The Phone Call

For Juneteenth 2018

Where I’m From

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, a city that grew from 654,153 people in 1970 to 785,880 in 1980

and 935,933 in 1990 when I left to go to college.  The metropolitan statistical area for San Antonio is 

now home to nearly 2 million people.

I never attended a segregated school, but I as a young child knew that the part of town where 

someone lived said a lot about their family. The closer into town a family lived the less money they 

had (unless you lived in Oh-Nine, a bedroom community of “old money).  With my childhood eyes: 

The billboards in Spanish on the West Side usually meant folks spoke two languages at home, code-

switching with the best of them. African Americans lived on the East Side, near historically Black  

St. Philip’s College and Alamo Iron Works (now the Alamodome).  

The further out a family moved from downtown meant larger homes and yards - regardless of race. 

Families had more money the further they lived from town - money to cover bills, lessons, and 

vacations.  Families often moved “out” of town, but very seldom did they move “across” town. When 

I was a child, San Antonio counted five military bases as major employers for the metropolitan area. 

And as always, the closer to a military base you lived, the more mixed the population seemed to be 

to my eyes - with children who were born or started school in exotic places like Rammstein, 

Okinawa, or Lakenheath.  

As an adult and a geographer, I know the cultural distribution of a city may be due to redlining, de 

facto segregation and chain migration; not simply convenience as I thought at age six.  

The Phone Call

Which brings me to where I am today - a married, Episcopal, heterosexual, Democrat, White 

woman between 45-55 years of age, living in the county outside a Southeastern Conference (SEC) 

college town of about 24,000 (without the students) in the Mid-South.  A town with a history of racial 

violence from the Civil War through Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement and on into the 21st 

Century. The Ku Klux Klan visited campus in official regalia at least once since I started work here 

nearly 11 years ago, and Westboro Baptist Church protested here, too.  

Friday afternoon, while running errands in town, RMD’s (my husband) boss called him in to work the 

3-6pm shift as a pick-up driver for a rental company.  With neither his company shirt nor ball cap in 

the car, I dropped him off. Off he went to pick up clients, move cars, and be the hospitable, funny 

guy that I know RMD to be.

RMD and the other pick-up drivers joke, “No young person can do this job since you have to have 

nothing to do except wait for a phone call from the ‘Boss’.”  All of the drivers are men and over 60 

years of age. About two-thirds of the drivers are African American, and from my outside view, they 

would all call themselves “friends.”  I accompany RMD to company parties, gospel choir concerts, 

and hospital visits to see his colleagues.

I went about my Friday afternoon piddling, paying bills, and waiting for 6pm to pick my husband up. I 

watched a movie and ran a bit late leaving the house. He called while I was en route, and I 

expected to be chastised for running late and leaving him waiting after the office closed.  Instead, 

RMD sounded a bit off. 

When I asked how he was, he replied flatly, “I was arrested.”

At the risk of offending some, my response was less than collected and professional - “WTF?!”

“Well, detained.  Not quite arrested.”

[Keep in mind, I’m driving and talking on the phone - via the Bluetooth connection to the car stereo - 

but driving nonetheless.] My mind and heart raced.

RMD proceeded to tell me that three cars pulled “CJM*” and him over. “But, it’s all good.”

“Who was driving?”

“I was.”

“Why were you pulled over?”  [Note: Company drivers can’t have any moving violations or they are 

let go.  Makes sense. If your job is to drive, you’d best do it well.]

“It was all a misunderstanding.  I will explain later.”

He started to giggle a bit, but visions of my 68 year-old, 6’4”, 256 lb, White male husband and his 

60+ year old, 5’9”, 200 lb, African American male colleague pulled over - and detained - by three law 

enforcement officers in the Deep South flash through my head.  

RMD and CJM arrived at a local body shop, not far from our home, shortly after 5pm to pick up a 

company car a client left at the shop when their own car was repaired.  They found the car, but 

couldn’t find the keys. One of them went to the front door, the other the back, to look for someone 

who might have the keys.

The front door was unlocked, but the alarm sounded when CJM opened the door.  RMD knocked 

[probably banged] on the back door and hollered to see if anyone was there. No one replied. No 

keys, either.  So, with another client waiting for the car in question at the office, RMD and CJM 

headed out to get a different vehicle for the client at the local airport - in a new model, black Ford 

F150.

