Valorie Thomas

Valorie D. Thomas 

Valorie D. Thomas is a scholar and an associate professor of English and Africana Studies at Pomona University in California, where she has been a professor since 1998. She is credited with creating the Diaspora Vertigo concept as part of the decolonization picture. Her expertise is as a curator, in Afrofuturism, the African Diaspora (including film and visual art, social justice and screenwriting), women of color literature, Africana Studies (including early and contemporary African American literature), and Native American literature (including indigenous spirituality, media studies, and diaspora social space). Her research interests are Afrofuturism, Diaspora space and mobility, African Diaspora literary theory, spirituality in African Diaspora film and literature, African American and women of color feminist writers, and race, feminism, language, and social justice. 

African Diaspora occurred as a result of Africans being traded from Africa primarily to the Americas and the Caribbean in the slave trade. Valorie Thomas' Diaspora Vertigo concept, in terms of an exhibit held at Scripps College's Clark Humanities Museum (Carlisle), "incorporates the idea of trauma, displacement and dispersal that the African Diaspora has experienced through the slave trade." (Peter Harris, 2015) Ms. Thomas is also quoted as saying, "Being uprooted and dislocated — and culturally disrupted and traumatized — that's one version of vertigo." In this exhibit, the diaspora was incorporated in visual art, poetry reading, and intellectual questions, including Peter Harris' question of "What is a happy black man?"

Afrofuturism is the study of African and African American art in relation to the African Diaspora. More specifically, it places blacks with science fiction (like Lt. Uhuru in Star Trek), funkadelic music (as in George Clinton and the Parliament), art, and politics. In a 2011 Ebony article, it is said that the term Afrofuturism was coined by Mark Dent in an essay entitled "Black to the Future," where Afrofuturism talks about the future world where blacks are in music, art, theater, politics, and academics in today's terms. Afrofuturism also keeps blacks in the forefront, challenging emotions, thought, and beliefs. Blacks can be involved in technology, science, and space, and it not be "antithetical," or "being in direct and unequivocal opposition," to what it is to be a black person in a stereotyped sense (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2016). It also moves forward "African philosophy, spiritual knowledge and connections to nature."

In Mr. Carlisle's article, Ms. Thomas stated that "The Afrofuturism point of view, for me, is one that acknowledges race and racism as political, social and material realities, but, at the same time, is seeking to displace race as a central preoccupation of every narrative."

Featured publications by Ms. Thomas include:

Cultural Vertigo: Spiritual Roads to Social Justice in African Diaspora Film and Literature (Manuscript under submission)

"Placing Toni Morrison's 'Love': African American and Women of Color Feminists Theorizing Embodiment, Home, and Memory." International Journal of the Humanities, Common Ground Publishers, Victoria, Australia 2007

"1 + 1 = 3 and other Dilemmas: Reading Vertigo in Invisible Man, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and Songs of Solomon," African American Review, vol. 37, n. 1, Spring 2003.

"Keys to the Ancestors' Chambers: An Approach to Teaching Beloved," Reading Between the Black and White Keys: Deep Crossings in African Diaspora Studies (V.A. Clark, ed., UC Berkeley, 1994) 

References:

Afrofuturism. (April 28, 2011), http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/black-alt-enter-afrofuturism-999#axzz3ym8dhtEC, Accessed February 15, 2016 

Antithetical. Merriam-Webster Dictionary,  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antithetical, accessed February 16, 2016.

Micallef, Carlisle. Pomona Afrofuturist Exhibit Explores Race, Diaspora, Vertigo. February 28, 2015. http://tsl.news/life-style/4624/, accessed February 16, 2016 

Valorie D. Thomas. http://www.pomona.edu/directory/people/valorie-d-thomas, accessed February 13, 2016 

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At The Table

At the Table 

I am human.

No doubt about it. 

I eat, sleep, work.

I laugh, cry, feel.

I am gifted, talented, more than enough. 

So...Why should I have to beg you to have a seat at the table?

What does it take to get noticed for roles that are above typical stereotyped roles?

It's like I'm noticed but I'm not

Like I'm being copied and not given credit for the work

I cannot fathom accepting an invitation to something that was not created for me

Just to appease you, or to meet some quota or agenda 

To think that I cannot shine amongst the stars because someone says I'm not bright enough 

Or that my twinkle reaches farther than yours 

To think that my limbs gave birth to the nations 

And that my branches give shade in the heat

I've shown you that I am greatness 

That I am versatile and warm and awesome and love and remarkable 

I am grace under fire

The diamond in the rough

The agitating sand that the oyster pearl makes

But I am denied honor at your table simply because I am not enough for you 

So I've learned to embrace my own

Empower my own

Value and cherish my own

Create opportunities to grow

And make room at the table for those just like me

For we are fierce, proudly so, and we are one

At our table 

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As Long As It's Them

As Long As It's Them

He's honest and different from the established party, they say

He understands us

It's refreshing to hear him say these things, because that's what we believe 

As long as it's about the others

Even if you ridicule us, to the point of belittling 

We don't mind, because he said it

He's the truth, they say. So genuine and raw. Even if everyone else can see through him, we want him.

What he said? It may be a tad true, but at least it's not out of hate

At least we're not them

But, one day, we will be them, and the "we" can only hope that someone would stand up for "them"

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What does "Let's Make America Great Again" mean, anyway?

WHAT DOES "LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" MEAN, ANYWAY?

Since President Obama became president, a lot of people have been saying that they "want their America back," "Let's make America great again,"...little phrases like that. That makes me ask a lot of questions. Who's America are we trying to get back? Who took it in the first place? When did America get so bad that we have to go back to being great? What's your definition of "great"? More importantly, who are we making America great again for?

