One of my students walked into class like most undergrads do at 930am - physically present but mentally still in bed. As soon as she saw me, her face lit up & she said “Hey Queen!” While some may consider her greeting disrespectful bc she didn’t call me Dr. Jones, it wasn’t (1/3)
After my keynote speech for an event, a Black man came up to me & commented on my red blazer & matching red nails. He said, “that’s right. Make them see you. I noticed & I see you.”
Often, “I see you” is used to compliment physical appearance, but that’s not how he meant it (1/3)
On my hardest days in academia, I’m reminded of the power of representation & the impact of my presence. For many Black girls, I am the 1st Black woman professor they’ve ever had, so when they see me, they don’t just see what I’ve done but what THEY can do. They are my “why”(3/3)
Being called “Queen” by a Black woman is one of the greatest displays of respect & praise. It made my heart smile. Not just bc she thinks I’m worthy of the title but bc she gets to walk into class every day & see herself in someone that she knows also sees the queen in her (2/3)
Someone asked me why I’ve been single for so long and I explained that (among other reasons) dating can be hard because some men are intimidated by highly educated and successful women. Their response was “maybe you should tone it down and not let them know” (1/3)
Vulnerable moment:
I’ve been struggling a lot w/ depression lately & I’ve realized that it’s bc of grief. I’m grieving the loss of the romantic, personal, & professional life I thought I would have right now. Nothing I’ve planned has come to fruition and that hurts (1/2)
He meant “I see you not shrinking. I see you standing in your purpose. And I see you doing the damn thing.” There was so much joy on his face & pride in his voice, as if he somehow knew the years & tears it took me to be able to confidently & unapologetically do any of it (2/3)
He didn’t know me but he saw me. And it just makes me think about the incredible difference we could make if we not only saw each other, but also took the time to verbalize it. (3/3).
Under no circumstances would anyone ever tell a man to “tone down” who they are or downplay what they’ve accomplished. Yet women, who have to work twice as hard while battling sexism, misogyny, and toxic masculinity, are expected to dim our light to preserve the male ego (2/3)
Even the PROSECUTOR asked for Marcellus Williams’ conviction to be vacated but he is still scheduled to be executed next week, despite DNA evidence.
I’m so tired of having to fight for innocent Black lives but I’m even more tired of losing them.
Him: You’re beautiful. Are you mixed?
Me: I’m Black & Puerto Rican.
Him: That explains it
Me: Black mixed w/ Black is also beautiful
Him: True, but I’m not attracted to Black women.
Me: 🤨
Him: But I’m open
Me: Don’t be. Black women deserve to be loved, not seen as an exception.
Today, at
@Walmart
store
#256
, my student, a Black woman, was racially profiled by a White employee. After finishing up at self-checkout, the employee approached my student, accused her of not paying for all of her items, and demanded to see her receipt. (1/6)
#SayHerName
was created by Kimberlé Crenshaw to bring awareness to Black women who lost their lives to police brutality. It acknowledges their humanity & challenges a system that has historically ignored them. It is a social movement, not a political stunt.
Although I know that unrealized plans don’t equate to untapped potential, it doesn’t rid me of insecurities, disappointment, or imposter syndrome. I am not at the acceptance phase of the grieving process yet, but I’m looking forward to willingly taking the next steps…soon (2/2)
White privilege is banning history lessons that make White children feel bad while expecting Indigenous children to celebrate the man responsible for the rape and murder of their ancestors.
I don’t ever want to hear that White kids are too young to learn about racism when a 9-yr old Black girl had to testify on national television about seeing a Black man murdered in front of her.
The manager then gave my student $5 for the bus, since her bus pass expired while she was being harassed, and that was it.
@Walmart
- racial profiling, homophobia, and assault are unacceptable. I expect you to respond accordingly (6/6)
I’ve been applying to jobs for 8 months without a single interview. I share this, not for sympathy, but to let you know that not even a book, journal articles, media appearances, 65K followers and millions of views can get you a job that’s not yours. Mine is still out there 🖤
I finally understand why I got so many job rejections - it’s bc God was behind the scenes creating the perfect position for me. I’m proud to announce that I’ll be joining the
@virginia_tech
family as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies & Technology!
