woman of wonder

We are the DESCENDANTS of the natives you attempted to wipe out. We are the GRANDDAUGHTERS of the victims you experimented on for "the sake of science." We are the CHILDREN of the women you hung from the trees. We are the SISTERS of the girls you mutilated and murdered for seeking an education. We are the LEGACY of the women who died so that we could raise our voices without fear WE ARE NOT WONDER WOMEN BUT WOMEN OF WONDER!

[padawan-historian]

When Auntie Breya Johnson said "I want the next face of empire not to be a black women," and Ancestor Zora Neale Hurston mused "All my skinfolk ain't kinfolk," THIS is what they meant. Many of our sisters and self-proclaimed feminists are turning their faces away from the freedom struggle and decolonization efforts of our world to fulfill a false dream of empire built on apartheid and antiblack violence.

[padawan-historian]

This gave me ancestral levels of joy

[padawan-historian]

In their attempts to challenge the institutions that dehumanize + commodify their existence, some BIPOC, AAPI, queer, and cis folks in these digital spaces are utilizing a similar form absolutism that exists in spaces of radical feminist separatism and conservative, religious imperialism.

P S. Never forget that "cancelling" is a tool and, like any tool, it can be worn down, warped, and weaponized by unskilled hands.

[padawan-historian]

I see there are a lot of new faces in the community! I wanted to reintroduce myself and my budding platform!

🖤 My name is Sidney Rose McCall (she/her/they). I am an Aries 🐏 of 25 years who enjoys Star Wars comics, Nina Simone albums, and Baldwin works. I am named after Sidney Poitier and my grandmother Naomi Rose~

👩🏾‍🏫 I am also a Black historian and independent scholar who cultivates antiracist history lessons and resources that focus on upRooting white supremacy.

🌿 White supremacy is more than just a social construct or a caste system. White supremacy is an ecosystem that seeks to protect the "perceived privileges" of white (or near white) sovereign powers; by extension, we all exist in this ecosystem where racist philosophies are reinforced by racist policies that infect and affect our day-to-day practices and understandings.

🌻 My academic and liberation work are both rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources immersed in decolonized language and historical frameworks to examine the intersection of race, identity, gender, and community engagement.

🔮 In the realm of Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, I cultivate history reading lists, community resources, and share my late night musings about period dramas (I got a LOT of thoughts about Downton Abbey)

🌈 Over on Patreon, I do monthly history lessons and book discussions, virtual livestreams, and interviews with other community bridge builders and activists.

✨ If you're still reading this (hi again!), share what you're reading, and what you hope to learn or manifest this season in the comments below!~

[padawan-historian]

whitey still on the moon trying to reinforce settler-colonialism and the subjugation of non-men.

[padawan-historian]

Timothée reading Caste 👀

[padawan-historian]

BEFORE you start your own campaigns, crowdsource your own fund, sign up to house/adopt an unaccompanied Afghani child, LISTEN to refugees.

[padawan-historian]

“How to learn about U.S. history without ever having to read anything written by an old white dude ever again; a working list,” with bookshop links; find these books at your local black bookstore or local library. Amplify Black historians and antiracist scholars ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter Godwin Woodson (link to bookshop x)

Before the Mayflower: A History of the Negro in America, 1619-1962 by Lerone Bennett (link to bookshop x)

North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States by Leon F. Litwack (link to bookshop x)

Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. by Chancellor Williams (link to bookshop x)

The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. Revised & Enlarged Edition by John W. Blassingame (link to bookshop x)

Ar'n’t I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South by Deborah Gray White (link to bookshop x)

Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South by Stephanie McCurry (link to bookshop x)

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne-Dunbar Ortiz (link to bookshop x)

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (link to bookshop x)

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (link to bookshop x)

The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez (link to bookshop x)

An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz  (link to bookshop x)

Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deirdre Cooper Owens (link to bookshop x)

America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee (link to bookshop x)

In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America by Kabria Baumgartner (link to bookshop x)

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (link to bookshop x)

Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South by Keri Leigh Merritt (link to bookshop x)

Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century by Tera W Hunter (link to bookshop x)

Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage by Sowande’ M. Mustakeem (link to bookshop x)

Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence by Kellie Carter Jackson (link to bookshop x)

The Women’s Fight: The Civil War’s Battles for Home, Freedom, and Nation by Thavolia Glymph (link to bookshop x)

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson (link to bookshop x)

The Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century by P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey (link to bookshop x)

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall (link to bookshop x)

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha Blain (link to bookshop x)

[padawan-historian]

Just wanted to share the first of a handful of virtual resources I am curating this summer. Hope to see you and all there!

