Interview with a Black Literature Professor

In Black Women/Black Literature Joanne Kilgour Dowdy interviews Christina McVay about her experiences as a professor of “Black women and Black literature” (pg. 87). Throughout their interview, the reader is able to gain insight about McVay’s thoughts on the richness of Black Language.

            The interview begins with McVay explaining to Dowdy how she “stumbled” (88) into the Pan-African division of the English Department. McVay explains that this opportunity came while she was at a bar one night talking to one of the professors from the English Department. She explained to him her desire to teach Black students about Black Literature, “It’s White me standing in front of a White classroom” (pg. 88). Towards the end of the conversation, the professor invited her to teach in the Pan-African division when an opening became available.

            The statement that McVay made about her being White and teaching White students about Black Literature as if it were some foreign subject, reminded me of the Spanish classes I used to take in high school. This statement reminded me of my high school Spanish classes because, all of my teachers, except for my last teacher, were either White or Black. When they taught us the language and the culture they spoke as if it were completely different from American culture and language. However, when my last Spanish teacher, who was Puerto Rican, taught the language she was more personable.

McVay’s statement left me with one question. When teaching a subject, should one of the parties involved (either the students or the teacher) have a personal experience with that subject? I asked this question because it was not until she began teaching Black students about Black Literature that she really discovered the richness of Black language thus realizing that the black community is, “One of the communities that has the greatest oral dexterity is the Black Community” (pg.89).

“To Protect and Serve”: African American Female Literacies

“To be successful in environments where White middle class values dominate, Black females must learn the language and literacy practice of style shifting/codeswitching” (Richardson 691). Style shifting or codeswitching is an important concept in this passage. “Codeshifting has been defined as ‘a shift between different language systems. It refers to the change between overall dialect systems, such as that between a standard and vernacular dialect’” (Richardson 691).

This particular passage is important because I have found myself in various situations where I too have had to “codeshift.” I have realized that I "codeshift" quite often. I had to do it when I interviewed for a paid internship with Fears Nachawati Law Firm (where I am the only black employee), and I also have to "codeshift" at church. My pastor taught us about “codeshifting.” At the time I did not know the name for it, or that there was a name for it. He taught us not to use “slang” or vernacular language in the pulpit, but to use proper English and to pronounce our words. I believe that this is important because it is a major focus of all black parents for their children not to feed into any of the black stereotypes that whites have for us, but to exceed and excel and to break the stereotypes.

This passage was compelling as well because in the reading by Leoni C. R. Smith she discusses how in an all white environment while she was getting her bachelor’s degree her white peers could not understand her either because of her vernacular or her accent. This reiterates why it is importance to be able to switch between the two so that people can understand you and so that you can better communicate.

Storytelling and It's Effects

In Storytelling, the authors present to the reader the various reasons for why stories are told in African American culture. In this essay Franklin and Dowdy show the impact that storytelling has had on them. Through the stories that are told in this essay and the explanations that follow, I was able to see the purpose of storytelling.

            The authors begin the essay with a section entitled The Timeless Nature of Stories. In this section a story called Tongue Brought Me Here is told, first from the perspective of Franklin’s father and then from her childhood pastor’s perspective. Tongue Brought Me Here allows the reader to see one reason why storytelling is used. This story is told to teach children the importance of talking excessively. “The theme was a cautionary tale about the consequences of talking too much” (Franklin and Dowdy pg. 120). This story made me wonder if any of the stories that we have been told have subconsciously affected us in some way similar to the way that the “mother tongue” (Elaine Richardson pg.677) shapes a child’s perspective.

            Dowdy’s story about her stress as a result of her sister’s illness, stood out to me. This story impacted me because I, like Dowdy often times do not deal with my stress properly. After reading Dowdy’s story I discovered that the body aches that I experience sometimes (such as tension in my neck) may be due to stress and not handling it in a healthy manner. Her story allowed me to better understand myself by forcing me to look at the source of my stress and the effects that it has had on me.

            Overall the essay left me with two very important questions.  First, should we integrate storytelling into our daily lives? Second, is storytelling a better stress reliever than exercise?

“To Be Black, Female, and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation” by Leonie C. R. Smith

    “Education, we are told, is the key that opens the imaginary door to success…is supposed to uplift us from misery – to improve our economic situation in life. However, the path to acquiring an education and advanced academic literacy is fraught with difficulty, and opening the door to success comes with a price.” (Smith 183)

   The quote mentioned above is one which sums up, “To Be Black, Female, and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation”, by Leonie C. R. Smith. In her short story, Leonie Smith gave readers a personal insight on her life growing up and the role that education played within her life. As a young girl, Smith grew up in Antigua. Education was of much importance to her family after her grandparents fell victim to an “obeah woman”, due to their illiteracy. After the horrible events that followed her family, Smith began to excel in education. However, Smith’s academic excellence came with a price, as she had to live her new life in the United States, with strong feelings of alienation and the ill-mannered attitudes of the surrounding majority.

   This short story reminded me of the idea that immigrants who come from a less fortunate background, tend to value education a little more than the average person. Moreover, it gave me more of an understanding of the importance of a woman such as Smith, gaining an education. Women are forced to face the “glass ceiling” and education is often the key to overcoming this said “ceiling”. I have two female best friends, one of which is from Ethiopia while the other is from Sudan. Both of my best friends exhibit a distinctive work ethic. Similar to Smith, their drive comes from their family expectations and the current situations in their homeland. As African American females we understand that literacy and education is the key to success. On account of the three of us attending a majority White high school, we’ve experienced the feeling of being different and feeling out of place. However, we have always encouraged each other and as a result, we continue to work towards becoming successful African American women.