Koritha Mitchell
@ProfKori
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Author of LIVING WITH LYNCHING and FROM SLAVE CABINS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. Editor of IOLA LEROY and INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL. Feminist. Runner.
Joined April 2010
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I’m glad know-your-place aggression resonates as folk watch the UNC/Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure issue. Your comments reminded me of this graphic someone at Georgia Southern University made.
Note: this was created before my book FROM SLAVE CABINS TO THE WHITE HOUSE was published
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"Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” ~Audre Lorde
#CiteBlackWomen
#WellReadBlackGirl
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After 15+ years of university teaching, here's what I know for sure: Some students are convinced that if I'm the professor, 1) the class can't actually require intellectual work from them 2) my authority is illegitimate [She's probably not qualified. You know, affirmative action]
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Effective 5/19/21, the Board of Trustees finalized my promotion. The institution moved closer to recognizing about me what I know about myself. Only appropriate.
So, no modifier needed with my title.
not Assisant Professor,
not Associate Professor.
Professor.
Periodt!
LOL
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Understanding white mediocrity & know-your-place aggression has been sanity saving for me, so I published on it to make tools for doing so available to others. It’s always gratifying to be reminded that folk are using those tools in all kinds of ways. 1/2
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There is so little grace and so little mercy and so little human decency extended to Black women, but we’re held to the highest possible standards—not to be revered but just to be seen as worthy of taking up a little space. It would be astonishing if it weren’t so common.
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As of today, I am a Professor of English at Boston University. Being a Visiting Professor throughout 2023-24 put me in a glorious bubble. I literally had to ask when faculty meetings are, and I didn't do that until the academic year was over. There's SO MUCH I still don't know…
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.
@DrJasonJohnson
: Why do Black people empathize so much with these white victims of
#Rittenhouse
?
“Because Black people don’t care about race; we care about justice,”
@ElieNYC
answers without skipping a beat on
@thereidout
on
@MSNBC
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There’s NO SHORTAGE of people doing good work & doing good. No matter how little that reality is highlighted, I never forget it. Evil may be plentiful but so is goodness. I constantly see folk doing good, but U.S. culture works to hide them & make them think they’re alone.
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3) if they don't get their way, I have evil intentions. [The accusations are no joke!]
When this happens, the student is just showing how well they've learned what the USA teaches.
This, too, is know-your-place aggression. It comes from all directions.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Black success beckons the mob.
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"Never mind that, in addition to being both Black and gay, I also happen to live in the state of Ohio, as does Chappelle himself, where our governor just signed [an anti-LGBTQ] provision..." ~
@theferocity
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“Obsessing over whether candidates of color deserve a spot prevents everyone from noticing that white people get and keep positions without needing to be impressive at all.”
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.
@prisonculture
: "Foundations are not perfect, of course... What does it mean for a rich person to extract money that should be going to the country's tax base & then decide for themselves how to donate it to the public again? When it's really our money?" WE DO THIS 'TIL pg. 101
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I can't contain myself! She's gorgeous! And Dr. Sharon Holland says she's "a needed subtlety" that "will reframe the conversation." PRE-ORDER NOW so you can meet her ASAP!
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In a racist, sexist society like ours, it’s VERY EASY to be disappointed in a woman of color, especially a Black woman. Always notice how high your standards are for her, despite how little our culture offers her in terms of resources, INCLUDING THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.
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I got up & told the flight attendant I need to be away from the dog, so I’ll wait until everyone boards to see where I can move. That worked.
Because my response is always so visceral, I know the terror of the Americans using dogs against my ancestors lives in my flesh.
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Why does Trump still shape public discussion?
Because "good," "decent" white people FAILED to mobilize when he questioned Obama's legitimacy, launched his campaign by calling Mexicans 'rapists,' etc. etc. etc
Decency is NOT an American inheritance; it requires deliberate effort
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I’m on break and have worn this sweatshirt several times. Someone asked what it meant yesterday. I felt mischievous. IYKYK
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Worth considering for how you speak to yourself, too.
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Because institutions are built on racism and sexism, pretty much every Black woman I know—including those in the highest ranks—have "colleagues" who have (at least) verbally assaulted them but whose professionalism is never truly in question.
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My first BU teaching day has arrived. I’ve got all the feels, I’ll get my campus computer today, and I have assurances that my ergonomic desk & chair are en route.
As I’ve admitted, after 18 years of familiarity, there’s no forgetting that I’m in
#TheLandOfMovingMadness
. But…
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Let me tell you about living large! New fridge dispenses ice from the door, but it also automatically makes craft ice. They’re SOLID; each takes ~24 hours. The salesperson talked them up in terms of cocktails, but I put a couple in my water bottle, and you can’t tell me nothing!