**Juneteenth to the Fourth || Weekly Antiracist History Class for Community Member and Grown Scholars (Starts Sunday, June 6th): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/156710727003

The events are donation based to ensure we can continue to curate free public programs and community conversations in the future.

**If you'd like to support my work and access exclusive essays, decolonizing history lessons, and antiracist resources, join my Patreon community.

[padawan-historian]

Israel is a 21st century example of an apartheid regime that has displaced millions of Afro and Arab-Palestinians who have fled discrimination, disenfranchisement, and ethnic cleansing at the hands of the settler-colonial government. 🇵🇸

[padawan-historian]

Regarding the Chauvin verdict — here’s a few thoughts to keep in mind.

Dear children of the Black and African Diaspora:

It is not your job to “speak with AUTHORITY for all Black people” about the trial today or tomorrow (or next week).

If you are not in an emotional or spiritual place to engage in discussions, do not feel obligated. Set healthy boundaries in your personal and professional spaces.

REST & unPLUG (step away from social media — decompress, reflect, journal, garden, go for a bike ride, soak your feet in warm water, call a good friend, etc.)

Dear brown, beige, white, and pink decolonizers-in-training:

Do not get comfortable … the work continues.

Do not spend tomorrow (or tonight) reaching out to all your Black friends and co-workers to ask how they’re feeling (especially if you do not correspond regularly). Even if you think your heart is in the right place, this comes off, at best, performative.

Do not rush to argue (via social media) with people who are upset that Chauvin was convicted. Re-evaluate who you want in your [decolonized] space. It is YOUR responsibility to challenge racism and white supremacy in your home, workspace, and community.

Challenging racism does not have to become a public spectacle. If your relative or friend is not decolonized or practicing antiracism, send them a message with an invitation to hold space for a conversation via zoom or phone.

Antiracist work is not seasonal work. Antiracist work is a lifelong journey.

It is alright to feel angry, frustrated, or helpless about the verdict. The next step is to ask yourself:

What is my role as an abolitionist, decolonizer, disruptor, or educator? How can I cultivate an antiracist, decolonized community?

If you’re ready to decolonize your understanding of history and build antiracist tools to practice in your day-to-day life, come join me on Patreon.

[padawan-historian]

Ma'Khia was a child who will never have the chance to walk across the stage at graduation. She will never have the chance to show her family her college acceptance letters or scholarships. She will never grow up because, in the ecosystem of white supremacy, Ma'Kiah wasn't a young scholar, or a blooming

She was a threat.

It's time we uprooted and dismantled white supremacy.

[padawan-historian]

Just in case anyone in your stratosphere is trying to compare celebrating Prince Phillip's passing (at 99 years old) with celebrating George Floyd's lynching, here's a quick response to dismantle their alignment with whiteness and the monarchy (which is a white supremacist institution) 👑

"No one is celebrating the death of a white man. They are celebrating the death of a powerful individual who supported an apartheid regime, and never publicly denounced Nazism or white supremacy, both which his family + government benefited from at the expense of Black, brown, and indigenous people."

[padawan-historian]

March 25th is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.

When we say we are descendants of enslaved people, we are also acknowling that our ancestors survived the Maafa, the African Holocaust.

The United Nations recognizes that between 15 and 20 million people were kidnapped, burglarized, and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean during the era of American slavery.

Ship logs from this era reveal that the death tolls across the Middle Passage were staggering. Sometimes, more than half of the enslaved occupants perished on those ships. This does not include the countless Africans who died on the death marches from the African interior to the slave forts on the coasts . . .or those who died at the hands of their enslavers or chose death over white violence and exploitation.

Decolonizing work is not possible WITHOUT reconciling and TALKING about the history of slavery.

