Joel Chandler Harris defies racial tensions in Jim Crow south

ATHENS, Ga. -- Brer Rabbit plots his revenge on Brer Bear and the other forest creatures, changes racial relations in the south, and puts a cap on stereotypes all before bedtime.
Assistant English professor Amanda Gailey’s speech “Race and Gender in Children’s Literature of the Gilded Age (1865-1909)” Friday afternoon compared the works of Mark Twain and Joel Chandler Harris, exploring the racial and gender-bent implications of both authors’ works and their relationships with their illustrators. While Harris has all but disappeared from the literature studied in schools across America, his bravery in resisting the mob-terrorism implemented by whites across the country shortly after the Civil War exhibits his open-mindedness and respect for those of all colors and creeds, even in a Jim Crow middle Georgia.
“We are not proud of this legacy, but, arguably, that’s why we need to study it,” the Oklahoma native said while sipping her hot coffee.
Joel Chandler Harris was deemed a racist by his critics, while Mark Twain was given the benefit of the doubt, with scholars deeming his works as “sophisticated critique of racism.” Twain’s tales of young white boys going out on endless adventures, escaping the domesticity and femininity of home do not serve as brave an attack on racism as Harris, according to Gailey. In fact, Harris’ embrace of the home-life lifestyle and his humanization of black characters in his stories offered him the chance to develop a platform of tolerance and respect between the races.
Gailey cites Harris’ magazine Uncle Remus Home Magazine as another source for Harris’ heroic efforts to curb racism in the Jim Crow south. Using A.B. Frost as his illustrator over renowned E.W. Kemble, illustrator of Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Harris was able to soften racial stereotypes of African Americans. While Kemble’s illustrations were those of opossum hunts and blacks with enlarged lips and eyes, Frost used a more dignified approach to his illustrations, giving African Americans subtle features and making them seem more realistic than Kemble. Kemble’s blatant racism is prevalent in his illustrations, and Harris’ choice of Frost gave African Americans a distinguished picture in society, which Harris hoped would improve race relations within his reader base.
Harris’ feministic and domestic approach to his stories, magazine, and illustrations are, according to Gailey, why so few Americans recognize this author’s contribution to society. His welcoming and nurturing style attempts to limit the loss of “social alternatives to etiquette” that happened to children as they grew up in this period. The love for an African American caregiver quickly faded in the forthcoming years as children began to be taught by their parents who to respect, and who not to respect.
“Man has no business to outlive his youth,” Gailey explains. “The retention of youth is key for possibility.”
So maybe next time you curl up to read your children their bedtime stories, you can let imaginations run in Technicolor, instead of black and white.

Emerging Issues in the Consumer World

Searching the Athens Yellow Pages for restaurants will result in approximately 350 options. But how well does a consumer know what they in fact consume? Oscar Garrison, of the GA department of Agriculture, questions.

Garrison is the Assistant Commissioner of Consumer Protection for the Agriculture Department. On Thursday, he gave a speech on the emerging issues in agriculture and food defense in the Auditorium of the Ecology building.

“This is your issue.” Garrison said,”At some point it becomes the consumers’ job to help themselves.”

According to a recent CDC study, every year 1-in-4 Americans get sick with a food-borne illness. In addition, 325,000 people are hospitalized and 5,000 Americans per year die of a food related illness.

People in many cases aren’t aware of what they consume. Bacteria, viruses and parasites can be introduced to an innocent person’s food directly or by association and can be intentional or accidental. “Although there are many rules and regulations at this point, it still isn’t enough” Garrison clarified. There are simply not modern means to completely protect the consumer. To explain the difficulty of locating one bacterium in 25 grams of food, he used the analogy of locating a golf ball in 25 cubic miles of garbage. Again he explained that although he and his associates do their job as best they can, the food industry and agriculture will never be completely safe.

America, although not completely safe, is still better off than many places world wide. Garrison recalled a visit to Shanghai, China in which he witnessed unregulated open-air and wet markets where conditions were completely unsafe and unsanitary. Cultural differences and customs make things such as lack of temperature regulations, lack of toilets and no facilities acceptable there.

In a diverse location like Atlanta, many things can still ‘slip through the cracks’ Garrison explained. In the last year alone, the Agriculture Department has shut down distributors on Buford Highway for attempting to sell skinned dogs, guinea pigs and illegally-imported clams for consumption.

Not only are small personal trade products getting into the country without notice, but a recent issue with counterfeit products and melamine-contaminated products has arisen. Melamine is an organic base, that when consumed in small doses is not harmful, but it is still toxic and in certain situations can cause fatal kidney stones.

In addition to the melamine products, in the summer of 2007, a Chinese company imported pre-packaged fish labeled as ‘grouper’ which actually turned out to be Asian catfish. Catfish is a farm-raised fish which is full of hormones and antibiotics. This fish passed through customs without testing because of the deceptive labeling.

