break. I'm looking forward to the students coming back at some point. But seriously, it was so strange that I had my best attendance in my earliest class yesterday. As the day went on, I saw less and less students--not just in my class, but even walking around campus. It was like a ghost town by 5:00 and I couldn't understand why until it hit me--it is 5:00, it is in the high 70s, and there are still a few hours of daylight. I think we've officially lost our students to the coastline for the rest of the semester. Sigh. Well if that is the case: Thanks warm weather! Thanks sunshine! I'm finally getting some work done at the office!

In other the spirit of sunshine, I received a lot of good news yesterday, on one of my longest Tuesdays yet. After only a couple hours of sleep Monday night due to grading and rereading Assata, I had to be on campus extra early for the annual meeting with Chair. The meeting went really well, and my wonderful efficient chair had a nice report typed up for me that we just reviewed. The report was warm and positive and indicated that I'm on the right track--yeah! Later in the day I learned that my most recent short article was accepted for a reference work in my subfield. I'm really excited about that because it was a last minute invitation to write by a Big name in the discipline--so that was very cool news. Lastly, I learned I am among a small group of faculty selected to attend a summer tech program that my institution puts on each year. I was afraid that they didn't have enough applicants because they extended the deadline, but it turns out there were many more applicants than there were available seats. So I'm so excited. We get all kinds of new technology for participating and extra summer $$ which I could definitely use!

Hopefully the increasing sunshine is a sign on more positive things to come for this half of the semester--maybe spring is just what I need to fight off these winter blues. (Ok back to work).

Oh Break, Where Did You Go?

It is Monday already. How about that.

I STILL need to finish grading papers. I entered some very inaccurate midterm grades a few minutes ago, and I sooooo don't feel like grading the rest of these papers. But I really need to get these back tomorrow so they can make the needed corrections before the final paper is due.

I STILL need to reread Assata. I've never taught it before (good move Mon) so I must make some time today to think about what we will do tomorrow.

I STILL need to review these papers for Major Conference--I thought getting more involved in the discipline was a good idea at the time.

I STILL need some sleep. I was awaken this morning by some major cramps--what I nice way to start the week back. Thanks. I must get some sleep for my meeting with Chair in the morning (yes my extra long Tuesday is going to be even longer than normal tomorrow).

I STILL need to unpack, go grocery shopping, make some phone calls, return emails, and do some laundry for the week.

Oh Break. Darn you.

Camera Ready 3

P.P. #4: Alton Brown
My day long marathon with photo folks ended with an hour long lecture by Alton Brown in a small studio even further out in the country than the first appointment of the day. Although he is probably a very nice guy, the Alton Brown-type guy got on my last nerves. It was partially the rhetorical situation of course; it was the last part of a long day, and I wanted the "quick and dirty." Instead, I got a line by line explanation of all of his packages, albums, contracts, and his work with his "girls." Every bride he worked with was referred to as "girl" which also got on my last nerves. Again, very nice guy--he showed us a lot of different types of photo albums, a slide show, and we even got to peek at his computer where he does his post-processing work.

Pros: Colorful array of photos and albums. Comparable prices and packages to #1 but provides more options and greater flexibility. Really nice guy. Good equipment. Solid amount of experience.

Cons: All of the photos were very similar--very straightforward with a bit of a modern twist. Very little experimentation with angles or lighting or perspective--relied heavily on computer tricks to manipulate photos rather than setting up unique shots manually. Calls grown women "girls." Part of a husband/wife team yet the wife left 5 minutes into the meeting and came back and hour later (when he was STILL talking).

*************************************************

After quite a long Saturday, you would think I would be exhausted--well I was. Mom was a trooper and hung with me, but she complained so much about being tired, that I was completely shocked she wanted to go to a bridal show on Sunday after church. So we went before I left town and I had the opportunity to speak with three or four more photographers, none of which had the quality of Lois and Clark or Dean and Martin, but many of whom had comparable prices. My growing sense is that this is the new market rate for photos of the quality that I want, so it is looking more and more like our #1 team--Lois and Clark is going to be the selection in this crazy process. Hopefully we'll have it all figured out by the end of the week!!

Camera Ready 2

P.P. #2: Dean and Martin
Our meeting did not disappoint. I met with Dean only because Martin's wife just had a new baby (of course he has already posted photos on their site). He's young and fresh and everything about their new studio is contemporary and modern. They take classic pictures but also have a youthful edge that I love. Dean at least seems like someone who I could have gone to school with--just about my age, very down to earth, and very intuitive. It almost seemed more like he was interviewing me to see if we would be a good fit--which I loved. Dean and I probably chatted for close to an hour, and he gave me some wonderful advice on things to look for and how to make things like family pictures go as quickly as possible on the big day. There was music playing overhead when I came in and he asked me what my favorite album was. He ran upstairs for a minute and the next thing I know, it is playing overhead. So I've indoctrinated someone else to Kindred the Family Soul, and he loves it!