Shortly after RMD pulled out of the body shop, three county sheriff’s deputies in three cars flashed 

lights and sirens.  RMD didn’t pull over immediately, because he didn’t want to stop on a bridge. 

Instead, he motioned to the lead car that he would pull over in an exit/on ramp pullout.  RMD pulled 

over, stopped the car, rolled down the window, and placed both hands out the window.

Keep your hands visible.

Don’t make any sudden moves.

Only speak when they speak to you (Thomas 2017, 24).  

RMD knew exactly why he was being pulled over and SAYS he wasn’t nervous at all.

To hear RMD tell the story is quite different than for me share it in a blog post.  CJM didn’t say a 

word. The deputies were anxious. RMD, CJM, and the black F150 were on security tape.  The 

deputies knew exactly who they were looking for and why - “breaking and entering a business.” 

RMD joked to me later, “CJM and I looked like a couple of meth dealers.  Old dudes. New truck.”

The deputies called the rental company.  The body shop owner arrived and found the keys in 

question.  And, after almost an hour, RMD and CJM delivered the car to the waiting client at the 

office.

What Could Have Been

The fact that I am writing this post the following Tuesday and not from the county detention center or 

the regional hospital on Friday evening is evidence that the story didn’t end like so many on the 

news [See “15 High-Profile Cases Involving Deaths of Blacks” updated December 7, 2017] or 

books/film [i.e. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas].  

What’s easy for me to see from my privileged spot at home is that it could have gone so very wrong. 

We joke that RMD is my personal “Brute Squad” - a reference to Fezzik (played expertly by Andre 

the Giant) in The Princess Bride.  He stood in the back of the room at my dissertation defense to 

keep time looking more like a Mafioso than the then friend of a soon-to-be academic.  RMD has 

been 6’4” since he was 16, or there about. He intimidated me when we first met.

RMD has a myriad of faults. (We all do, right?)  He gets angry. He holds a grudge. He wears the 

same shoes out to the barn and back into the house.  But, there are two things he is not. My 

husband is neither a bully nor a racist. That’s not to say he won’t put someone in their place if he 

feels they’ve stepped out of line - think ninth grade biology students in an inner-city school or a rude 

cashier at a Cincinnati grocery store (He still won’t shop at Kroger… any Kroger.)  

My husband sees color - as I do - for all the richness and vibrance that flavors the community where 

 it blooms.  Does he like hip-hop? Nope; he tolerates me listening to it. Does he love cajun/creole 

cooking and all of the spices? Dayum right!  Will he go out of his way to help a friend? Absolutely.

Both of us know the gravity of the events Friday afternoon.  We watch the news occasionally. We 

subscribe to The New York Times and The Washington Post.  We’ve read The Liberal Redneck 

Manifesto (Crowder, Forrester, and Morgan 2017), Dispatches from Pluto (Grant 2015), and Just 

Mercy (Stevenson 2015).  If you are White and haven't read these three books and The Hate U Give 

(Thomas 2017), you really must! It will help you understand how and why we as White people (yes, 

the collective "we") hold privileged status in American society regardless of our income.

Living the events of Friday, and knowing how different they could have been, cements what RMD 

and I already knew.  Regardless of having bills to pay or wants that must wait until needs are met, 

we possess a level of privilege in society simply due to the lighter pigment of our skin.  Our grandson 

will never be followed and asked why he doesn’t stay with the group on a college tour.

I will never know exactly what happened last Friday afternoon, but I trust my husband’s retelling of 

the events.  I’m grateful RMD was driving and CJM was the passenger for both of their sakes. How 

might the story have played out? RMD and I both wondered this.  We spoke about it frequently all 

weekend. How differently things could have been if… CJM was driving, or the cops were trigger 

happy, or….

*CJM is a pseudonym.

References

Crowder, T, Forrester, C, and Morgan, D . (2017). Liberal redneck manifesto: Draggin' dixie outta the 

dark. Atria Books.

Grant, R. (2015). Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and found in the Mississippi Delta. Simon & Schuster 

Paperbacks.

