Drawing Lessons & Inspiration from Sporting Excellence

Years ago, for my lead college applications essay, I was prompted to discuss a quote with special meaning. I based my essay upon this 1968 quote by Chief Justice Earl Warren: "I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures." The mere act of writing the essay was one of the most important moments of my life. The ideas that were crystallized for me through the process of writing live with me to this day. 28 years later, when I am saddened by life's realities as they come across my news feeds, I still turn to sports. ...

So here are two things that have moved me lately. ...

1) I have been thrilled to learn about and watch 13 year old pitcher Mo'Ne Davis and to watch all the youngsters having fun and competing their hearts out at the Little League World Series. What a joy to watch these kids!

2) As if that isn't enough, I finally had a chance to watch the amazing finish of the 4x400 meter finals at the European Athletics Championships. France's Floria Guei came from ridiculously, impossibly far back to bring her team from 4th to 1st in the last 50 meters of the championship race. I so appreciate such winners -- and not just folks who win foot races, but all folk who have undeniable tenacity, who refuse to lose, and who you just know will persevere and achieve no matter what they are hit with. 

Guie's amazing finish. Photo by Walter Bieri/EPA

I see sports as a microcosm - a small arena in which we see metaphors for what is possible. Call me romantic and simplistic, but a person impossibly coming from behind is no different, a metaphorical level, than other, more meaningful victories that we fight for as we try to improve a world, that, let's face it, on a day to day basis can be pretty crappy for a lot of people. 

Often, all we have is our years of dedicated training, combined with our refusal to lose. But sometimes that is all we need.

Does self-protection justify genocide?: The Jewish dilemma today

I have seldom been so saddened by remote occurrences as I am at the circumstances involving Israel and its ongoing bombing of one of the most densely populated regions on earth.

Today, Jews across the planet are in a horrible position. Jews in Israel love a land and seek to protect it against those who seek their eradication. As they assert their right to defend themselves, they are literally blowing children, families and communities into unrecognizable little pieces.

Jews, as participants in a global community, stand at a moral precipice. I am saddened to offer my opinion, but it is that the global community of Jews risks falling into as deep an evil as is possible for groups of humans to fall into. We can see isolated videos of groups of Israeli's chanting in celebration over the death of children. We can see isolated videos of groups of Israeli's watching and cheering bombings of neighborhoods. We can watch isolated videos of elected Israeli officials and isolated videos of Israeli academics, both proclaiming the right to kill Palestinians, including those not involved in harming them. The "isolated videos" of the justification or celebration of death are too numerous to count. I do not imagine that these videos accurately reflect Jewish sentiment, rather they reflect one segment ofJewish sentiment. But … (and here is the tough part) ...

No matter how justified you are in your anger at your enemies, when your community includes a critical mass of people wishing for and celebrating their utter destruction - to the point of genocide - the rest of the community needs to stand up to it and say "NO, This is not right; we must clearly and effectively denounce and marginalize this sentiment," or they go along with it. It really is one or the other.

I pray that non-violent leaders rise and are able to accomplish the miraculous task of facilitating a new, alternative approach to the seemingly intractable mutual hatred and destruction that characterizes this region of the world.

Mandela did it in South Africa;
King did it in the United States;
Ghandi did it in India.
It can happen. …

Can we find, bolster and otherwise empower the Jewish sentiment towards peace without genocide? I hope so. I will keep my eyes open. and I will actively look for the person or people whom I can support. … We'll see.

And why, by the way, do I focus on the Jewish community? I focus on the global community of Jews, because this is the community with the greatest power to either destroy or to heal…

Maleficent - A provocative conversation starter for adolescents and adults, not a movie for kids.

Last night my wife and I had the rare opportunity to go to a movie together without our kids (13 and 11). Perhaps because we are so well trained, we still ended up at a Disney movie. To my surprise though, this kids' movie didn't seem so great for kids, although I consider it an important potential  conversation starter for adults.

Advanced warning: for those who simply want to go and see the flick, this post contains spoilers. On the other hand, for parents thinking about taking their kids, I invite you to read on despite the spoilers.

I am glad I went to see Maleficent.
It is in the vein of movies (I guess started largely by the novel and play Wicked) that add complexity to and rewrite the story behind the story of our cherished villains. I found Maleficent an interesting movie and appreciate attempts to re-write our society's gender scripts. I also specifically enjoyed the power and majesty of the lead character Maleficent, and was interested in and rooting for her success in the long emotional journey to healing that she traversed over the course of the film.