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Few things feel as good as returning library books after making every possible correction to page proofs. When I tell you I’m proud of what I’ve done with Harriet Jacobs’s remarkable book INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL, believe that!!!
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Most editions of INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL are bare bones, providing scant context and little-to-no supplemental material. That certainly won’t be true of my
@broadviewpress
edition, due out this summer.
Here’s the table of contents:
Stunning, isn’t it? This water took Harriet Jacobs to (more) freedom.
Yes, my November 2022 trip to her birthplace (Edenton, NC) lives with me! Even with grading to do, copy edits for my forthcoming
@broadviewpress
edition of INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL are calling.
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Affirmative action made my path possible. That fact says more about the unearned advantages of whiteness than about my merit. Stay CLEAR about
#WhiteMediocrity
& the aggression required to keep standards incredibly LOW for some.
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I had all these plans for an elegant photo shoot with my gorgeous girl, but Imma let the giddiness shine on through!!!
@IllinoisPress
#WellReadBlackGirl
#CiteBlackWomen
@ABWHTruth
@AAUW
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Well, I love this title!
When
#WhiteVillainy
is enabled by
#WhiteMediocrity
, know-your-place aggression can run amok.
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The pandemic highlighted how much in my life I’d choose all over again. I became keenly aware that I’d choose my partner again, this house, etc.
My latest excellent decision? A customized ring to commend myself for promotion to Professor, independent of OSU’s recognition.
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Happy birthday to me! I submitted my
@broadviewpress
edition of INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL, and it’s like nothing that exists! It’ll help not only teachers but also general readers.
#C19
Before our dinner reservation, I’ll appear on the Karen Hunter Show around 5:15pm!
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My partner has a sweatshirt that says, “If it costs you your peace, it’s too expensive.” Seeing the news about Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey after having written an MSNBC piece about Harvard’s lack of support for Dr. Claudine Gay makes me think of it.
Months ago…
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Ordinary people really need to get this because decency is NOT an American inheritance; it requires effort.
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I will NEVER get over the casual harm done by scholars who can see BIPOC authors as objects of study but apparently cannot see them as knowledge producers. And such folk don’t truly engage the work of BIPOC scholars bc they believe the lies whiteness tells them about themselves.
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American culture has SO MANY ways to tell Black women to know our “proper” place of subordination, but we STAY SHINING anyway.
We aren’t superhuman so the foul shit hurts sometimes. But there’s a lot of value in understanding we’re attacked FOR succeeding despite every obstacle
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@nhannahjones
This is why I say Black success beckons the mob
+
The success of marginalized groups brings aggression as often as praise.
=
know-your-place aggression
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Claudine Gay says she hopes her resignation “will deny demagogues the opportunity to further weaponize [her] presidency,” but imagine how powerful it would have been if the institution had not failed her? Imagine if Harvard had learned from the vitriol Americans hurled at Obama?
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As I shared before, I’ve decided to give myself a ring as a gift for promotion to (full) prof. I’ve been searching online for a while to figure things out, but I ended up deciding to get something customized. I have now seen a few mock-ups and purchased based on the last one.
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This is so freakin' fabulous! Many congratulations,
@ProfCAnderson
! WHITE RAGE wins National Book Critics Circle Award!!!
#BlackExcellence
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@EFeminist
I feel you, but I'm also forced to see just how NOT personal it is.
I can't out-perform society's insistence upon casting me as not just unqualified but also evil. Students aren't pulling these images of me from nowhere, but they're not pulling them from ME.
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Black women's professionalism is always easily up for debate, though. We literally work with our abusers, but we're somehow the problem. It would be funny if it weren't so foul.
Dr.
#SusanMoore
being labeled “intimidating” in death = another reminder of these dynamics
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This is why we must understand the PURPOSE of violence, whether physical or discursive. The purpose is to mark who belongs & who does not, so PLEASE stop thinking marginalized groups need to do something wrong to be attacked.
It’s know-your-place aggression TO COUNTER SUCCESS.
For Lois Banner, a very established and senior white woman historian, to say that she wished she was Black so her professional life would be easier, yesterday of all days, when white backlash was so very vicious from the Supreme Court, is obscene.
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When you look at someone’s accomplishments and wonder “what else do they have to do to get ——,” the most likely answer is: be white. If they had been white, they would’ve gotten whatever it is a long time ago and with fewer accomplishments.
Good morning!
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If I weren’t already facing deadlines, I would’ve pitched a piece on how know-your-place aggression runs all up and through this…
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Gotta get ready, so I haven’t read this final version, but I enjoyed
#TheChair
and couldn’t resist addressing what was disturbing me about some responses.
