Image: Detail from X Clan To the East, Blackwards
First, that all of you for a good semester! I hope to see some of you in future classes and good luck with all your academic careers. To conclude everything, a few logistical details then links to some important events.
- Grades will be submitted to CUNYFirst (NOT BLACKBOARD) by Friday May 26. You should see your final course grade online after that. It may take a day to show the changes.
- Because of the volume of work right now, I can’t respond to individual emails for grades. Please use CUNYFirst to check your final grade and ask IT for help you if you can’t access the system for some reason.
- If you want to discuss your final exam or grade, we can set up an appointment to do so during the break.
- If you signed up to receive emails from the course website here, follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of the email to stop them.
- You don’t need to remove yourself from the text message list: I’ll remove everyone
- We’re using the same book next semester. email me if you would like to sell yours to another student: hank [dot] williams [at] lehman [dot] cuny [dot] edu. I’ll put your name on a list for next semester
Major/minoring in Africana Studies: If you’re not an Africana Studies major or minor, consider joining us. It’s also particularly good as a minor or double major and overlaps nicely with English, Sociology, Psychology, Social Work, Education, History, Music and lots of others. The advantage: it’ll uniquely help you fit your work into the Black community and can be a big advantage when on the job market. See details in our department to sign up.
Fall 2023 Courses: For those interested, I’ll be teaching African American History (AAS 245) on Wednesday nights meeting synchronously (in real time) online. It’s designated as writing intensive. I’ll also be teaching 2 sections of African American Literature (AAS 267)–which is writing intensive. One section meets Monday/Wednesday afternoons 1:30-2:45; the second meets Tuesday afternoon from 2-4 PM. No course website yet, but you can email me for details.
Summer event resources
Now for the fun stuff. There are several New York City-area Black events that you can attend yourself and they’re designed to be family-friendly. Here are a few: [Updating as I get more info]
The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s annual DanceAfrica street fair is held on Memorial Day weekend. Vendors with African clothing, crafts, and (hopefully) books and DVDs usually line the streets around their location close the the Atlantic Ave subway complex. It’s a good opportunity to get some things you need, buy some gifts and practice Ujamaa (cooperative economics). Much of the clothing you see me wear comes from this or the IAAF below …
Lots of Juneteenth events around. Yonkers’s African American Heritage Committee hosts an annual weekend of events, including a flag raising at city hall and a parade. Here’s a full list of Juneteenth-related events in Westchester County. There are too many in NYC to list: see the Amsterdam News for listings in the next few weeks.
The annual International African Arts Festival returns to Brooklyn’s Commodore Barry Park (near downtown Brooklyn) over July 4 weekend with dozens of vendors selling clothing, books, art, furniture, and accessories from across the African world and daily/nightly performances, including some children’s-specific programming. Check their website for full details.
Hope to see you again on campus, in the streets, or at an event!