Black women face the challenge of redefining and reclaiming their image in American society, according to Anita Hill, professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies at Brandeis University.
Hill gave the first keynote lecture of the Black Alumnae/i Symposium 2008, titled "The Power of Our Presence: African American Women Building Communities, Families, Ourselves," at Friday's luncheon, the first large event of the weekend.
"If we are serious about having a conversation about either race or gender in this country, but particularly if we're serious about both, black women along with other women of color must be reflected in our leadership," Hill said. "The women in this room embody both, and they, like no one else, can have that conversation without having the two competing with each other as to which one is the worst."
Hill outlined five pledges she thought black women needed to take to reverse the image of black women, specifically the one outlined in the Department of Labor's 1965 Moynihan Report, "The Negro Family: A Case for National Action."
The report said that the matriarchal structure of black culture put black men at a disadvantage, and therefore hindered the entire black community from moving forward and gaining economic and political equality. "Moynihan made bruising pronouncements about African American women.
"And I believe those pronouncements stayed in the public conscience even today, yet despite this public shunning, African American women continued then and continue today to believe in and work toward bringing themselves and their families ever closer to the American dream of equality," Hill said.
"We must demand that black women must be seen, heard, and recognized for the leadership and insight we offer," she said. "Black women are neither the overbearing shrews of the Moynihan report, nor Ronald Reagan's lazy cheats, nor Bill Clinton's irresponsible freeloaders, and most importantly, we are not Don Imus' nappy-headed hoes."
The first pledge Hill outlined was moving beyond the idea of just getting access to education. "We can't stop the access drive, but we've got to build on the drive," she said. Hill called for a change in curriculum, how the curriculum is delivered, and the environment in which it is delivered. "We've got to develop a better sense of educational equality," she said.
The second pledge is to integrate America, one workplace at a time. Hill said that the workplace is important because of how one's job defines a person and how they fit into society. "When we think of slavery, when we think about Jim Crow, when we think about all of the burdens of race and gender in the past, the workplace was where its impact, in many ways, was most profound because it held us from any opportunity of developing economically.
"We have to continue to see work as an effort to make sure that all of society understands that an integrated society is what is best for the entire society," Hill said.
The third pledge is to "secure our own safe haven." Hill said black women need to be concerned with not just what goes on in their homes, but what goes on in their streets and neighborhoods. She also commented on the issue of subprime mortgage rates and how that factors into the need to secure one's home.
Hill said that saving the community's soul is the fourth pledge. She said that in traditional black churches around the country, women occupy two out of every three seats. "When the struggle for the soul of the community is at stake, women must participate as leaders," she said.
The last pledge is for black women to take back their images. Hill referred to Dolores Tucker, an African American woman who spoke out about sexual violence and hip-hop lyrics in the 1980s, who said that there is racism, not just sexism, in the way black women are portrayed in music videos.
Hill said they cannot control the content, but can promote women to decision-making positions so that they can control the content. "I don't think we're ever going to be able to eliminate it, but we ought to flood the market with our own ideas and our own values and our own versions of ourselves," she said.
Hill finished her lecture discussing the 2008 election and how politics must be factored into the advancement of black women, women of color, and American society. "We have to become the political leaders we deserve," she said. "Black women's advancement in education, employment, religion, and community leadership must translate into roles as the elected officials at the highest levels."
This is the second Symposium Simmons hosted; the event is scheduled to happen every three years-the first was in 2005 and the next one will be in 2011. The weekend's agenda included other speakers, including Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary, who spoke about posttraumatic slave syndrome; Dr. Carol R. Johnson, who spoke about her educational agenda for Boston's schoolchildren; and President Susan Scrimshaw, who spoke about her vision for the College, specifically about recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty.
Panels on issues of women in leadership, volunteering, health and well-being, the future of the black youth, among others were also part of the scheduled events. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the Symposium's attendees were given social and networking opportunities, including a kick-off event at The Beehive in Boston's South End.
This was originally published here: http://media.www.thesimmonsvoice.com/media/storage/paper829/news/2008/04/17/News/Black.Women.Must.Reclaim.Their.Image.Hill.Says-3752930.shtml
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Think Science/Think Simmons causes concern in CAS
College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) faculty raised concerns over the Think Science/Think Simmons piece of the College's revised Strategic Plan at their April faculty meeting.
President Susan Scrimshaw presented, clarified, and defended the main points of the latest version of the document, which will guide the College through 2018-its goal year to reach national prominence.
Some faculty were concerned with how honest and realistic it is to label Simmons a science school, while others, specifically within the humanities, were concerned with how Think Science, Think Simmons would impact their departments, in terms of curriculum and funding.
The four priorities of the document are: academic quality in the learning environment; global and local community engagement; diversity, human rights and social justice; and resource development and diversification. The three model core initiatives are accelerated, interdisciplinary, and better prepared for career success; Think Science/Think Simmons; and educate leaders everywhere.
Before Scrimshaw joined the meeting, the faculty reviewed a letter that Faculty Council wrote to the president about the March 5 draft of the Strategic Plan. Co-chair of Faculty Counsel Janie Ward, professor and chair of Africana studies, read a portion of the letter aloud so that everyone was aware of the issues Faculty Council saw in the earlier draft. The letter outlined six issues, including not reflecting the College's core values and its emphasis on preparation for high-demand jobs.