Garrison points out that even American farmers can be deceptive for their own profit. This past year’s tomato scare ended in thousands of tomatoes going to waste and hundreds of farmers losing money. There were actually no contaminated tomatoes at all, but in fact the scare resulted from a Florida farmer importing Mexican peppers, repackaging them and reselling them for over double the price he paid.

The United States Department of Agriculture recently gave the University of Georgia a grant to write guidelines for GA food producers, transporters and distributors. Garrison was a key participant in the award of the grant and hopes to use it to further protect consumers.

“The speech was sort of scary” said 21-year-old Jenna Porto “It really opened my eyes to risks I didn’t know existed. I definitely plan on being more careful in the future.”

Being careful is about the only thing a consumer can do in present day according to the speech. “You have to stop, look, ask and know.” Garrison said. He reiterated, “This is your issue.”

Walk the Road to Peace

By: Tina Romero

ATHENS, GA—Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a perfect peaceful world where war and destruction did not exist? Unfortunately, our world is engaged in hundreds of active wars, children are dying of starvation on a daily basis, there are thousands of nuclear weapons and we are allowing our planet to rush toward destruction with global warming.

Rev. John Dear, spoke at the University of Georgia’s Catholic Center last night and urged his audience to “walk the road to peace.”  

Rev. John Dear is a Jesuit priest, pastor, peace activist, organizer, lecturer, retreat leader, and the author of 25 books on peace and justice. Along with the fact that he is Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, John Dear has been arrested more than 75 times. He has spent more than a year of his life in jail. He has been mocked by armed U.S. soldiers standing outside the doors to his New Mexico parish. All this because he so fervently believes in peace.

During his speech, John Dear encouraged people to think about their life journey and how to contribute to a peaceful future.  By sharing many of his life stories, it is easy to see why Rev. Dear is such an activist. 

He left his Jesuit high school and attended Duke University where he joined a fraternity, and in turn dropped all belief in God.  He told the audience how he heard a story about a Professor that gave out A’s if the students participated in a community service project. It was then that he had his “life changing” moment.

For the community service, Dear traveled out to the boondocks in N.C. to visit an isolated prison where the men were locked up for life.  After speaking and visiting with the prisoners several times, Dear said he saw their true pain and suffering.  It was then that he started to believe in God again.

With his great enthusiasm and sense of humor, Dear joked that his parents were horrified when he told them he was going to become a Jesuit at the mere age of 21.  But that did not stop him. With his new conversion to Christianity, he decided to live out the Beatitudes of the nonviolent Jesus in every dimension of his life. 

Dear’s beliefs are very similar to those of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  He urged the audience to use non-violence as a method for social change and to consider every human as his or her own sister or brother.  He said, “Do not live passively, but actively love and persistently reconcile with everyone you meet.” Dear then proceeded to make it known that war does not work and it solves nothing.

Even if you are not a Christian and if you support war, Rev. Dear’s life story is very inspiring and convincing.  He truly follows the teachings of God and is committed to his peaceful lifestyle.  One story that Dear spoke about was his involvement after the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11^th.

He began volunteering as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the whole chaplain program. He worked with about 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.

After all of his radical peace movements and after finally being off the watch of the government, Dear now lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country.  He is currently promoting his autobiography titled A Persistent Peace, which he said his family made fun of him for publishing due to the fact that he is only 49 years old.

Rev. Dear graciously thanked the audience for attending his speech and left them with this quote, “Love your enemies, don’t nuke ‘em.”  

Potential of Indigenous Studies

After over 22 years of heated debate, The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.

“Prior to that, we were simply accidents of history,” Dr. Roger Maaka explained as he spoke to an audience of over 50 students in the Miller Learning Center on Wednesday, detailing the struggles of keeping Native American Studies curriculum relevant in today’s educational system and explaining the importance of the emergence of Indigenous Studies. “As a scholar and indigenous person, there are intellectual and social challenges about what makes our field relevant to all people.”

Maaka, a Maori scholar and a professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, was invited to speak at the event sponsored by the Institute of Native American Studies.

Maaka described how the consequences of imperialism in earlier centuries led to the creation of what are now the indigenous people of the world. One of the effects of that expansion was to push those people into geographically marginal locations that were unappealing at the time. Ironically, however, these are the areas that have become prime resource sites. They are also prime conservation sites. “That means whether states like it or not, they have to engage with those populations,” Maaka explained.

Because of global issues including the energy crisis and conservation of resources, Maaka believes indigenous people will certainly remain relevant rather than simply political fare. “We’re right in the middle of all of this. You cannot discuss such global issues without talking about indigenous people and their rights.”

