Blackdom, NM

A couple of years ago I did a brief post about a New Mexico town founded by black settlers because a documentary was being crowdfunded. During Black History Month, let’s learn more about the short-lived town!

Richard Antoine White

This article from The Daily Beast was in my Facebook newsfeed today, presenting me with the perfect opportunity for this Black History Month series to feature not only a contemporary figure, but someone from New Mexico! Meet Richard Antoine White aka Raw Tuba – the first African-American to receive a doctorate of music in tuba performance. Quite the achievement when you learn that only 1.8% of symphony members in the US are African-American.

Fuck #CovCath

My final words on #CovCath #ExposeCatholicSchools

“Transformative Events and Processes in New Mexico’s Colonial History”

SMU in Taos & UNM Taos – Fall Lecture Series – “Transformative Events and Processes in New Mexico’s Colonial History”

Where: Harwood Museum, 238 Ledoux Street, Taos NM 87571
When: All lectures take place from 6-8pm
More info: 575-737-3767

Flyer available Fall-Lecture-Series-Rev-2016.

“Offended by Fiesta, activists plan protest”

The Santa Fe New Mexican ran this piece by Daniel Chacon. The headline is bullshit, because this has nothing to do with “taking offence” and everything to do with standing up against a racist, historically inaccurate narrative.

Santa Fe Fiestas Protest Revisited

The action we did at the 2015 Fiesta de Santa Fe was intended to respectfully raise awareness around the false narrative that the Fiesta Council continues to share every year. They believe including a few Native peoples is adequate, but we believe the entire story needs to be adjusted to reflect more of what truly happened and the long-standing impact the conquest has had on the people in this state.

“(Re)narrating Equity: Creating Equitable Structures of Entry and Exit in Santa Fe Public Schools”

A paper written by April Wang is getting a lot of buzz among SFPS educators right now. You will not want to miss it. It covers issue of bias against race and problems with equity in our district.

Response to Vitriolic Letter from Tourist

Earlier this month a tourist – William R. Strong, from Oil City, PA – wrote a letter to newspapers around New Mexico, following a trip here. You can read his bullshit letter here, and the follow up article here.

This was the response I sent to the Oil City newspaper, the Pittsburgh newspapers, and to Mr. Strong.

APS will offer Ethnic Studies

As reported in the ABQ Journal, all high schools in the Albuquerque Public Schools district will offer ethic studies.

The planning process began last week with a three-day workshop that brought about 40 teachers and community members together to brainstorm curriculum possibilities.

Attendees discussed concepts like unconscious bias, as well as books and movies that present Hispanic, African-American, Native American and Asian culture, throwing out titles like “The Karma of Brown Folks,” “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” and “Reservation Blues.” One suggestion even featured a little-known Scandinavian minority. The course will be designed to cover a broad array of racial and ethnic groups.

Currently, Albuquerque, Del Norte and Highland are the only high schools with courses focused on minority experiences – Chicano studies and Mexican-American literature at Albuquerque and Highland; Native American studies at Del Norte.

Under the new plan, every high school will offer ethnic studies as an elective option for juniors and seniors.

 

 

FLOTUS Speaks Truth at SFIS Graduation

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama was the commencement speaker at Santa Fe Indian School’s 2016 graduation.