It occurred to me after writing the introductory post that some readers might have a reflexive response to my focus on identities. Some readers might interpret this to mean that the blog will be devoted to African American perspectives or advice pertinent only to black academics, despite the fact that I never said or implied that at all. Anyone who reaches such a conclusion, I'd argue, reveals his or her own biases, not mine.
Nevertheless, that point might need some clarification. Folks, it's like this: Black perspectives are human perspectives. My life as a person of African descent affects the way I see the world in ways too numerous to count, but that doesn't mean that everything I see or do is filtered through that lens, nor does it mean that I am incapable of understanding how the world works in a broader sense. Quite the opposite: many Americans are so incapable of recognizing that black lives and perspectives are human lives and perspectives, that they cannot bring themselves to grant a black person's words and ideas any authority. I've encountered this so often within and outside of academia, to recount the stories would simply bore you to tears. This is not to say that I won't occasionally go down that path, of course.
Most of the stories and advice you will find on this blog apply to everyone in the academy. I've attended or participated in so many interviews, committee meetings, panels, receptions, conferences, symposia, colloquia, and other events that allow me a certain insight into academia's workings. In most, I did not consciously attend as an African American qua African American, but simply as yet another participant. Yet my identity often came into play in subtle ways. That additional perspective could be no more than an annoyance or no less than a revealing moment. It depends.
In sum: If you believe I have no authority to speak as I do, then I suggest you bow out now; I can do nothing for you. If not, then continue, enjoy, and comment, please.
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