“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. So that the first problem is how to control that rage so that it won’t destroy you.” James Baldwin in “The Negro in American Culture,” Cross Currents, XI (1961)
As the clock struck midnight on Jan. 1, 2018, countless individuals articulated resolutions that they were going to immediately enact. According to NBC news, some of the most popular resolutions include: committing to a healthier lifestyle, financial improvements and spending quality time with loved ones. Predictably, a month into the new year, many people have already started to lapse on their resolutions.
But as it pertains to scholars of color within the “academy,” I contend that we have to have ongoing resolutions toward improving our professional practice (e.g. research, service and teaching) in 2018. These resolutions should include Michael Dantley and Terrence Green’s prophetic charge in 2015 to become “more radicalized” in our stance on social justice efforts. Our resolutions should include the prophetic charge of Dr. Shaun Harper to “ask better questions.”
I hope that one’s resolution does not include intentionally seeking to become famous. For example, much discourse occurred in the summer of 2017 over an article titled How to Talk to Famous Professors. And while I thoroughly understand the purpose and intended audience for the article, the sad truth is, too many current and emerging scholars have compromised the importance and integrity of the professoriate akin to shenanigans depicted in a bad reality television show.
I offer a caution and critique to current and aspiring scholars who elevate the pursuit of fame over the “true” nature of the work. For scholars of color, the pursuit of fame within an “academic system” that was never constructed for us to flourish is both a vain and vague pursuit!
More appropriately, the above quote by Baldwin underscores my personal viewpoint and argument. Specifically, as an African-American male scholar-practitioner who facilitates his work through a social justice lens, I explicitly pronounce my rage against societal injustices that are being recapitulated on college and university campuses. This on-going injustice is especially pernicious for people of color, Black and Brown women, people whose first language is not English and members of the LGBTQ community.
How can we intentionally seek fame when we are grappling with what Dr. King would call the sickness of America? I provide the following three reasons.
