A site that features views, reviews and my point of view on fascinating cultural news.
Though facing barriers against race and gender, courageous black women began to make contributions in these areas. Because of their efforts the door has been opened for many more black women to follow.
Black Women in America – Part 20 — My Lord Katie
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, 80, has both made and chronicled history in real time. After becoming the first Black woman to enroll at the University of Georgia in 1961, in the 1970s she was one of the earliest Black women to write for the New York Times—establishing the paper’s Harlem bureau—before becoming NPR’s chief Africa correspondent. Among…
Lessons From a Half-Century of Reporting on Race in America — TIME
This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. The national mood is iffy at best, facing a coin toss for which party will emerge victorious this election season. Polls show both parties are competitive in key races, the money race…
To Understand the Midterms, Ignore the National Polls and Look at These Specific Races — TIME
Harriet, Hannah, and Frances devoted their talents to telling the story of the injustice to black Americans. Our society has changed a lot since then, but we still have an unacceptable amount of racial prejudice. My prayer is that the message these women left us will be instrumental in promoting justice for all citizens.
Black Women in America – Part 8 — My Lord Katie
September 21 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, the day the average Black woman in America will finally—after nine extra months of work—catch up to the pay the average white man received in 2021. I long for the day when everyone in our economy is thriving because it is just, fair and equitable. Imagine an…
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day Isn’t A Celebration. It’s a Call to Action — TIME
In the series premiere of Abbott Elementary, one of the most lovable TV comedies in recent memory, something horrifying happens. Overwhelmed on her first day in the classroom, a rookie teacher kicks her young student. The scene is a case study in the dangers of staffing public schools with inexperienced educators. Her immediate firing also…
TV’s Sweetest Sitcoms Rarely Reflect Reality. Abbott Elementary Works So Well Because It Does — TIME
(MOMBASA, Kenya) — African officials outlined their priorities for the upcoming U.N. climate summit, including a push to make heavily polluting rich nations compensate poor countries for the environmental damage done to them. The continent will also focus on how countries can adapt to global warming and how the continent can best halt further climate-related…
African Countries Push For Rich Nations to Help Continent’s Climate Transition Ahead of COP27 — TIME
Source: Courtesy of Athleta / Courtesy of Athleta Olympic medalist Simone Biles has teamed up with performance lifestyle brand Athleta Girl for a back-to-school collection. Source: Courtesy of Athleta / Courtesy of Athleta The inspiring athleisure-wear collection speaks directly to girls who are changemakers, teammates, athletes, activists, and students. The line includes sporty pieces such…
Simone Biles Teams Up With Athleta Girl For A Motivational Back-To-School Collection — HelloBeautiful
In the short story Old Man, William Faulker employs community characteristics by brilliantly depicting the theme of return and craftily applying subtle inferences throughout the story. Specifically, Faulker explores various languages, patterns, customs, and traditions within the community context. Three prominent illustrations of community that follow along the storyline are the community of convicts, Black Mississippians, and the anonymous.
By design of the story, each community’s specifications are unfortunately simplified. However, within the simplification, the reader earns the autonomy to imagine and create notions regarding the communities personally. In order to establish community, Faulkner relies on the character’s longing to return or be associated with their communities. Returning also supports ideas surrounding returning to moments, memories, and a sense of familiarity.
For the convicts featured in this short, their community and connection involved being accustomed to life in the penitentiary. Their lifestyle was simple, predictable, and labor expectant despite their varying offenses. Faulker showcases the interactions of the convicts by displaying the reenactment of events along the river for one specific character he calls Tall Convict.
The tall convict, presumably not well-versed in life experiences due to his early life sentencing, longs for stability and what he perceives as his usual way of life. Being sent to the flood rescue efforts was outside of his community scope. With that in mind, elements of life he and the inexperience with the river’s rage made his growing concern to rid himself of the extra baggage brought on by the rescue of the once pregnant woman he was ordered to retrieve. After her rescue, the convict displays concern for returning her to her community of people who know her.
With Black Mississippians, the shared elements of their community involved cultural customs associated with being black and living in the Mississippi Delta. Old Man, the name for the Mississippi River by black people living by the river and river towns, represents the shared thread of vernacular language. Black Mississippians were also bonded by their knowledge of the wild and unpredictable elements of the river, such as its persistent flooding and geographically unique wildlife.
Lastly, the anonymous community or nameless characters featured in the story represent a community of the countless nameless people affected by the flood and its societal and economic imprint. This community implied more than Faulker simply not providing multiple names even with anonymity. Although surface-level, the anonymous community provided the story’s context and validity.
The 1927 Mississippi River flood ravaged and rearranged many aspects of the Mississippi Delta. Within those guidelines, various communities learned and adapted to their newfound existences. Although vastly different, each community shared the commonality of determination to find its way back to a sense of normalcy.
St. Petersburg, Russia, and its history in heritage preservation have undergone several changes, challenges, and progressions since the area was first founded during the 18th century. Under the creation and development from the mind of the historical figure Peter the Great, the Russian czar that led Russia into the modern era, St. Petersburg, Russia, currently serves as the home for more than 7800 cultural heritage properties.
Comparatively, St. Petersburg is considered the second-largest city in Russia and has historically been compared to several prominent places. Primarily known for its architectural heritage, styles such as Baroque and Neoclassical Era structures such as The Hermitage and The Winter Place are impressively lined within the city.
Historically, the city has made valiant and successful efforts to preserve its cultural legacy by emphasizing providing and serving future generations with knowledge and access to their cultural heritage and the city’s cultural heritage.
After all, preservation is actively considered the process and act in which historical events, artifacts, and culture are documented, recorded, and maintained for education, local heritage, and tourism, to name a few. Within this thought, St. Petersburg implemented a strategy towards maintaining cultural heritage preservation that emphasizes the concept of continued city and economic development, reaffirming spiritual and cultural connections via its citizens and supporting sustainable solutions for future preservation needs.
For the most part, the strategies presented within cultural heritage preservation in the area and within the guidelines established by UNESCO, St. Petersburg has shown to be moderately successful in its endeavors. However, akin to many plans and cultural shifts in the region, the picturesque city has been confronted with threats towards maintaining the good preservation of many of its 19th and 20th-century architectural structures. In 2013, Moscow, a geological competitor and the country’s most densely populated city proved to be a potential threat to the historical sites found in St. Petersburg.
Some of the leading causes stem from urban development and political and influencers with resources to expand their territories. In addition, there have been some troubles with the preservation efforts due to poor infrastructure requests to UNESCO that poorly define the needs and importance of continued support and maintenance of these timeless cultural sites.
Many famous heritage sites have been destroyed in urban development and expansion because of the technicalities found in contractual agreements in heritage landmarks and buildings that do not often allow for certain phases of reconstruction and restoration projects. Moreover, an even simpler complication is the structures’ natural weathering and climate erosion beyond the repair and upkeep possible by preservationists.
Lastly, the recent potential threat of social and political unrest within the city due to oligarchical power demands and threats of war and combat via the present Russian leader could be just as disastrous to the monuments and sites. In all, St. Petersburg officials, preservation organizations, and heritage groups urgently need to remodel and assess potential measures on how the historical community can continue to maintain the story and collective history of St. Petersburg and that of the Russian nation.
Naturally, societal pressures will overpower the requests and desires of humanists. However, the concept of rethinking how preservation is maintained and carried forth in the city must happen. One solution that could be implemented is emphasizing digital preservation for some of the more fragile and physiologically susceptible sites, monuments, and archaeological structures.
Given the more permanent option that digital preservation provides, this option benefits the city’s legacy. It would make the material and resources more accessible for future generations if housed and preserved in practical places.
Another possible solution would be to decide which restoration and preservation projects are worth carrying out due to financial and location constraints.
Although not readily mentioned, dealing with the concept of time and lifespan are intangible factors that many preservationists and efforts must contend with. The presented strategy has considered many monuments’ natural progression over time and lifespan. However, this practice is more easily carried out theoretically than in actual terms.
If the idea of cultural heritage preservation is actively important to preservationists, tourists, and others interested in the cause, then for this concept to progressively continue, it would require realistically identifying key sites and places that are more relevant to savage rather than trying to preserve the mass.
Overall, many are learning through strategizing and creating efforts towards cultural heritage preservation that complex decisions are required to maintain cultural heritage.
Rather than pushing efforts to save everything, it is essential to remember that although there are losses that will be sustained in cultural preservation, the rewards and gains that are also possible can be found within the act of responsibly preserving history so that there will be lessons available for future generations to reflect. Holistically it is more important to salvage some history than to lose all of it trying to maintain everything remaining.
Arkansas State University Shanita Sanders
I Am Shanita Marie 