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, 2017 National Book Award Longlist, Young People's Literature. 

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2017-ypl-thomas-the-hate-

u-give.html#.WylRb6knbR0

Lee, J. C., & Park, H. (2017, May 18). In 15 High-Profile Cases Involving Deaths of Blacks, One 

Officer Faces Prison Time. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/17/us/black-deaths-police.html

Oxford, Mississippi Population 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-

cities/oxford-ms-population/

Population history of San Antonio from 1880 - 1990. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://physics.bu.edu

/~redner/projects/population/cities/sanantonio.html

The Princess bride. (1987). Twentieth Century Fox Film.

San Antonio, Texas Population 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-

cities/san-antonio-population/

Stevenson, B. (n.d.). JUST MERCY. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. Walker books.

On Resolutions and the Future

“The garbage reached across the state,

From New York to the Golden Gate.”

A garbage patch floats in the Pacific Ocean three times the size of France (Boone 2018). Mississippi lawmakers pass bill prohibiting local governments from passing ordinances regulating the use of food containers (Gates 2018). Texas Supreme Court hears case while could repeal local single-use bag ordinances (Winkle 2018). Not fake news! Scientists take measurements on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) periodically, but this week released data provide a more accurate estimate of GPGP size than ever before - “1.6 million square kilometers, weighs 80,000 metric tons, and is three times the size of continental France” (Boone 2018). Just the week before, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2570 into law prohibiting local governments from passing ordinances to regulate the use of food containers (i.e. single-use and reusable bags, cups, to-go boxes) (Parks 2018). The law goes into effect July 1, 2018. And, the environmental leadership and stewardship of Austin is called into question in the media and Texas Supreme Court (Richards 2015; Winkle 2018) So, why do I care? Because: I’m a human who lives on this planet?! Eighteen months ago, I made a resolution - a commitment to myself, my husband, my community, and my planet - that I would no longer bring single-use plastic bags into my home. My husband, who spent most of his teaching career in a science classroom, thought my idea was a good one. Living in the county, we make a monthly trip to the community recycling drop-off station. Our community only recycles plastics 1 and 2, steel and aluminum, paper, newspaper, and cardboard. No glass, no other plastics, no styrofoam. And, NO plastic bags - even though they are plastic 2. Being a household of two who recycle, we probably produce less real “garbage” than average - only putting our trash out for county collection every two weeks instead of weekly (as is indeed available for our location). The immediate issue - what to do with the closet FULL of bags? Solution: Recycle fully one-half of the “collection” and move the other half to a space in the garage and save for trash bags in the bathrooms and kitty litter disposal. Second, what do we do instead of the bags? As teachers, we already possessed an extensive collection of conference bags. As a multiple sclerosis patient who receives her monthly medication shipment in a styrofoam box, I had a collection of those as well. We kept two styrofoam boxes: One to place inside a reusable tote for grocery shopping, and the other in another reusable tote for quick evacuation of chilled medications during tornado warnings. I placed ten other styrofoam boxes in the trash over the next two weeks. It hurt my heart, but the boxes threatened to take over an entire half of the garage. And, I get a new box once a month! Now, I set out collecting fun, reusable grocery bags - a grizzly bear bag from Cenage/National Geographic Press, a tiger bag from Birmingham Zoo. Store bags from Bóksala Stúdenta Books - Coffee - Gifts and the Camp Verde General Store. Bags from concerts: Slaid Cleaves, Robert Earl Keene, a travel bags from the Grand Teton Association, and conference bags from the National Conference on Geography Education We keep the “bag of bags” in the car. I offer to bag my own groceries, adding the caveat that I will probably be slower. I take the bag into places to shop. I get frustrated by stores that require products to leave the store in their own plastic bag - Belk and Dick’s. My next feat is to abandon the single-use straw. I recently learned they were not recyclable. How can they not be? Seriously? And, why do you have to give me one whether I want it, or not. If you put it on the table, without my requesting it, it will inevitably be thrown away. I like a straw, but I can live without one. A good friend has a set of reusable metal straws, but she carries a much larger bag/purse with her than I do. For now, I plan to decline the straw. I plan to keep doing my part reducing, reusing, and recycling. I hope I can make a difference. References. Boone, A. 27 March 2018. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Growing. CityLab. Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/03/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-is-growing/556562/ Gates, J.E. 20 March 2018. New law will prohibit local government from banning plastic bags or other type containers. Clarion Ledger.com Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/20/new-law-prohibit-local-government-banning-plastic-bags-other-type-containers/442256002/ Parks, R. 2018. Senate Bill No. 2570: Local entities; prohibit ordinances regulating the use of certain containers. State of Mississippi Regular Session 2018. Accessed on 28 March 2018. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2018/pdf/SB/2500-2599/SB2570SG.pdf Richards, E. 15, June 2015. Austin’s Plastic Bag Ban Worse for Environment Than Bags It Outlaws. CNSNews.com. Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/emily-richards/austins-plastic-bag-ban-worse-environment-bags-it-outlaws Shel Silverstein - Topic. 2015/1984. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out · Shel Silverstein from Where The Sidewalk Ends. Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. https://youtu.be/-104x-t85G4 Silverstein, S. 1974. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper Collins. pp70-71. Winkle, K. 11 January 2018. Could plastic bag ban be lifted? Texas Supreme Court hears case. KXAN.com. Accessed on 28 March 2018. http://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/could-plastic-bag-ban-be-lifted-texas-supreme-court-hears-case/1031510397

