I'm baaaaaaaaaack.

Hey friends. It's been awhile. I'm sure at this point any readership that I had gained is completely lost. So now my blog will return to the original purpose of a journal or (web)log: to document my thoughts, ideas and dreams. I can't believe that I have been in Bloomington for over a year now. More over its even more difficult to believe that I am now a full month into the semester. Time is flying by!

So here is what's going on in my life (the abridged version):

I am now President of the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), a graduate emissary (check out my other blog click here), tutor at Bethel A.M.E, Men's book study leader, graduate assistant, and student. Needless to say my life is pretty busy at this moment, but life is good. My life at this point is a series of highs and lows. This past week has been a high.

The reason? Well I'm glad you asked. I have been taking a Religious Studies class that has been kicking my butt. Well I felt like this week I had a break through. We were discussing Hegel's work Reason in History and I was able to make some great points in class. The previous four weeks I think I said a total of four words.

Also BGSA is very active and we are building a reputation on campus. I am excited about potentially being an organization that uplifts the Black community at IU. Finally (to top all this wonderfulness off) I have upgraded to a smart phone. I think I am now ready to face the world. Enough thoughts for one night. Well almost I got one more thing. If you don't know David Stovall you should check him out. His is my new academic role model. Check out the video below to understand why.

Cheeseburger & Paradise

Sad day team. I just found out that the place that welcomed me to Bloomington is shutting down. That's right Cheeseburger & Paradise is closing. Let us have a moment of silence for the wonderful Jimmy Buffet inspired- karaoke/eatery.  

My feelings about the BGSA election...

Those aren't really my feelings about the election. I just love this clip. But people better get ready for the new regime coming into BGSA. Don't underestimate us, because all we do is win.

Two months...

Wow I am really bad about this blog thing, but I am back. Here is the quick update on my life. First I am almost done with my first year of my PhD. It has flown by waaaaaaaaaaaay too quickly. It really does seem like just yesterday that I was packing up my car and leaving Texas, my family and most importantly my girl. However at the same time much has happened over these 8 almost 9 months that I have been in Bloomington. One of the greatest revelations that I've had over this year is that PhD students are necessarily smart. Don't get me wrong there are some brilliant students doing amazing work, but they are the exception not the rule. Most of us are simply dedicated students that have the ability to endure the academic grind. Anyway... here are the latest updates in my life.

Right now I am very stressed out about our first semester review. In my program after you complete your first 18 hours, the professors in the program meet and critique your work up to this point. It is really a mechanism to identify weak students and "support" them, which usually means asking them to leave the program. I don't know how true that is, but I am nervous about the process. They ask us to explain in 4-5 who we are, what we have done, and how we plan to reach our future goals. Many of these questions I am still grappling with and have no definitive answer, and even if I did it is doubtful all those things could be properly described in 5 pages. So I appreciate your thoughts and words of encouragement.

This week I received two wonderful pieces of news. First, the sun was actually going to make an appearance this week. That may seem insignificant to you, but we have seen nothing but gray skies and clouds for the past three weeks. I am ready for summer. The spring here is ridiculous; cold, dreary and rainy just about sum it up. I can't wait to get out in the sun. Second, I was just elected President of BGSA and selected as Graduate Emissary. Now I will blog and get paid for it! I'm super excited about connecting Black graduate students to IU and supporting them through their experience with BGSA. My friends Carl, Seth and Tia are the executive officers in BGSA and we are gonna shut it down this year.

This summer I am very excited. The month of May I will be in Texas. I have an internship at TCU working with Daron Turner, he is a senior student affairs officer and the chief diversity officer for the institution. I'm hoping to learn a little more about what he does at the university. The internship will also be paid. Which I am ecstatic about. The details are still being worked out but suffice it to say that God is good. I can't wait to be back in Texas and see all my family and friends. Indiana has been wonderful but I need another shot of Texas to get me through this next academic year. If you are in the lone star state, hit me up I'd love to see you. I got to get back to work. Hopefully I'll hear from you all soon.

Heartbreak

The Episcopalian Church, Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has put together a great devotional for lent. I started it this week and have really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a devotional I would strongly encourage you to check it out.