#StreetScholar
Today, I was rear-ended by a white man in a pickup truck. I got out of my car to check the damage but he stayed in his and just looked at me. I considered asking for his insurance info but I chose not to bc I’m Black woman who was alone in small town that is only 4% Black (1/
Vulnerable moment - the # of rejections I’ve received in the last 6 months in terms of jobs, manuscripts, & proposals has been heartbreaking & discouraging. But last week, I was offered my first tenure-track professor position and I thought things were finally in my favor (1/3)
Claiming that DEI means we “didn’t earn it” when unearned benefits are actually a cornerstone of white privilege would be laughable if it wasn’t so ignorant.
The U.S. Supreme Court was our last shot at stopping the murder of Marcellus Williams but they rejected the appeal. Based on who’s on the bench, I’m not surprised, but I’m still heartbroken and furious.
White privilege is being able to have books removed from a PLANTATION gift shop bc “it presented too much information about enslaved Black people who worked the sugarcane fields and not enough about the white people who lived in the main house.”
I just submitted a manuscript to a journal that I believe is out of my league, but I did it anyway because I refuse to self-reject. Moving forward, I will continue to unapologetically shoot my academic shot.
Would he have hurt me if I walked up to his car and asked him for his insurance info? I don’t know. But what I do know is that he chose to stay in his car and stare at me for a reason. And I wasn’t willing to risk my life to find out what it was (4/4)
Today, I taught my students about slave patrols which was the organization of men whose job it was to capture enslaved people who tried to escape or did not “obey” slave codes. This organization evolved into what we now know as the police (1/2)
Update:
- His name is Robert Allen Walczykowski, Sr.
- He used to work security for Milwaukee Public Schools.
- He still hasn’t been arrested by
@MilwaukeePolice
Eventually, my student emptied her book bag and the manager verified that she had paid for all of the items. She also said that the employee was wrong for what she did and would “have a conversation with her.” (5/6)
My student corrected her and told her that she’s a woman. The employee disregarded my student and continued to refer to her as “he.” The manager corrected the employee as well but she continued to intentionally misgender her. (4/6)
After the employee printed the receipt, which proved she paid for the items, my student began walking towards the exit. The employee then aggressively grabbed my student and demanded that she empty her book bag. (2/6)
This just popped up as a memory from 4 yrs ago and it’s actually a moment that I think about often. It’s an email I received from a white male student regarding a racist incident that had just happened on campus (a picture was posted asking if a store sold slaves) (1/3)
My student refused and the employee told her that she would not be able to leave the store until after she complied. My student requested a manager be called and one was. The manager asked what happened and the associate said “the MAN is stealing.” (3/6)
I was especially encouraged by his gesture bc this student started my class by admitting that he felt uncomfortable discussing race related issues, yet there he was, in a place where he was the one initiating the conversations. THIS is why being an educator is a blessing ❤️ (3/3)
Rep Crockett (
@JasmineForUS
) responded to being disrespected by
@RepMTG
but SHE’S the one told to “calm down”, accused of being “out of control,” & whose behavior is questioned for not being “cute.”
White women get to act up, play victim, & then portray us as angry Black women.
I am a Black woman with a Ph.D. teaching a course on Black women at a historically white university. May the ancestors be proud, the slave maters turn in their graves, and their racist descendants have several seats.
@BlueNosePanda
1) You’re obsessed
2) He was Black. If you stalked me as much on IG as you do here, you’d know that. I explained in the caption that Black people can also be anti-Black.
I honestly don’t know how much more I can take or how much longer I can be part of a system that consistently shows me that it underestimates me and undervalues my contribution to the field. I know it’s their loss, not mine, but I could really use a win right now. (3/3)
In that moment, the damage to my car paled in comparison to the potential physical & emotional damage I could have experienced if I said something to him. So I got back in my car and just sat there. Heart and mind racing, annoyed at how helpless I felt. (2/
White privilege is banning history lessons that make White children feel bad while expecting Indigenous children to celebrate the man responsible for the rape and murder of their ancestors.
He lingered for a bit, driving slowly around the parking lot, as if he was waiting to see if I was going to do something. I didn’t, so he eventually drove away. I sat in my car for a while longer just to make sure he was gone before I felt safe enough to leave (3/
I’m not surprised that Breonna Taylor has stopped trending bc I knew the public outrage was performative.
But you know who hasn’t moved on?
Black people.
Bc we still live with the possibility of being shot in our beds.
And then forgotten.