#TheChairNetflix
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I’m barely making it, but I’m making it. (in between today’s classes)
#Teaching
in
#TheLandOfMovingMadness
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OMG! I was headed to the business meeting for Senior Ford Fellows, the reason I knew I couldn’t try to see
@roywoodjr
’s standup in Phoenix, and I see him in the elevator. No, I didn’t stay cool!!!
Part of why I feel I know him =
@karenhunter
and
@rodimusprime
and
@SayDatAgain
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For the record, I suspect Clark was trash talking Black opponents the same as she would white opponents. The way the conversation has turned into pretending Black women are hostile when they brag and a white woman needs defending isn’t so much about Clark as American culture
American culture has SO MANY ways to tell Black women to know our “proper” place of subordination, but we STAY SHINING anyway.
We aren’t superhuman so the foul shit hurts sometimes. But there’s a lot of value in understanding we’re attacked FOR succeeding despite every obstacle
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If you’ve spoken to me, you know how much I admire Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Reading DISORDERED COSMOS was a revelation for its content & ethical orientation.
@IBJIYONGI
inspires me to want to
#DoBetter
in every way, so I was honored & thrilled to finally meet her IRL!
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My fine ass partner and I have been together 25 years as of today! He has made it clear that he’ll be very busy staying Black and watching sports.
Me: “That’s fine, but I’m taking you out and we have reservations for 7PM. So, be ready, Negro!”
#TeamKoJo
#KoJoManor
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I resigned from OSU in May, but yesterday was when my department chair shared the roundup of departures. I also just happened to have a previously scheduled Zoom catch-up with a former student. They asked if I felt ready to leave or if there was anything I missed about it.
1/3
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I wrote an essay about visiting Harriet Jacobs’s birthplace of Edenton, NC. It’ll be in the LA REVIEW OF BOOKS Tuesday. I’m so excited!
I might be as pleased with this essay as I am proud of what I’ve done with INCIDENTS.
#CiteBlackWomen
#WellReadBlackGirl
#HomemadeCitizenship
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Folk so “progressive” that they constantly criticize Democrats as if the GOP’s destruction is irrelevant are part of how
#WhiteVillainy
goes unchecked.
No one is in a vacuum. Holding the GOP to ZERO standards while declaring Dem efforts NEVER GOOD ENOUGH only empowers the GOP.
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Quite happy to tell these truths in this way!
#HomemadeCitizenship
@IllinoisPress
@citeblackwomen
@wellreadblkgirl
How I Practice Self-Care as a Black Woman in Academia | Time
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I love how folk act like Kamala Harris is supposed to let a group derail her event when she’s got 3 months to try to save the USA from what we’re in because “good” & “decent” Americans REFUSED TO MOBILIZE when Trump became politically relevant by questioning Obama’s legitimacy.
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James Baldwin has a crucial word for pretty much every American moment. Now is as good a time as any to re-up this gem:
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." ~James Baldwin
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... I'll be on leave from OSU. Throughout 2023-24, I'll serve as a Visiting Prof of English at Boston University. I’ve been invigorated by interacting w/ faculty, staff, & administrators in
@bu_afam
,
@BUEnglishDept
,
@BUAmnesp
, & beyond. I'm looking forward to engaging students.
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Robin D. G. Kelley: Africans did not come here as servile laborers but as PRISONERS, so thinking of them as settlers is complicated.
#AAIHS2021
keynote conversation with Tiya Miles
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"Identity Groups Are Mobilizing for Kamala Harris. That Shows Progress" in
@TIME
.
Inspired by posts I saw from
@JotakaEaddy
,
@shannonrwatts
,
@rolandsmartin
,
@ShowUp4RJ
,
@MichaelSkolnik
,
@AshantiGholar
,
@WalterDGreason
,
@WajahatAli
, among others!
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Leaving the OSU campus and seeing white men strapped with automatic weapons. Sick to my stomach because they’ve always been explicit, but supposedly “good” and “decent” white people constantly act unsure about the need to take clear, proactive stances.
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No words yet, but spending the weekend in Harriet Jacobs’s birthplace, Edenton, NC.
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I turn 50 next Thursday! To celebrate, I’m running a 15K & treating the surrounding weekends like mini-retreats. As I’ve prepared over the past several weeks, I’ve had some quality conversations that will inform my self-reflection. I’m
#grateful
for how living…
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#COVID19
got you in
#Quarantine
? It’s still
#WomensHistoryMonth
! Learn about Frances Harper! I call her “a model citizen who couldn’t vote,” and she was as prominent as Frederick Douglass & Susan B. Anthony
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“Spoiler alert: the hero of this story does not die.
EVER.
