.png?format=1500w)
Using the Program Guide of the World Science
Fiction Convention in San Jose, California in August 2018 (to which I will be
unable to go (until I retire from education)), I will jump off, jump on, rail against,
and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the
Program Guide. The link is provided below where this appeared on page 125…
Afrofuturism:
It Ain't New
Millions of people
learned the term Afrofuturism when Black Panther became
a box office sensation. However, this ain't new. Sun Ra, Parliment
Funkadelic, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Octavia E. Butler, and Samuel R. Delany
created a foundation that inspired musicians, artists, and writers like Janelle
Monae, Nisi Shawl, Nalo Hopkinson, Kyle Yearwood and others long before Ryan
Coogler brought T'Challa to the big screen. Let's discuss the roots of
Afrofuturism and who is creating the most interesting works today.
Rivers Solomon: writer
New York Times, An Unkindness of Ghosts, graduate of Stanford University
Steve Barnes: writer,
novels & television, currently student of martial arts and yoga
Nilah Magruder: a
writer and illustrator, picture book, award-winning webcomic, written for Marvel,
storyboards for DreamWorks and Disney
I’m going to focus
on one sentence here: “…Afrofuturism…ain't new.”
I’m also going to
add gender identity, GLBTQ, socialism, liberal accepting atmosphere, and school
and add: “…ain’t new.”
I have worked in
public, private, and charter schools (definition in Minnesota, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_school
(scroll down to United States, paragraph 2); I have worked with EL students;
special education students; and was the first International Baccalaureate Middle Year Program
teacher in my high school; taught grades 3-12 in various subjects to varying
ability levels through gifted and talented. I was among the first in my district
to be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS);
I was the Minnesota Science Museum Teacher of the Year (1994); I have written
curriculum for the PBS television show, NEWTON’S APPLE and the PBS sponsored
series, Bill Kurtis’, THE NEW EXPLORERS. I am currently a school counselor at a
first ring suburban high school. Latest statistics show the school is 69%
students of color, primarily African American with a large population of Spanish-speaking/Mexico/Central
America students in addition to Hmong, Somali, and various dialects of English
(Nigerian, Liberian, and others).
I will warn you: I
am a conservative, straight, BOFWhiG* with no novels published or under
contract and no blog followed by tens-of-thousands of people. I’m currently not
a member of SFFWA or SCBWI, though I have been in the past, mostly because I
don’t get enough published to really justify the expense of both. I would say
that I am a fair and equitable counselor and colleague, but many wouldn’t
believe me because it doesn’t fit with their paradigm: I must be a certain way
that neatly fits into what some people believe someone of my description should
be. I cannot be anything else. One would actually have to talk to the people I
interact with to, you know, know who I am, but that would require a level of effort
most biased people have no interest in expending.
So, forward.
Schools have been
working the mines of equity far, far longer than the Speculative Fiction World
has. Consequently, we have made more progress than the SFF world.
And now I pause to
allow anyone reading this to dredge up their most horrific School Prejudice/Abuse
Stories. Most often, these include horrible teachers, abusive teachers, abusive
principals, abusive counselors, the abusive System, and abusive athletes and
popular students, and all manner of other damaging evidence that would completely
shatter my statement that schools are better at dealing with (and have been for
a LONG time) oppressed, underrepresented young people who have grown up into
the adults who are now working to change the speculative fiction universe – many
who tell the TRUE STORIES about how difficult their school lives were. However,
they may have forgotten the one or two GOOD things that happened in
school; perhaps one person who made their school life tolerable, or supported
them, or loved them as they were. They neglect to tell it because…well, bad
things are always more interesting that good things. Most national news
programs can barely bring themselves to transmit 60 seconds of something “nice”.
My point is that
while I am glad that the SFF field I know and love is finally beginning to
include the alienated (funny play on words, that…), I am heartily tired of the fanfare
that accompanies something that should have happened DECADES ago for a
literature that prides itself on forward looking.
I am also
irritated by the fact that I have nothing to add to the conversation because I
so love to talk and write.
Until this piece,
I haven’t wanted to fight the current gag order, mostly because I’m exhausted
with caring for the underrepresented and oppressed students (and colleagues and
teachers, actually) who have gotten to know me as an advocate and confidante for
and to them.
I won’t engage in
argument unless someone does a bit of research into who I am…which they won’t…so
I won’t be engaging with anyone on this issue soon. Maybe someday, though. We’ll
see.
Until then: what
SFF recently discovered to be an issue and is currently patting itself on the
back over its active and inclusive response (which IS great, but tardy) – schools
have been responding to for decades. To quote the WorldCon writer of the
session description noted above, what we do, “…ain’t new.”
I’ve always been
part of that response – and I will continue to be for the next three years of
active service. After that…not sure, I hear retirement is boring.
Program Book: https://www.worldcon76.org/images/publications/WC76_PocketProgram_2018_Final_WEB08152018.pdf
Definitions: *Big
Old Fat White Guy
No comments:
Post a Comment