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“It’s important for people to immerse themselves into a space where they’re discussing race and racism from others’ perspectives.”

As an author and professor of African American literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Dr. Howard Rambsy has spent decades studying creativity and conflict in times of duress among African Americans. With recent events putting a spotlight on racial injustice in the U.S. and across the world, many are turning to experts like him for guidance on what they can do to listen, understand and take action against inequality.

最近,Proquest邀请Rambsy博士在员工的虚拟每月扬声器系列中展示。在他的演讲结束后,他花了几分钟回答有关激励他,南方的黑色作家的问题,以及教育工作者如何从他们自己以外的角度开始了解种族和种族主义。这是他的问答摘要。

(注意:Rambsy博士是Proquest一个文学的顾问委员会成员。)

Proquest:您在校园内闻名,以外的独特课程。你教什么课程?

Howard Rambsy: I teach an Introduction to African American Literature course to a variety of different audiences, including all first-year Black women and first-year Black men. I also teach a course on representation of African Americans in comic books, a course on rap music, and a course that focuses specifically on the artist Jay-Z. I consider Jay-Z a “gateway” artist – listening to his work will lead you to so many other artists. In fact, I have a younger brother who’s also a professor and he and I both teach Jay-Z courses.

你和你的兄弟都教杰伊Z课程?我认为这是少数其他兄弟姐妹可以说的事情。是什么引发了对文学职业的兴趣?

我的母亲是一名英语老师,我的父亲是一位音乐老师,所以我围绕文学和艺术长大。在进行本科课程时TouGaloo学院- 历史上黑人学院/大学或HBCU - 我发现文献课程引发了最有趣的对话。当我乘坐宾夕法尼亚州立博学院的时候,我在与我的教授和同行有关文学和文化的交叉口的“意识”对话。

Looking back on your years as a student in both K-12 and higher education, what discrepancies or inequities did you see in the way African American literature was taught?

I’m from Tennessee originally, and I can’t think of any Black writers who were assigned in K-12. I had to read them on my own. Now, every so often, I come across an undergraduate student who had an African American literature class in high school, which always surprises me. Black literature classes are still considered a luxury, and certainly one I didn’t have growing up. We still have a long way to go.

Who are some of the Black writers who have influenced and inspired you over the years?

I discovered Richard Wright at an early age, and consider him to be my gateway author. Later, I discovered Toni Morrison, the poet Amiri Baraka, and once I got to graduate school, Colson Whitehead.

除了带来更黑色的声音外,您将向教师,教师和图书馆员提供哪些建议,以帮助在教室和超越教室构建反种族主义意见?

我最大的建议是密切关注非洲裔美国人对种族和种族主义的议题不同的看法。我们在全黑课程中所拥有的讨论与我们在课堂上的讨论中的讨论非常不同,这些讨论由所有种族的学生组成。有许多假设所做的,许多事情被视为理所当然。

例如,如果您密切倾听黑色生命内的黑人社区内的讨论,您将看到即使在活动家之间也有不同的声音。有人说,运动需要专注于黑人男性,其他人认为它需要更多地关注黑人女性,其他人看着黑色跨越人。这是一个很少发生在黑人社区之外的讨论。人们将自己沉浸在他们从别人的角度讨论种族和种族主义的空间中很重要。

如果你能推荐三个工作,可以为观赏他们的思想和挑战他们对种族主义的看法,他们会是什么?

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. She was more adamant than any Black writer I know about understanding what it means to write for a Black audience. Her work really speaks to the complexities within the African American community.

镍男孩,由Colson Whitehead。这本书讲述了Elwood Curtis的故事,这是一个在20世纪60年代成长的黑人男孩塔拉哈西,他们不公平地被判处称为镍学院的少年改革。

最后,我推荐其他太阳的温暖,由Isabelle Wilkerson。这是一本关于巨大迁移的书 - 黑人美国人从南方的数十年的移动,寻找更美好的生活。这是一个比我推荐的另外两个更长的工作,因为它混合了历史和个人叙事。

Thank you so much for your time. And I can’t end this interview without asking: what’s your favorite Jay-Z track?

My favorites are What More Can I Say, and What’s Free, a collaboration he did with Meek Mill and Rick Ross. I really like Jay-Z’s verse at the end.

阅读Proquest关于平等和正义信息.

2020年7月22日

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