AAAS and Me

The more I learn about the history of AAAS in this country, the more I see just how important it is not just as an African-American, but as a well-rounded, educated person. Even as a young child, I always had a passion for history, sociology, and anthropology. I love to learn about and engage in intelligent discussions about race, religion, politics, and culture. But I find that most Americans are especially close-minded and limited in their knowledge about other cultures and ethnic groups, even though diversity of its people is what makes the US what it is.

That’s why I love the AAAS program at Uni. of Memphis. This major touches and builds upon every discipline that I’m interested in, and the things that I learn about can be useful in dealing with people on a day-to-day basis. So many of the issues that plague the black community today has its roots in the exploration of Africa by the Europeans in the 1400s, the colonization of the New World, and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. While the history of an entire people was stolen and hidden for hundreds of years, new histories and cultures were born throughout the world. Those Africans that were deemed “less than human” or “savages” held on to as much of their history as they could, formed new families, passed on their traditions, and helped to build the most powerful countries in the world.

I’m taking four classes this fall, but it feels like just one. In each of my classes (four different subjects and concentrations), the same themes pop up over and over again. AAAS ties literature to history to sociology to politics to religion. I can’t think of another discipline that does that. The Uni. of Memphis is very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and dedicated group of professors to teach such a board range of classes and maintain a strong AAAS program. I wish more students knew about the benefits of taking AAAS classes.

Promiscuity: Educated Women vs. Hood Girls

Sexual promiscuity is sexual promiscuity. It’s not bad or good, negative or positive, and certainly not rated by socioeconomic class. It simply is what it is: a sexual behavior. While promiscuous sex has perks, it can definitely roll out consequences. Staying protected is essential, and remaining emotionally guarded is a must, unless you’re naturally polyamorous. Primarily, I encourage all women to be sexually empowered, whether it is with one partner or many. However, I find that there are some double standards when it comes to women of different socioeconomic statuses sexing it up.
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Reflection on my Studies

Below is a reflection from one of the students in the Intro Class of AAAS

by Zerriyan Jackson

During my study this week on the definition of African American studies I learned about my purpose as an African American. I understand that as an African American it is our purpose to uplift one another and maintain our heritage. Our history is so rich with stories of struggle, survival, greatness, and sacrifice and victories. Our pioneers made many sacrifices for us, such as the right to education so that we are able to teach each other. Our purpose is to educate each other of our heritage and culture. That is very important because we are engulfed with European culture and history and only filtered selective information about African American History. I personally liked Carlene Young’s definition of African American Studies. The individuals that seek higher education have gained the tools and knowledge to pass on more knowledge to their peers and the generation behind them. Therefore, African Americans have the responsibility to go back to their communities and enrich them with better resources to build themselves up. Especially blacks, who grew up in the “hood”, all too often seek a better life and opportunities for themselves and tend to forget to go back and impart some of that knowledge that they set out to discover. I think that more interest in African American studies would happen if blacks took more pride in their heritage; which is tough because some black kids are teased for their dark skin color or “nappy” hair texture. And that alone can cripple a child’s spirit because they have no control over their genetic make-up. Our history books do not emphasize African Americans and their importance to the United States and I believe that if more blacks demand a change for more acknowledgment in history books there could be a better sense of understanding of blacks and who they are.

SAT and ACT Scores-2010

From: blackstar1000@ameritech.net

National SAT scores by various categories for class of 2010
By score and group:

* 1721: Students reporting family incomes
of more than $200,000 a year
* 1714: Students who had taken AP
or honors courses in natural sciences
* 1636: Asians
* 1580: Whites
* 1558: Students who took core curriculum
* 1546: Students who previously took PSAT/NMSQT (a pre-SAT)
* 1523: Boys
* 1510: Students reporting family incomes
of $60,000 to $80,000 a year
* 1509: National average
* 1496: Girls
* 1444: American Indian
or Alaskan natives
* 1407: Students who did not take
core curriculum
* 1400: Students who did not take
PSAT/NMSQT
* 1369: Mexican and Mexican Americans
* 1363: Latinos (excluding Mexicans,
Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans)
* 1349: Puerto Ricans
* 1329: Students reporting family incomes
of less than $20,000 a year
* 1277: African Americans

Source: SAT 2010

National Average ACT Composite Score by Race/Ethnic Group, 2010

Asian American/Pacific Islander 23.4
Caucasian American/White 22.3
American Indian/Alaska Native 19.0
Hispanic 18.6
African American/Black 16.9

Source: ACT 2010

At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance

Rosa Parks was often described as a sweet and reticent elderly woman whose tired feet caused her to defy segregation on Montgomery’s city buses, and whose supposedly solitary, spontaneous act sparked the 1955 bus boycott that gave birth to the civil rights movement.

The truth of who Rosa Parks was and what really lay beneath the 1955 boycott is far different from anything previously written.

In this groundbreaking and important book, Danielle McGuire writes about the rape in 1944 of a twenty-four-year-old mother and sharecropper, Recy Taylor, who strolled toward home after an evening of singing and praying at the Rock Hill Holiness Church in Abbeville, Alabama. Seven white men, armed with knives and shotguns, ordered the young woman into their green Chevrolet, raped her, and left her for dead.

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Ron Walters Rememered: A Jazz and Justice Tribute

This week Jazz and Justice paid tribute to Dr. Ron Walters. To help with that host Tom Porter invited a powerful collection of guests to discuss Walters, his work, his politics, his impact and the enormous political and academic vacuum that must now be filled. Among his guests were Drs. Toni-Michelle Travis, Clarence Lusane, Wilmer Leon, Amiri Baraka, Maurice Jackson and others. This was truly a great show that covered more than Walters’ life and work but that of others as well. The discussion ranged from politics to music and beyond in what was a genuine display of Jazz and Justice.
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1965 debate between William F. Buckley and James Baldwin

The Media Resources Center at the University of California at Berkeley has made available online a 1965 debate between the late William F. Buckley and the late author, James Baldwin. Buckley was a national figure from the time he founded the conservative “National Review” in 1955 at age 29.

The UIC Library lists 45 titles of the 54 titles authored by Buckley, the first being God and man at Yale: the superstitions of academic freedom, published in 1951, and the most recent being Rake: a novel, published in 2007. In the UIC University Library “The National Review” is available in print format from1955 and electronically from 1975. The CNN article referenced below gathered some of its information from the electronic resource Contemporary Authors Online, an electronic resource accessible through the library Website.

View the “Debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, October 26, 1965. Sponsored by the Cambridge Union Society, Cambridge University.” The topic of the debate was “The American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro”. [Requires Windows Media Player or Flip4Mac ]

Excerpted from the MRC blog:

On February 27, 2008, William F. Buckley, conservative author, journalist, TV commentator, and all-around pundit died at 82 (SEE CNN article for details ). For those of us who came of political age in the 60s and 70s in the embrace of the New Left, Buckley was something of a right-wing anti-Christ. We loathed his patrician accent and showy erudition; his quirky mannerisms and his maddening condescension. But mostly, we hate him for his infuriating habit of glibly bashing everything we held sacred.

Now, forty years later and from the perspective of political developments in the last few decades, Buckley is looking better and better. Even if one still disagrees with his politics and social viewpoints, Buckley’s wit and intelligence, his commitment to civil and informed discourse must be acknowledged and at least grudgingly appreciated.