...In this story…this hero almost never wins. But we still get to be the heroes of all true American stories simply because we are indestructible. Try as they might, we will never be extinguished.“ ~
@michaelharriot
in
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@noralove
@jasonintrator
Thank you for bringing my work into the conversation! For those who experience less intense versions in our daily lives, it can be sanity saving to understand the dynamics. I like how know-your-place aggression is precise & cumbersome, highlighting how much effort it takes.
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It’s so easy to rip something apart. But building something? Whew!
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This is also a nice birthday surprise for me!
It’s has been a good year. Here’s to my next year being full of blessings, too.
#grateful
#CountingBlessings
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Becoming a Ford fellow CHANGED MY LIFE, and it was never just the money that was life-changing. As devastating as the Ford Foundation’s divestment from its fellowships program is, it can’t make me less of a Ford fellow because the community made me. SO MANY PEOPLE WON’T CARE…
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Are you affiliated with OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY? Know folk who are?
The Council of Graduate Students is collecting signatures from members of the OSU community in support of severing ties between OSU and CPD.
Please circulate widely!
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Ummm, Professor Koritha Mitchell. LOL!
Associate professor Koritha Mitchell of
@OSUEnglish
reflects on what
#Juneteenth
meant to her growing up in this
@CBSNews
piece.
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On this Founders’ Day, I’m thinking of how Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey wanted a soror to retrieve her belongings.
Also, do you remember Dr. Susan Moore? I'm thinking of her as Dr. Candia-Bailey remains on my heart. She was the Black woman doctor who videoed herself …
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“Conservatism” is about reminding marginalized grps of their “proper” place of subordination. It never matters that members of marginalized grps meet & exceed the standards that dominant grps claim to respect.
Domination = bludgeoning others w standards you don’t have to meet.
Social conservatives have been completely wrong on every LGBTQ rights issue. Let's review... (thread)
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As colleagues around the world grade final papers, I’m getting notes about how meaningfully their students engaged my edition of INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
They report, among other things, “Can you get pregnant?” was a powerful starting pt.
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543 Denney Hall has been my Ohio State University English Dept office for 18 years. Middle ground has been rare: Folk either testify that encountering me changed their life for the better or swear that I've got evil intentions and just haven't been stopped yet. As of Aug 1, ...
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A good word! I’ll take it!
(from KEEP MOVING, a book
@maggiesmithpoet
recommended
#OnHere
.)
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BREAKS MY HEART when students believe I’m out to get them because I’m working to ensure they leave my class with some insight & skills. Ignorance is powerful bc you don't know what you don't know. Honey, whoever let you cling to that low standard of performance was/is your enemy.
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Full article:
Video clip on why I wrote the article:
5-minute video about what happens to one’s view of African American literature & culture when you understand know-your-place aggression:
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More insight from James Baldwin:
“the Negro’s experience of the white world cannot possibly create in him any respect for the standards by which the white world claims to live. His own condition is overwhelming proof that white people do not live by these standards.”
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They don't hold themselves to standards; they use standards as a bludgeon for others.
When you understand know-your-place aggression, you see there’s never shame. There’s only what I call a “perverse flex," so I was glad to link
@maryltrump
's work in
I want to live in a world where Melania and Justice Gorsuch are held to the same standards as a black woman.
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No matter who is speaking, there’s always a way to diminish Black women and tell us to stay in our “proper” place of subordination. Years ago, because she organized a successful meeting for fellow researchers, my dear Dr. Brendesha Tynes was told by another scholar that she 1/3
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Clarity is such a gift! I’ll never believe the lies that would have me discount HOW MUCH MORE I’ve done to survive and thrive in this racist, sexist country.
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When you understand that there has never been a shortage of greatness—there have just always been countless mechanisms for stifling greatness—then you know to do your part and have your own reasons for the effort. Doing it matters even if every outcome can’t be controlled.
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In May 2016, before a year-long fellowship at Notre Dame, I finished the first draft of this book manuscript. I never would’ve guessed then that it would still be with me, but I’m ASTONISHED by how much better it is. Clearly, it was all meant to be.
#CountingBlessings
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Believe me now, thank me later: You want to read THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES! This short story collection takes you on several engrossing journeys! I’ve been an English professor 15+ years, so I read a lot. This is unlike anything I’ve read. An experience! + Audio available
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If your communication style is beating around the bush and dropping hints, you can bet nothing was communicated to me. I don’t pick up on such things. If something is important enough to talk about, why not just say what you mean? To each their own, I guess.
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It’s astonishing to see even though I know how incredibly common it is. This isn’t extra egregious; this is how things go in every arena.
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ABSOLUTELY! And when his Spotify deal is over, he’ll only reach MORE people. He lost listeners by being exclusive, which is why they paid so much. Spotify wants HIS ability to draw people in, not the other way around.
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