That said, I would NOT take children under 14 to see the movie, and I would only take someone 14 or over so as to begin complex discussions, about, trauma, gender roles, crime, sympathy, healing, and, yes, rape. I say the latter because the turning point of the story is a clear metaphorical rape of the lead character. In her sleep she is horribly and viciously violated and permanently damaged in an outrageous act of cowardice that was for me almost inconceivable in its awfulness (though I know it happens), even given the film's explanation of the perpetrator's motives.

From the metaphorical rape on, the complexity of the movie is in a consideration of how and why the lead character deals with and is changed by the horrible, physical and emotional pain that was inflicted upon her. One piece of broader context is that NO ONE EVER DISCUSSES or perhaps even begins to understand her pain. For me this only deepens the violation as an apt metaphor for rape. From a Disney film standpoint - and for that matter a viewer standpoint - what we have in essence is a a convincing justification for the actions that have the protagonist, Maleficent, viewed as evil, and then we have her journey to healing. Pretty grown up stuff - stuff I believe we should be thinking through in fact. But it is also stuff that needs to be thoughtfully delivered to adolescents, and stuff that younger kids are not likely to be ready to intelligently process without taking away simplistic and harmful messages.

In contrast to the complexity around a victim's response to violation, the featured men in the film (basically all the villains) are just incomprehensibly evil. The simplicity of this part of the film was ridiculous. Several times I felt my face contorting in nothing other than basic confusion as I wondered, "now why exactly, is the King so hell bent on doing this," and then later on "now, why exactly is this NEW king so hell bent on doing this new stupidly evil thing?" The evil men were not only evil, they didn't even make sense in their evil. It was weird. Stepping back, as a viewer I then realized that, wait a minute, there are two kingdoms, the good kingdom of fairies without hierarchy and living in harmony, and the nasty kingdom ruled by men. Hmmm. OK, I guess that is not a totally unreasonable way to describe the world. But then again, I am trying to teach my kids (one boy, one girl) about how to live into and help create a better world, and this picture, well, it kinda messes it up for both sides in terms of the lessons they'd learn. 

In the end, though, I want to be clear. I like the movie overall and will buy it on DVD and watch it again. I will likely even build curriculum around it for my high school students. I will watch in large part as one more piece of fodder as I continually think through how to be an effective guide for young people, so many of whom, whether viewed as "fine" or as "behavior problems" are dealing with horrific shit that most people remain blissfully unaware of. From a curriculum development standpoint, I may use this film to start conversations that (I would hope) help young people I work with collectively and individually think through all these issues that I have pointed out are in play in the film. 

As a victim's advocate, as an advocate for healing after trauma, as a person who enjoys thinking through even those movies that are supposedly not so heavy, I say go watch the film. But I also say, challenge and question the film and explore what you agree with and what you find problematic. As a parent, I also say, go watch the movie. But leave your pre-teens and tweens at home.

The Black Studies answer to TED Talks is here!

Season 1 of Blackademics Television features 12 presentations on "Education, Performance and Youth Empowerment" by Black Studies scholars from around the nation. The show will initially air on KLRU PBS-TV Austin starting on Sunday October 13, 2013 at 1:30 pm and will be made available on-line after that.

When to comment about racists via social media ... the case of the no-brainer.

In thinking about whether to use social media to comment about racists, I've offered that do to the problem of giving racists a platform, the issue of whether to respond to garden variety racists is an open question worthy of additional discussion. In the case of elected officials, however, there is no dilemma. 

For instance, I would not hesitate to say Congressman Steve King is a stereotyping ass and should be widely acknowledged as such among Democrats and Republicans alike, and especially among those Republicans who don't want to be seen as sharing his heartless and twisted views.

U.S. Congressman Steve King has been an elected official since 1996, and in Congress since 2003. He doesn't like the Dream Act and wants you to know why. So what exactly does he have to say about Hispanic youth? 

 Here is the Congressman: “For every one who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.” 

Of course, in his defense, King has followed up by saying that what he is interested in is "the most logical, rational policy." 