#MeToo and Me

From an extended FaceBook post last week. I decided it needed to be shared more broadly.

I said ‘God, don’t do this to me.’  And, God laughed. ~Tarana Burke

Sixteen months of being a liberal in a very conservative state has begun to take its toll on me.  I felt

better after a much needed visit with some strong women in my life over spring break. Last night, I

attended the University of Mississippi’s Women’s Empowerment Keynote Address

#UMWomensHistory2018 by Tarana Burke and felt compelled to tell my story.

Last year, I joined the Women’s March in Memphis, Tennessee, with two former students and their

friends.  I called all three of my Congressmen daily until the Senate confirmed the 45th President of

the United States’ nominee for Secretary of Education.  I rallied to support Massachusetts Senator

Elizabeth Warren when she was silenced in the confirmation hearing with what became the Feminists’

rally cry “She persisted.”  (I even replaced my pretty pink Otterbox phone case for a sleek “She

Persisted” watercolor case that didn’t protect my screen from a drop off the nightstand.)

When the allegations against prominent men in the entertainment industry morphed into the social

media #MeToo viral storm last fall, I paused.  I remembered fondly all of my former male supervisors

and colleagues in a myriad of workplaces and didn’t have anything to add. But then, I remembered

the cat-calls from construction workers as I walked home from middle school in the somewhat rural,

suburbs of northeast San Antonio.  I was 11, maybe 12. I reflected on two, very awkward, predatory

relationships in college. I was 21, maybe 22. I had never publicly spoken about these incidents. All

I could add to the conversation was “This happened to me, too!” #MeToo.

That is exactly what Tarana Burke meant when she started the movement.  That #MeToo implies that

YOU are a braver person than I am because you CAN tell the story that I cannot tell (at this time).  

#MeToo means that “I see you. I believe you. I hear you. And, I am you” creating an “exchange of

empathy.”

In addition to sharing statistics about female victims of sexual assault and harassment, Ms. Burke

reminded us that one in six (1 in 6!!) boys are victims of sexual assault and harassment, and that there

are no reliable statistics for gay, lesbian, and transgendered persons.  She asked all of us to think

about sexual assault and harassment as a disease. As such, how would we respond to a survivor?

Would we behave the same way? Thinking of the #MeToo movement this way reframes the

conversation into one that includes both sexes and all genders. Thinking of #MeToo as a “global

community of survivors” gives “power to our collective voices” and helps to “cultivate a culture of joy”,

a yearning for justice, and a decision to survive.

What hearing Ms. Burke speak about her own journey of community activism before and during

#MeToo has done for me is this -- I am empowered, energized, and willing to engage in the “radical

community healing” necessary for us to make it safe for victims to speak their truth.  Did you know --

Sexual assault is the ONLY crime that doesn’t rely solely on the verbal testimony of the victim to initiate

criminal proceedings? Process that for a moment!