The 'Think Science/Think Simmons' piece raised concerns because Faculty Council felt that Simmons cannot be another Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and projecting this image would be dishonest. "The emphasis on the sciences is laudable. However, because this has not been central to our institutional identity, placing such a large emphasis, equating Simmons with the sciences, would appear to offer something that we cannot deliver. We do not currently have, nor can we realistically hope to find the necessary resources to improve the sciences to the level necessary to make such a claim," Ward read.
"Simmons, as a small university, with little infrastructure and grants management, and sparse resources in the sciences-laboratory space, up-to-date facilities, and dramatically reduced teaching loads for science faculty, for example-does not appear to be in the best position to achieve excellence as a research institution in sciences," she said.
The faculty also discussed the possibility of going into executive session prior to Scrimshaw's arrival to ensure an honest dialogue about the plan with the president. Despite Professor Carole Biewener, of economics and women's studies, volunteering to be the person responsible for officially motioning to go into executive session, the suggestion was never made.
Some faculty were concerned about how the Think Science/Think Simmons piece would relate to departments outside of the sciences. Professor Marlene Fine, of communications, was confused about how science would be integrated into all curriculum and serve as a guiding principle for departments like hers.
The point is "there are scientific areas and principles and interfaces that actually effect more of our work than we think. And we want our students to graduate aware of that," Scrimshaw said.
One example was given that science can be used to teach students to think critically, which was then expanded to make the point that other departments that teach critical thinking could fall into the science category. This furthered some concerns over how Think Science/Think Simmons would impact other departments.
"I'm worried that in trying to stretch what it means to 'Think Science,' in this new way, this sort of backdoor way, to have people like me feel comfortable with this initiative, and I think we have to be very clear in terms of what this is, in terms of non-social science, non-liberal arts thinking or we have to really be clear that this is critical thinking and logical analysis," said Biewener.
Professor Theresa Perry, of Africana studies, asked for further clarification. She said that she thought the discussion of how science relates to Simmons should be twofold. "So I think there are two things," she said. "How to make the way we do science as good as it can be, and I think the other issue is how do we create a level of scientific literacy so that people can participate in democratic thought and decision making that is increasingly impacted by science."
Scrimshaw explained she had hoped to use science as an umbrella term to give the College the most leverage in terms of fundraising and hiring. She said she could recommend to the Board that the plan use a narrow definition of science, but "I think that would be a mistake. I think we're better than that at being interdisciplinary."
CAS Dean Diane Raymond said that she thought it was a mistake to try and fit professors and departments that are not science into science, but that this made sense in terms of thinking strategically. "I remember back eight or nine years ago when CAS did our strategic plan and we talked about Communications, and the Arts, and the sciences as strategic priorities, and that's how I read this. So I read it as if I go to the Board, or if I go to Susan, and I say, 'I have two faculty lines, one in chemistry and one in philosophy,' I assume it is more likely that the line in chemistry will be funded.
"And that's what it means to makes strategic decisions. Now we may not agree with that as a priority, but," Raymond said, "that's how I understand this-allocation of resources, assessing priorities, but not for all of us to say, 'I got to get on board and be a scientist.'"
Scrimshaw reinforced Raymond's comments. "We have to make strategic decisions, and we cannot fund equally in everything. It's critical to be a good liberal arts college that we are strong in all the critical liberal arts areas, but we are going to, in a strategic plan, choose to look for . . . an area of strength where we can teach you to do well; come to Simmons for this.
"We have to pick some areas where we lead, and this is one that we're picking," Scrimshaw said.
Scrimshaw initially detailed each point of the plan, which she said puts Simmons' focus back onto the academic, as opposed to the business side of the College. "We've spent the last 11 or so years investing in infrastructure, investing in building, investing in staffing, positioning us to now return our attention to the academic side and to say, 'We grew 59 percent at the undergraduate level in five years. We did not grow faculty,'" she said.
She also stressed the need to think strategically and that money can no longer be divided up evenly around the College. "One of the reasons we need a plan is because we cannot be like kids in a candy store and say we'll divide up the candy. We have to think strategically. We have to think five years ahead if we want to add to faculty at Simmons. We make a plan and do it; we're not going to do it in one year.
"We're going to do it over an incremental period, but at the end of that incremental period we will be a lot closer to our goal than if we just divided up the candy every year," she said.
This article was originally published here: http://media.www.thesimmonsvoice.com/media/storage/paper829/news/2008/04/17/News/Think.Sciencethink.Simmons.Causes.Concern.In.Cas-3752951.shtml
President Susan Scrimshaw presented, clarified, and defended the main points of the latest version of the document, which will guide the College through 2018-its goal year to reach national prominence.
Some faculty were concerned with how honest and realistic it is to label Simmons a science school, while others, specifically within the humanities, were concerned with how Think Science, Think Simmons would impact their departments, in terms of curriculum and funding.
