BHM 2014 - Lucy Stanton Day Sessions

Lucy Stanton was born as a freed inhabitant of Cleveland, Ohio on October 16, 1831. Stanton became the first black American woman to complete a four-year college course when, in 1850, she graduated with a Literary Degree from the Ladies' Literary Course of Oberlin College. For over a century the Ohio college has recognized its early Literary Course program as equivalent to a degree program even though it did not award graduates with a bachelor’s degree. In 1862 Oberlin College formally awarded the first bachelor’s degree to an African American woman when Mary Jane Patterson graduated with a B.A. 

In 1846, Stanton enrolled in Oberlin Collegiate Institute (now Oberlin College), a progressive abolitionist institution. In 1849 she was elected president of the school’s Ladies Literary Society, and her commencement speech was a moving appeal for antislavery. 

Upon graduation in 1850, she moved to Columbus, Ohio to become principal of a school but two years later returned to Cleveland when she married Oberlin classmate William Howard Day, a librarian who edited an abolitionist newspaper, the Alienated American. In 1854, she became the first African American to have a fictional story published when she wrote a short story on slavery for her husband’s newspaper. 

Two years later, the couple moved to Buxton, Canada to teach fugitive slaves and in 1858 had a daughter, Florence. However, the following year William Day left on business for England, abandoning his family and requesting a divorce. Lucy returned to Cleveland, finding work as a seamstress to support her daughter but remained active as an abolitionist. In 1866 she was sponsored by the Cleveland Freedman’s Association to teach in Georgia and later Mississippi, where she met and married her second husband, Levi Sessions in 1878. 

The couple moved to Tennessee where Lucy Sessions continued her philanthropic work, including serving as president of the local Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She and her husband later moved to Los Angeles, California.  Lucy Stanton Day Sessions died in Los Angeles on February 18, 1910.

BHM2014 - An Education Waiting to Happen

A few years ago I wrote this. And two years ago, I wrote this. Put those two posts together and you can see that I really had no intention of writing about Black History Month (BHM2014) at all. I am really of the mindset that if a group wants others to know more about their culture, then they would 1. teach their children about said culture and 2. teach others - all the time- about the outstanding culture that they come from. I never see that during BHM. I mean,  ok, I have a couple friends on Facebook who will post about BHM, but even those posts are of the more well known activists, educators and civil rights figures. Not that I care about that, I am just excited that someone is making an effort. But two, possibly three, friends… out of 800? I think I am safe with the assumption that the biggest secret of BHM is that Black people are more than slavery and the Civil Rights Movement; which is a shame. Still, I have to say that I was going to skip out on participating in BHM2014 because I am always interested in seeing exactly WHAT people will do when they notice a problem going unchecked.

Then, February 1st happened. February 1, 2014, the google doodle- heard around the world- was of Harriet Tubman, raising a lamp. The responses were quick and very different. Some people were glad to see that Google put forth some effort to welcome BHM. Some people complained (to be expected) that Google wanted to be sure to remind Black people that we were once slaves. These are (I'm sure) the same people who would also complain if Google did nothing, or not say anything to the companies that put forth absolutely no effort. Then came the foolishness that Zimmerman is going to be involved in a celebrity fight. First, I was unaware that Zimmerman was a "celebrity" and second, I am sure thousands of people will actually watch that fight. The misguided people will watch, cheering for Zimmerman to get knocked the fuck out, all the while helping to line his pockets with money and endorsements… because people don't think about the consequences of their watching. They just have short sighted goals.

Going with the idea of NOT being shortsighted, I have decided that I should participate in the public celebration of BHM2014. For one simple reason: If I don't, I will have no one else to blame for people not knowing Black History. Y'all I am so tired of seeing BHM just comprised of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and all the rest of the regulars. I hate it. The Black community is so much more than the 1800s and the 1960s. You know, a LOT of shit happened between the time we were imported here and the death of MLK. Let the school books tell it, Black History Month should be  a constant repeat of those mentioned above and possibly throw in Rosa Parks, possibly Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois, if you are being fancy. If you ask SOME people, Black History Month is not necessary because ere since we elected a Black President we have because post-racial America. Oh, the ignorance. That, my friends, is unacceptable… Hot, Black and Bitter to the rescue. Starting tomorrow I will post (at least ) 28 of the unsung heroes of this movement known as Black Life in America. Some people you will have never heard of, which is cool because I am going to use this as a teaching experience. Because I have moved back to my hometown- I will let you know, I am definitely going to include some Black Ohioans. Watch the blog for the rest of the month, learn something new and share it.

No one should be comfortable being completely ignorant of American History and that what Black History month is about… American History, the good, the bad and everything in between. Let's get to learning, y'all.

Public Schools Not So Public- Fed Up Friday

It seems that my home state is giving me tons of fodder for this blog lately. First this foolishness and now a mother in Akron jailed because she wanted to send her children to a better school district. Wow.