I read about the Holocaust in 4th grade, 5th grade, and through middle and high school. I only had two teachers who discussed slavery in detail. My 4th grade teacher (who was Black) and my middle school humanities teacher (who was white). One high school teacher said "we're required by the state to teach this . . ." My 96 year old grandmother can recall her grandmother talking to her about her life as an enslaved youth. Most of us are just FIVE to SIX generations removed from slavery. THAT'S how recent this history is.

If you feel overwhelmed, embarrassed, ashamed, or spiritually upset about this history or your miseducation, it's up to you to educate yourself and your community. Don't wait for education reform. Reform yourself! ✊🏿📚

Come join my Patreon community where I host weekly virtual classes, interviews with historians, and share activities and resources to help you decolonize your life and build antiracist tools to upRoot white supremacy in your community.

[padawan-historian]

Jim Crow is out in full force. Arm yourselves with water bottles.

[padawan-historian]

Hello everyone! 👋🏾 I just wanted to take a moment to re-introduce myself. 📚

My name is Sidney Rose. I am a current historian and graduate of Florida A&M University’s history program, with a specialization in American history during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The pandemic has put my Ph.D. track on hold (for the moment), but, in the midst of the racial vengeance and violence (both physical and virtual), I wanted to find a way to make decolonized history and learning more accessible for the public, especially parents and educators of young (and growing) scholars.

While I curate antiracist resources and book lists through Instagram (@rosecolored_scholar), I started an antiracist community on Patreon (www.patreon.com/antiracistliberation) where I hold weekly [virtual] history lessons, exclusive interviews with antiracist scholars, and share decolonized essays, articles, and resources for antiracist padawans, students, parents, librarians, and concerned citizens looking to decolonize their day-to-day practices.

If you are reading to activate your activism and decolonize, your reading, our history, and  your community, come join me on Patron! 🖤🌿💞

[padawan-historian]

here is a sneak peek from the Patreon post I dropped earlier today going through a few words that I think we need to wash out of our mouths this year

(Read my full lesson on www.patreon.com/antiracistliberation)

Minorities - in the words of Afroherbalist and Moon Mother, Suhaly Bautista-Carolina, “there is nothing MINOR about me.” Referring to Black, brown, beige, and indigenous people as minorities feeds into the racialized idea that the dominant racial group has the inherent right to define and shape the society we live within.    

Words and Terms to replace minorities: Black, brown, beige, and indigenous people, BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color), AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders), or marginalized people.

Politically Correct - for me, there is no word that is more oh-so benevolently racist as politically correct. Used by corporations and FOX News charlatans alike, this term is often utilized to shield white supremacist policies and practices. Referring to a comment or a practice as politically correct not only simplifies the ever-evolving nature of white supremacy but, further reveals how the speaker

White Fragility - I will save my full breakdown of why you should shelve your copy of DiAngelo’s White Fragility for another day, but the argument that “white fragility” is constructive term is based on a very two-dimensional understanding about language, lived experiences, and the nature of antiblackness. What DiAngelo describes as “white fragility” is, in fact, cognitive dissonance and antiblackness, philosophies and practices which are NOT UNIQUE TO WHITE PEOPLE. Now don’t think this means I’m saying white folks are off the hook (cause ya’ll aren’t). The ecosystem of white supremacy infects and affects all of us, and, for many people across color lines (but especially white folks), aligning oneself to whiteness (meaning accepting the philosophies, policies, and practices that reinforce white supremacy) is a way of life that [they believe] preserves a handful of perceived privileges that give them a sense of security, status, or prosperity…

 In the ecosystem of white supremacy, aligning oneself with whiteness and “white culture” are just as much about survival and  and sustaining a [false] sense of security as they are about self-preservation at the expense of Black and non-white existence and equity. Referring to the complex reactions and struggles with grappling with one’s own system of reality (or world view) purely as “white fragility” takes focus away from the much larger task of people across color lines upRooting themselves from this ecosystem that infects and affects all of us.

Illegal Immigrants - Superman is an alien, but NO HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL. Full stop. The irony thickens when you realize that the United States and Canada basically established themselves on top of already established, politically complex indigenous nations and communities. Our feet rest on native land that was occupied and co-opted by Europeans who committed cultural erasure and genocide on indigenous people and kidnapped, enslaved, and trafficked Africans across an ENTIRE OCEAN to further exploit and dehumanize them.