Brain Food

A new book is as exciting to me as a new pair of Etta heels from J.Crew or pineapple upside down cake from Minton's. A while back, one of my favorite former Storefront students (I didn't forget about you Sonje!) asked me to put together a list of my favorite books. Before Black History Month gets away from me, I thought that I'd share 28 of my favorite titles.  (Insert joke about February being the shortest month of the year here). 

 

This list is by no means exhaustive, but each of these works meant something significant to me at the point in my life that I read them.  These books will give you insight into your own world or transport you to another one.

1. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: An epic novel by one of my new favorite authors; I am obsessed with everything she publishes. I'm still on the fence about that Beyoncé song though . . .

2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: I remember reading this during recess in 6th grade and being incredibly moved (ie. traumatized)

3. Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd: Because who doesn't like a good trickster tale? 

4. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Bulter. Dystopian fiction at its best. This is always very popular with my students. 

5. Family by J. California Cooper: I've read everything that she's written and I have never been disappointed.

6. The Rage of the Black Middle Class by Ellis Cose: Because bougie bloggers get mad too.

7. Krik Krak by Edwidge Danticat: Read "Children of the Sea" and "Ville Rose."

8. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: This is part novel; part history book.  I love Diaz's latest book This is How You Lose Her as well.  

9. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: Quite possibly one of the most challenging and rewarding things ever written. 

10. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates Jr.:  This is Gates at his best. Read the essay on Anatole Broyard. 

11. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley: Just because you've seen the Spike Lee film doesn't mean that you can skip the book. This was also a formative work during my middle school years.

12. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry: A work of art ahead of its time. 

13. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid: Don't bring this on your next Caribbean vacation unless you want to feel guilty.

14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: Janie's hair was a character in itself.

15. Zami by Audre Lorde: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography

16. Solider by June Jordan: A poet's life

17. Passing by Nella Larsen: I swear that there's a lesbian love affair in this one. 

18. Browngirl Brownstone by Paule Marshall: This was on my 8th grade summer reading list and I hated it. Adulthood allowed me to connect with the characters, and I have come to the conclusion that Paule Marshall is terribly underrated.

19. Sula by Toni Morrison: I could have listed everything that Chloe Anthony Woffard has ever written. Her books are my roadmap.

20. The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor: Check out the TV movie also; probably the first depiction of a black lesbian couple on network TV.

21. Caucasia by Danzy Senna: Read "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" as well. 

22. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf: Because a Choreopoem and a Tyler Perry movie are not the same thing . . . I remember Kristina Kennedy performing a monologue from this in high-school.

23. White Teeth by Zadie Smith: Jacqueline Jenkins's favorite book. 

24. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman: One of the finest works to come out of the Harlem Renaissance.

25. The Color Purple by Alice Walker: I loved the book AND the movie! 

26. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: This book make me overuse the highlighting feature on my Kindle.

27. Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson: Read the entire Century Cycle.

28. The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe: A totally underrated, hilarious, and thoughtful piece of  American theater. 

Don't Smile Until December

Black Teacher by Luigino Valentin

There is an expression that suggests that teachers should “not smile until December.”  The idea is that if a teacher begins the first day of school being “too nice” students will mistake kindness for weakness, and classroom management will be difficult for the rest of the year.  Personally, I have seen  well intentioned teachers begin the school year rewarding students with candy, negotiating consequences for misbehavior, tolerating excuses for late assignments, and doing lots of “fun” things in order to be popular with their students.

Unfortunately, when negative behavior escalates or students begin to expect unearned rewards the once "cool" teacher is forced to adjust his approach.  He may start to raise his voice in frustration or implement rules and consequences transforming his classroom from playroom to detention center in a matter of weeks.  In response the students act as if they have been betrayed, and complain bitterly that “Mr. So-and-So has changed.” Consequently, I have always thought that being respected (and feared) was better than being liked.  

Now, this does not mean that I wanted my students to be afraid that I was going to threaten them or humiliate them.  But I wanted them to be afraid of disappointing me or in the very least afraid that I was going to contact their parent if they were acting a fool.  It was a badge of honor to hear tiny feet in expensive sneakers scatter when they heard me coming.  I found that being tough and consistent inevitably led my students to like me (most of the time), but it wasn't my goal.    