You read that right- a mom who took her kids to a school district located about three miles from her house was sentenced to ten days in jail, three years of probation and hours of community service, after being found guilty of a felony. You know what her felonious action was? She used her father's address so that her daughters could attend school in the neighboring district because she feared for their safety. Ok, I am not really sure how many of you have traveled to Akron, Ohio recently, but the city itself (while full of good people) is not much to look at. Hell, in parts of Akron, I am scared to walk around by myself. This lady's house was broken into, and she subsequently decided to make sure her children would be safe at school, and she is being punished? I have to say it again- wow.

The Copley-Fairlawn School District said that the mother (Kelley Williams-Bolar) was cheating the system by lying about her address so that her children could essentially invade a school district that was not meant for them. They said that her "daughters received a quality education without paying taxes to fund it" even though Akron public schools and Copley-Fairlawn schools are in the same county AND Ms. Williams-Bolar's father does actually live in the Copley-Fairlawn school district. So her father was (and still is) paying taxes for that education received AND Ms. Williams-Bolar, who is employed was paying Summit County taxes, state of Ohio taxes, property taxes and income taxes... Isn't No Child Left Behind supposed to make sure that public school education in America is equal across districts, no matter what taxes are paid? Is this situation just highlighting what all of us already seem to know: inner city schools and their students are doomed to be less than, simply because their parents cannot pay to live in the ritzy suburbs? Is this just this century's version of separate but equal? If it is, isn't it just further slanting the playing field?

Was what she did wrong? Yes, sneaking your children into another school district IS, in fact, wrong. Should she have been jailed? Absolutely not. That is extreme. The woman is 12 credit hours away from being a licensed teacher in the state of Ohio, and now that goal is threatened because after this fiasco she has a felony record. WTF?!!?

Judge Patricia Cosgrove said at sentencing that she "felt that some punishment or deterrent was needed for other individuals who might to think to defraud the various school districts." Really? So you have a single mother trying to care for and teach her daughters, who is employed and you what? Possibly take away her only source of income and essentially tell her daughters that their education and safety is not as important as the kids three miles away? Good lesson, Judge Cosgrove. Cosgrove, who has three children, four grandchildren and participates in the reEntry Court Program for convicted felons (helps with transition from prison by addressing issues of employment, housing and substance abuse), could not for one minute put herself in the shoes of this woman who was trying to make a way for her children? In a day and age where some women are too strung out to care for their children, pimp out their kids, abuse their children, sell drugs in the presence of their children, or simply abandon their children.... this is the woman that is punished by the system? This is the woman we make an example of?
Damn, what a world we live in, huh? 

The Day that the Buckeye Nation Cried

Today is a horribly sad day for the Buckeye Nation. Today, Stefanie Spielman lost her long, hard fought battle with breast cancer. A consummate optimist, she took the diagnosis (at the age of 30) with amazing grace. I remember when the Columbus news stations started covering her diagnosis- my sophomore year of college. I watched a young woman who married her college sweetheart take the breast cancer challenge and win (remission) four times. She was a mainstay in Columbus, always on the sideline watching and cheering for the amazing Buckeye team- years after her husband Chris graduated and went to the NFL. She has also been, at least for me, the face of the James Cancer Hospital at OSU.

An inspiration would be an understatement. I never saw her cry. I never saw her feel bad about her situation. She just got after it. Stefanie and Chris were heads of fundraising for cancer research in central Ohio. I don't even live there anymore, and I still know that where ever they were needed to get people to donate, they were there. I clearly remember seeing Stefanie, Chris and their (4) children on a commercial about cancer education and fundraising.

Forty-two is too young for her to be gone. She won't see her children become adults. She won't see her grandchildren. She will miss college graduations and weddings. Forty-two is too young...

While we mourn the loss of an amazingly spirited woman, we need to take some action Buckeye nation. I used to work for an organization that researches and fights cancer through many avenues. From working there I can tell you that during our lifetime, 1 in 3 of us will be diagnosed with some sort of cancer. Because of their funding and research, more of us will be successfully treated, but I am longing for a time when cancer-as it is today- does not exist. What can you do? There are plenty of ways that you can raise cancer awareness in central Ohio. Donate to the James (http://www.jamesline.com; click on the ways to give tab) or call the central Ohio office of the American Cancer Society (888.227.6446) and pledge a donation. For those of you in the Buckeye Nation in the Chicagoland area, there are plenty of ways for you to give also. There is an amazing place called the Wellness Place (http://www.wellnessplace.org) that raises money for cancer education, care and help for those in the midst of their battle. You can make a donation- or you can shop (!) and they will get a donation from the money that you spend (http://www.shopbelongings.com). Also, the suburban offices of the American Cancer Society are also available to take donations. Whatever you decide to do- TAKE ACTION. Make sure that there are fewer 42 year old moms losing their battle to the ugly disease called cancer.

My prayers go out to the Spielman family. I hope and wish the best for you through this rough times.

Miss Mox