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Responsible Teachers, Responsible Scholars by Therí Pickens |
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Written by Theri Pickens
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Monday, 03 March 2008 |
I was in class. We read Seventeen Syllables by Yamamoto. One of the words used to describe a disabled character was 'invalid.' One student, in answer to a question about the plot said, "He was sitting next to the invalid." The professor turned around and wrote on the board in block capital letters, to describe the 'he': INVALID.
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Still Stuff Left to Do by Therí Pickens |
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Written by Foresight
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
I went to a small café near my home so that I could study with a friend. The café has two floors: the top floor has a restroom and is for dining customers only. The downstairs has no heat and is quite drafty.
I was wallowing in poverty this month, so I wsn't planning on ordering anything. I was banking on my friend to order something. I had actually bought something to eat in lieu of ordering my own food. I asked beforehand if it was okay (fully expecting a "no") and the young waitress said – while frowning up her face – that it was okay as long as my friends ordered something. She kept saying that the manager wouldn't like it. The manager this, that and the third.
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What can a good white person do? by Therí Pickens (revisited) |
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Written by Theri Pickens
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Friday, 18 January 2008 |
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I'm sure most of you have seen "X." Yes, the Spike Lee directorial amazement. There is one part that still perplexes me. It is the scene where the White woman asks X how she can help. He doesn't break his stride. He tells her that she can't do a thing. It makes me wonder: What is the role of White folk in a revolution for people of color?
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 )
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Sticks & Stones Cover the Bones of the Words that Cannot Hurt Me by Therí Pickens |
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Written by Theri Pickens
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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
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Since we're giving words funerals, I wonder if there are a whole host of words that need to be buried, forgotten to the annals of time. Recently, the NAACP gathered to lay "nigger" in a casket. The rationale behind this was that the word has done irreparable damage to the Black community, when used by Blacks and non-Black others. Linguistically, it carries a historical baggage of hatred, violence and systematic degradation. Though some argue its current use as a term of endearment, the NAACP counters that such a word – by virtue of its linguistic heritage – can never be turned around. Based on this description, there might be a laundry list of words that need adjacent burial plots: What's the criteria for forcing the dirt nap?
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 September 2007 )
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