Just a Few Things....

80 years old!

So, My mom turned 80 on last Monday, and it was a big deal to me and my family, because all eight of my sisters, and most of their children, and I traveled to Atlanta to spend the weekend with our mom for her birthday. This was the first time that we have all been together in such a long time...

Blowing out candles!

Yep, we were packed in that house!

Everybody together!

School!

I went back to work last week, and I am so grateful to be in a school that eases us back into the swing of things. We had a few quick meetings, breakfast and lunch, and we were sent on our way to do whatever we needed to do....

However, for the first time ever, I looked at my class roster and all of my classes have twenty-eight to twenty-nine students, and there are other things that I am concerned about, and I instantly felted stressed. I had to remind myself that classes are still being leveled and this number will go down, AND God always has my back... I said a quick prayer, I am going to check on this number issue, and let God do the rest.

What I know for sure is that sometimes we must speak up... Faith without words is DEAD!

Looking forward to seeing what this school year brings, and know that I always advocate for myself....

No Television!

A few months back, I decided to cut off the cable in my house, which means there is only fuzz on my TV whenever I turn it on. And, no, I don’t do Netflix or any of that other stuff.

Well, My People, I must have been wasting more time that I thought watching TV, because now I seem to have much more productive time at home: I read more, relax more, take care of things that need to be taken care of in my house more often AND,

my stress level is down; I had no idea that seeing those images of someone being shot by a cop, or a natural disaster, or all of the other crazy things on TV were causing me a little bit of stress. Now, I control what I see, read the news, and is able to critically think about whatever I read. It’s amazing how we are manipulated by the images that are shown on TV.

The other day a friend mentioned to me something about a cheating site that had been hacked, and I knew nothing about it at all. She told me all about it. I went online to ABC news to check it out, and literally wiped that out of my mind; that ain’t my business, and I don’t care to know more about that craziness...This was the moment when I realized that having no cable in my house is a good thing.

My people, see if you can go without watching TV for just five days, and let me know how it goes!

CLOSED DOORS!

Normally, I am the kind of person who knows when it is time to go.... However, I have been in a situation that was not a good fit for me, but I was going to endure it, because it was convenient. Yep, I was only staying because it was convenient.

However, because I would not leave, and I needed to, God shut that door completely.....

At first my pride was hurt, but then I accepted the fact that God had to force me to move. I would have stayed, where I was not growing, because it was convenient.

I know that I am not the only person who is or was in a situation only because it is or was convenient,  and know that convenience is not always the best option especially if we are not growing.

Sometimes, we must be uncomfortable in order to grow, and that’s ok.

Race!

So, I have been thinking a lot about race and racism, and the more I think about it, I agree with James Baldwin and Coates when they say that race is a social construct...Why label people by race, and why can’t we all just be Americans since no one is really from this country.

However, I believe that this probably started the minute that the Civil War ended and definitely with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which abolished slavery. Now, this social construct is on autopilot, and we just can’t stop the labeling.

If everyone is viewed as American, then we could possibly work harder for the good of Americans as a whole. However, as long as we are put into groups, then there will be a group with most of the power, and the rest of the people are left trying to figure out how to get some of that power, and that will be impossible as long as we are confined to our group by race.

Robert Peace and Thomas Williams

So, a friend proposed to me that The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is a juxtaposition of Losing My Cool, and I just could not see that; however, I have turned this idea over and over and over in my mind, and I finally see it.

According to Jeff Hobbs, Robert Peace seem to not be able to find away to go between his world at Yale and the culture in which his grew up, which was not a Black culture, but an inner city culture. And, not being able to find that happy median, may have caused him his life?????  He just did not know how to “wear the many mask.”

On the other hand, Thomas William in Losing My Cool seems to have gotten to Georgetown University and completely turned his back on the culture in which he grew up. He seemed to have distanced himself from other minority students at Georgetown, students at the nearby historically Black University, Howard University, and all the people who he grew up with. Also, by the end of the book, he refers to James Baldwin’s idea of separating himself from the group in order to find self-identity.

This juxtaposition has been driving me crazy, and I have no idea what all of this this means, but it does show the complexity of being labeled Black in American...

This is all I got..... In the meantime, I will be studying James Balwin and preparing for the upcoming school year.

Happy Sunday, My People!