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.

NMAAHC Virtual Memory Book

During my recent visit to "WRT: Writer Response Theory," a blog and podcast about (hyper)texts, I learned that The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is currently featuring "A Virtual Memory Book" which invites all individuals to share memories of places, people, and things that are important to them, specifically stories and (oral) histories related to the NMAAHC exhibits or to other memories posted in the virtual book, which truly makes this project a socially collaborative project. Ah, can you imagine the multiplicity of narratives! Ah!

They state the following in the call for online memories:

"You may associate your Memory with a geographical location, as well as the year of the memory to offer a historical timeframe. Postal/zip code information would be useful for future use in a dynamic timeline display associating stories, traditions and histories. By offering this information, you may be assisting others in their recollection of times past, as well as spurring them on to contribute to the Memory Book."

Interesante! Please visit their website!

(Photo Above Courtesy of Shomberg Center of the New York Library)

Black History Month in El Paso

Dr. Maceo Crenshaw Dailey Jr., Director of African American Studies, University of Texas El Paso

(photo courtesy of Dr. Dailey's website)

Listed below are events that will be held in El Paso/UTEP to celebrate Black History Month.

Feb. 5: Max Sherman, "The Political Life and Career of Barbara Jordan," 1: 30 p.m. at Liberal Arts Building, Room 210, UTEP.

Feb. 6: Film: "Lackawanna Blues," 6:45 p.m. at Union East, UTEP Union Cinema.

Feb. 11: Alvin Johnson, "Family Entrepreneurship: MACA /METI," 6:45 p.m. at Blumberg Reading Room, UTEP Library.More events, 2D

Feb. 11: "Jazz Night: A Taste of the Motherland," 7 p.m. at EPCC Transmountain Campus, Forum Theater.

Feb. 13: Film Showing: "Crash," 6:45 p.m. at UTEP Union East, Union Cinema.

Feb. 16: "Colors of Harmony: Fashion, Food and Fun," noon at EPCC Transmountain Campus, foyer.

Feb. 16: Maceo C. Dailey Jr., director of UTEP African-American Studies Program, "El Paso's Enduring African-American Community and its Place in African-American History," 1:30 p.m. at the El Paso Museum of History.

Feb. 16: Miss Black El Paso Pageant, 7 p.m., Chamizal National Memorial Theater.

Feb. 18: "Who's Who Among African American High-School Students," 7 p.m. at EPCC Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount.

Feb. 21: Gary Kieffner, "A History of Black Borderlands Motorcyclists" 6:30 p.m. at UTEP Union East, University Suite.

Feb. 23: Citywide Black History Month Parade and Celebration; begins at 10 a.m. at Pershing and Montana, and continues with festivities at 11 a.m. in Mary Webb Park.

Feb. 24: Sonia Sanchez, American poet and internationally acclaimed writer, "A Night of Poetry," 6:30 p.m. at Natural Gas Conference Center at UTEP.

Feb. 25: "Choir Night: A Message in Song," 7 p.m. at EPCC Transmountain Campus.

Feb. 27: Film: "The Great Debaters," (pending) 6:30 p.m. at Union Cinema at UTEP.

Feb. 28: Sandra Braham and Jonna Perillo, "Two Case Studies in African-American Education: El Paso and New York," 6:30 p.m. at Tomas Rivera Conference Room, UTEP Union East.

Quote of the Day

“Women historically linked to Africa have been speaking in public arenas, writing, and thinking critically about writing and themselves as writers for many, many centuries. A challenge for rhetorical history, then, is to imagine the possibility, even the likelihood, of a comparable trajectory for the participation of women of African descent in rhetorical history, theory, and performance as well. When we establish a less Western point of view, based on the idea that humans have the capacity to use language resources well wherever they happen to reside, how far-fetched can such a possibility really be?”

Jacqueline Jones Royster, “Disciplinary Landscaping , or Contemporary Challenges in the History of Rhetoric” (2003)