Even viewed charitably, his utterance is callous and heartless. At best, you could point out that King is referring to an actual phenomenon - that where Mexican youth end up as "drug mules" carrying illegal narcotics into the United States. But he is glibly describing a situation where kids are put into positions of extreme danger and exploited to the extreme. Kids involved are victims, plain and simple. Yet, there is no indication that King is interested in shedding light on human trafficking, the exploitation of children (especially brown ones) or anything like that. He wants to demean hispanic youth in order to reframe a debate that he sees as to charitable to kids he generally thinks lowly of.  

So, here is Steve King, an upstanding an upstanding elected Republican official. To get back to the main topic, my sense is that calling out elected officials like this is a no-brainer. 

Dealing with garden variety racists on social media

In thinking through and attempting to stay on top of things for the Black Studies in the Age of Social Media class I'll teach this fall, I've encountered instances where, after some national event, a few dozen racists will broadcast racist tweets. A cute Hispanic kid in a mariachi outfit beautifully sings the national anthem and a bunch of people go nuts with the name calling. Same thing when a New York born Hispanic sings the national anthem at another national sorting event. Xenophobes come out of the woodworks with idiotic expressions of racism.

I've tried to think of this in context though. There are 400 MILLION mundane tweets every day, coupled with DOZENS (or sometimes HUNDREDS) of publicly shared racist tweets. How should one respond? If you ignore racism, it can take root and grow like an all-consuming weed. On the other hand, when you point out the kooks, you give them free publicity and the opportunity to convince others of their warped perspectives. Working through this conundrum will be one of our class tasks for our Black Studies in the Age of Social Media.

Now, all that having been said, next up, Part 2 (the one where I go ahead and call out a racist asshole since he is an elected official of influence) ...

To "only" finish in the nation's top four ... The making of life-long champions.

UT Softball fell short of a national title this year, and "only" finished as one of the top four teams in the nation. ... They were a joy to watch as they marched to the College World Series. I watched them play at home in the Regionals and Super Regionals, and then on ESPN as they played in Oklahoma City at the College World Series. Through all the watching and rooting, I was consistently struck that the experiences these women were living is exactly how life-long champions are made.

Longhorns celebrate the no-hitter the sent
them to the College World Series.

The playoff system for NCAA softball and baseball is rigorous, grueling and fair. Once the UT Women made it to Oklahoma City, that meant that they were one of the top 8 teams in the country. From there it's a double elimination tournament, where fighting back through the elimination bracket is really tough. They beat Arizona State in the Championship Bracket, got beaten by a powerful Oklahoma, then in the Elimination Bracket beat Florida, before losing to Tennessee. In short, the softball team went 2-2 at the World Series, finishing strong amidst the best competition in the country. 

Pitcher Blaire Luna, who went 31-7 on
the season, pitched 288 pitches in one day,
pitching against both Florida and Tennessee.

I have been watching athletes and athletics for a long time. I know what quit looks like and I know what fight-to-the-end looks like. This team's run was long, exhausting and impressive. I couldn't be prouder ... and more importantly, I bet that Coach Connie and her crew feel the same way. 

Watching these student athletes play, I saw the same drive, persistence and work ethic demanded of anyone who wants to work and thrive in a  top-notch organization. Oh, and one more thing: the team GPA is 3.08, which is well above the university-wide average. Not bad at all.

These student athletes show the best of UT and the best of UT Athletics.

What a pleasure.

Lots of Ph.D's are smart, but apparently the degree itself is no guarantee.

The Heritage Foundation recently produced yet another important sounding report, this one using dubious chains of logic to argue, among other things, how costly immigrants are to the American public. But the report turned into a minor disaster for Heritage when it turned out that one of the report authors wrote his doctoral dissertation on the intellectual deficits of Hispanics. Since "Hispanic" is a government created category, not a biological one, the argument, in the context of doctoral work, is monumentally stupid. Whatever committee approved the line of research and then the dissertation should be closely scrutinized, as should the accredited university that granted old dude his credentials. 

Then we find out that the dissertation came from Harvard. Sigh.

Here's the story of the dissertation of Dr. Jason Richwine. Academia takes a well-deserved hit on this one. We are producing far too many immodest little emperors who lack proper clothing.

The Harvard Dissertation That Became Too Racist For Heritage

An interracial family in public? Someone call the cops

So here's a story from the "just-keep-moving, nothing-racial-to-see-here" front ... 