Pros: Young. Fresh. Very skilled. Laid back and comfortable--I feel like we would enjoy having them as a part of our day. Sensitive--I felt that he conveyed on a number of occasions that he was understanding of where we are in the process of planning and he offered a ton of advice and ideas for planning our day to run smoothly (and to have time for us to spend together as a couple). Talking to Dean also did a little good for my ego--he made me feel beautiful and sophisticated in a subtle way that I think would show in how he took our photos.

Cons: Again, price. As two independent, young, professional photographers (who have their own separate families to support) working together, their prices are actually above Lois and Clark. Also, some of their albums were out for cleaning so I couldn't get a full range of what they do productwise. My sense was that the albums I did see were a bit more conservative then what they normally do--I wanted to see more of their "edgy" work.

P.P. #3: Lucy
Truly, I love Lucy. As a person that is. Lucy is a very young photographer. She's been working in the industry for a while as an assistant, but has only started working on her own in the past year. Unfortunately for me, her work shows. Although she was extraordinarily nice, we did not have a particular long meeting (we met at her home which is gorgeous). I did not have any poignant questions to ask and found that when I did, I often received answers that left me at a loss.

Pros: Price--of course as a photographer who is just starting out (and who doesn't do this full time) she is able to offer great deals. Her top of the line package is several hundred dollars below where many photographers start their basic package. Personality--a real sweetheart who is genuinely passionate about her work.

Cons: Equipment is very basic. Horrible Black & White photography. And when I saw horrible, I do mean that very seriously. Rather than showing a range of black and white, many pictures were just gray. The color pictures were often flat. Album layouts were very conservative and uninspiring.

In the words of Mom, "oh no."

Camera Ready

It is official--I have a dress. Yesterday's shopping experience at the bridal shop was great. The store is a really nice spot. They have dressers that help you with the dresses and the manager and owner are there to go over the finer points of how the gown will hang and bustle and all that good stuff. Originally, the owner picked out about four dresses for me so that we could determine my style and taste. From day one, I have had my favorite. Our second visit a couple of months ago confirmed my favorite was still "the dress." So this time, it was all about the paperwork and the money. Mom of course, wanted to be sure and asked the manager to go through the dresses again to be sure there wasn't anything else I might like. Although I had only worked with her one time during my second visit, she remembered me immediately and assured my mother that the dress I picked out was perfect for me. She humored Mom by showing her some of the new things that had come in, and they clearly were not for me. So I tried on my dress one more time and we took all the needed measurements--including the "hollow to hem" which I'll need to make sure all the bead work and the shape of the dress is proportional to my little frame. Mom put down the needed deposit--which I am EXTREMELY grateful for--and my order is off to the designer!!! I should expect the dress to arrive probably mid to late summer.

So today is photography day! I have been looking forward to this more than anything--probably even more than the dress. I didn't imagine I would be doing this without Dr. J though--that is the roughest part of today. I wish he was here. So I'm holding down the fort and Mom was able to go with me for the first appointment.

Potential Photographer #1: Lois and Clark
The first meeting today was with a husband and wife team. They are sweet people--she is clearly the socialite and he's definitely the behind the camera type--both were very friendly and I instantly felt comfortable around them. We met in their home studio, although they are in the process of moving to a retail space (which I take is a reason for their recent price shift in the upward direction). The studio space at home was small, but very nice--they had beautiful prints on the walls--mostly canvas portraits of brides. There were two brides displayed on easels in the room as well--one who was getting married that day and the other who was recently married and was coming by to pick up her prints from her bridal sessions. One was done in studio, the other was outside, but the quality of both was outstanding. Lois met with us and showed us an album while we waited for Clark, and we just chatted for a bit. Clark joined us, got some information about our wedding and more importantly, about John and I. He showed us a slideshow on his widescreen iMac monitor (had to be 24" or more--gorgeous piece of hardware indeed) which was positioned against the wall across from our very comfortable leather couch.

As I communicated to them, of the websites and samples I've seen, I've been impressed from the beginning by the quality of their images. They have a wonderful tonal range in the colors of their pictures (esp. the B&W) and all of their color images pop. I learned that they shoot entirely digital and I learned a bit more about that process and what makes their images so distinct--exposure and processing. Even though I don't know as much about digital as I do film, I loved feeling like they were comfortable educating me on their craft, and they said that I asked a lot of good questions they don't normally hear (figure that--an academic that asks good questions).