#BreonnaTaylor
#BlackLivesMatter
It was the slave patrol’s duty to “serve and protect” the interest of white people and it can be argued that the same holds true today.
The white community is protected while the Black community is policed. (2/2)
Not only did he acknowledge how racist incidents emotionally affect Black students, but he also acknowledged their impact on Black faculty and staff. He then took it further by checking on me and offering me a space to process - something I’ve always done for my students (2/3)
But today, the university rescinded the offer without any explanation or acknowledgment of the impact of their decision. Although I shouldn’t be surprised by how unethical and unprofessional it is given how academia operates, it still hurts like hell. (2/3)
TW - racial slur
My heart breaks for Kylah Springs who was repeatedly called a “n*gger b*tch” by Sophia Rosing. Even while being arrested, Sophia continued to say the word. And she can save the “I was drunk” excuse bc alcohol doesn’t make you racist. It exposes who you are.
“Whiteness” doesn’t just refer to white people. It refers to white being treated as the standard to which everything else is measured. An example is having to use “Black” as a qualifier in searches. As Amazon shows, there are “women” (ie white) and then there are “Black women.”
I recently shared that I’ve been grieving the loss of what I thought my personal & professional life would look like right now. While processing those feelings, I realized that today is the 4-yr anniversary of the day I defended my dissertation & became Dr. Jones (1/3)
Please don’t confuse waiting for the verdict with waiting for the verdict while Black.
It hits differently when your humanity
is also being deliberated.
#BlackLivesMatter
White woman: What do you do for a living?
Me: I’m a professor
Her: What do you teach?
Me: African American Studies
Her: Of course you do.
I have my suspicions, but what do you think she meant by that?
TW: Suicide
This comment was left under my post about having my job offer rescinded & it brought tears to my eyes. I just told a friend last night that I’m not suicidal, but I’m in a very low place & finding it hard to keep getting back up after academia knocks me down. (1/3)
1) Black joy is beautiful
2) Masculinity is a social construct
3) The “emasculation of Black men” narrative is very thinly veiled homophobia.
4) Black love, in all its forms, will continue to make people uncomfortable as long as Black pain continues to make people money
In 2020, Christian was birdwatching in Central Park & asked Amy to leash her dog. Amy got angry, called 911 & LIED by saying “an African American man is threatening my life.” She was fired from her job & recently lost again on appeal. Meanwhile, Christian now has his own show ☺️
Just because you needed a PhD to conduct your research doesn’t mean people should need a PhD to read or understand it. Our work should be about access not accolades.
My heart sank today when defense attorney Laura Hogue thought it was appropriate to comment on
#AhmaudArbery
’s “long dirty toenails.”
The constant disrespect of Black bodies and disregard for our humanity is deplorable. She should be ashamed of herself.
Dear Academia,
It’s time to value the impact of public scholarship as much as y’all value the impact factor of journal. My educational, social justice focused IG acct has reached 7+ million ppl in the last 30 days. “Traditional” methods can’t compare. It’s not a flex, it’s a fact
I cried repeatedly leading up to the scheduled execution of Julius Jones & my stomach has been in knots for days thinking about Marcellus Williams.
If you can cry over characters in movies but can’t understand why our heart breaks for REAL Black lives, you’re part of the problem.
My heart can’t take any more. This man grabbed a Black man with special needs by the neck bc he thought one of his friends stole a bike. I don’t even want to imagine what might have happened if someone didn’t step in to advocate for him.
What advocates of the
#DontSayGay
bill think educators are saying to 1st graders: Ok kids, now turn your Karma Sutra books to page 69.
What educators are actually saying to 1st graders: Of course you can share the family picture you drew of your two moms.
During our daily check-ins, it was clear that all of my students were feeling burnt out from school, so I decided to do an impromptu field trip to treat them to coffee & pastries. I am a firm believer that education extends beyond classrooms and PowerPoint slides.
@EricsElectrons
Even if you dont believe that Marcellus is innocent, it’s not the defense’s job to prove it. The prosecution has to prove guilt and they have to do so BEYOND A RESONABLE DOUBT. DNA evidence has created enough doubt to warrant clemency.
Before wondering if your curriculum is antiracist, ask yourself if YOU are. Even the greatest lesson will fall flat if the person teaching it hasn’t done the internal work first. Antiracism isn’t just a lesson, it’s a lifestyle.