A white Dad had to deal with the police at his door when he got home from Walmart. Some people were evidently concerned that his darker-than-him kids weren't his and that he was a kidnapper. Some folks like to say, "well, better than safe than sorry," but these actions accumulate in the minds of kids and some folks are more often than others forced to deal with them.

How many times do we subject kids and families to such "minor inconveniences" before they leave a lasting impression? The indignity of law enforcement officers asking a 4 year old if that is really his mom or dad is real. Public Safety folks have a tough job to be sure, but when suspicion is really about race, not behavior, umm, sorry folks, that is racism.... It's not mean-spirited to be sure, but what else do you call?

Oops, there I did it, I used that horrible, scary word. But the reality is that many, many of us lead with a racial lens. And many, if not most, straight out refuse to admit it. But whatever folks want to call it, we threaten to damage kids and family's with constant, (and quite frankly, annoying) fear-induced, racial behavior.

An interracial family in public ... now that's suspicious

From school to fast food, observing everyday thieves and cheaters

This has been a day for watching or dealing with cheating. Aside from the unpleasantry of failing students caught cheating, I just watched a college kid come into a Taco Cabana and sneakily stuff a bag with tons of plastic ware type stuff from the condiments bar. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't been so blatantly (& badly, obviously) trying to mask and hide his activity - slyly filling up a cup w/pico and then grabbing stuff and shoving it in his bag, then doing it again ... and again. After watching the sad spectacle for a minute I got up to ask him if he really was so broke that he had to steal this cheap fast-food crap-ware, but he left as I got up to chat. Hell, I'd lend him a $5 just to end the embarrassing spectacle. I really should have gotten up more quickly. It would be interesting if he showed up in one of my classes. I would absolutely find a way to bring this back around to his attention. Cool thing about teaching 600 students a year is that a *whole lot of them* cross your path before its all said and done. Ah, college kids... Glad I was never one.

Tragedy upon tragedy: Seeking relief through fighting with each other

So many children murdered. What an awful, awful reality. ... And then to complicate it, so much of the immediate conversation has already turned into a debate about gun control versus gun access. This at first caused me a little emotional whiplash ... but then I almost got sucked in. Social and news media are inviting me (all of us really) into the arena of argumentation. ... There are those among us who will look at the tragedy and say we need gun access for self-protection. There are others who will say we need gun control. And the debate will be heated. As a collective, we will seek catharsis and relief from the horror of the murder of children by deeply and passionately engaging this debate, sure that we are right, and at some point possibly even questioning the sanity or intelligence of those with an opposing view. ... But you know what? I am pretty much sick of this sort of reaction. That is, I am sick of us (the collective "us," me included) dealing with our confusion and angst by taking the "side" that feels right in our gut, defending and promoting it all costs, and then, eventually, demonizing those who have now been constructed as the "other side." We did it during the election, and we do it in all manner of policy debates. ... Tonight, rather than go that predictable route, I think that I am just going to focus on hugging my kids a little tighter. I'll see where it goes from there.

1968 Words from Mormon leader Hugh Brown on political division in the country

Some would have you limit your reading to those whose political alignments, social networks or faith traditions fit the orthodoxy of their tribe. For them I offer a shrug of indifference to their admonitions and maintain a raised eye brow of scrutiny for whatever they have to say on any topic of consequence.

That said, I've discovered and will be reading more about and from Mormon apostle Hugh Brown. His was a cool head in a time of even greater national division than we have today. Check out these words from this Mormon Church leader, apparently offered in May 1968:

"I would like you to be reassured that the leaders of both major political parties in this land are men of integrity and unquestioned patriotism. Beware of those who feel obliged to prove their own patriotism by calling into question the loyalty of others. Be skeptical of those who attempt to demonstrate their love of country by demeaning its institutions. Know that men of both major political parties who bear the nation’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches are men of unquestioned loyalty and we should stand by and support them, and this refers not only to one party but to all. Strive to develop a maturity of mind and emotion and a depth of spirit which enables you to differ with others on matters of politics without calling into question the integrity of those with whom you differ. Allow within the bounds of your definition of religious orthodoxy variation of political belief. Do not have the temerity to dogmatize on issues where the Lord has seen fit to be silent."