Pros: Very friendly. Professional. Great references. Great equipment. Great ideas. Beautiful albums and products (Mom is in love with a guestbook they have that incorporates your engagement photos--I told her she was welcome to buy us that as a gift if she REALLY loved it). Provide all images on CD or DVD for your own reproduction. And of course, two photographers--Lois would follow me around during preparations, while Clark would shadow Dr. J. And ideally, when I thought about this process, that is what I wanted--two professional cameras. Then we would have both of their perspectives during the ceremony and reception. To me, the biggest thing was that they impressed my mother who is a frugal shopper. When we left, the first thing she said was--"they are good."

Con: The only con of course is price. They are over what we had in our tentative budget; however, we budgeted based on the prices I saw when we were engaged over 6 months ago. Since then of course, a lot of the vendors have gone up on their prices for 2007. So since they are the first appointment, I'm not completely sure yet how much they are above the average. They are not in the unreasonable range. We'll have to talk more with Planner about the current market rate for what we want. The other small con is that I didn't see any brides of color and although we talked about it, I didn't see examples. Given their prices and location (they are based in the most vanilla part of Hometown), I can understand why.

Potential Photographer #2: Dean and Martin
This team is two young guys who just started a business together in Hometown. I knew them previously as separate photographers and I've seen many examples of their work around town. Last night, I spoke to Dean, who wanted to talk before we met to make sure this was really a good fit. I liked that. We talked for about 20 minutes last night and I really enjoyed our conversation. While I knew Dean and Martin were in business together, I did not know they actually shoot every event together--engagement, bridal, anything you want they do together. I also did not know they shoot everything manually which I have a certain affection for. I know now that their prices are comparable to Lois and Clark although I have a feeling their albums and other products may be more expensive. I have my meeting with them shortly, and I am very much looking forward to it!

It's Dress Day!

I just got off the phone with the bridal boutique. I have a 5:00 appointment to order my dress today! That leaves me a good bit of time today to work on this grading (ugh) and start rereading Assata.

I was a bit overwhelmed by Mom's wedding energy yesterday, but it is rubbing off because I'm getting excited! Fingers crossed that this appointment will be as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.

She's Been Bitten

I'm back in Hometown. One good meal already, and I'll have another one shortly. Always the biggest pro to coming home--it is like a resort with a great meal plan. Of course here, you pay for food in ways other than money....

Lani and I never connected over the holidays to exchange gifts and so the gift she left for me has been sitting here all this time (I didn't realize it has been quite so long since I've been home). So the first nice surprise of the day was to find some gift cards waiting for me for two of my favorite stores (especially nice since I've put myself on a shopping probation).

But the second surprise of the day is that the wedding bug has officially bitten my mother who has otherwise been (relatively speaking) very calm and demure about this whole event. Today, we are exactly one year away from the wedding, and it seems like the year mark has come just in time for Mom (who of course did not understand why we picked a date SOOO far away). This evening, I think I received one "how are you doing" since she got off work--just about everything else has been wedding-related. She's got brochures, she's got business cards, she's got questions, and she's got--her list. The one point of future conflict that I was not looking forward to. Her list has close to 100 people. We're trying to stay in the neighborhood of 150-175. Now there is a great deal of overlap between her list and my own (the one I haven't started on officially yet), but the remainders definitely exceed the 20 or so guest we were going to slate for each of our mothers. So this is going to be interesting. Mom has already decided we need to have at least 200 people, and she is offering to "pay for her people." That's all good and everything; however, Dr. J and I really chose the number we did in an effort to celebrate our day with the people who matter to us as a couple--not just a bunch of people we know individually. I'm looking forward to talking this over with him, but he's at work (darn that new job)! So in the meantime, I'm fielding questions on matter number 2--the dress.

My mother's main wedding department is supposed to be the dress. Unfortunately, this means that I can only say so much. The plan is to go and order the dress while I'm here. Recall that I found THE dress that I love some time ago. Well apparently, Mom and the wedding bug have been scoping out the boutique. She believes a dress very similar to mine is in the window and she went by after work one day and took a picture (which is hilarious because the owner is very particular about cameras and her dresses). So she has decided that rather than just going by to order the dress I've already picked out that we should definitely set aside some time to try on some more dresses while I'm in town. I'm not convinced.

I think Mom and the Wedding Bug are going to tag along to my photog appointments on Saturday. I have four vendors to see, and I'll be sure to post lots of info on what will be a very busy Saturday. For now, it is back to eating home cooked food and grading.

Wednesday

Oh it is the middle of the week--the middle of Spring Break. On the one hand I've done a good bit, on the other I haven't done much. I think I'm okay with that.

Yesterday's grading didn't happen so I really want to do that today. I also remembered that I'm teaching Assata next week--I really need to reread that.

But right now is just going to be a lazy Wednesday. I have a couple posts under development on more substantial topics, but I don't think they are going to happen today.

