In which I look back at how I’ve grappled with racism over the years, along with the books that have helped me do so.
Tag Archives: Ralph Ellison
Using Lit to Grapple with Racism
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "note to self", Invisible Man, Lucille Clifton, Morehouse College, racism, St. Mary's College of Maryland Comments closed
France and England’s Titanic Match
To capture France-England’s titanic World Cup struggle, I turn to Ralph Ellison and Christina Rossetti.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Christina Rossetti, England, France, Goblin Market, Invisible Man, Soccer, World Cup Comments closed
What Is Conversion?
For St. Paul, conversion was a blinding light. For Sir John Betjeman, it’s more a stumbling and blindly groping affair.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Conversion of St. Paul", conversion, Invisible Man, Road to Damascus, Sir John Betjeman, St. Paul Comments closed
Lit Encourages World Citizenship
Political identity arguments that demographic groups should stay in their own lanes fail to acknowledge the power of literature to “cross group boundaries,” according to philosopher Martha Nussbaum.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Humanities, identity politics, Invisible Man, Martha Nussbaum Comments closed
DACA Kids, Back to the Shadows?
“Invisible Man,” with its protagonist moving in and out of shadows, is all too relevant as the Trump administration threatens to deport the DACA kids.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged DACA, Donald Trump, Invisible Man, Jeff Sessions Comments closed
We Benefit When We Check Our Privilege
Do be blind to one’s privileges is to live in a world of shadows and phantoms, as Ralph Ellison and Lucille Clifton both make clear. Life if much richer if we identify our blindnesses and engage with people as three-dimensional beings.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "wishes for sons", Invisible Man, Lucille Clifton, racism, white privilege Comments closed
Can Art Thwart Trump? A Debate
In which I argue with a writer who claims that art and artists have an inflated sense of their power and that they are irrelevant in the battle against Donald Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Grapes of Wrath, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Invisible Man, John Steinbeck, propaganda, Richard Wright, social realism, socialist realism, Uncle Tom's Cabin, W. H. Auden Comments closed
Must Dreamers “Hibernate” Again?
Ellison’s Invisible Man must retreat to a hole–or, as he calls it, hibernate–after getting banged around by reality. With Trump as president, will the Dreamers and others who benefitted from Obama’s prosecutorial discretion have to hibernate as well, returning back to the shadows?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged DACA, Donald Trump, Dreamers, Immigration, Invisible Man, undocumented workers Comments closed
