Voices from within the Veil Conference

 

I've been attending a conference entitled "Voices from within the Veil" at which scholars are examining the political initiatives taken by African Americans since the founding of America. This conference is one of a series that marks the commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown, and it is taking place in Norfolk, VA, at both Norfolk State and the Sheraton there. Having a conference focus on this one topic is rare, and I've been loving it (as this is also the focus of my own scholarship).

I'm hoping I can figure out a way to post the presentation I made yesterday about Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell and the ways in which they influenced and helped to shape the messages of W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

Pictured here is a view of the Virginia Symphony and Norfolk State Univerity Concert Choir. They presented a spectacular concert last night that included spirituals, sorrow songs, dance and dramatic narrative. My favorite was the choir's unique rendition of In Paradisium. Congratulations to Norfolk State's Concert Choir Director Carl W. Haywood who (my husband will be pleased to know) received his doctorate from USC.

Training report

A little known fact is that I am training for the St. Louis Half-Marathon (takes place at the same time as the St. Louis Marathon on April 15). Having trained (poorly) for a half-marathon before, I know full well how important it is to build my mileage. My last venture ended in injuries that have plagued me for nearly eight years, now. In part this is because I was in terrible shape- three babies in six years with intermittent training during that time- but also, I didn't stick very well to my training program (probably because I wasn't in any shape to stick to it).

In October (2006) after the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation Bridge Run (across the MLK Bridge that spans the Mississippi River and links East St. Louis and St. Louis) at which I ran a pain-free 5K, I decided I was up for trying this challenge again. On the advice of my marathoner sister-in-law, Kathy Holden, I am using a training program from a sensible book called Marathoning for Mortals.

I spent October - December trying to be consistent and building a good base of mileage, and I was quite successful. Then, the two worst enemies to my training raised their ugly heads - first, my kids got sick; then I got sick. Still, I was able to start the actual 14 weeks of training mostly on time in January, but once again, last week I became quite sick for almost a week.

Nevertheless, I am proud to say that I got my six mile run in on Saturday (on the treadmill at Korte). By the end it was clear that I need to stay for a few more days on Coach (the good doctor) Fennoy's tonic: half Pedialyte, half Gatorade, as I was suffering quite a bit from dehydration. Further, I'm proud to say that today I got in a 50 minute run outside on the GC track, and I felt good - much better than Saturday, and I ended strong.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can continue injury-free (thanks to Mike Toolen from Running Start Sports for recommending the Brooks Radius that are working so great for me) and healthy, along with my kids.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation Dancers at Gospel Fest

A highlight of Gospel Fest was the dance performance of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation Dancers under the direction of Ms. Ruby Streate. These fifteen or so dancers are part of the Healthy Steppers, a group of seniors who meet several times a week for dance and movement classes (that Ms. Streate teaches) at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center. The oldest dancer among them was eighty years old. Their performance was wonderful. These two words best describe them: inspirational, elegant. I'm so glad they were able to come and share the evening with us. (Ashley and I found it difficult to get good pictures at this event, but we tried!)

Gospel Fest, 2007

The Greenville College Gospel Choir (pictured here) hosted their annual Gospel Fest on Friday, February 15. An eclectic mix of music and dance, the evening was sacred (I especially enjoyed the spirituals sung by the GC choir) and rock'n. Who knew that Dr. (Bishop) Boyd had some James Brown moves? Seriously, congratulations to all of the students who worked so hard to make the evening happen, as well as Michelle Griggs and Will and Vida Boyd. Hopefully, this event will continue to grow in the coming years and receive the recognition it deserves.

Valentine's Day, 2007

Yes, this is my family at McDonald's in Highland, Illinois for Valentine's Day. This is about as good as it gets in the metro Greenville area; especially as we try to squeeze track workouts in between snow, ice, work and school schedules. Humble as it was, we had a nice time.

Getting Started

As a first impression, starting a blog seems a rather unlikely thing for me to do for a number of different reasons: 1) I'm already sooooooo busy. Why would I want something else to maintain on a regular basis? 2) I'm a fairly private person for whom public declarations do not usually come easily. Why would I assert my thoughts into this relatively "public" space? Hmmm . . . good questions.

During a week of being housebound due to illness, I spent some time updating my technological skills (tinkering with my laptop as an alternative to dying of boredom). In that process I began visiting a blog (www.brendanloy.com) that my husband, Dave (pictured here with me), has been visiting for a few years. Brendan, the Irish Trojan, has great journalistic skills, and I find his coverage of the idiosyncracies of Notre Dame and South Bend life to be quite amusing. (He is a law student there, and I received my Master's degree there over twenty years ago.) As I regularly checked in on Brendan, I became quite impressed with the degree to which his blog also allows him to stay in touch with family and friends, as well as engage with other people about specific interests that are obvious passions of his. So, I must credit Brendan for being my inspiration.

I hope this blog accomplishes many of the same things that Brendan's does for him. My friends and family are on both coasts and everywhere in between. Often, my routine day doesn't allow me to touch base with even dear friends and family who are closest to me in proximity (my friends in East St. Louis and my own parents), much less my brothers (Scott in Philadelphia and Tim in Seattle), my sister (Susan in Carmel, CA) or the California Holdens (Kurt, Kathy and The Cousins - Erin and Jack; Grandma Vicki, if she'll ever touch a computer, again). Also, with each class of my college students whom I've seen graduate, I have wished for ways of staying in touch with them, letting them know how the projects we've worked on together are progressing.

Additionally, as a scholar of American life and culture, I am fascinated with the historic potential of blogs. They could actually be a rich source of cultural information for future historians, and, in my little world, something that my family can hang on to for a long time.

There is my rationale. I've chosen the name "esprit" for this blog, as it best describes how I always want to be, "lively of mind and spirit." (Of course, always remaining physically lively would be great, too!)

Ready? Here we go!