Some of those words are hard for me to swallow. But they strike my ear as capturing wisdom for the ages and I choose to consider them carefully.

Here is a blog entry from Mormon Heretic on the topic and another from Latter-Day Common Sense.

Putting racist tweets in context

Hundreds of young people (and some not so young) are learning hard lessons after their ugly cathartic releases following the re-election of President Obama. While some express shock at these comments (many are eye-popping ugly), I am pleased that ugly comments seem to number only in the thousands, and that the truly ugly ones (the ones that get you on federal watch lists or merit Secret Service visits) only number in the hundreds. I am an "N of 1" and yet have received my share of threats and racist taunts over the years. Some have been real doozies. Thus, when I see that nationwide the open racist remarks were in the hundreds, I am relieved. ... Many of those who were spewing venom on election night appear to be intellectually challenged, rather young (or perhaps both). For instance, a 22 year-old expressed surprise following her tweet calling President Obama the N* word and expressing her thought that maybe he'd be assassinated this time. In follow up social media posts she exclaimed that she didn't understand the big deal. Others who were outed were high school students tweeting or posting from accounts that featured family pictures, their sports teams and church affiliations. Their punishments began coming quickly as several in organizations with codes of conduct were kicked off of teams, fired from jobs or otherwise reprimanded. I view all this and see it as part of our ongoing development. I am not the slightest bit surprised at ugly sentiments and I feel that with kids in relationship with one other across lines of difference, things are still getting better and better (although there are millions who choose to live in cocoons and millions who harbor racial [or gendered or xenophobic or homophobic] resentments). So I note all of this, and while I do fear the possibility of an uptick in violence by racists against minorities, I see this as the dying gasps of an ideology that is being forced further and further to the margins.

Marcus Lattimore and the (occasionally horrific) trials of the elite student athlete

Marcus Lattimore

A day later it's still there. The image on my mind as I awoke this morning was that of a horrific injury to a student athlete. Right now, I am wishing the best for all of the young people who believe so fervently in their sports and give it their all on the field. I am ironically reminded that those of us who root for them as athletes, but care and work with them first and foremost as students, have a tremendous opportunity. 

Guided well, student athletes routinely grow into people who make you beam with pride. Marcus Lattimore, who - in images of vivid clarity - was injured in a nationally televised football game yesterday, has an incredibly challenging road to recovery ahead of him. ... Though it might seem detached, overly-romantic and sappy to write this, it remains that when I interact with former student athletes, I routinely see the way in which initial adversity has been key to the strength of character they have come to embody. As Mr. Lattimore recovers I pray that he is guided and supported well. He will be struggling to walk normally before even thinking about running. He will also have tough times emotionally. But when he comes through it, and if he comes through it having been guided spiritually and emotionally as well as physically, he will be exactly the person I will be cajoling to come and talk to kids I work with ... exactly the type of person we'll admire most. My thoughts are with all student athletes this morning, and of course, are especially with Marcus Lattimore.

Endeavor's last flight - Remembering the Space Shuttle Program

On September 20, 2012 Space Shuttle Endeavor flew - piggyback on top of a 747 jumbo jet - over Austin, Texas. Austin was one just one of the many cities that was treated to one last view of Endeavor in the air. Through ups and downs, our nation's Space Shuttle program was something to behold. It cost the average American $93 per year. The program was financed by the American people (through our taxes) and may be the last thing we do as a nation without nakedly engaging profit motives and corporations. 

Dr. Mae Jamison at a White House
event in June 2012.

I wonder if this was an interesting week for former African American Studies Major, Peace Corps volunteer and physician, Dr. Mae Jamison.  In one of her other careers, that as an astronaut, she flew as a specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavor mission STS-47 and was the 1st African American woman in space. I wonder what the week has been like for Barbara Morgan - elementary school teacher, then astronaut, and now Boise State University Distinguished Educator in Residence. She flew on STS-118. Barbara was also a member of the Teacher in Space program that was started under Ronald Reagan. She trained with Christa McAuliffe, the 1st school teacher in space, who died in the Challenger explosion in 1986.


My brushes with the space program included attending a launch in Florida (the night sky turned to day as the rockets ignited), and occasionally interacting with astronauts, educators and others with NASA during my time in DC. 

