Ohio State

Review of the Month: Hillbilly Elegy

I read “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” by J. D. Vance because it’s been talked about on the radio and in many of the magazines I read. It’s also very local, describing people who live within a 100-mile radius of me. I felt I owed it to the community to read it and it might explain the politics of Ohio in the last Presidential election.

It’s hard for me to put a finger on how I feel about the book.

I struggled to get through the first 50 pages and then put it down. I came back to it and started in again on Chapter 11 when Vance began as a student at Ohio State. He’s lucky, as he says over and over again, to climb out of his home culture. Something rankles, however.

Maybe it’s the presumption as I read through the words that a hard home life belongs uniquely to the poor, white culture of Appalachia. Maybe it’s the way he defines Appalachia. I’ve lived and worked in rural poverty in Maine and that, to me, is as Appalachian as it gets even without a Kentucky twang.

Maybe it’s page 226. It’s about the only time in his entire book he refers to any research literature and there he talks about ACES or “adverse childhood experiences.” He lists the possibilities:

  • Being sworn at, insulted or humiliated by parents
  • Being pushed, grabbed or having something thrown at you
  • Feeling that your family didn’t support each other
  • Having parents who were separated or divorced
  • Living with an alcoholic or a drug user
  • Living with someone who was depressed or attempted suicide
  • Watching a loved one be physically abused

Two things strike me here. My score on this scale is worse than his score, and my family is not from Kentucky. There are worse things that happen in childhood than appear on this list. Vance tries to say at the end of the book, that what goes wrong here can be fixed, mostly by caring adults.

I read in the Columbus Dispatch last week that Vance is moving to Columbus. For all I know, he may end up living in my neighborhood. I’m not sure what he intends to do with his Yale law degree here, but I hope if he becomes active in the community, he will visit with some of our faculty in EHE.

Our faculty, many of whom are experts in the fields Vance has written about, would be happy to share their insight on the problems faced by those living in poverty.

Building community together

On. Jan. 31, I attended the 45th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration featuring Angela Davis. I recalled the firebrand I saw in the 1960s. My church congregation sent funds to support her legal defense. Today, she is an internationally recognized activist, academic scholar and author who advocates for the oppressed.

I was moved by her message about Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address and her description of the more “mature King.” After the March on Washington, he spoke out against the Vietnam War and racism, militarism and materialism.

During her keynote, Davis acknowledged the injustices that all corners of our country and globe face. To say that it was food for thought is to put it mildly. Davis called on all of us to act because “now, we have a chance to stand on the right side of history.” It echoes King’s call:

“We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

I hope you will join me and members of the Ohio State community in attending one of the many United Black World Month events that will allow us to build community and explore the diasporic experience.

Click here to see the full listing of United Black World Month events, including “Fighting Islamophobia on Campus and Beyond: A Conversation.” Also, be sure to read on for exciting news about our very own Rudine Sims Bishop and her newest honor.

Celebrating an EHE champion

Rudine Sims Bishop

This month, Professor Emerita Rudine Sims Bishop, Teaching and Learning, was named the recipient of the 2017 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement by the American Library Association.

Bishop has significantly influenced the growth and appreciation of multicultural children’s literature on an international level. Her globally cited publications have inspired movements for increased diversity in books for young people. Moreover, her work provides the basis for the best multicultural practice and inquiry for students, teachers, writers and publishing houses.

At Ohio State, Bishop taught children’s literature courses from 1986 until her retirement in 2002. She directed doctoral research, chaired the Language, Literacy and Culture program and co-chaired the university’s annual Children’s Literature Conference. She won numerous awards, including the university’s Distinguished Service Award.

This June, Bishop will receive the Coretta Scott King Award at the library association’s annual convention in Chicago. I couldn’t be more proud to call her my colleague.

I hope this month we, as a college and community, continue to “fuel the fire and sustain the vision” of the many influential African American leaders throughout our history.

Sincerely,

Lessons from “Missoula”

Missoula1The book Missoula is a wakeup call about sexual misconduct on college campuses, including violent assault, drunken behaviors, campus judicial systems, police behavior and the legal process.

Last Thursday, the College of Education and Human Ecology and the College of Social Work partnered to hold a discussion about the book which is authored by John Krakauer (Doubleday, 2015).

Our discussion focused more on Ohio State and the future rather than the book per se. We recognized that sexual violence is a problem.

National polls estimate that 1 out of every 5 women are affected and 1 out of 16 men during their four years on a college campus.

Those numbers translate into about 10,000 Buckeyes who are affected by sexual violence, if the estimates are correct.

 
Our discussion group also expressed feelings of anger, fear, frustration, admiration (for some of the book characters) and inspiration, as drawn from the book.

We discussed what amount and what kinds of trainings are available on campus, what other needs exist and the pervasive theme of alcohol across nearly all incidents.

The most interesting idea I learned last week is that many young men are learning how to relate to a woman through (violent) pornography.

Therefore, they may not know what appropriate sexual behavior is.

 
It puts a different spin on what sex education in schools might address.

By the end of the evening, there was widespread consensus that Krakauer’s book might be appropriate to use with college-bound high school seniors.

EHE and the College of Social Work will continue to hold more conversations.

Our ultimate aim is to prevent sexual assaults in the future.