A Poem for the Brown Janitor Woman

"i see You"

While others pass you by
as if you don’t exist,
Benefitting from your labor -
floors baptized by your mop
just to be touched again by our soles.

Your dignity is radiant
You who are brown
and yet invisible to most
But I see you…
Yes, I do.

Folks in America kick and scream
complaining that you rob us
of good and decent jobs.
Because of you, they say,
papa hasn't worked in years.

But apparently
no one signed up for the
janitorial position that you have.
Because they are to busy watching you clean,
But I see you.

Dedicated to the brown woman that I observed cleaning the Princeton Junction train station on 1.31.07...

What do you think?

"When citizens feel themselves excluded, it is appropriate that they lobby, petition, attract the interest of government and employers. But when Americans organize into subgroups, it should be with an eye to merging with the whole, not remaining separate. What was the point of the Negro Civil Rights movement of the early twentieth century, if not integration? The trouble with today's ethnic and racial and sexual identifications is that they become evasions of citizenship. Groups beget subgroups."

-From Brown: The Last Discovery of America by Richard Rodriguez

Is Mr. Rodriguez correct? Should we, Americans, strive towards brown - impurity - mestisaze - or should we drift into separatism?

Good question: Any thoughts?

My Birthday and other updates....

So today is my birthday...31 years under my belt and I feel pretty great!!!

New news...I just received word that two papers that I wrote our being published in peer reviewed journals...Theology & Sexuality and Black Theology: An International Journal...cool right...I'm pretty excited! Two more papers are under review and I am awaiting a yea or nay...trust me, I know all about the nays...

I also will be presenting at 2 conferences...one is an international Queer Studies Conference...in Mexico City, Mexico...the other will be at the Univeristy of Rhode Island...

So I am pretty amped...and inspired...I will keep all five people who read this blog updated...haha!

After the Holiday is Over: Post-MLK Day Musings

On January 15, we celebrated the legacy of one whose very life contributed to the construction of a “new” America, Martin Luther King Jr. Some took the time on that commemorative day to reflect upon the consequential lessons of yet another chapter of American History in which hatred and prejudice served as the foundation of civil laws and uncivil conduct while others considered where we stand today. Yet, after our rest-filled or activity laden day off and commemoration we must ask: Are we still devoid of vision and hope for a better today and greater tomorrow? Are we to keep dreaming or should we maintain the resolve, that in our global world, the poor, disenfranchised, and marginalized have already overcome? I contend that our global community is in dire need of “dreamers” who will continually critique the social structures of our global community that inhibit peace and justice so as to carry out the legacy that the great Dr. King began.

Presently, many speak of Dr. King’s “dream” as nothing more than a sensationalistic flash in American history, a moment reminiscent of the social tremors of our discomforting past. For most Americans, life as we know it is fairly perfect. We no longer force any racial group to sit in the back of the bus nor do we publicly humiliate other human beings or allow our public servants to brutally attack those who seek to peacefully protest. America is no longer that two-faced country that exists as a nation founded upon the democratic principles of “freedom and unalienable rights” while simultaneously forcing some groups within its borders to live under inhumane conditions. Today, we have moved beyond those shortcomings or have we?

What issues would Dr. King force us to re-envision and dream about today? Would Dr. King be comfortable with the increasing role of violence in our society, in our global community, as a means to end conflict (i.e. Iraq war)? Would Dr. King support any group or faction, religious or secular, that fails to openly demonstrate true love and regard for others (i.e. gay and/or lesbian individuals)? Would Dr. King remain silent as larger continents like Africa are devastated by the AIDS virus and smaller countries like Sudan experience political upheaval and civil unrest? One would only hope that Dr. King would remain consistent in his moral grounding and respond to any of the aforementioned with the same passion as he approached the question of civil rights. Nonetheless, the task is left to us to dream and to act in accordance with Dr. King’s legacy.

Thus, MLK day is a national holiday that serves as a charge for us to consider the legacy of a great American leader. Moreover, it serves as a reminder that we must perpetually seek to situate ourselves, as participants, within his “dream” daily. Participating, in what I think, is a dream that points in the direction of the here-and-not-yet Kin-dom of God. A kin-dom actualized by through Christ and the participation of human kind. Alas, this one national day of reflection should propel us to action during the other three hundred and sixty four. Hail to Dr. King and hats off to the bearers of the dream who live amongst us today!