Radical Gentry: Activism and Displacement
I’m Black. I’m queer. I’m from a wealthy family. I’m formally educated. I did not grow up in the city in which I currently live. I work for a nonprofit […]
Tag Archives: The Academy
Who Represents Us?: On Pop Culture and Social Justice
One of my least favorite situations to find myself in is at a party, a bar, or a club, cornered into a conversation about a pop song, a music video, […]
Escape the Academy: Militancy and the University
I was lucky enough to share a meal a few weeks ago with a current student at my alma mater, who was embroiled this last year in a struggle over […]
Who’s Afraid of Social Responsibility?: Post-Blackness and Community Action
When I was in eighth grade I took a placement test and was switched into an advanced math class. The move meant that I changed out of the regular track, […]
Rigor vs. Liberation: Admitting When School Is Boring
A Black Studies professor whom I had in college, who radicalized me profoundly and inspired my love of Ethnic Studies, was also one of my least favorite teachers. His courses, […]
Faltering Allegiances: Or; Why Are So Many Elite Schools in the Hood?
I interviewed at a graduate program for urban education this past week. The program is housed in an elite private university, which I was encouraged to apply to because of […]
Getting Our Houses in Order: Learning from Political Contradiction
“If your house ain’t in order, you ain’t in order.” – Toni Cade Bambara The recent rounds in the debate over universal healthcare in the US have resparked old arguments […]
Busting the Spectrum: What Does ‘Political Diversity’ Really Mean?
The president of my alma mater oversaw multiple conservative pushes and projects during my four years as a student. He justified many of these with a doctrine of “political diversity.” […]
First Generation Solidarity: Linking Immigration and Class Mobility
My younger sister, a champion tennis player, was recently accepted to a college located in my father’s hometown–a development about which his whole family is ecstatic. My dad, a first […]
Envisioning Justice: Remembering Our Own Power
“Caminante, no hay puentes. Se hace puentes al andar.” – Gloria Anzaldúa As was mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been looking into graduate programs lately, and have been having a […]