I definitely need to get out of town for a bit--I need a change of scenery. At some point later today I'll start packing. I heard from Planner this morning, and it looks like I could have a few photographer appointments this weekend if I'd like to.

To ________, Or Not To __________

Grade.
Clean.
Pack.

I'm not happy with my current alternatives for my day. I need to grade--that is just part of the unfortunate circumstance of assigning papers to be turned in so close to break. I'm becoming okay with that. I met my grading goal for yesterday with no problem. Today's goal is to grade two stacks (6 papers in each stack) from my Major Course (5-7 pages each). These papers are fun and interesting to read because they are all on different time periods and issues in history, but time consuming to grade because students have to synthesize secondary materials to explain a particular historical context. They have a lot of issues with pulling scholarship together and organizing it in a way that creates a compelling narrative.

But cleaning and packing are two different stories because there is such little motivation. My house is not incredibly dirty--I'm not here that much during the normal school week to wreck it. But I actually enjoy cleaning, especially before I leave town so that I can come back to a spanking clean house. As Dr. J says, I'm a bit of a Cleaning Commando when I really go at it. And that's what I'm in the mood to do--a furniture moving, closet organizing, nooks and crannies type of a clean. But it keeps looking more and more like I'm going to be stuck here in Gorgeous City for most of break. My being in town for an extended period leads to a little cleaning here, a little cleaning there, rather than an all out assault on my domestic space. Frankly--just not as fun.

I was going to go to Hometown and set up shop at home for the week so that I could handle some wedding dress business with mom, hook up with our planner to see some photographers, and then head to University Town to hang with Dr. J for a couple days. Unfortunately, our planner, is MIA. (I'm not going to speak any further on that right now). Additionally, Dr. J is in the middle of intense number crunching on SPSS and working through his discussion chapter, so it looks like this isn't the best time to pull him away from his work. He's under some serious deadlines (campus invite coming up!), and I know I'd be a disctraction because I don't know a thing about quantitative work and his numbers really need to be tight for the institution he is visiting--they made that very clear. All of this leads me to having very little motivation to pack up for a week (or what's left of it) just to sit around at Hometown while Mom is at work all day (she has un-retired herself). Hometown is right up the road--I can hop up to see Mom any day.

So I'm trying to take my wise fiance's advice to heart. After whining in a text to him (much like this whiny post), he responded to say that I should enjoy the BREAK in my Spring Break. Sigh. I'm going to work on that.

Getting Back to Work

I'm so glad it is Spring Break. I've been a bit of a bum so far this weekend, but I think I've earned it. Tomorrow I'll get back to the business of being productive and just getting on my normal routine. I missed all three of my workouts last week due to midterm chaos so the first thing on the agenda for tomorrow is hitting the gym.


Mon's Monday:

• Get in a good workout in the AM


• Clean up around the house and maybe look into getting a new vacuum (ugh)


• Grade the 1 pg response papers for my Speciality Course--perhaps at the bookstore with my favorite drink that I haven't had since I moved here!!


• Spend some time thinking about needed changes for 19th century Essay #1

That should be more than enough to get me back into the swing of things!

WHM: Political First

On this day in history, Jeanette Rankin became the first woman in the US House of Representatives (1917). In 1933, Frances Perkins became the first woman in a presidential Cabinet post, serving as the secretary of labor.

In memory of these political firsts, today I am celebrating Crystal Bird Fauset. Here's a little piece from the dissertation that motivated this blog...

Crystal Bird Fauset was born June 27, 1893, to Benjamin and Portia Bird. She attended Boston Normal School and in 1914 became a school teacher. According to biographer Eric Smith, she was the first secretary for African American girls with the Young Women’s Christian Association, her first of many leadership positions. She had a brief public speaking career (1927-1928) for the American Friends Service Committee while attending Columbia University and recalled later that her “290 speeches had reached almost 50,000 people” (Qtd in Smith 35). In 1931, she graduated with a degree in education from Columbia and married writer and anthropologist Arthur Huff Fauset (half brother of Harlem Renaissance novelist Jessie Redmond Fauset).

Fauset’s transition to more visible social positions after college led to key appointments that would inspire her pursuit of public office. She worked in the Institute of Race Relations at Swarthmore College and in 1935 was appointed the director of the Woman and Professional Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Fauset’s involvement in the Colored Women’s Activities for the Democratic National Committee motivated her to campaign for state legislature at the encouragement of the Democratic Party. Her district, Philadelphia’s 18th District, was two-thirds White, but Fauset gained the needed votes through conducting a primarily telephone campaign, perhaps one of the nation’s first. She promised to represent the interests of all of her constituents:

“I shall work for legislation that affects the general welfare of the people
regardless of color,” she told the press. “I won’t fail the colored people
but I won’t concentrate exclusively on their problems, because after all, I am
being sent by both colored and white voters.” (Qtd in Smith 36)

Voters liked what they heard. In 1938, Crystal Bird Fauset was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives becoming the first Black woman to serve in a state house of representatives anywhere within the United States. As a legislator, Fauset demonstrated a commitment to the preservation of the entire community, but her time in office was brief. Fauset resigned in 1939 to serve as assistant director in Pennsylvania of the education and recreation programs of the WPA and advisor on Negro Affairs.

