Hello friends,
I hope you are finding your way through the first months of the school year with aplomb. Susprise, no surprise, October is already here but at least where I am it’s not as easy to recognize. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm in Vienna for this time of year. While many of us welcome the mild temperatures and extensive sunlight, we also know that what we are witnessing is part of a larger pattern that is anything but favorable for the planet. From a safe, seemingly protected space, climate disaster remains an abstraction even if we know better. Even when all the evidence across every continent is screaming foul, for those of us who count ourselves among the lucky and less visibly impacted, our drive to press for large scale systems change can be lax or even non-existent. As in so many other areas, privilege shapes our paths towards (or even away from) action.
Saying yes to speaking opportunities
Before I share a bunch of links which I hope you’ll find interesting and useful, I want to say a few words about what’s going on with me. Between August 2020 and now, I have accepted about a dozen invitations to facilitate workshops or hold keynote talks. This is always flattering and I receive these invitations as an honor. At the same time, I experience a degree of ambivalence, particularly in the role of keynote speaker, because I struggle with the traditional role this implies. A speaker’s job is to speak; to deliver a speech, to captivate and engage an audience. In some contexts, it might be perceived as akin to entertaining; in others as rallying call to action - both embodied by an individual placed on a stage, at the podium, in the spotlight. If you know anything about me by now, you might understand why this makes me a little uncomfortable.
Let me tell you why I continue to say yes. I say yes because audiences of mostly white educators so far, need to hear from and see an elder Black woman taking up that space. I say yes because in contrast to many other invited speakers, I remain a full-time teacher. I have no ambitions to give up my day job to pursue consulting or other education-adjacent activities. My experience and expertise are firmly rooted in what I learn from and with students on the daily. I say yes because public speaking is not my favorite thing but group facilitation is. Every opportunity I have to shift the idea of how a keynote slot can be used and repurposed is a gift I dare not turn down. Which is why I will always make space for participants to engage with each other during our time together.
I rarely use this space to talk about my personal event calendar but it feels like a good time as I will be keynoting in November at the PHASE Conference in Hong Kong, November 10-12, 2023 and also speaking at the CEESA Conference in Malta, March 14-16, 2024. Again, every invitation is a remarkable honor and a unique opportunity to discover ways to reshuffle traditions.
South African History and Beyond
A recent conversation with my teen about Africa reminded me that so many of our global instances of inequality, territorial strife, military and political dominance and dependencies are the direct result of colonial histories. Specifically he posed some questions about South Africa that I could only vaguely answer. Thus, occasion to do some research.
Facing History and Ourselves has compiled an entire collection of resources on South Africa which I found particularly helpful. It includes readings, maps and other sources that chart the country’s history from pre-colonial to post-apartheid state. The chapter “Before Apartheid” answered the questions to which I could not adequately respond when talking to my teen. Understanding the role of Dutch and British settlers in colluding to prevent the Black majority and growing Indian, Malay and Sri Lankan “Coloured” populations from claiming significant wealth or power in the South African colonies reads familiar. European colonization patterns demonstrated a mix of tremendous brutality, land theft, resource extraction and routine subjugation of Indigenous and non-white immigrant and slave populations. Painful but helpful in remembering how we got our current moment in history.
image via Amberrose Nelson/ Pixabay.com CC0
While we’re on the topic, perhaps consider perusing some of these resources:
Read Africa Is Not A Country by Dipo Faloyin (2022). Listen:
“In reality, Africa is a rich mosaic of experience, of diverse communities and histories, and not a singular monolith of predetermined destinies… This book is a portrait of modern Africa that pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a more comprehensive story - based on all the humanity that has been brushed aside to accommodate a single vision of blood, strife and majestic shots of rolling savannahs and large yellow sunsets.” (From the Introduction)
Have a look at Africa Is A Country - “Africa Is a Country is a site of opinion, analysis, and new writing on and from the African left. It was founded by Sean Jacobs in 2009.” Lots of great analysis and creative non-fiction.
African literary options are sumptuous!! Please have a look at this list of 2023 book releases published by the excellent Isele Magazine.
“Teaching My Daughter that Africa Is A Continent,” an article from Learning For Justice, offers a brief reminder. Notice how Africa appears in our media, including children’s books, videos and other media and the impressions conjured.
Investigate recent news on the continent being shared on The Conversation/Africa.
Two Wild Short Stories
In September I read Chain Gang All Stars, a novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah which absolutely blew me away. Highly recommend. Yes, and if you don’t quite have the mojo for a whole novel right now, I want to put two short stories in your path that I hope will whet your appetite for more.
“Friday Black” is the title story of Adjei-Brenyah’s collection and a wild romp in retail dystopia. (If you’d like to hear him read a section of it, listen to this amazing craft talk on surrealism. So, so good! Lang and Lit folks, pay attention!)
Several weeks ago someone posted the story “Control Negro” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and for whatever reason, I read it right away. I have not been able to close the tab since, knowing that I wanted to share it soon. Let me just say, whew! Everything you want in a short story.
As per usual, I have so many detours I’d love to send you on. But like me, you probably have a class or a meeting or a bed you need to get to. I know how it is. That said, take care of yourselves until next time.
All the best,
Sherri
I read “Africa is not a country” a little while ago and really enjoyed it. It is such a rich book (and I highlighted so many bits because of lovely prose, as well as important ideas).