People like Sarah Comrie are NOT Karens, they are racial threats. Comparing her to women who make a scene & ask for the manager ignores how she endangered Black lives. SHE was in the wrong yet yelled for help, accused him of hurting her baby, & tried to weaponize her fake tears.
A few things before
#LatinxHeritageMonth
starts tomorrow:
1) We matter every day. Not just from 9/15-10/15
2) Don’t just celebrate white Latinxs. Our community is Black & Indigenous too.
3) Appreciate our culture, don’t appropriate it.
4) Not all Latin countries speak Spanish.
We don’t bring up Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July,” every year because we’re stuck in the past or refuse to move on. We do it because there could very easily be an updated version called “What to the Black Community is the 4th of July” (1/3)
I feel pretentious every time I introduce myself as Dr. Jones and I’ve realized it’s bc Black women aren’t expected to be here, so it feels unnatural.
That stops now.
Watch me become the norm.
#BlackWomenMatter
#BlackGirlMagic
#BlackWomen
Increasing the # of Students of Color at your school without also addressing the systemic racism within your institution only increases the # of Students of Color dealing with the psychological trauma of your racially hostile environment.
#dobetter
#racism
#Diversity
#inclusion
I don’t care that Andrew Lester, the man who shot 16-yr-old Ralph Yarl is 84 yrs old. Just like I don’t care that Carolyn Bryant, the woman responsible for the death of 14-yr-old Emmitt Till, is 88.
Lock them BOTH up. Black children deserve justice.
The cop who killed Donovan Lewis thought a vape pen was a gun.
The cops who killed Amadou Diallo thought a wallet was a gun.
The cop who killed Daunte Wright thought her gun was a taser.
People who don’t know what a gun is, shouldn’t have a job that requires having one.
Losing
#ChadwickBoseman
hurts on a deeper level bc, not only did we lose our brother, we lost someone who represented a moment in time when little Black boys & girls got to see themselves as royalty. We also felt seen & heard in a country that typically ignores us💔
#BlackPanther
Being Black in this country is constantly having to deal with fear and heartbreak, simply for existing. The mass shooting in Jacksonville is yet another reason we refuse to stop saying
#BlackLivesMatter
I overcame insurmountable obstacles to get my PhD, yet here I am, 4 yrs later, feeling like a failure bc my success hasn’t manifested the way I anticipated. However, I’m learning that even though my feelings are valid, that doesn’t mean they’re facts. I am far from a failure(3/3)
I wonder why the Republican Party voted against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson but had no problem voting in favor of a woman who couldn’t name the 5 freedoms in the 1st Amendment.
Jackson Mississippi is over 80% Black. If you’re paying attention to the water crisis and don’t see the connection to environmental racism, it’s because you don’t want to.
Safe water should NOT be a privilege.
Having a Black woman therapist means being able to show up to a virtual session in a bonnet without the fear of being judged or asked offensive questions.
What does having a Black therapist mean for you?
As Black women, the world rarely sees us, which sometimes makes it hard for us to see ourselves. And even though we see each other, it’s impossible to pour into someone from an empty cup. We deserve better. So much better. (3/3)
Biden has committed to nominating a Black woman as the next
#SupremeCourtJustice
and we know that, despite having an impeccable record, her competence will be questioned more than Brett Kavanaugh, a White man accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
Tears ran down my face as I watched Brent Hospelhorn physically assault & verbally abuse a woman because she accidentally scratched his cabinet. Phoenix police “cited” him and claim to be investigating the situation. The video is loud and clear. He belongs in jail.
There’s a reason Brandon Bentley isn’t on every major news outlet, despite being heavily armed on a Black campus
There’s a reason why there was minimal coverage of the 50+ HBCUs that received bomb threats last yr
And there’s a reason why missing Black girls aren’t national news
It’s so ironic that these people are angry about me calling attention to the emotional needs of Black people who experience racial trauma while simultaneously causing racial trauma 🤦🏽♀️
Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey took her life bc of the way academia treated her & my mentee contemplated suicide 2 wks ago for the same reason. My heart breaks for them & every woman whose lives are at risk every day as they navigate sexist & racially hostile environments (2/3)
I’m used to racist trolls questioning the validity of my Ph.D., but being accused of plagiarism is a different level of disrespect. The underestimation of Black woken is infuriating, yet laughable when it’s comes from mediocre white men.