While Maaka described the challenges that face indigenous people, he also addressed the hurdles his field faces in the academic arena. Maaka explained that while most fields can trace their genealogies back hundreds of years, the field of indigenous studies is just under 40 years old, years he labels as the formative era.

“40 years is not a long time to build up a faculty. The founding professors have now all retired, and there may be a few survivors, but they are certainly not publishing. Most have been preoccupied with survival, not advancement.” This, he believes, has had serious implications. It affects the volume of publications, not only in depth but the breadth as well.

Maaka believes those in his field have two choices. The first is to accept the status quo and an undetermined future. The second is to create a distinctive intellectual identity that has relevance to academic institutions and the indigenous worlds. Clearly preferring the latter option, Maaka said, “I would argue that this is incredibly important for our respective peoples. That we not only remain in the public eye and academic structure but we should also become a major intellectual force.”

While he believes his field is in a much different place from where Native American studies first started, Maaka still believes there is much progress to be made. “We’re not limited by the bounds of any academic discipline, what we’re limited by is actually the living communities,” he says. “Where they go, we must go. If we do not do that, we are no different that the very forces that marginalized our people in the first place.”

On the other hand, Maaka is proud of the progress that has been made. After the United Nation’s accepted the Indigenous People’s Declaration of Rights, Maaka is certain that decision changed many people’s perceptions of indigenous people and made them more relevant in today’s culture. “After a 40 year formative era, I believe we can and will accept whatever challenges come our way.”

How Black Female Rockers 'Kick Open' The Door To Music

Mental images evoked from the sounds of Rock-music typically don't embody a Woman.

Nor an African American Woman.

These words were lyrical symbolism to Dr. Lesley Feracho's lecture as she spoke to an audience of 20 about her interest between women and Rock-music. Sponsored by and held in the African American Cultural Center, Feracho's expertise in Romance Languages and African American Studies was the perfect ending note to the Apero Africana Brown Bag Lecture.

Approximately lasting the length of a C.D., Feracho's lecture expressed the idea of womanism and a woman's place in rock-music. She focused on three social change perspectives rooted in black women: anti-oppressionists, vernacular, and communitarian.

"These three aspects are used to emphasize the idea of unity within a community, the every day use of music, and oppose different types of strategies," said Feracho as she kicked open the doors of acceptance -- particularly involving female African American musicians -- to her audience.

Feracho used biographical information and audio clips from African American Rock-artist Cree Summer and Trina Meade, lead singer of Three 5 Human. These two women encountered a lifestyle full of racial discrimination and sexism. Two elements that made it difficult for them to prosper in the music industry. And even more difficult for them to make it in the Rock-music world.

"The theme present in these artist's songs is the celebration of an identity that played with, defined, and subverted norms for black women and musicians," said Feracho.

The songs "Curious White Boy" and "Boots" by Cree Summer were chosen by Feracho to aid her analysis. These two songs address social issues of not just black women, but women of all color. According to Feracho, the lyrics of these songs were written based on Summer's personal experiences alluding to the idea of "voice" and communication.

"The idea of the voice enhances the idea of the autobiographical mind and connects the listener to the speaker due to subjectivity," stated Feracho. Her focus on these two songs by Cree Summer was to portray the strength of optimism African American Rock-musicians possess due to the historical lack of racial neutrality.

Accompanying Cree Summer, Trina Meade and her Rock-group Three 5 Human also play a loud role in the Rock-music scene. Their name itself strives for the ending of racism while their band composition unifies sexes. Named after the Three Fifths Compromise of 1850, Three 5 Human is made up of two African American men and one African American woman who, together, unmask the idea of previous social image assumptions.

"Three 5 Human's song 'Jenny' uses the concept of naming and brings to life the topic of sexual abuse and dehumanization of a being," said Feracho. The lyrics in "Jenny" tell a story from an outsider's perspective of a young girl in need of a new start. The repetition of the word "run" in this song depicts the mentality of Three 5 Human and how they seek to continue "running" and working hard to break the norm and get their voices heard while unifying all.

Feracho's lecture was far from a "one-hit wonder" and left an overall positive affect of her audience. Ending with an informal conversation over snacks and refreshments, Feracho encouraged her audience to seek "different ways to break down the doors."

No longer Rock 'n Roll, follow African American women musicians and Rock 'n Kick down the doors to music equality.

Internationally Acclaimed Scholar Bridges Generation Gap and Explains ‘The Way We Have Become’

“John Nash,” Ihab Hassan said to a silent and captivated room, “He is the guy Russell Crowe played in A Beautiful Mind.” A sigh of understanding swept over the auditorium.

The 84-year-old scholar managed to communicate his thoughts quite artfully to the young University crowd. Mainly he was able to explain the vain world he believes society exists in today.

His lecture, entitled The Way We Have Become, focused on modern society’s obsession with perception and appearance. Hassan discussed, “How everything in America now must seem or appear, not be.”

