Duchess Harris's Blog, page 3

Digitally United for a Day

Two weeks ago, I challenged you to swap your daily blog habits, and I promised that I'd report back. I did not get many responses, and the ones I did receive reflect that we visit sites that resonate with our interests.

The last sentence of my recent blog was, "Who knows, maybe the digital divide begins with us?" I was determined to find a story about the Internet bringing people together, so I've decided to share my own.

I was inspired to leave my comfort zone by my five-year-old daughter.

My ...

Getting to "The Root" of the Digital Divide

Those who know me well are VERY aware of my somewhat shameless enthusiasm about blog culture. So, when my favorite blog The Root (yes, I visit it daily), featured my book Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Clinton, I was thrilled.

You know The Root, right? Editor in chief the now infamous Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, the online magazine launched by the Washington Post Company no-less, focusing on the many facets of black culture. Are you excited now?

<imagine crickets chirping>

H...

AMERICAN GIRL RESPONDS

Just when I thought my fan club had a limited membership, I opened my e-mail and found a letter from the American Girl Company.

Before I read their letter I just knew it was an apology. The perspective of a Minnesotan who lives in a town of 13,000 had shown them the error of their ways. Instead I read:

Dear Prof. Harris,

Since I know you've been following the American Girl issue I wanted to pass along an updated statement from the company and their partner HomeAid on the matter.

Thanks,

Heather ...

Homeless Doll Doesn't Need a Home

People on each coast have been blogging about the new homeless American Girl doll. New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser was the first to write about Gwen. In her column, she says:

For $95 -- more than your average homeless person would dream of spending on a rather mediocre baby substitute -- Gwen Thompson can be yours. A mixed message if ever there was one.

In San Francisco, Amy Graff asks:

Is Mattel presenting an important social issue to children by manufacturing a doll who faces real...

ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS REPUBLICAN

In 2003, Michael Moore was booed for attacking President Bush at the Oscars. It wasn't one of his finest moments, but he wasn't a member of Congress calling the President a liar to his face during a joint session.

Even though former Strom Thurmond page and current South Carolina Representative, Joe Wilson, has apologized, his behavior reflects a growing concern I have about the Republican party.

Earlier this week, the President was supposed to address my children, but our Republican governor d...

Facebook Fighting

A funny thing happened on the way to my Facebook page.

The other day, I went on Facebook. If you are my employer, it's a rare event. If you aren't, I could be charged rent.

I love to post newspaper articles and YouTube clips so that I can engage all of the interesting people I know that live around the world. But something has happened that I find concerning, and I'd like your input.

People who have never met, some of whom I'm embarrassed to say I have never met, are fighting with each other on ...

White House Entitlement

The descendants of Paul Jennings, who was a slave in James Madison's White House, are being invited back to the White House for a reunion next week. Their treatment is far better than the Blacks who claimed to be descendants of Thomas Jefferson.

Ten years ago, when DNA findings about Jefferson's descendants were published, several members of the Jefferson/Hemings family had their first meeting on The Oprah Winfrey Show. One of Jefferson's white descendants, Lucian Truscott IV, invited his Heming

The Original Black First Lady: Sally Hemings

I recently did a radio interview with BJ Janice Peak-Graham about my book, Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Clinton. She said that as she was reading the book, she was struck with the realization that I was, in fact, writing about her life. She had been a Clinton appointee, and it had never occurred to her that her experience was part of the political history of that time period.

Watching the coverage of the Obama family in the White House, one can't help but feel a certain media giddine

Sister Regina Benjamin and Sister Joycelyn Elders

So on Tuesday night Jon called me from his business trip. He was meeting with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical boards of the United States and its territories.

I was meeting with three children who didn't want to go to bed.

Jon: Duch, when you come out on Thursday bring a copy of your book, Regina wants one.

Duchess: (children in the background fighting over Wii)
Regina who? Haven't I told you that we're not giving these

YOU ARE THE ONES YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR

When then Senator Barack Obama delivered his February 19, 2008 "Super Tuesday" speech in Chicago, he said, "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

Most people don't attribute these words to the late great Black feminist poet June Jordan. Many don't realize that Sweet Honey in the Rock also turned those words into a song. Alice Walker has written, "Hearing this song, I have witnessed thousands of people rise to their feet in joyful recognition and affirmation." I am one of those people who feels