Fauset’s history of race-relations work caught the attention of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She appointed Fauset race-relations advisor in the National Office of Civilian Defense. Fauset remained concerned about the promotion of true democracy and equality in the United States often speaking boldly, without care for whom she might offend. On one occasion, when introducing the First Lady in Washington, Fauset said,

If white people will permit the President and Mrs. Roosevelt to work out their plans, not calculated to hurt any one’s feelings, but to give consideration to race problems not as a philanthropic gesture but as a great aid to national unity, then America will take her place and make democracy a reality in all the world. (New York Times, Feb. 10, 1942)

But Fauset’s relationship with the Roosevelt administration was not always a supportive one. Susan Ware and William Chafe, who worked to compile the papers of Eleanor Roosevelt note that “Eleanor Roosevelt and Crystal Bird Fauset met and corresponded frequently, but they were hardly close friends. In fact, Fauset’s letters to ER have a contentious tone" (A Guide to the Papers of Eleanor Roosevelt 13). Fauset resigned from her position as advisor in 1944. She left the Democratic Party to support Republican Governor Thomas E. Dewey and gave speeches in support of his presidential campaign. In an interview with the New York Times, Fauset revealed that her choice to change parties was about access and the importance of “democracy in politics" (Sept. 10, 1944). Fauset explained, “I believe it would be possible for Negroes to confer freely with Governor Dewey if he were elected President. That has not been the case under the present Administration" (Sept. 10, 1944).

Fauset, along with activists like Mary McLeod Bethune, ushered in a new era for Black women in politics--an era marked by increased participation in formal (electoral) political activities. Although she is often undiscussed, Fauset played a key role in open the door for women in public office.

Guilty Pleasures Meme

Well it's Saturday morning. I should be cleaning but instead, why not do a meme I never finished. I have so many posts in my drafts box. So I'm cleaning it up (that kinda counts as Saturday morning cleaning).

As seen here.

Four Guilty Pleasures in Books
I really don't have any answers for this one since I do so very little pleasure reading these days...Here's my four guilty pleasures in magazines:
1. VIBE
2. Modern Bride
3. ESPN the Magazine
4. Victoria's Secret

Four Guilty Pleasures in Movies
1. Most anything with Adam Sandler
2. Kicking and Screaming
3. Josie and the Pussycats
4. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Four Guilty Pleasures in Food
1. McAlister's Spud Max and Chocolate Lovin Spoon Cake
2. Sweet Potatoes (bake em', grill 'em, souffle 'em, put 'em in a pie--I don't care I love 'em)
3. Fried Chicken (see Dave Chappelle's Killin Em Softly for more context)
4. McDonald's New Snack Wraps!

Four Guilty Pleasures in Music
1. DMX
2. Lil Bow Wow
3. Petey Pablo
4. Pearl Jam

Four Guilty Pleasures in TV
1. Alias
2. Extreme Home Makeover
3. Project Runway
4. Moesha

Four Guilty Pleasures in Booze
1. Kamikaze shots
2. Ciclon Margaritas
3. Verdi
4. Kool-Aid (I'm only slowly starting to break my addiction to this stuff)

WHM: Women in the Pulpit

So let me begin my March celebration by taking up Bardiac's challenge to:

...remember one woman who's provided leadership, to encourage one woman who has potential, to recognize one woman who's contributing, especially if she's contributing in ways that aren't well-valued by the patriarchy.

To that end, today I remember women who have made strides in the area of religion--one of the most patriarchal spaces today. As Roxanne Mountford argues,

the textbook tradition privileging the masculine body of the preacher and an architectural/cultural tradition that gives that body a home sustain gender bias and leave contemporary women preachers search for ways to accommodate themselves to the physicality of preaching. Their bodies are not anticipated by the tradition; indeed, for centuries, their bodies have been explicitly excluded. (3)

Both in the literature on the art of preaching and in the physical spaces of churches, Mountford breaks down how the role of the preacher has been constructed for men and men only. Her analysis offers an opportunity to remember two women who have broken down/through these masculine spaces: Sojourner Truth and Bishop Vashti McKenzie.