I'll tell you one thing. This is not me speaking for all women or all blacks, nor is it me speaking against any other race. But, when I hear the above-mentioned phrases, I think those people want to go back to the early to mid 1900s. When I think of that time period, I think about Jim Crow and lynchings. I think about segregated schools and freedom riders and Bloody Sunday. I think about the denial of citizens to vote, a super-patriarchal society, and a continuation of Manifest Destiny from earlier settlers. Definitely not happy times, even if you try to make it one in regards to "a better economic environment" or "a more moral-driven society." No, there could never be a great moral period if a group or groups of people are denigrated and denied their humanity simply because of their race, gender, nationality, whatever. 

America wants to boast about being the land of freedom and opportunity. It wants to boast about its diversity, of being a melting pot. But, at its root, America is still that newborn nation that wants to dictate how women live in regards to choices, whether it's in the workforce, healthcare, or government and politics. It's still the society where, nearly 62 years after Brown v. Board of Education decision, many schools across the country are still separate and unequal, whether it's in funding or demographic makeup (rural versus urban, magnet versus magnet, top-line versus everyone else).. It's still a society where the law is not equally and justly applied to all, particularly across socioeconomic and racial lines. Yes, America, indeed, has two justice systems.  

No, that's not an America that I can go back to. Nor is it a "way to make America great again." Not for the people as a whole, anyway. 

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Thoughts for Today: Sunday, January 31, 2016 : All Lives Matter, But Are All Lives Valued (Equally)?

Thoughts for Today Sunday January 31, 2016: All Lives Matter, But Are All Lives Valued (Equally)?

Black Lives Matter. It is a movement and statement that was borne from the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman. The point of the Black Lives Matter movement is to bring awareness to the fact that blacks aren't treated fairly, whether it's by law enforcement or the justice department, the education system or society as a whole. But, that point has been lost on society as a whole, with some saying that white lives matter, law enforcement lives matter, all lives matter.

Okay. Let's go with the All Lives Matter statement. Do all lives matter? Yes. I'm not one to dispute that. But, what many may not ask or wonder about is, are ALL LIVES VALUED? More importantly, are they valued EQUALLY?

Value is defined as (noun): the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something; a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life (Google); relative worth, utility, or importance (Merriam-Webster); (verb): consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of. (Google). That's deep. Everyone and everything has value, even if we may not understand it. 

What do we, as individuals, value? What do we, collectively, value? Are we too capitalistic, to where we only care about maintaining social status, or not sociable and approachable enough when it comes to the poor, disabled, elderly, and veterans? Do we place more emphasis on religious rights or personal relationship? Are we willing to look at what makes us great diversely, or are we going to continue doing the same song and dance with living in bigotry, misogyny, and xenophobia?

Given that there's still so much hostility towards minorities, particularly brown and black people, and towards women's health rights, do ALL lives matter? Given that we ask veterans to fight for us, but they come back and we do not take care of them, do ALL lives matter? Given that the United States is one of the richest nations in the world, yet so many live well below the poverty line, even working 2-3 jobs and being single, do ALL lives matter? All lives may matter. But, are they valued EQUALLY?  

References:

Value (2016): 

https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+value&oq=&gs_l=mobile-heirloom-serp.1.0.41l3.0.0.0.4994.1.0.0.1.1.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..34.mobile-heirloom-serp..0.1.86.dquklwwTKFQ

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/value, accessed January 31, 2016 

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Soul Abandoned

Soul Abandoned 

I know there is so much for me to do in this life 

So much hope abounds in my spirit 

The spirit to help others

To make the life around me so much better 

To write my way into a better society 

From housing to self-improvement to just encouraging 

Constantly in search of finding something better outside of myself 

In search of fulfillment, I went for what looked like the ultimate pot of gold 

Helper jobs, higher education, certificates

Only to find out that it was nothing more than a cheap one-night stand

Frustrated with bureaucracy 

Upset with "same ol', same ol'"

No one wanting change

Frivolous times, indeed 

When you realize that the people you work with don't have the same level of passion for the job

The same respect for others

Simple decency

The moment you know your soul is abandoned with complacency, paradise lost, no magic pot of gold, and anger and hopelessness you swore you'd never have because of your surroundings

Is the moment you realize that you can no longer stay 

Is the moment you venture back in the world as the free spirit you are and abandon your soul to hope and passion  

I try to remain hopeful

And faithful 

And as true to my inner self as possible  

Knowing that there is something out there for me

Alfreda
BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

Domicile

DOMICILE

Domicile:

The place where you spend most of your time,

Your primary residence 

Where your heart lies and your lies take heart 

To establish the point in which you reside 

Constantly wrestling with ourselves on where we should be 

Loving or vengeful 

Peaceful or hateful 

We're living in a world where everyone wants the same thing,

But refuse to come together for the common good 

Where we want to rewrite history in favor of us, disregarding the actuality of those greatly affected 

Where the race is not won by the swift but the steady, yet we cry against those that dare challenge what is known to be wrong 

No, it's not working for me,

This domicile of inadequacy, of xenophobia and sexism, where we tolerate a hellish spirit within a positive in-name-only follower

We wonder why we are where we are

It's not necessarily because we don't follow a certain doctrine 

Or because we don't believe the same as the majority minority 

It's because we decide, as a whole, that we will live chastising others, stop helping others, "me, me, me" 24/7 attitude, isolationist, get them before they get us, they're not us so we don't like them, why don't they learn our language but we won't learn theirs in their country domicile 

It's not any of my business, 

But it resides in me, as well. And, for that, I am disappointed in the state I live.

Ecclesiastes 9:11: "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Alfreda
BlackBerry 10 smartphone.