So here I sit in my climate-controlled office on a university campus, sheltered by academic freedom

and tenure, pondering my role in #MeToo.  How do we move forward? Well, we do the Good Work,

the hard work, the dirty work of demanding to be part of the conversation and the solution.

If you take nothing else away from my post, take this - #MeToo isn’t just about wealthy, powerful men

in business and entertainment.  It is about everyone. #MeToo starts in preschool to create a culture of

empathy that doesn’t allow the narrative of hatred, bullying, and harassment to continue.  And, as

Ms. Burke explained last night - #MeToo doesn’t equate Bill Cosby and Emmett Till. To make such a

comparison disrespects the memory of Emmett Till - who categorically did not deserve the response

he received for whistling at a woman.  #MeToo isn’t about ending courtesy and compliments in the

workplace, but it should redefine how we think about our colleagues.

“Do Unto Others...” so someone doesn’t have to say #MeToo about you.

Real.Strong.Women of Distinction

Thanks to my Alpha Chi Omega sister, Cecilia Sierra Edwards, for nominating me for one of the Real.Strong.Women of Distinction Awards.  

In an effort to maintain an accountability in my writing, I share with you all my responses to the required questions for the nomination.

Please share the impact your Alpha Chi Omega experience has made throughout your journey to success.

Maximum Number of Words: 300

When I joined Gamma Rho chapter, I was a shy sophomore with a few friends 400 miles from home.  Alpha Chi Omega gave me the tools to come out of my corner with confidence and determination.  The skills I learned in Alpha Chi Omega were invaluable as I headed down my career pathway as an educator.  I never dreamed of leading a classroom, a department meeting, or national organization.

My sisters elected me Chaplain my senior year.  Through leadership development programs provided by the chapter, and informal mentoring by local alumnae, I learned more about organizing a band of women to impact the community than I ever thought possible.  Furthermore, Alpha Chi Omega fostered my creativity and gave me a passion for working with diverse groups.

I learned just how important the skills learned in Gamma Rho activities were when I entered the classroom as a teacher.  From project organization and leadership to public speaking, Alpha Chi Omega prepared me as well as my education course work for creating a learning environment that reached all students where they were and engaged them in the content.

My experiences in Alpha Chi Omega created a sense of self-confidence and reliance that allowed me to pursue and complete a doctoral program in geographic education.  I may have been smart enough to pursue graduate study, but Alpha Chi Omega taught me perseverance which is essential to advanced academic coursework and research.  Once again, the networking and organizational skills proved essential as I entered academia earning both promotion and tenure at the first opportunity.

From the high school geography classroom in rural south Texas to teacher preparation programs at an SEC flagship institution, the skills I learned in Alpha Chi Omega have lasted and continue to help me foster change in our world.

Tell us about your accomplishments as they are applicable to your successes.

Maximum Number of Words: 300

After leaving Texas Tech and Gamma Rho Chapter, I earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Trinity University and taught high school social studies in south central Texas six years - moving from novice teacher to co-lead geography teacher of a group of 13 geography teachers.  In 1999, I won one of the Target Teachers Scholarships to further my education.   

I coordinated the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education’s 2001 Geography Awareness Week (GAW) program and traveled to Washington, DC, to work with other GAW coordinators at the National Geographic Society.  I made connections with award-winning educators and so many others.  I received the runner-up in the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Natoli Dissertation Award in 2007 for my research on underrepresented students’ perceptions of careers in geography.  

I mentored students on projects that have been accepted for publication and/or presentation at nationally recognized conferences such as the National Council for the Social Studies, the ESRI Education Users’ Conference, and the Applied Geography Conference.  The Mississippi Geographic Alliance Steering Committee nominated me for an NCGE Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012.  

Additionally, I worked with ETS on the Praxis II National Advisory Committee for Geography, and as a table leader for the Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography exam.  The APHG community helped me more clearly see a future for geography in the K-12 classroom.  Through their eyes, I see a future beyond place-name geography.  

In 2009, I was asked to fill the unexpired term of the Recording Secretary.  I served NCGE in that capacity until my election as Vice President of Curriculum & Instruction.  As President of the NCGE Board of Directors in 2016, I helped implement a more modern system of governance for nonprofit organizations and led the organization through a strategic planning process for the next five years.