The day before the start of the school year at my new school my Department Head asked me what I was planning to do in the classroom the next day. My intention was to reimagine The First Day of School by doing away with icebreakers, games, and introductions.  I replied that I was going to get right to work!  I had planned a lesson on Feudal Europe, and perhaps because I was nervous about my students' reaction to having  a black teacher, I felt a need to get the 6th graders to take me seriously.   The Department Head sat back in his chair and gently suggested that I re-think my plan; that the goal of the first few days, he said, should be to get the kids to "like me."

I was ambivalent, but I decided to risk it and take his advice.  I didn't attempt to teach anything on the first day.  I played 'two truths and a lie', did body breaks, and had the students draw self portraits. And I smiled . . . in September.

You Are Your Best Thing: 2014

Good morning students, teachers, staff, parents, and members of the board. I want to acknowledge all of the Storefront alumni that we have joining us today. If you graduated from The Storefront please stand up so that we can celebrate you!

I'm sure that many of you know that I am obsessed with Toni Morrison.  One of my favorite books is her novel Beloved. In the story a former slave named Sethe is haunted by the ghost of her dead child. When she is able to release the pain of the past and the ghost disappears, she mournfully tells her friend Paul D "but she was my best thing."  In response, Paul D tells her "You your best thing Sethe.  You are."  On the occasion of the 8th grade stepping up to high-school, I would like to take the time to remind everyone here that YOU ARE YOUR BEST THING.

You are the most important thing in your lives. When I say this I'm not referring to the type of sneakers you have on, what brand name clothing you wear, or what kind of phone you own. I'm taking about what makes you- your mind, your soul, and your heart.

It is important to recognize how one behaves when they understand and believe that they are their best thing.

1. They understand that their appearance is a reflection of how they feel about themselves.  However, they also know that what they have on does not define them; they define it. The Jordans don't make you look good. You make the Jordans look good!

2. They never hand in any work that doesn't represent the best of who they are.  Period.

3. They don't react when people talk about them because they know how fabulous they are.  They understand that what people say about other people is a reflection of how they feel about themselves.

4.  They are leaders; not followers. They don't "drink the Kool-Aid" because they understand who Jim Jones was and that the “Kool- Aid” was poison. They have the courage of their convictions, yet they know how to express their opinions in a respectful and articulate way.  The best examples of this are when Jahmeelah Nash Fuller told me that she didn't like The Bluest Eye because she didn't like the way the characters were presented, or when Nasir Dorsey wrote an essay about how I should never teach Purple Hibiscus again and then read it to the entire class!

5. They are generous and kind to others because they are sure that they have a limitless source of goodness in their own lives.  They are confident that they can overcome any challenge that they may face.

Now, even when you understand that YOU ARE YOUR BEST THING you may encounter people who don't value you as much as you value yourself. In that case, your responsibility is to walk away. As Zora Neale Hurston says, "sometimes I feel discriminated against but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How could anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company!"

I am (and all of your teachers are) convinced of your greatness.

There are very few people in the world who understand the benefits of composting and take ownership over recycling-but you do that!

I know very few middle school students,regardless of race or economic background, who read the New York Times every week and write essays responding to what they have read- but you do that!

Very few students in New York say that math is their favorite subject and live for the Ken-Ken puzzles that their teacher gives them, asking for more as soon as they are done with them- but you do that!

There aren't many students who know who Kara Walker is and have the confidence to approach her and strike up a conversation- but you do that!

There are very few Americans who know who Edward Snowden is, can describe the motivation behind the One Child Policy in China, or can explain the causes of the Rwandan genocide-but you do that!

And there are very few people in the world who can say that they have read and understood Toni Morrison, H.G. Wells, Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie, Ralph Ellison, and George Orwell- but you do that!  All in Middle School!

We know that YOU ARE YOUR BEST THING. But now it's time for you to believe it.

We are the descendants of those who survived slavery, segregation, and colonization. As James Baldwin said "your crown has already been bought and paid for. Now all you have to do is put it on."  My wish for the graduates and all the students of The Storefront is that they move forward into the future knowing that YOU ARE YOUR BEST THING.

