Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Celebration, Feature Spotlight, On the Desk..., Resources

The Day is Here…Dr. G is on Audible!!

Happy Monday!! I am SUPER excited to finally share….I’m officially on @audible !! When this opportunity came across my email inbox, I literally had to re-read the message several times to make sure I was not tripping!! Seeing it all come together is a process I will never forget! Grateful and Thankful!!

A dream come true!! Bucket list item checked off!! Let me just say this: researching, writing, and the actual recording were no joke, but I am sooooo glad I did it!! This was such an amazing opportunity to create and write a six-episode series titled, “From the Wiz to Wakanda: Afrofuturism in Pop Culture”!!

When it is all said and done, Afrofuturism is a cultural and social movement that continues to evolve and transform the landscape of pop culture!!

Such an awesome experience!! #DrGChronicles #PopCultureScholar #Afrofuturism #CreativeScholarship

I hope you enjoy!! Let me know what you think!!

Check it out here and share with your friends!!

Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-January 2024

Well, we are almost a month into 2024, how are you feeling?? Still, needing a good book to read? Needing to replenish your library? Looking for your next literary escape? I got you covered!! Starting a new year with a new list of recommendations.

Check out January’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:

  • A Love Song for Ricki Wilde ~Tia Williams
  • Black Meme ~Legacy Russell
  • Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and The Love Story That Awakened America ~Joy-Ann Reid
  • James ~Percival Everett
  • The Blueprint ~Rae Giana Rashad
  • Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir ~Walela Nehanda
  • Dead in Long Beach, California ~Venita Blackburn
  • The American Daughters ~Maurice Carlos Ruffin

And as always, remember you can always go back and check out 2023’s lists and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!

An Extra Bonus…For all my candle and book fans, check out this literary treat below…

You can purchase this candle and others at Noble Objects!!

Posted in On The Radar

On The Radar-Dr. G’s Upcoming Events

So a sista has been on the grind, making moves and progress, and feeling real good about life! And with being on the grind, I have a few exciting events to prepare for in the coming days!!

Check out some of my upcoming events below:

  • Friday, April 9th: “Alumni Art Talk” …Centennial High School (Champaign, IL) [My old high school :-)]
  • Sunday, April 11th: “‘I Am’: Black Feminist Futures and Possibilities in the Academy” (Invited Panelist)...AERA Presidential Sessions-2021 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Virtual Annual Meeting

“Name it, where do you want to be, who do you want to be? Name it, name it!”~ Beyond C’est

Using Misha Green’s story of Hippolyta Freeman from the “I Am” episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country as a jumping point, this panel explores educational responsibility through a deeper understanding of Black womyn navigating the academy using afro-futurist, Black feminist, and critical race feminist lenses. Panelists grapple with themes from across their work (i.e., educational law, inquiry and methodology, the professoriate, and pop culture) to discuss possibilities where Black womyn not only survive, but thrive and craft spaces of liberation and freedom in and beyond neoliberal educational spaces happy to benefit from their myriad contributions while simultaneously devaluing their humanity.

[Session Participants: Chair: Natasha N. Croom (Clemson University); Participants: Venus E. Evans-Winters (Independent Scholar); Grace Gipson (Virginia Commonwealth University); Treva Lindsey (The Ohio State University); Esther Oganda Ohito (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill); Lawanda Ward (The Pennsylvania State University)]

  • Monday, April 12th: “Re-Writing the Script: Black Imaginings of Trauma, Politics, and Pop Culture” (Series Speaker)…The Center for Literary Studies (CLS)-University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)

Let’s just say I am super siked about these upcoming events. Whether it is sharing the stage with scholars that you admire and respect, giving back to your community, or just simply geeking out, the above events will definitely be one’s to remember!! It’s always exciting to be in one’s element and engage in material that you are passionate about, especially in today’s society!

Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

For additional events, see here!

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts...

A Professor’s Thoughts…

“First Week of Class…”

So I just finished my first week of class for the Spring 2021 semester here at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, and let me just say I am looking forward to an exciting semester!

This semester I get the pleasure of teaching one of my favorite classes, Black Sites and Sights: Blackness in Popular Culture. I have taught this course on multiple occasions and every semester it’s like uncovering a new treasure. The students always bring a ton of energy and not only do they learn things, push their thinking, and transform their thoughts; but, I also am able to reap some rewards.

One of things that I do to start out the semester is have the students complete a “Course Survey”. Included in this survey is a list of questions which include their top films/movies, favorite songs and artists, and one topic they would like to discuss this semester. As it relates to the songs and artists, I typically create a Course Playlist on Spotify. And let me tell you that compiling that playlist is like getting a new lesson in music. Now some of the artists I am familiar with not necessarily a fan of, some are even on one of my own personal playlists (i.e. Nas, Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, SZA, Jazmine Sullivan, J. Cole, D’Angelo, The Internet, and more) and then there are others who I am not as familiar with (i.e. Joji, M-83, Earthgang, Koi Childs, among others). Every semester that I teach this course I learn new artists and/or songs, and realize that my taste in music always adds a new flavor. Creating this playlist offers me an opportunity to look through my student’s eyes and ears, while at the same time understand what they vibe to through their AirPods.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

That’s just the beginning, because once the class really gets going the fireworks really go off. Once I gather the student’s preliminary information, then we dive in and start with the theorization of popular culture and its relationship to Blackness. This first week we covered everything from Audre Lorde’s “The Master’s Tools Cannot Dismantle the Master’s House,” bell hooks-“Loving Blackness as Political Resistance”, Stuart Hall’s-“What is This ‘Black’ in Black Popular Culture?”, and Angela Nelson’s-“The Repertoire of Black Popular Culture”. To no surprise my student’s were all in!! This was a good sign and great start to the semester!

Needless to say, this semester much like my personal and professional journey is a ride I am excited to be on! I very much look forward to what is ahead, and I am sure you will hear more stories as the semester progresses, so stay tuned!

Cheers to a new semester!!

~Dr. G