teamwork

l-r: Denise Hart, Kevin M. Foster, me, Michael Scantlebury, Natalie M. Cofield, and Scot Brown

I’ve been wound up for weeks but my Blackademics TV taping is finally over, and now I have time to reflect on the experience. Often when I summarize events, I try to lead with what I like because I have a few complaints to share. But my first trip to Texas was just amazing—I think this is the first time I’ve worked with a team that was SO friendly, supportive, and efficient. I had a little trouble flying out because American Airlines canceled their direct flights from JFK; I found out by text on Monday morning, and was placed on an earlier flight leaving from LaGuardia but hadn’t yet packed or purchased a blazer to wear over my “jewel-tone” dress. But as soon as the plane landed in Austin, I was so well taken care of that I didn’t have to worry about a thing (besides my presentation). I was chauffeured from airport to hotel to the KLRU studio; when I woke up on Tuesday with a budding migraine, everyone on the Blackademics team was solicitous and made sure I had some downtime at the hotel before the taping began. My assigned performance coach, Denise Hart, didn’t chastise me for not scheduling a second consultation back in January. I only finished my presentation the night before my flight, but as I rehearsed on Tuesday I could “feel the love”—Denise was clapping and I could hear an “amen corner” of supporters in the back of the studio. One of the presenters brought his wife and she encouraged ALL of us—and turns out she’s from Toronto! The makeup artist expertly applied “HD foundation” and didn’t add anything else without my consent (I took her advice and went for a little blush but kept on my own lip gloss). I stumbled a few times during the recording and we had a little trouble with the remote for the slides, but I could tell that the audience was appreciating my presentation. And when it was over, I went backstage and got a big hug from Denise and plenty of praise from the rest of the team. I got to watch the rest of the presenters and they all engaged the audience in their own unique way. Then the taping came to an end and I felt someone tap me on the shoulder; I turned and a young woman of color thanked me for my presentation before saying, “You know, until I heard you tonight I never realized that I only had ONE Black book when I was a child. It was Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters and my sister and I wouldn’t let our parents give that book away, it meant so much to us. You really made me think about that—ONE book.” Another young woman told me she had tears in her eyes during my talk because she kept thinking about her nephews and the books they won’t get to read because they simply don’t exist. “They’ll exist if you write them and publish them yourself!” I told her. I’m becoming quite the evangelist when it comes to self-publishing! It does feel like a mission at times.

I had hoped to enjoy some Mexican food while I was in Austin, but instead we went back to the Africana Studies Department after the show ended and enjoyed some Texas-style “cowboy beans.” I did wake at 6am the next day with a migraine, but it was relatively mild and I was feeling fine by the time Tiffany picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the airport. We talked politics and police brutality before parting ways with hugs and promises to keep in touch. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this fantastic program; Dr. Kevin M. Foster developed the show to connect scholars with the community, and he permitted me to present even though I’m technically not an academic. It’s nice to know there’s a place for an independent scholars/artist/intellectual/activist like me! I’m not sure when the show will actually air, but I’ll be sure to let you know. I’m looking forward to having next week off—no school visits, which means plenty of time to write…