How to Stop Haunting the Graveyard

In Toni Morrison's novel, Jazz, Joe Trace says the following to his lover Dorcas: "don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you.  I didn't fall in love, I rose in it."  This is one of my favorite Morrison quotes; I find the idea of being transformed and made better by love romantic and inspiring.

Unfortunately,  this is not that story.  A few years ago I tripped over common sense and fell in love. I fell HARD; I was the old lady at the foot of the stairs whimpering "I've fallen and I can't get up."  Things started off on a promising note, but within a few months I was demoted, I quit, and then I begged for my job back.  We repeated this cycle over and over for more than two years.  The relationship finally ended in the most dramatic, Tyler Perryesque way imaginable (think: motorcycle accident, ER, and somebody getting slapped upside the head in a hospital gown).  When the dust settled I was in pain like I had never experienced before.  It was so bad that when I woke up in the morning my first thought was getting through the day so that I could return to the oblivion of sleep.

Heartbreak is emotional pain; it is "in your head," but can be so intense that it feels physical.  It is an icy sting that begins in the brain, shoots to your stomach, and ends in a dull throb in your chest that keeps you off balance.  In my experience, heartbreak was worse than giving birth.  When I was in labor I was aware of the purpose of my agony, and I anticipated the gift that I would receive at the end of it.  Unfortunately, heartbreak gives no gifts, and although the hurt diminishes in intensity, it never completely ends.  Although pain in life in inevitable, many times it can be avoided.  Here's how not to be a fool:

1. Trust Your Intuition:  My co-workers used to call me The Oracle because of my uncanny ability to predict the outcome of school politics months ahead of time.  I hate to admit it, but I have no supernatural powers.  I believe that we all have the ability to read body language and hear what is being said underneath the surface of words.  Unfortunately, in matters of the heart we often ignore what we know to be true because of what we want to be true. Stop lying to yourself.

2. Stop Thinking That You Are An Exception: Listening is key.  If a person describes all of the people in his/her past as "crazy" what do you think that he will be saying about you in the end?  Don't be flattered by compliments that come at the expense of others.

3. Protect Your Magic: Avoid people who think that it is their place to tell you about yourself.  Oftentimes what people say about you is a reflection of how they are feeling about themselves at the moment.  Leave anyone who is not kind to you alone.  Period.

4. Accept That Behavior is Communication: I remember hearing this phrase at a professional development workshop about working with children with discipline issues and it was a revelation in terms my personal life.  Often we complain about dating others with "bad communication skills."  We justify being disappointed (again) by blaming "a breakdown in communication."  We wish that he/she would "communicate more."  This is bullshit; although the man or woman in question may not be the type to engage in deep discussions about how they are feeling; their behavior will tell you everything that you need to know.  If they don't text you back in a reasonable amount of time, or make an effort to see you consistently, they are communicating that you are not a priority.  As my friend Jackie says, "there are no such things as 'mixed signals,'" when someone wants you in their life they make it happen.  If you have to decode and analyze conversations, text messages, and emails with your friends looking for affirmation you are wasting your time.  An inconsistent person may not want to be alone.  That does not mean that he/she wants to be in a relationship with you.  Learn the difference and act accordingly.

5.  Don't Let Anyone Walk off With All of Your Stuff:  In For Colored Girls, the lady in green says, "somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff and didn't care enough to send a note home saying I was late for my solo conversation."  People were walking away with my stuff because I was giving it away!  In the midst of my heartbreak I was lucky to have friends who were around to make me laugh and give me meaningful advice.  One such person was  Colin, who told me that I needed to "stop giving." Although these directions were genius in their simplicity, I also needed to think about when my generosity was a dressed up form of manipulation. If  I was giving because I expected something is return, and then turning around feeling used when I didn't get it, I had no one to blame but myself.  I came to this conclusion after watching an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.  I guess that Chloe was right: you can learn important stuff by watching television.

