Honoring Dr. Vicente Ximenes

Dr. Michelle Kells

At this year's RSA Conference, I was fortunate to present alongside Michelle Kells, Assistant Professor at the UNM Rhetoric and Writing Program. The title of her presentation was "Vicente Ximenes and LBJ's Great Society: The Rhetoric of Mexican American Civil Rights Reform".

Dr. Vicente Ximenes is the first Hispanic appointed US Commissioner of Equal Employment. In 1967, he worked with President Johnson as Chairman of the President's Cabinet Committee on Mexican American Affairs.

Dr. Ximenes


Dr. Kells and Dr. Ximenes

The title of our panel was "Rhetoricizing Latina/o Issues" and was moderated by the extraordinary David Zarefsky, who is the Owen L. Coon Professor of Argumentation and Debate, Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, former RSA President, and author of "Lincoln, Douglass, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate".

Dr. David Zarefsky

***

In 2006, Dr. Michelle Kells published Héctor P. García: Everyday Rhetoric and Mexican American Civil Rights (Southern Illinois University Press). In 2004, she published and co-edited, with Victor Villanueva, Latino/a Discourses: On Language, Identity, and Literacy (Heinemann).



Dr. Kells' presentation on Vicente Ximenes at this year's RSA Conference and book about Hector P. Garcia prove that Mexican American/Hispanic rhetorics, alongside the rhetoric of civic discourse, continue to matter.

Photos courtesy of UNM, Sigma Tau Delta & Northwestern University

Virtual Mapping of Malcolm X's Life

Moraine Valley Community College has created a very interesting mapping of Malcolm X's life based on his autobiography as told to Alex Haley. Each geographic space on a virtual map unfolds the different chapters from X's life. What a fantastic idea, right?

For those interested in further pursing an inquiry into the nature of space with relation to X's life, check out "The Geography of Malcolm X: Black Radicalism and the Remaking of American Space" by James Tyner (Routledge 2006).

Malcolm X and James Baldwin Featured on BMA

The Black Media Archive, a free podcast on itunes, is currently featuring a historic discussion between Malcolm X and James Baldwin.

The discussion centers on race relations, the significance of a "sit-in" protest and the meaning of the "American Negro" in the United States.

At one point in the discussion, Malcolm X talks about the Spanish derivative of "negro" and the way in which blacks, in Central and South America, refuse and protest the use of the word as a designating marker. Malcolm X also talks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



Malcolm X's comments have prompted me to look for sources that talk about race relations in Mexico during the colonial period. I think his comment about this particular word merits further historical inquiry.

Race, Memory and History

"Racial slavery has shaped virtually every aspect of our nation's history. Slavery provided one of the essential legs upon which modern capitalism was built. Slavery shaped the development of the American political structure, from its peculiar form of federalism to the astonishing, and continuing, disproportional influence of Southern legislators. Today's various racial constructions--whiteness, blackness, and an Other category that persistently renders nonwhites and nonblacks invisible--are obviously rooted in the history of slavery and Jim Crow.

Enslaved Africans and their descendents were and are assigned the impossible role of maintaning stable American race relations. Slaves were instructed on pain of injury not to protest an unhealthy relationship fixed by whites for the benefit of whites. Remarkably, slaves did not obey. They managed to bring on the Civil War; in the process, they destroyed the system of slavery and delivered a more fully realized American democracy."

Robin D.G. Kelley, Foreword in "Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation"

Call for Papers: Indigenous Rhetorics

Call for Papers IndigiRhet: Articulating Global Indigenous Rhetorics

This collection aims to draw together global indigenous scholars and scholarship that works towards an understanding and articulation of indigenous rhetorical traditions. Articulation is key here in terms of the manner in which things come together and a connection is made -- for example, the moving parts of our bodies are articulated (knees, elbows, etc.) in that they are both separate and dependant upon each other for their function, their usefulness. So, the aim of this collection is not to homogenize thousands of indigenous rhetorical practices under a central theoretical rubric. It is, instead, to honor the many ways in which indigenous rhetorical practices are highly divergent, rooted in specific lands and histories, by gathering scholarship about the breadth of those traditions together in one place so that readers themselves can search for the places where those divergent practices come together, where those functional connections are made. We are interested in receiving submissions that:

address all forms of indigenous rhetorical production will be welcomed -- written, spoken, painted, performed, woven, stitched, sung, danced, digitized, filmed, recorded, photographed, etc.;

focus on singular indigenous traditions (for example, Cherokee rhetorics), regional traditions (for example, indigenous Oceania rhetorics), or comparative traditions;

focus on individual indigenous rhetors;

look at specific historical moments & processes;

consider contemporary rhetorical production;

are anchored in indigenous rhetorical and theoretical traditions themselves.

We are especially interested in submissions that engage or enact decolonial methodologies.

Deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2008.

Please include your contact information and a brief (500-word) abstract of your piece with your submissions.

All submissions should be sent to:

Malea Powell
Rhetoric & Writing Program
Michigan State University
5A Olds HallEast Lansing, MI 48854
powell37@msu.edu (all e-mail correspondence should use "IndigiRhet" in the subject line)

College English -- Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions

For two special issues of COLLEGE ENGLISH, we invite submissions, which should be sent electronically to the journal’s office at cesubs@indiana.edu by July 1, 2008:

Lincoln in English Studies: In February 2009, historians will celebrate thebicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Why and how should our disciplinestudy him, too? Besides his own rhetoric, contributors might examine how hehas figured in works of fiction, visual culture, English courses, orEnglish scholarship.

