“. . . we owe some of the more iconic works of LatinX literature to pioneering emplumados and emplumadas who transformed these oral traditions into written narratives. As Ethnic and Cultural Studies scholars have rightfully observed, much of their literary production can be read as autobiography or as cultural ethnographies.”
– Jorge Chinea
Artistry by: Arlette Lucero – Latina-artist
January 27 is the day the United Nations General Assembly designated to be the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The day is a memorial providing pause to remember victims, survivors, multigenerational trauma and the multigenerational humanity and love that also lingers.
Alfonsina Storni wrote during a time of emerging “strong men” and authoritarianism. Among such forces and often standing alone among her peers, she had the courage to oppose machoism, chauvinism and the double standards suppressed on women. “Tú Me Quieres Blanca” (“You Who Want Me White”) reminds of the connections and intersectionalities of Diversity – then and now.
Are White people the ones who don’t need the color description? Ergo, does Whiteness gain social currency and capital by going unnoticed – normalized as the social default – with everyone else being branded – “pigmentized?”
It wasn’t until recently that I became fully aware of the scope of disparity in race and gender that encompasses the music composition world.
I’m now in my fifth year of teaching high school band and, up to this point, it was never really something I had considered. I would go online, to Everyone’s Favorite Music Distributor & Son, Inc.*, and peruse their lists – listening to recordings of titles that I found interesting (because, let’s be honest, we all judge a book by its cover when we’re limited on time). I used to think: “Wow, if I ever get into writing music, I should always title my piece ‘Aardvark Adventures’, or ‘Aaron’s Lofty Dreams’ so that I can make sure my titles are on the first page.” Adam Collins
This past year, All Saints Literacy Center piloted a supplemental program called “Whole Person Literacy” focused on spiritual and cultural literacy based on concepts of knowing, understanding, and self-development. We had monthly activities that were carried out in pairs or in groups. Learners and tutors participating in the program gained knowledge and created meaning individually and socially as they took part in the activities. The needs of the whole person were explored through an alternative lens of literacy.
“How could this be happening in this safe, comfortable middle-class neighborhood, in a high school noted for academic excellence; where arts, music, and theater were prized; where parent involvement was without equal, and graduation rates were among the highest in the state. It was simply inconceivable, and yet it had happened . . . here, at Columbine.” Carolyn Lundsford Mears
The complete Columbine narratives are included in Experiences of Columbine Parents: Finding a Way to Tomorrow (available through ProQuest UMI AAT 3161558). Detailed explanation of my approach to research may be found in my text Interviewing for Education and Social Science Research: The Gateway Approach published by Palgrave Macmillan (2009, 2015).
I have made available stories of experiences of educators involved in mass violence events, including shootings, natural disaster, and terrorist attack, in my book Reclaiming School in the Aftermath of Trauma published by Palgrave-Macmillan (2012).
Human beings who suffer from the disease of anti-Semitism, racism and other social phobias lack the capacity and ability to acknowledge other’s humanity.
Dr. Salk and Dr. Sabin did not develop the polio vaccines to only save Jewish children.
I guess that for some, a “love supreme” is not reciprocal.
A look can carry the weight of intention in silence.
It all happens in an instance as eyes meet to deny or affirm humanity.
It is a decoded nuance when diversity as the other and difference is viewed.
The poetic “La Mirada” (The Look) provides such internalized interpretations.