Sometimes I hate on Sojourner Truth like some folks hate on Beyonce because she gets too much airplay. But Truth is one of the few Black women to maintain a national and international reputation throughout time despite the fact that we have very little of her actual words. As an abolitionist, a Black nationalist, a feminist--whatever label you want to give her--Truth was able to move people such power that we have not stopped talking about her for centuries. Still the efforts to "claim" Truth by a number of different camps as a political speaker has often diminished the importance of her work as an itinerant preacher.

Not having a secure place in the pulpit as a former slave woman undoubtedly played an important role in Truth reaching out to abolitionist and other circles to advance her message. By utilizing her rhetorical skills as a preacher, Truth was able to blend the traditions of the African American pulpit into an unforgettable social message--one that was always rooted in the Bible. Truth utilized the folk wit, humor, signification, and plain speech familiar to Black church preaching to shed light on the institution of slavery and the problems of inequality in the nation. Her physical presence, which has been noted over time because of her height and solid frame, was matched by her most powerful instrument, her voice. Historian Nell Irwin Painter describes Truth’s voice,

Her voice was low, so low that listeners sometimes termed it masculine, and her
singing voice was beautifully powerful. Whenever she spoke in public, she
also sang. No one ever forgot the power and pathos of Sojourner Truth’s
singing, just as her wit and originality of phrasing were also of lasting
remembrance. (3)

Truth's combination of singing and preaching fits into a long tradition of Black women who have marshaled the power of music and words. Truth, like Jarena Lee, Amanda Berry Smith, and Zilpha Elaw, seized the opportunity to be a spiritual leader in the early Black community. However, Truth, like Maria Stewart, distinguished herself by combining preaching and politics and speaking to audiences across gender and racial lines.

Truth's leadership is mirrored by today by Reverend Dr. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, who became the first woman bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 2000. She was also the first woman pastor of Payne Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. In ways similar to Truth, Bishop McKenzie has demonstrated throughout her career both spiritual leadership and a commitment to political activism. Born into a family of faith and social concern, McKenzie is the descendant of John H. Murphy, Sr. who started the Afro-American Newspapers and Vashti Turly Murphy, one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.


Like her family, McKenzie took up the family trade of journalism, faith, and activism. She has worked as a radio host, a columnist, and is the author of several books, including: Strength in the Struggle: Leadership Development for Women, Journey to the Well, Not without a Struggle: Leadership Development for African American Women in Ministry. Not Without a Struggle outlines 10 commandments for African American women in position of leadership in the church, demonstrating McKenzie's devotion to addressing the needs of women in the faith community and continuing her work to "break the stain glass ceiling." She has been an active participant in The State of the Black Union hosted by Tavis Smiley and her outspokenness has drawn many fans. Her consistent leadership as a Christian woman and her dedication to causes such as relief for Hurricane Katrina victims and fighting the AIDS epidemic here and abroad is admirable and needed in these times.
Time Magazine said of McKenzie in 2004:

Bishop McKenzie has a time-tested philosophy on combatting patriarchy. "For
women, especially for African-American women," she says, "you always have to be
better than men to get ahead." Assigned a 300-member church in a depressed part
of Baltimore in 1990, she not only built the congregation to 1,700 but also
worked with the state of Maryland to get 600 area people off welfare, save a
public school and renovate a key local building. Her election campaign for
bishop in 2000, following another woman's 1996 defeat, was unapologetically
aggressive, featuring T shirts, buttons and campaign visits to dozens of
churches. Her victory was a milestone for a church whose membership is 70%
female.

Bishop Vashti McKenzie is definitely a woman to be celebrated as she continues to move through the glass ceiling of the church and the masculine space of the pulpit.

I am blessed to have women ministers and spiritual leaders in my family and in my family-to-be. Both Dr. J and I have aunts who are ordained ministers, my godmother is a creator and head of a missions organization that provides healthcare education, literacy, and relationship counseling to South Africans. Today, I celebrate their willingness to join the work of women like Truth and McKenzie and break down the barriers facing women in communities of faith.

Women's History Month

Unlike Bardiac, my email box has been bombarded of late with events and reminders that March is National Women's History Month. Since I was on hiatus during Black History Month, I'm going to take this opportunity to celebrate Black women's history.

