Tag: afro-american women writers

Writing at its Best: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Writing at its Best: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Posted by | Feb 9, 2021 |

This book was recommended to me by Amazon. That’s right. It popped up on my kindle as, “you may be interested in,” while purchasing a different book. I found the title compelling so I clicked, then I found the description of the book interesting, so I purchased. I was not disappointed. It has been a long time since I read a collection of short stories I could not put down and wanted to read all over again once I’d finished. Philyaw’s writing is downright addictive.  Philyaw’s voice is powerful and assertive, strong and confident, and also, a bit mischievous,...

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Carol Ruckdeschel: “Tireless defender of sea turtles” (American b. 1941)

Carol Ruckdeschel: “Tireless defender of sea turtles” (American b. 1941)

Posted by | Feb 2, 2021 |

I happened to catch a January 13, 2021 For the Wild podcast titled Carol Ruckdeschel on Keeping Cumberland Island Wild. In this interview, Ruckdeschel describes the ongoing fragmentation of the wilderness protections she and others have fought so hard to establish over the years to protect Georgia’s most biologically diverse barrier islands. But the biggest risk for these islands and their inhabitants is the looming development of Spaceport Camden, a proposed rocket launch site in Camden County, Georgia. I urge you to listen to the podcast and scroll to the bottom of this For the Wild page to the Take Action section...

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Matilda Joslyn Gage: In Her Name, American (1826-1898)

Matilda Joslyn Gage: In Her Name, American (1826-1898)

Posted by | Jan 5, 2021 |

A few weeks back, I came upon a term I had not heard before, the ‘Matilda Effect’. It’s defined as: a bias against acknowledging the achievements of those women scientists whose work is attributed to their male colleagues (Wikipedia). This term was coined by science historian Margaret W. Rossiter in 1993, in her essay The Matthew Matilda Effect in Science. The Matthew Effect, labeled in 1948 and credited to Robert K Merton, and later to Harriet Zuckerman as well, refers to the way that: eminent scientists will often get more credit than a comparatively unknown researcher, even if their...

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Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine (2020): Fact-Checking and Footnoting Her Own Pain

Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine (2020): Fact-Checking and Footnoting Her Own Pain

Posted by | Oct 20, 2020 |

This book was hard to read. It is full of raw pain. I so appreciate Rankine’s willingness to expose her vulnerability. I am struck by how hurtful it is for a black woman to live in the culture of the United States. She is brave to expose herself this way. Rankine, a professor at Yale teaching classes on the history of whiteness in the U.S. wonders one day,  “What it would mean to ask random white men how they understood their privilege. . . . I found myself falling into easy banter with all kinds of strangers except white...

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Polly Coppinger’s Son: Osceola,”Master Spirit of the Seminole Nation” (1804-1838)

Polly Coppinger’s Son: Osceola,”Master Spirit of the Seminole Nation” (1804-1838)

Posted by | Oct 13, 2020 |

National Indigenous Peoples Day is being celebrated across the United States this week. Malinda Maynor Lowery, professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, in her article The Native History of Indigenous Peoples Day, relays, “More and more towns and cities across the country are electing to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day as an alternative to—or in addition to—the day intended to honor Columbus’ voyages…The growing recognition and celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day actually represents the fruits of a concerted, decades-long effort to recognize the role of Indigenous people in the nation’s history.” You can read Lowery’s full article here. In the spirit of...

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