6. Recognize When It's Over:  In  his collection of short stories, This is How You Lose Her,  Junot Diaz writes "And that's when I know it's over.  As soon as you starting thinking about the beginning, it's the end."  When you are remaining in contact with someone in the hopes of reclaiming a past feeling you are dealing with an addiction, not a relationship. Zora Neale Hurston says,

I have a strong suspicion, but I can't be sure, that much that passes for constant love is a gilded-up moment walking in it's sleep. Some people know that it is the walk of the dead, but in desperation and desolation, they have staked everything on life after death and the resurrection, so they haunt the graveyard.  They build an altar on the tomb and wait there like faithful Mary for the stone to roll away.  So the moment has authority over their lives.

Unless your initials are J.C. you don't have to power to resurrect what is dead.  In fact, by the time that Joe Trace made his noble pronouncements about love he had already shot his lover because he couldn't accept that the relationship was over.  I remember Jackie and I having a conversation about delaying ending relationships because of the fear of the pain that we knew was coming.  Unfortunately, there's no shortcut through pain.  The more you delay it; the more it will hurt.

7.  Forgive Yourself: I remember telling Colin about the latest episode in the drama of my relationship with whatshisname.  He cut me off and said "I'm really sorry that happened to you.  What he did was fucked up.  But what you did to yourself was worse." Damnnnnn!! The truth hurts.  Recognize that your role in the drama, analyze why you allowed what you allowed, make an attempt to heal the wound, and forgive yourself.

Book Club for the Broken Hearted:

Jazz, by Toni Morrison

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, by Ntozake Shange

This is How You Lose Her, by Junot Diaz

Dust Tracks on a Road, by Zora Neale Hurston

Brown Sugar Babies

After reading Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns," I will never look at lemons or a glass of orange juice in the same way. Learning about the men who worked in Florida's citrus groves opened my mind to the pain associated with the sweetness we enjoy. Kara Walker's latest work has had a similar impact on me. 

Before heading to Brooklyn with the 7th graders and their illustrious art teacher Mattias Leutrum, I read everything I could find online. I looked at pictures and videos. I listened to interviews on NPR. I thought that I had Kara Walker's exhibit at The Domino Sugar Factory figured out.

"A Subtlety" was a meditation on the price paid for the sweet tooth that developed in America and Europe. It referenced the blackness required to refine sugar and turn it white-like the drop of black required to make Optic White paint in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It represented a critique of stereotypes of black women. 

I was confident about what I thought I knew, but I wasn't prepared for what I would feel when I entered the cavernous former refinery. Immediately, I was struck by the beauty of the various shades of brown: the walls, the floor, the rafters, and the sugar babies born of resin and sugar. I was drawn to the children carrying baskets of sweetness made of the broken pieces of other sugar babies.  Perhaps my attraction to these sculptures was due to the fact that they appeared to be around Chloe's age. 

As visitors poured into the space the babies were surrounded by people taking pictures. It felt like I was watching tourists taking pictures of native children in third world countries (ironically the sculptures were modeled on souvenirs sold in the Carribean).  I felt angry and exposed. What were they thinking? Why were they here? Had they done their research? Did I have the right to judge?

Kara Walker happened to be at the exhibit the day we visited. She was surrounded by a tight circle of well-wishers, hipsters, and students. I got the sense that the answers to questions were not as important as being in the vicinity of the artist. It was as if Walker herself was part of the show. I felt the same sense of possessiveness as I did for the sugar babies. 

I am proud that the 7th graders were bold enough to try to initiate a conversation with Walker. They asked great questions: why not use brown sugar to create the lady sphinx? How do you feel when you walk in and see your own work?  Why expose her breasts and buttocks? How do you prevent rats from getting in here? 

As I approached the lady sphinx I was struck by her beauty, her strength, and her softness.  The gentle curve of her back and the way that her feet curve underneath her body.  This was not necessarily a critique of stereotypes but an affirmation of the multiple roles that black women play in spite of economic exploitation: nurturer, lover, leader.  This woman is not a victim; she is a keeper of mysteries. 

Visit this exhibit before the sculpture and The Domino Sugar Factory is demolished in order to make room for the future (probably condos and commercial space). "A Subtlety" runs until July 6th.

Thank you Cheryl for making this amazing experience possible!