Many of the things we do as a people and a nation are truly amazing. 
I hope that we turn back towards the idea of being a people who support of wonderful (and not necessarily economically profitable) scientific and humanistic endeavors that serve the greater good of our nation and world. The turn towards profit-driven corporations as the answer to our nation's challenges and opportunities is sad. Not only is it doubtful that those with profit-motives will serve the greater good, but on top of it all, it is a soulless way to approach the life of the nation. So give me heroes like the late Ron McNair and Christa McAuliffe, along with the hundreds of living heroes who trained and flew (many of whom by the way are now quietly dynamic and impactful college professors). ... Words can't capture what the 30 year Space Shuttle Program meant to thousands and thousands of people directly and millions indirectly. It is one of the countless American episodes that beautifully display what we are about at our best and what we are capable of. ... Attached is the video I took from STS-130.

Endeavor over the State Capitol
building in Austin

Endeavor over
downtown Austin

Strip away the straw-demon representation

I have been shaking my head in wonder for a few years now. President Obama has been in turns vilified as the embodiment of evil, of socialism or of incompetence. None are accurate. Strip away the straw-demon that has been constructed for years, and what you have in President I believe that an honest assessment shows Obama as a competent, even keel steward of U.S. domestic and international interests who governs from the center in the midst of a toxic climate that is in large part the product of a knee jerk reaction of loathing by many on the Right. ...

When he came to office, one of the huge assertions was that he would put the nation in danger with his FOREIGN POLICY. What has happened? He's ended one war, drawn down the forces on another front and assassinated most of the Al-Queda leadership, including Bin Laden. His foreign policy includes drone warfare, lines the pockets of contractors, and costs fewer American lives than would other available strategies. I don't love it, but I get it. I also know that he owns a record here that the Right only wishes it could pull off. ...

On the HIGHER EDUCATION FRONT, he stretched available federal funds for college students by pulling off the brilliant maneuver of cutting the banks out of the student loan process. ... On the K-12 EDUCATION front he is a partner in a bipartisan disaster - turning over education policy to corporations and philanthropists that are, respectively, taking turns making huge money or giving huge money away in disastrous misadventures in privatization and standardization that are somehow recast as innovation.

On the ECONOMIC FRONT, he is still hostage to the explosion in the deficit that is directly attributable to the Bush tax cuts and in much smaller percentage to the stimulus funding passed early in his presidency, and yet he is on a path of deficit reduction. On it goes.

I am not thrilled with the guy, but nor have I ever been thrilled with a President. But the descriptions from the Right come from lala land! And they have been pulling reasonable people in with them. ... My sense, again is that huge segments of the Right have been so vocal in their hatred that they have pulled the conversation their way. In many circles you have to be pretty brave to just offer a reasoned assessment that includes praise for Obama. The immediate, unfounded shrieks about socialism and incompetence can make your ears bleed. Importantly, the dislike that drips from the mouths of many started before he took office and has never let up.

Being busy as an excuse

There was a nice little Opinionater piece in the Sunday 7/1/12 NY Times on The Busy Trap. For me it led to a great basic insight: for many of us, being "crazy busy" is a choice. Being crazy busy means that we don't have to acknowledge our priorities; nor do we have to 'fess up to the things and people we'd like to avoid. Haven't taken care of your health? "Oh, I have just been crazy busy." Haven't called family members? "Oh, I have just been crazy busy." Don't follow up with certain people? "Oh, I have just been crazy busy." Haven't finished that project? ... And on and on. Works well, doesn't it? For some of us, maybe being crazy busy is a great way to be dishonest, not just to others, but to ourselves. Maybe it is a way to avoid being responsible and engaged, but with the ironic bonus of seeming ever-more responsible and engaged. I think that this year I may resolve to be less busy ... and in the process, be more honest and get more things done. 

The on-line launch of Blackademics

Two months after their recording on April 26, 2012, the first 12 minute installment of Blackademics went live. Our first four talks were filmed in the KLRU studios and on the historic Austin City Limits set. The event was an overwhelming success with a live studio audience of over 200 students, faculty, staff and community members. A write up in the Daily Texan captured the essence of the event as did this interview on KUT radio.The first talk, "Sista Docta" was by Dr. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. was released Thursday June 28, 2012 on the ICUSP Youtube Channel.

