"Good Old Boys": An Episode of Revisionist History

July 16, 2019 by Pharoah Bolding in DEI, Race Talks

Last week's episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History, is…interesting. It's such a snapshot of how nothing has really changed in the United States and how these conversations about racism and white supremacy have only slightly progressed. With that said, this episode does a good job of touching on while it may seem daunting that these conversations need to keep happening because they are the only way to make sure we address white supremacy and call supremacists and bigots out for their actions, words, and behaviors. The blurb:

If you disagree with someone — if you find what they think appalling — is there any value in talking to them? In the early 1970s, the talk show host Dick Cavett, the governor of Georgia Lester Maddox, and the singer Randy Newman tried to answer this question.

You can listen to it here.

Caution: the word “nigger” is used throughout the podcast by white folx. While it is within the context of the narrative Gladwell is constructing here, and used within a certain historical context, it is still said by white folx as a racist term and as part of the discussion of the comfort and discomfort of spewing racist words and phrases.

I Went to Lake Oswego. I'm Not Gonna Go Back to Lake Oswego.

July 03, 2019 by Pharoah Bolding in Race Talks, DEI, Events

So folx who follow my work and exploits via this website or social media know that I spent the bulk of the afternoon of Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Lake Oswego, Oregon, at the 2019 Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. I was invited by Andréa Gilroy and Katie Pryde, the awesome exhibit and content curators of this year’s event, to take part in a panel with five other comic creators and geek culture curators of color to discuss how our personal experiences and views align with the comic work that we create. The folx I sat in community with on that panel - Ben Passmore, Clara Emiliana, Nichole Robinson, Brian Parker, and Sean Wynn - are all incredible folx doing impactful work that I have considered friends and associates for some time now (make that a new friend and associate in Ben Passmore). In my humble opinion the panel itself was phenomenal (you can watch it in its entirety here); we all shared the space we were given with no hang-ups and had a robust discussion that touched on a myriad of topics while pulling no punches. I would like to thank Andréa and Katie for having me as a panelist, for putting together this panel, and allowing us the space to roll with it as we wanted. But I walked away from my afternoon in Lake Oswego with one firm understanding:

I ain’t never going back to Lake Oswego ever again.

You couldn’t pay me to go back to Lake Oswego.

Thoughts on "Slow Going on Faculty Diversity"

July 02, 2019 by Pharoah Bolding in Race Talks, Human Resources, DEI, Recruiting

This morning I read an article on Inside Higher Ed’s website entitled “Slow Going on Faculty Diversity”. The findings presented in said article are, sadly enough, not all that surprising.

Some Thoughts On Going To Lake Oswego While Black

June 17, 2019 by Pharoah Bolding in Events, Race Talks, DEI

So...I'm going to be in Lake Oswego this Saturday at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. I'm taking part in the "Comics Activism" panel. I’m going but don't get it twisted: I always recognize that some situations are...dangerous. Messy. A risk.

That is what Lake Oswego is for me and many BIPOC.

NCORE 2019: A Debrief

June 07, 2019 by Pharoah Bolding in Race Talks, DEI, Conferences

From May 28 - June 1, 2019 I was in community, in learning, in growing, in mourning, and in re-calibration as an attendee of this year’s National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE).