Savoring this from Toni Morrison. “We really have to learn to love thinking again. Not fretting, not worrying, but thinking. Life really is thrilling. But many people are unaccustomed to enjoying the problematics of life…you can use your mind to learn, to change things and to think things through.”

Wrapping up a wonderful visit to Loughborough University for the “Constructing Vulnerability” symposium yesterday and the “Entextualization” workshop today. Always grateful to share new work and ideas on Race Talk (📕 loading) @natshri.bsky.social. And I’m leaving with new curiosities ✨. #EMCA

I was so working class and Black and nontraditional that I felt remarkably blessed to write and read for a living. More than once a fancier academic sneered at me about it, like my gratitude was the mark of the beast lol

Leaving soon for a summer research fellowship in England (my first time there!). I’m looking forward to exploring and writing/thinking. But I’m most excited about getting caught up on my reading list. First up: Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry.

anti-Blackness structures social life so deeply even movements that claim to fight oppression often reproduce anti-Black assumptions without realizing it.

Here’s something I will say about books, social media, and media more broadly: People are more interested in Black anger and pain than they are in Black joy People love engaging with me when I’m angry and sad and are far less engaged when I am happy and finding joy in something

I'm not as down on students pursuing PhDs as some folks, because there are legit reasons to do so, but you have to have a research reason . Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss. No one is going to call you doctor anyway. 😂

"The Future Will Prove Us Right." These are not easy times for climate activists. An interview I did in 2023 with the Chadian activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim. Happy Earth Day. #Greensky #Africasky #climate culturescapes.ch/en/magazine/...

“Black people who play video games talk about the games in the terms that they are familiar with, then other, non-black people who play games pick up these terms and run with them.”

If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s , it’s pretty surreal to see anybody on the right calling for teen pregnancies. These are also just Nazis, but it’s still weird.

“Importantly, we must reject all talk about policing and the overall criminal punishment system being “broken” or “not working.” By rhetorically constructing the criminal punishment system as “broken,” reform is reaffirmed and abolition is painted as unrealistic and unworkable.” — Mariame Kaba🌸🌸🌸

Spring is finally here.

On top of everything else going on I simply cannot text with someone on android right now. Please respect my issues. (This is vague posting my family group chats)

you have to let go of or seriously critique your idea of democracy if you were raised in the U.S. or other Western countries.

The paper “shows that women, particularly those early in their careers, were disproportionately affected by terminations, even though they receive less funding from the NIH in general.”

It was a great choice to wake up early Saturday morning to hear Professor Kishonna Gray talk at the Critical Play conference. 😍

Proofs! @natshri.bsky.social ✨

The people who only read shorter pieces in the past read nothing now, they only watch videos. The only readers left are those who like reading, and they’ll read anything.

Some people get mad when I say that most people don't actually know what to do so you have to offer ideas for what people can do. But I remain right about this.

I personally like it when people who have never had to work a third shift job a day in their life like to tell me how elite I am. It’s a top ten favorite.

REMINDER: Body cameras do NOT stop or even influence law enforcement’s practice of abusing Black and brown bodies. Indeed, U.S. policing originated as armed patrols for hunting and killing or capturing enslaved Black people who’d escaped bondage. Racist abuse is part of American law enforcement. 🇺🇸

I think we may be calling too many things “mutual aid” and it could use some clarity.

Sometimes I just randomly shout, “TO WHAT END!”

The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.” That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.

Pro-tip: if you reduce your circle to only people who have ever asked a sincere question of you that expresses any curiosity about you at all, you will have fewer friends but also better sleep.

A few books into the year, and so far my favorite is Adebayo Oluwayomi’s Foundations of Black Epistemology: Knowledge Discourse in Africana Philosophy.📚

Friends, Claudette Colvin—the 15-year-old who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in March 1955 & joined the federal case against bus segregation that went to the Supreme Court — died today at age 86. But there are lots of myths and mis-impressions about her. A short corrective thread:

Sadly, there are many errors in the @nytimes.com and @washingtonpost.com obituaries on Colvin. Please read Phillip Hoose's award-winning Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice for more on Claudette's Colvin life and courage.

Colvin stopped straightening her hair after the May trial. She was NOT pregnant when community leaders decided not to go forward with her case. She said the only adult who kept up with her that summer was Rosa Parks who wanted her to continue to be involved in the Youth Council.

It would appear I am now a columnist at Inside Higher Ed. My first piece focuses on McCarthyism, censorship, and our current moment in higher education. This is an essay I started nearly 6 months ago so I'm glad to finally share it with y'all. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

Truly.

As we enter the New Year remember fear of making bad art is holding you back. Fear of people not liking your work is holding you back. Rejection is holding you back You'll make bad art, you'll have people not like your work, and you'll be rejected. Moving past it is half the job of being a creative

Hey so, if a [white] person self-identifies as an “ally” to Black people, it’s safe to assume they are NOT one. Anti-racist allyship is something ✨others✨ identify within the vanishing few who exhibit it. Kinda like someone insisting they’re funny—it’s an assessment more accurately left to others.

I haven’t gotten a single OOO email reply. Everyone is still working! We are in a RECESSION, y’all.

(slow, deep breath) Woosah. Okay, then. Moving on.

I am writing an entire academic book with my own critical thinking skills and orginal research. Nothing is touched by GenAI. Outlines, summaries of secondary sources, finding said sources, thinking though organization, writing, re-writing, cutting material. All of it done by my own human brain.

How come every time I mention my Black experience, I get a few replies with what about (other marginalized groups)? What makes you feel I’m that limited in my understanding of oppression, especially considering my job and what I teach?

Done* with meetings for the year and started holiday prep. And now reading my first 2026 book: Critical Health Communication: Theory and Practice edited by Sastry, Zoller, & Basu. www.routledge.com/Critical-Hea...

As everywhere: carolinapublicpress.org/73953/cultur...

is this a presidential address or a QVC ad

Behold: the first-ever list of news outlets that have banned generative AI in their reporting. As of today, this is literally information that you cannot find on Google. My goal is to fill the starter pack, so please send over suggestions with supporting evidence! go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT

🗣🗣 You betta tell em Victor (If you've never read The Racial Contract, strong recommend)

Stop linking affirmative action to discrimination. You are looking for different words to describe white men getting preferential treatment. Try racism or sexism. The things affirmative action rectifies.

What sounds like “human” writing can never be disentangled from the fact that most of the world’s population has never been considered fully human by mainstream institutions

Indiana and Michigan 😵‍💫

Final lecture of the year is done! Still need to grade 😶.