He explained in terms of metaphors and relations to pop culture and the recent election.

Hassan described America’s mantra as ‘appearance is everything’ which is, according to him, echoed in everything around us. Appearance is everything in politics, economics, and even the arts.

He proposed that the United States has become a cultural mistrust; that its citizens thrive on scandals, scandals of church, state, celebrity, etcetera. “Have Americans really lost the will to believe?” he asked the 75 students and faculty in the Park Hall auditorium Wednesday.

“I thought the lecture was amazing.” said Justin Smith, a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia. “He really made his complex concept understandable. I thought it was extremely interesting and I’m glad I came.”

Hassan was visiting the University of Georgia as a Wilson Center Artist. Betty Jean Craig, director of the Wilson Center, described him as a personal ‘intellectual hero’. The Wilson Center Artist is an honor of intellectuals, artists and scholars in which its recipients are nominated and voted on by faculty.

This year, Stephen Corey, editor of the Georgia Review nominated Hassan. Corey described Hassan’s works as groundbreaking and inspirational and introduced him saying “I have known him for 40 years, and yesterday, we met.”

The Cairo-born literary theorist’s concept of postmodernism is internationally renowned. He simply wants society to return to a time of trust, truth and hope.

The lecture’s attendees were nothing but respectful and receptive to his speech. During a question and answer session after the lecture, one attendee inquired “But, how do we get away from this reliance on perception?” “Like this” Hassan replied.

Scholar Says Everything Is Not What It Seems

In a world in which marketing determines appearance, Ihab Hassan questions what is real about a person and what is just perception.

Hassan, a literary theorist born in Egypt, spoke in front of a crowd of more than 70 people in Park Hall on Tuesday about the importance of maintaining a sense of individuality in a society based on buying and selling.

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, an organization that invites distinguished lecturers to speak every fall at the University about scholarly and creative issues, sponsored the event.

Hassan was nominated by Stephen Corey, the editor of the The Georgia Review literary journal, to speak about the current issues facing a modern society.

According to Hassan, one of the main problems that Americans face is the people’s dependence upon perception, which is not truth but a “surfeit of seeming” instead.

“My concern here is the thinning of the self when perception defines reality, when mirrors line the walls,” Hassan said.

Hassan questioned who people really are as individuals and what people believe in a world where the appearances of things are more important than they actually are.

“I think there’s an urge for truth and a longing for trust,” Hassan said. “We have perceptions all the time but without substance. We love ourselves with the mantra ‘appearance is everything.’”

Hassan believes that people betray their inner self when they view themselves and others as what they seem rather than what they actually are.

According to Hassan, marketing is the main force in America today that drives people to focus on appearances rather than truth.

“We even sell by pretending not to sell,” Hassan said. “It’s called marketing and we buy in a trance.”

He believes that society the way it is today uses advertising to sell things to people that they don’t need by making it appear like something that it isn’t.

“Nothing comes out of nothing,” Hassan said. “That is the language of marketing.”

Companies will try to market their product in any way possible to their advertising audience through phone calls, internet pop-ups, and unsolicited e-mails, according to Hassan.

“Spam is a corruption of marketing, and marketing a corruption of giving and taking.” Hassan said. “They both undermine trust.”

When all relations are based on buying and selling, something is wrong, said Hassan.

Hassan also mentioned that social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, also encourage people to focus more on appearances and perceptions rather than truth.

“I think it just kind of articulated things that are already kind of obvious to people around America today,” Meg Souza, a 20-year-old from California who attended the event, said.

Souza, whose road trip with friend Jeff Grandinetti led her to Athens, said that she heard about the lecture from a campus magazine and thought it sounded interesting.

“It was just nice to hear someone say what you’ve thought about for a while,” Grandinetti said. “Hearing him describe the way everything is bought and sold, it’s just such a weird world that we live in.”

While the two were surprised that Hassan did not speak more directly about capitalism and were a little confused by the lecturer’s choice of words, they appreciated his insight.

Corey, who was more familiar with the lecturer’s speaking style than others, had read many of Hassan’s books on postmodernism and human perception when he was younger and knew that he would not be disappointed by the lecture.

“There’s no such thing as an idea too large for Ihab Hassan,” Corey said, as he introduced the speaker, “and that’s one of the great things about his ideas and his writings. He takes on everything.”

Others appreciated the lecturer’s visit as well.

“I learned about postmodernism from his books, so I’m really excited he’s accepted our invitation to come here,” Betty Jean Craige, the director of the Willson Center, said.

Hassan is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin and has written many books on postmodernism, such as “Radical Innocence: The Contemporary American Novel,” “The Postmodern Turn: Essays in Postmodern Theory and Culture,” and “Selves at Risk: Patterns of Quest in Contemporary American Letters.”