As Deborah Gray White's opening chapter indicates in Too Heavy a Load, there are frequently moments in history where Black women have been "Divided Against Themselves." When it comes to reading history, sometimes I still feel like All the Women are White, All the Blacks Men, despite commentaries that indicate "the push" for multiculturalism has somehow diluted our history and our education system. *Slight digression approaching* Last time I cracked open a child's social studies book (which was this summer), I did not find it so rampant with people of color that:

That nasty little problem [students not being well versed in American history] has its roots in a nasty little attitude of contempt toward history as written by and about white males. The spirit of equal outcomes that has dumbed down education also has distorted the teaching of American history. Too much George, not enough Martha. (Columnist Kathleen Parker)

As someone who teaches presidential communication, I definitely do not have a contempt for history written by and about white males (otherwise my job would really suck), but there must be a recognition that history is not uniform and linear--it is about a myriad of relationships. Believe or not but the choices presidents make have an impact on real people--not all of whom are White or male. The impact of important cultural documents like the Constitution and the Declaration and the values they represent are in many ways only fully understood when they have been contested and challenged as they were during the modern Civil Rights Movement. It is perhaps more accurate (and productive) to note how the emphasis on testing over learning and math & science over social studies, has limited the historical knowledge of the next generation.

*Back to the subject.*

It remains a challenge to find a safe and welcoming place to discuss Black women's history 1) without stepping on sensitive spots in Black male/female relationships or 2) reifying the borders between Black women and White women that are constantly being broken down and reconstructed or 3) somehow isolating or pulling Black women out of the powerful coalitions that can be made amongst all women of color. Still it is the feeling of often feeling divided and torn that motivates me to continue pushing for discussions of Black women's history that will allow me to celebrate my sistahs.

Connecting

Just in time to rescue me from the winter blues, I heard from Wonderful Mentor, who always seems to know just when to send me an email. I miss her terribly. We haven't talked much since I've moved to Gorgeous City due to my move and her promotion/new administrative duties. So it was good to just feel connected again.

I'm mulling over Doc's post about the many things about being a new faculty member that were not surprising to her. Part of me feels the same way--I knew it would be fun and exhausting to get back to teaching after a year off. I knew I'd be super busy. I knew the commute would drive me crazy some days. I knew being so close to home would drive me crazy others.

I did not expect to do much reading, especially after the binge reading I did this summer while working at the library. But I didn't think I would be so behind on my writing goals for the academic year. I've revised a few papers for conferences and submitted a short biographical piece for a collection, but I definitely wanted to have one or two articles under review by now. The positive side is that I never expected to be in a writing group and that has been a wonderful experience--I just wish I was giving them a bit more of my stuff to read! And there is still plenty of time in 2007 thank goodness.

Most of all though, I definitely didn't anticipate feeling disconnected. I always thought of graduate school as this rites of passage process--this thing you have to go through to get through the other side. Perhaps it was just an analogy that worked for me because of my experience in the fraternity/sorority community. I thought that much like Greek-lettered processes, I would come through on the other side and feel more a part of the whole. The whole ivory tower thingy-ma-jiggy. Some days I do--when I'm having interesting conversations with colleagues or students or making new connections to colleagues in other parts of the countries. But most days--when I'm sitting in class or meetings or in my office grading--I don't.

There are a lot of reasons for this disconnectedness--most of which I can't go into here. Undoubtedly a few are my "fault," but many are purely the random result of a weird matrix of organization structure, demography, geography, time, and resources. The challenging part for me right now is negotiating how much energy to place in working on the vague goal to "get more connected." That I don't have the answer to yet.

Terrible Tuesdays

I'm slowly realizing how big an impact my schedule this semester is having on my emotional state. I did not know that just one long day in my week could so greatly alter my mood. But I have come to the conclusion that my Tuesdays are just terrible.

Typical Dr. Mon Tuesday:

8AM-10AM: Get up -- get dressed (and try to have breakfast) -- take the 30 minute commute to campus.

10AM-12PM: Prep for class, answer emails, make copies (general office stuff). I have attempted to minimize this time period and just take my time getting to the office, but I've found that the less time I have to get mentally ready for class, the more rushed and disconnected I feel throughout the entire day.

12PM-3PM: Teach back to back sections of my Course for Majors. I enjoy this class a lot but it is very high energy and extremely interactive. I'm usually worn out by the time I finish.

3PM-4:30PM: Meetings. It should be that only once a month I have a Dept. meeting or some other university meeting, but in reviewing my schedule, we've had mtgs 2-3 times a month this semester due to various searches and planning needs.

4:30-5:30PM: Eat and reorganize my thoughts for my next class.

6PM-9PM: Teach my Speciality Course. I was really jazzed about this class but I've found that it is a tremendous drain to 1) teach at the end of a long day--2) talk to silent students who are at the end of their long day--3) talk to students who are reluctant to discuss (outloud) anything that is new and unfamiliar. (That's for another post).

9PM-10PM: Arrive back at home. Eat. Try to spend some quality date time with Dr. J before passing out. Every Tuesday I get home, I'm exhausted--no matter what adjustments I make to my schedule.