Over the next few months we'll upload three more talks: "The Bus Stops Here" by urban planner Dr. Talia McCray; "Black with a 4.0" by educational psychologist Dr. Kevin Cokley; and my own piece, "The Life and Times of a Community Engaged Scholar." The goal of the larger project is to bring Black Studies to broad audiences via public television and social media. The four talks will get the ball rolling; Blackademics 2 will comprise a set of five more talks and be recorded in the late Fall.

Along with being shared via social media, the talks will also be shown on TV. The first four talks will air as two shows on KLRU public television. The eventual vision includes going national, with the central Texas Public Television episodes as an extension of our proof of concept and a teaser for PBS stations nationwide.

So look out for Blackademics, coming to a twitter feed, a Facebook Page and a YouTube channel near you. Again, that first release date is April 26, 2012.

Oh, and if you like what we are doing, share it, like it, friend it, subscribe to it. Give us feedback and help us spread Black Studies scholarship far and wide.

Dr. Kevin Michael Foster
Executive Producer

Purposefully tinker to build your on-line presence

Participate in a variety of social media platforms - and on your own terms - in order to build an on-line presence that you enjoy and that moves you toward your goals.


I've been purposefully tinkering. Since fall 2011 my goal has been to develop a philosophy of practice for making the best personal/professional use of various social media platforms. The initial work was prelude to an exploratory course I am teaching entitled "Black Studies Dissemination in the Age of New Media." More on that later; for now I'd like to focus on my experience developing a theory of engagement.

Spaces I inhabit include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Academia.edu, this blog, and Linked In. The experiment is so far: 1) yielding distinct sets of interesting new relationships; 2) facilitating increased dialog (and learning) about things I care about; 3) facilitating rapid discovery and response regarding local crises and opportunities; and 4) resulting in an increased dissemination of my published work.

While I suppose that I am not all that different from others in terms of why I engage social and new media, it is still worth noting that my engagement is purposeful and specific. There are: a) things that I want to learn, b) knowledge and perspective that I want to share, c) dialogs I want to engage (thus furthering both "a" and "b"; d) people I want to connect with; and e) students I want to see grow and achieve career success. My social media participation serves these broad interests. 


As a matter or course, I see no reason why we all shouldn't be purposeful about our engagement with social media. So this semester in my Black Studies in the Age of New Media course, I ask students to consider: "Why do you engage social and new media?" After that question, I ask: "How do you engage?" For folks who've done some real work, have something to share, and are naturally inquisitive seekers of knowledge and perspective, the emerging media offer an incredibly powerful set of tools. I would urge all social media participants to consider both the "why" and the "how" of their engagement and then to map a plan for moving forward. Thoughtful, purposeful participants can tangibly and noticeably benefit from this new world. 

Facebook
Facebook for me has settled into a site for the engagement of people I like on some level - be they family and friends whom I like very much, or acquaintances, whom I don't know well, but whose perspectives I like. As with others, it is a convenient place for me to follow and at times engage friends in Austin and DC, the two cities to which I am most strongly attached. 
Most importantly, Facebook is also the place where I put my best self forward. In the Facebook realm I am a purposeful micro-blogger, sharing that which represents the person I aspire to be. I have defined myself as community-engaged, family oriented, fun-loving, thoughtful and a few other things and see Facebook as a mirror for the person I hope to be. As a self-check, the easier it is to post about my life the better. If I find that activities and thoughts that occupy my time aren't things I can share, then I have an early warning that I may not be living up to the person I hope to be. So Facebook has emerged as a place where I get to post and thus share, but at the same time take a look at the mirror. 

Twitter
In the twitter realm, I pick up articles and perspectives on issues and areas I am passionate about, share my own perspective, and share word of things that are important to me. These include my own articles, events I am excited about, or articles, events and comments by others. Twitter is an active experiment for me, and over time I've noticed that I can use it in different ways but that I almost have to choose, because the engagement approaches do not always blend. For instance, if I use it to talk about one area (say education), I may lose followers and valued interactions in another area (say new media innovations). If I tweet more often, folks who share or like my perspective may initiate relationships (aka follow), but again, others may drop off. I have found that whatever I tweet, if my tweets are well composed and have the effect of inviting thought, people are appreciative and more likely to retweet (share what I've tweeted with others), which opens my sphere of influence, but also leads to more followers whom I can then follow back.At the end of the day, twitter for me is largely about building a network of information sharers and commentators by sharing interesting information and offer strong commentary myself.

