Saturday, March 26, 2016

Learning, Unlearning, and Re-Learning at almost 52!


Learning, Unlearning, and 
Re-Learning at almost 52!
“Advocating for new systems often requires demolishing the old way of doing things, and we hold back for fear of rocking the boat”
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam Grant 



Anyone who knows me, realizes that I’m not afraid to rock the boat. As promised I am trying to keep you up to date on what I am learning at school. For the most part, I am doing an incredible amount of reading and writing. The truth is I need to do a whole lot more reading and writing. Today, I am trying to catch up on notes, articles and sleuth through chapters of several books. I also need to clean my room and figure out what to cook for Easter (which may or may not happen i.e. the cooking), plus do some bookkeeping for church. Below is a quick list of reading suggestions; ALL are items that are touching me deeply from my coursework. As a side note on books, please note the first Ubound Book Festival will be hosted on April 23 at Stephens College. Please REGISTER to attend.

New things I learned which took me by surprise
I discovered one of my ancestors was an entertainer in the late late 1800s, early 1900s--her husband appeared on stage in Black-face and they performed this dance.

Booker T. Washington’s venture into Togo, Africa with a cotton plantation. This history about was among the most difficult papers I read this semester; along the treatment of Colonized Africans and of mixed-race Afro-Germans. Of course, I learned a good deal more about the Nazi’s
Here's a quick new books I bought this month including:
I also have a great pile of books I requested via interlibrary loan for my History of Blacks in Germany class. Some of the items below have very interesting papers hyperlinked.
I was introduced to Marcus J. Borg at Sunday school a couple of months ago (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time) and have been very engaged in reading more about Spiritualist and Feminist Theory.
Borg’s book (Meeting Jesus Again...has fabulous end notes which lead me borrow from my pastor: In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and their Implications for Today by William L. Countryman.

Last Sunday 3.2.16 Bryan Stevenson was a MU guest at Jesse Hall and spoke of injustice in the criminal justice system (he is a death row attorney). His book Just Mercy is profound (please watch his TedTalk) -- and another book I really want to delve into is: Lloyd Gains and the Fight to End Segregation by James W. Endersby and William T. Horner.

This morning I am watching an interview via C-SPAN online: Secrets of the Underground Railroad Don Papson talked about his book, Secret Lives of the Underground Railroad in New York City: Sydney Howard Gay, Louis Napoleon and the Record of Fugitives. Mr. Papson spoke about the “Record of Fugitives,” a previously unpublished text from the 1850s kept by abolitionist Sydney Howard Gay, in which he reveals his close collaboration with Louis Napoleon, a free black who helped many runaway slaves escape to freedom. Mr. Papson co-wrote the book with Tom Calarco -- of which I also have a signed copy:-).

Mr. Papson's wife has roots in Columbia, they will be in town this weekend. I did some cool genealogical research on their family over winter break on Alexander Campbell and Alexander Hicks. Check out Mr. Papson's CSPAN interview. I am excited to be a guest at my neighbor's DAR book club Christina Maring they will be discussing Woody Holton's book Abigail Adams.

Traci Wilson-Kleekamp



Practice Makes Perfect, but it doesn’t make new….Although America is a land of individuality and unique self-expression in search of excellence and in fear of failure...most of us opt to fit in rather than stand out.Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam Grant