On Monday I told Dr. J that I hate Tuesdays. And I really meant it. Tuesdays shape the tone for my whole week, and I spend Wednesday and Thursday trying to recover. I like working out to start my day, but as the semester goes on, I've found all of my Wednesday gym time has been pushed from morning to late Wednesday night.

The good news is--we are halfway through the semester. Although my schedule next semester has its quirks, I won't be in this situation again. I've realized that as a department newbie, while it is important to be vigilant of your time commitments, it is also important that you are careful about guarding your schedule.

Technical Help Please

Man, you go away for a bit and everything changes. I'm playing with this new no-longer beta Blogger. Picked out a new look for the place. Looks like I'll be doing some housecleaning between stacks of papers this week.

Technical questions:

1. Can someone remind me of the code to keep search engines off my site?
2. Also, any ideas on how to list all my labels??

Three Things All About Me Meme

Nothing like a good meme to make you feel like you're blogging again. As seen at Tamika's...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Mon
2. Dr. Mon
3. HBB

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Sigmaphd
2. Deucesgrho
3. ????

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Sense of Humor
2. Common Sense
3. Sensitive Heart

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My ankles
2. My perfectionism
3. My cramps

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. African although of course I can't trace my lineage past slavery but I do know that my family most likely was brought here through Charleston, SC
2. British/European--my last name sure ain't African--belongs to a British family that had rice and tobacco plantations in NC and SC
3. Native American--my maternal great great grandmother was a Catawba

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Large bugs
2. Some small bugs
3. Drivers in Gorgeous City

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Conversations with Dr. J
2. Lotion
3. Sleep

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Football Jersey
2. Glasses
3. My engagement ring

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS (or artists):
1. Kindred the Family Soul (ok a group not really a band)
2. Dave Matthews Band
3. Earth Wind and Fire

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE SONGS AT PRESENT:
1. "Lost Without You" Alan Thicke
2. "Take Me As I Am" Mary J. Blige
3. "Sexy Love" Ne-Yo

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
1. Running on a treadmill
2. Twisting my hair
3. A new regiment to clear up my skin

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A (primary) RELATIONSHIP (love is a given):
1. Trust
2. Honesty
3. Friendship

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
1. Black History Month is in the shortest month of the year.
2. Black History was made during the Superbowl.
3. Black History Month is no longer needed.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT OTHERS THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Eyes
2. Shoulders
3. Cheeks

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
1. Eat squash.
2. Pretend there is no more racism.
3. Watch network sitcoms.

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE PASTIMES:
1. Sleeping
2. Shopping
3. Spending time with Dr. J

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Leave town
2. Find a wedding photographer
3. Finish all of my grading before Spring Break

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
1. Staying in academe
2. Becoming an editor
3. Becoming a political consultant

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Hawaii
2. Mediterranean Cruise
3. Southern Carribbean

THREE KIDS' NAMES (that you like or know):
1. McKenzie
2. Aja
3. Ty

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Get married
2. Live with Dr. J
3. Make a difference in this community

THREE RECENTLY READ BOOKS:
1. Too Heavy a Load: Black Women in Defense of Themselves, 1894-1994
2. How Long? How Long?: African American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights
3. Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970

THREE THINGS YOU'RE GOING TO DO THIS WEEKEND:
1. Travel
2. Grade
3. Sleep

Coming Up for Air

I miss blogging. I miss a regular writing space. I miss reading what's going on with Ragey and Bright* and phd me and elle and Stewgad and all the gang.

Reality is these days I'm just trying to breathe. It seems that the many things pulling on a new young professor are catching up with me. My first semester was great--full of optimism and excitement. But lately, I've been suffering from some serious late winter blues--missing Dr. J--trying to stay on top of grading--dealing with the realities of being a teacher-scholar--just hasn't made this the best time of my first post-dissertation year.

But slowly I'm finding time for me. Since late December I've been working out three times a week (which is a BIG deal for anyone who knows my history of NO exercise). It feels good to take time for myself and each month I'm trying to add a little bit more good stuff for me and take out some of the unneccessary stress (like spending too many hours on grading). For the past month or so I've been taking more time in the morning to read and have breakfast. I'm not successful everyday yet, but it feels really good when I take time to start my day without rushing. I hope I can slowly incorporate blogging into my daily schedule again. It may be a while, but eventually I think I'll get there.

And of course, as we are approaching the one year mark to the wedding (how quickly these six months have gone by), I'm starting to feel the pressure to get things done for the wedding. We have a wonderful wedding consultant and we've made a deposit on our venue. Since Spring Break is coming up, I hope to get my dress ordered and start the work of looking for a photographer (something I know I'm going to be super picky about). I'm looking forward to the wedding, but I really just want to get to the point when Dr. J and I can be in the same place and start our life together. That's all I really want right now. And as much as I love Gorgeous City, it is starting to really become a drag being here without him.