YouTube Channel
I teach at The University of Texas at Austin and find that the better organized I am the better I am as a lecturer. Well organized lectures are critical and maintaining a YouTube channel allows me to collect all clips for each lecture so that, semester after semester, I have a stable site for each lecture's supporting materials. 

Academic.edu
At some point after opening an Academic.edu account I noticed that I could upload my articles there, attach labels/keywords to each and then disseminate and track the readership of my work. Phenomenal! When it became apparent that folks were discovering my work from all over the world, I became a true believer. In short, Academia.edu serves as a open access repository for my articles, lecture slides, article drafts and past syllabi.  I trust it more that my university's blackboard system.Another new media platforms I use is google docs for collaboratively developing articles or events or projects. Then, of course, there is this blog.At the end of the day, I find tremendous professional and social value in purposefully engaging social and new media. Most of what I've mentioned is old hat to many. For such folk then, the take away may simply be the renewed call to not just actively engage a multitude of platforms, but to purposefully do so as well. Still others may gain some new insights. Regardless, the journey of engaging, sharing and acting -- as a learner, a commenter and a teacher all in the same set of realms -- is worth the considerable low price of admission.  

Black Gloves & Hoodies: Symbolic Activism among Black Male Athletes

Ever since Michael Jordan famously declared that "Republicans buy shoes too" athletes have been given a pass on engaging social justice issues. In college they are taught to spend their intellectual energy on "personal branding" and to actively avoid "controversial" activism. Given this context, the moment the Miami Heat players used social media to speak as a team was quite powerful. In response to the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin they did what hundreds of thousands of others did. They solemnly donned hoodies in a show of solidarity. They used the tools of their trade, their bodies, to say that they were no different from the young man who had been gunned down.

For millions of us, the killing hit close to home. It reminded some of us of our own close calls. For others of us, it brought into focus our greatest fears for our own boys. For some, it did both and more. Amidst this backdrop, we yearned for a cathartic release of our complex mix of emotions. The Miami Heat delivered. They delivered in a way that made positive use of their celebrity. They delivered in a way that earns them an honored place in American social history.

The Greatest.

Athletes, because they are the embodied representation of intense passion and effort, have a unique opportunity to create compelling images. Complex images of athletes not being athletes, but yet being so fully human in others ways, are inherently powerful. They contradict one dimensional representations that are overwhelmingly the norm. In this way, their images of spontaneous and autonomous expression also fill many of us with quiet, affirming pride. Their expressions remind us that we too can be "both/and." We are athletes and intellectuals, intellectuals and parents, scholars and activists. Perhaps most important in this instance, their display proclaims that we can black and upstanding citizens. Whatever the dualities that define and limit us, our complexity is affirmed in instances where simplistic or stereotypic representations are undermined. At the very least, basketball fans who consume these men as entertainment now have a bit more insight into the human side of these professional entertainers.

In 1967, black male athletes stood up to support Muhammed Ali's
brave and career threatening stand against the Vietnam War.
How many can you name?

As an educational researcher, teacher and mentor who has paid attention to the norms, values and racial socialization of black athletes, I was encouraged to see the Miami Heat hoodie tweet. They offered an image that hearkened back to earlier examples of symbolic activism among black athletes.  My favorite is that of Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Bill Russell  and several other black male professional athletes who vocally supported Muhammad Ali's principled stand against the Vietnam War. Upon refusing the draft he famously stated, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... they never called me nigger." And in another moment, "No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end." Powerful words from a man who lives free. It is hard to live up to the example of The Greatest, but no matter. In this moment, in this day, in this society, Lebron James, Dewyane Wade and the other members of the Miami Heat did their part. To them I simply say thank you, whatever came before and whatever happens next, for your spontaneous moment of symbolic action you have earned an honored place in social history. My hope now is that they, and we, build upon it.

Peter Norman, Juan Carlos and Tommie Smith on the victory stand in Mexico City, 1968.
The unzipped jacket represented solidarity with the working class. Their shoeless feet represented poverty in America. Smith's scarf represented black pride. The gloved salute was for black power. The Australian Peter Norman expressed solidarity with Carlos and Smith, and also explicitly opposed his country's "White Australia Policy." The badge above the national emblem on his jacket was for the Olympic Project for Human Rights.