Writing, Rhetoric, and Latinadad (guest editors: Damián Baca and VictorVillanueva):

With Latinas and Latinos comprising the United States’ largestlinguistic and ethnic “minority,” this issue will consider the historicalknowledge that the field of rhetoric and composition needs to constructsocially relevant pedagogies. Particularly welcome are essays that defineLatina/Latino rhetorics in comparison to Greco-Latin ones. How do we beginto understand a broader history of rhetoric within the Americas, forexample? How can Latina/Latino rhetorics that pre-date the teaching ofEnglish in the Americas transform composition studies? How might resistantand de-colonial Latina and Latino rhetorics challenge Eurocentric historiesand historiographies of writing and writing instruction? How can greaterunderstanding of the unique historical trajectories of indigenous, Spanish,and English rhetorical ways affect our current attempts to include Latinoand Latina language experiences in our composition classrooms? What arehistoricallinks among AmerIndian rhetorics (i.e., those of Latin American andCaribbean indigenous peoples as distinct from their more Northern brothersand sisters)? How would these have affected, and been affected by, Spanishcolonial rhetorics?

Ruben Salazar Remembered

On April 22, 2008, the U.S. Postal System unveiled a new addition to those remembered in a U.S. postage stamp.



Ruben Salazar, also known as "La Voz de la Raza," was a groundbreaking Chicano journalist for the Los Angeles Times. He was killed at the age of 42 during a Chicano anti-war protest by an East Los Angeles sheriff's deputy.

Salazar is remembered by nuestra gente for devoting all of his work to demand equal rights for Mexicanos and Chicanos alike.

For more information about the stamp, click here.

For more about Ruben Salazar, click here.



Photos Courtesy of the U.S. Postal System and the "Remembering Ruben Salazar" photo gallery featured by the Los Angeles Times

Bracero Project & Bracero Memorias

Between 1942 and 1964, more than two million Mexicanos were allowed entry into the United States to fill the shortage of labor created by World War II. Mexican men were employed to work in farms, railroads and ranches across California, Texas, Idaho, Illinois and Oregon. This particular program, called the “Bracero Program,” changed the life of many Mexicano men, as well as the economies of two neighboring nations.

At the University of Texas at El Paso, the Institute of Oral History created and presented an exhibit this past semester that featured both photographs and excerpts from compelling testimonies from braceros as to their experiences of working in the United States.



I was fortunate to the attend the exhibit and was floored at the powerful experiences that these brave men endured in order to survive, in order to feed their familias, and to continue their spirit of being hard workers with dignity. The exhibit featured the actual words of some of the testimonies while several portraits were displayed in-between the quotes. The testimonies told the amount of strength it took to endure the injury of prejudice, discrimination, and racism. The testimonies also told the excitement of having the opportunity to work in the U.S. while others described the experience of being in a different place/space and within inhumane working conditions. The exhibit was beyond powerful; the exhibit was arresting.

While at the exhibit, I kept remembering the significance of the working class in all our histories. Chicano/a history is all about the working class. We can never forget this as a fact.

I only hope that more obreras and obreros who have contributed to U.S. capitalism are willing to tell their (his)storias so we can continue adding to our nuestro pasado/our pasts.

Frederick Douglass' Childhood Revisited

My Alma Mater in Flames -- OLLU

Much love goes out to the students, faculty and friends at Our Lady of the Lake University, where I began my college years in 1993. OLLU is a historic institution originating in the late nineteenth century. OLLU has always committed itself to providing a fine education to students. Don't lose your spirit, OLLU.

Scholarly Writing Retreat

SCHOLARLY WRITING RETREAT

August 2-7, 2008

Portland, Oregon

This year's writing retreat will build on the successes of past retreats. Most participants will
arrive Friday, August 1. The retreat is five full days, beginning Saturday morning and
ending Wednesday afternoon. The purpose of the retreat is for participants to arrive
with a project partially or fully drafted and leave with a manuscript prepared for submission
(to a professional conference, an academic journal, an advisor, a granting institution, etc).
This may include everything from scholarly research articles to grant writing to finishing
that last chapter of your thesis, dissertation, or book. Whatever your project, if you are interested in building a writing community with peers in your and related fields in a supportive atmosphere while improving your writing and research skills, then the Scholarly Writing Retreat is for you.

Early Registration: $350.00 per person
Early Registration Deadline: June 1, 2008

Registration Includes: Structured discussion seminars, editorial support, reading materials,
basic writing materials (paper, pens, pencils, printer, etc), breakfasts and lunches.
What You Need to Bring: Paper/Project in progress, research materials, laptop or some
other word processor (we have access to a limited number of laptops for those who need them).

Location: Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Portland, OR 97219

Phone: (503) 768-7188

Directions: Here are directions from the Portland International Airport. If you are not flying to
Portland I would recommend Google Maps or Mapquest.

Accomodation Suggestions: 1.Pioneer Square is a popular downtown Portland location, close to Powell's Books, and offers several hotel options such as the Vintage Plaza or the Mark Spencer or the Hotel Monaco that would provide excellent accomodations. You can also search for hotels near Pioneer Square on expedia. In addition, Lewis and Clark College has special rates with many hotels near pioneer square. Just click here to get a list of hotels. When you contact the hotel simply ask for the Lewis and Clark College rate. 2. University Place: This is a bit of a walk to Pioneer Square, but it offers moderate prices for accomodation within walking distance of downtown Portland and Powell's Books.

Transportation: It is the participant's responsibility to arrange transportation. Lewis & Clark College is approximately 6 miles from downtown Portland, but there is no public transportation between downtown and Lewis & Clark during the summer months. Carpooling has been arranged in the past. Please contact me if you are interested in carpooling.

For more information please contact:
G. Mitchell Reyes, Ph.D.
Department of Communication, MSC 35
Lewis & Clark College
0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd
Portland, Or 97219
503.768.7619
mreyes@lclark.edu