The four priorities of the document are: academic quality in the learning environment; global and local community engagement; diversity, human rights and social justice; and resource development and diversification. The three model core initiatives are accelerated, interdisciplinary, and better prepared for career success; Think Science/Think Simmons; and educate leaders everywhere.
Before Scrimshaw joined the meeting, the faculty reviewed a letter that Faculty Council wrote to the president about the March 5 draft of the Strategic Plan. Co-chair of Faculty Counsel Janie Ward, professor and chair of Africana studies, read a portion of the letter aloud so that everyone was aware of the issues Faculty Council saw in the earlier draft. The letter outlined six issues, including not reflecting the College's core values and its emphasis on preparation for high-demand jobs.
The 'Think Science/Think Simmons' piece raised concerns because Faculty Council felt that Simmons cannot be another Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and projecting this image would be dishonest. "The emphasis on the sciences is laudable. However, because this has not been central to our institutional identity, placing such a large emphasis, equating Simmons with the sciences, would appear to offer something that we cannot deliver. We do not currently have, nor can we realistically hope to find the necessary resources to improve the sciences to the level necessary to make such a claim," Ward read.
"Simmons, as a small university, with little infrastructure and grants management, and sparse resources in the sciences-laboratory space, up-to-date facilities, and dramatically reduced teaching loads for science faculty, for example-does not appear to be in the best position to achieve excellence as a research institution in sciences," she said.
The faculty also discussed the possibility of going into executive session prior to Scrimshaw's arrival to ensure an honest dialogue about the plan with the president. Despite Professor Carole Biewener, of economics and women's studies, volunteering to be the person responsible for officially motioning to go into executive session, the suggestion was never made.
Some faculty were concerned about how the Think Science/Think Simmons piece would relate to departments outside of the sciences. Professor Marlene Fine, of communications, was confused about how science would be integrated into all curriculum and serve as a guiding principle for departments like hers.
The point is "there are scientific areas and principles and interfaces that actually effect more of our work than we think. And we want our students to graduate aware of that," Scrimshaw said.
One example was given that science can be used to teach students to think critically, which was then expanded to make the point that other departments that teach critical thinking could fall into the science category. This furthered some concerns over how Think Science/Think Simmons would impact other departments.
"I'm worried that in trying to stretch what it means to 'Think Science,' in this new way, this sort of backdoor way, to have people like me feel comfortable with this initiative, and I think we have to be very clear in terms of what this is, in terms of non-social science, non-liberal arts thinking or we have to really be clear that this is critical thinking and logical analysis," said Biewener.
Professor Theresa Perry, of Africana studies, asked for further clarification. She said that she thought the discussion of how science relates to Simmons should be twofold. "So I think there are two things," she said. "How to make the way we do science as good as it can be, and I think the other issue is how do we create a level of scientific literacy so that people can participate in democratic thought and decision making that is increasingly impacted by science."
Scrimshaw explained she had hoped to use science as an umbrella term to give the College the most leverage in terms of fundraising and hiring. She said she could recommend to the Board that the plan use a narrow definition of science, but "I think that would be a mistake. I think we're better than that at being interdisciplinary."
CAS Dean Diane Raymond said that she thought it was a mistake to try and fit professors and departments that are not science into science, but that this made sense in terms of thinking strategically. "I remember back eight or nine years ago when CAS did our strategic plan and we talked about Communications, and the Arts, and the sciences as strategic priorities, and that's how I read this. So I read it as if I go to the Board, or if I go to Susan, and I say, 'I have two faculty lines, one in chemistry and one in philosophy,' I assume it is more likely that the line in chemistry will be funded.
"And that's what it means to makes strategic decisions. Now we may not agree with that as a priority, but," Raymond said, "that's how I understand this-allocation of resources, assessing priorities, but not for all of us to say, 'I got to get on board and be a scientist.'"
Scrimshaw reinforced Raymond's comments. "We have to make strategic decisions, and we cannot fund equally in everything. It's critical to be a good liberal arts college that we are strong in all the critical liberal arts areas, but we are going to, in a strategic plan, choose to look for . . . an area of strength where we can teach you to do well; come to Simmons for this.
"We have to pick some areas where we lead, and this is one that we're picking," Scrimshaw said.
Scrimshaw initially detailed each point of the plan, which she said puts Simmons' focus back onto the academic, as opposed to the business side of the College. "We've spent the last 11 or so years investing in infrastructure, investing in building, investing in staffing, positioning us to now return our attention to the academic side and to say, 'We grew 59 percent at the undergraduate level in five years. We did not grow faculty,'" she said.
She also stressed the need to think strategically and that money can no longer be divided up evenly around the College. "One of the reasons we need a plan is because we cannot be like kids in a candy store and say we'll divide up the candy. We have to think strategically. We have to think five years ahead if we want to add to faculty at Simmons. We make a plan and do it; we're not going to do it in one year.
"We're going to do it over an incremental period, but at the end of that incremental period we will be a lot closer to our goal than if we just divided up the candy every year," she said.
This article was originally published here: http://media.www.thesimmonsvoice.com/media/storage/paper829/news/2008/04/17/News/Think.Sciencethink.Simmons.Causes.Concern.In.Cas-3752951.shtml
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