Flood Them in February!

 A group of concerned voters from north Mississippi met today and drafted the following letter. Please share widely among your networks.

Thanks,
e


Dear Mississippians:

The 2017 legislative session is in recess, and the legislature has yet to decide on an educational funding formula for Mississippi schools.  The likely next step is for the Governor to call a Special Session of the legislature, which under the rules of a Special Session, would allow the Governor and Speaker of the House to bypass all rules, regulations and deadlines in the legislature.  

For those concerned that all Mississippi schools and students receive adequate educational funding, please write postcards to your State legislators.  Let’s Flood them in February! Postcards work best when they are respectful, short and state that you live in their district.  Important points to cover:

1. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) is not flawed; it has been fully funded only twice (e.g. 2002 and 2007) since its passage.  
2. Urge your legislator to advocate for total transparency about the funding debate.  
3. Last year the Educational Enhancement Fund allocated $36 million dollars for classroom supplies, but only $12 million dollars reached classrooms.  

This is step one in an what is likely to require ongoing action steps. You may choose to write to one or all three points, but above all personalize your message to maximize the impact of your note.  To be successful, send your postcards by February 28th.

We recommend you direct one note to Senator Tollison as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee.  Then, let your legislators know how you feel,  and let your friends know how they can help.

Most sincerely,

Fund Education First!

Legislative Contacts

Senator Gray Tollison  

Chair, Senate Education Committee

Room: 404-A

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-2395

District 8

Representative Trey Lamar

Room: 201

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3343

District 10

Representative Nolan Mettetal

Room: 205-A

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3331

District 12

Representative Jay Hughes

Room: 400-F

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3339

District 13

Representative Steve Massengill

Capitol:

Room: 400-E

P.O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3353

District 23

Representative Jim Beckett

Room 205-C

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3335

If your Representative is not listed above, visit: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/h_roster.pdf

House Education Committee:

   John L. Moore, Chairman; Rob Roberson, Vice-Chairman

     Members: Toby Barker; Richard Bennett; Joel Bomgar; Randy P. Boyd; Charles Busby; Credell Calhoun; Gary Chism; Alyce G. Clarke; Carolyn Crawford; Dana Criswell; Becky Currie; Scott DeLano; Jarvis Dortch; Bob Evans; Mark Formby; Jeffrey S. Guice; Ashley Henley; Gregory Holloway, Sr.; Steve Hopkins; Chris Johnson; Vince Mangold; Carl Mickens; Orlando Paden; Rufus Straughter; Sara R. Thomas; Brad Touchstone; Kenneth Walker; Sonya Williams-Barnes; Cory Wilson

The full Senate roster can be found at: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/s_roster.pdf

Senate Education Committee:

   Gray Tollison, Chairman; Chris Caughman, Vice-Chairman

     Members: Kevin Blackwell; David Blount; Terry C. Burton; Eugene S. Clarke; Angela Burks Hill; W. Briggs Hopson III; Billy Hudson; David Jordan; Chris Massey; Sollie B. Norwood; John A. Polk; Brice Wiggins; J. P. Wilemon, Jr.

Disgusted by Our Administration

Edyte and I met in 1982 at John H. Wood Middle School.  Time and distance pass, but we are still the best of friends.  I feel blessed to be part of her life.  

Edyte is a first generation American, a mother of multiracial two (now grown) children, an artist, and a teacher.  Her parents' story of emigration from Hungary to the United States is a powerful one.  I hope she shares it with the world one day.  

I share Edyte's piece with you so it may be shared with a broader audience.  

I'm proud to call her friend!

#Resist #NoBanNoWall #ScienceMatters #BeTheChange #WomensMarch 

By Edyte Hargita Parsons * Sunday, January 29, 2017

I am signing up on the Muslim registry, if it actually comes to fruition. I will sign up not because I practice any religion but because I stand by my fellow Americans. I know too many beautiful, wonderful, amazing, dynamic Muslims. The school I teach at has a good proportion of Muslims and I stand by them. If they intern my little Muslim students, I will stand with them; go with them if need be. I will continue to educate them the best that I can. They shouldn’t be there alone.

I will support my nation’s children.

A Jewish registry will find my name on it as well. Not only because my grandparents ran during the war, uncles and aunts passed away during that horrible time, but also because our nation has had incredible contributions from this community that I refuse to ignore.

I will stand by these beautiful, strong people of our nation.

If there is a registry for any denomination of Christianity, I am registering with them as well. I do not practice any Christian religion but I stand with them regardless. We all have the right to practice our choice of religion and I stand by their choice.

I support all the people of this wonderful nation, regardless of their religious orientation.

When there is a registry for LGBTQ, I am signing it as well. There are too many close, personal friends and family in my circle that are LGBTQ that I cannot let them stand alone. Our great nation was built on their contributions as much as any others.

I support all the people of this great nation, regardless of their sexual orientation.

If there is a registry for people of color, be it brown, red, black, purple, green, or any other color, my name will be on it. This little red-headed freckled woman stands by all the people of any race because like most of us, I am a mix of all races. If I do not sign up, I will be denying a part of me and there is no part of me that I am willing to negate. There are too many people, past and present that have offered too much for this nation for me to not support them.

I support all the good people of my country, whatever their race.

Lists of any ethnicity will find my name on it as well. My family ancestry spans the entirety of Europe and Asia and beyond. People originally from America, from Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, France, Italy, China, Japan, Kenya, Ecuador, Mexico, and every other nation in the world are here to build an amazing country we call home.

I stand by their accomplishments and hard work. I support all Americans, regardless of their ethnicity.

I am signing a registry if it comes out for all those that are immigrants or first generation immigrants, legal, documented, or otherwise. Being first generation American, I am most likely already designated for this list but am proudly signing my name for whatever comes along. Alongside every other immigrant, my family has helped build this nation, which, aside from indigenous nations of First Peoples, is every person here.

I support anyone that comes to this nation to build a better life for themselves, their families and this country.

For those that are impaired in any way, I hold my hand up high and volunteer to join that listing as well. My grandparents were both deaf, so perhaps that is why they were running for their lives from Hitler’s regime? I don’t know and frankly, I don’t think it matters. They, and every other person, with or without a disability has made their own lovely contribution to the world we call home.

I support all the people of our America, regardless of ability. I am already part of the “registry” of women and am proud of it. Without women, none of us would be here. No amount of misogyny will diminish the strength I feel in my womanhood. I stand by all the women in this amazing nation.

I support all the people of the country I call my own, no matter what gender they profess. If scientists are held to a standard and become attacked for their profession, I stand by them as well.

I believe in the scientific method. If there is a list of climate change believers, of environmentalists, of conservationists, I will sign it as well. We are a people of intellect and diminishing truths cannot make the country better, rather it will mire us in self-destruction.

I stand by those working to make this a better world through science and knowledge.

What I will not stand by is bigotry, xenophobia, misogyny and hatred. I will not stand by as people are attacked, and ridiculed and hurt because of who they are, not what they have done. I will not stand by people condemning the good individuals of our great nation due to race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic backgrounds, belief systems, gender, origin or profession. I will support love and acceptance, hard work, tolerance, forgiveness and perseverance. I will support respect and loyalty, family and comradery. If this means I am on every registry so be it. If it means I am subjected to an internment camp, I will be there to support my people and to educate the children until the confinement is over. And I will keep fighting after.

I stand by the America I love.

Longtime Gone

So, it's been a busy almost four years since my last post here.

Lots has happened, and I wrote a mostly-monthly blog as President of the National Council for Geographic Education last year.  You can see those in the NCGE.org Archives.  Here's a link to the last one of 2016.

I dusted off the Blogger account to: 

1. encourage my own writing ethic which I developed over the past year,
2. elaborate on interesting posts in social media in more than 140 characters,
3. create a space for creative non-fiction writing which may not fit my employer's acceptable use of their Google Sites,
4. share my own path of resistance to the current administration (federal and state), and
5. stand with my friends and colleagues as we fight against oppression and suppression of our inalienable rights.

Enough for now. 

Strength, healing, and peace to you all.

ejf

You can follow me on Twitter @ellenjfoster

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