The devotional readings this week were really powerful. One in particular was a short scripture from Joel 2:12-13. In verse 13 God commands the children of Israel to commit to a strange practice. He commands them not to rend their clothes (as was their custom), but rather in fasting, weeping, and morning  rend your heart. This reading penetrated my heart. Recently I have done things, such as volunteering to work with the youth at church, to seem as though I am a good person (rending my clothes). When what God wanted from me is my heart, rent and torn to pieces.  He wants to be the mender of my broken heart. I need only allow him to break and put it together again.

Ash Wednesday

First off let me say how embarrassed I am to have not posted at all the entire month of February. Instead of writing a full blog entry I tweeted some of the happenings during black history month. Quick side note I went to the State of Black History Month Forum. The event was moderated by the great Dr. Khalil Muhammed. The discussion lasted about two hours and the conversation keep reverting back to this fundamental issue of Black identity. Dr. Muhammed tried to steer the conversation towards a broader understanding of Black history but no one could discuss at length who are the key history makers that should be lauded during this month. Is the month of honoring Black figures irrelevant in an assumed post-racial United States of America?

Two things I drew from the discussion (1) Even college students don't really know Black History. When he asked for students to share some key leaders (outside of the usual Rosa, Martin & Malcolm) students stammered. So we desperately need to connect all students to the history of Black Americans. (2) College students need a safe space to regularly discuss their racial identity. That was the only issue discussed at length during the forum. Students that commented seemed to be subtly asking the deeper question of "When and where is it ok for me to express (or explore) my blackness?" I am currently working with Eric Love to create a safe space for student to continue the discussion on the issue of race and ethnicity.

So today is Ash Wednesday, and I attended Trinity Episcopal Church for the imposition of ashes. I love the inclusive nature of the service. The homily given today emphasized the loving and merciful nature of Christ. He gently reminded us that the reason for the ashes is "not to remind us of our sinful nature, but it is a reminder of who we belong to." It was a powerful moment for me, a time to remember that my life is not my own. He breathed life into me forming me from the dirt. From ashes I was made and to ashes I will return; God's possession and his beautiful surprise. 

For Lent I have decided to give up facebook and Twitter, they are an addiction for me. Here is the back story. In the library this morning I was explaining the significance of Lent to some of my friends and we all decided to give up some technology. My friend Jasmine has decided to give up her cell phone for one week and twitter for the forty day period. We discussed it and these forms of social media reify pseudo-social connections. Instead of making online friends we are seeking to spend time with real people.

Finally I am looking forward to the next forty days of self-examination and repentance. My hope is that I this season of Lent will help me form habits of critical reflection and self-examination. What are you giving up for lent this year?

P.S.

On the eve of my first days journey into the self imposed wilderness of lent, strangely I am filled with joy. I think it is because I know that around the world my brothers and sisters are preparing their hearts for the resurrection and for the life that will spring from this symbolic journey into death. For me there is comfort in community and redemption in the wilderness.

Thanks be to God!

Mic Check - a year in review

"Hello? Is this thing on?"

What's up friends? I'm embarrassed at my blogging capabilities (or lack thereof). It has been over a month and a half since my last entry. It has been reported that the blogosphere has fallen into a deep state of depression due to my prolonged absence. Well folks I'm back. Not with new years resolutions (because I don't do resolutions I just do stuff), but some reflections on 2010. The past year, quite frankly, was a blur. It was like I went to bed January 1, 2010 and woke up on January 1, 2011. Here are some notable things that happened in the year 2010:

• I was admitted into graduate school (VA Tech & IU)
• Quit my first professional job at Baylor
• Moved to the midwest in an awesome three day trip (shots out to Matt Fulmer and the Henkelmanz)
• Participated in my first Habitat House Build
• My brother Jason got married (and I missed the wedding)
• Threw an impromptu bachelor party for Jason (with the four brothers)
• Spent several hours in the Stay Wired Coffee/Computer Repair Shop
• Experienced an epiphany in an old kitchen on 309 South Jackson Street, in Montgomery, Alabama  
• Watched my best friend and his family move away to Asia
• Attended ASHE for the first time and realized that becoming a scholar is within my reach
• Played in the snow in both TX and IN
• Made new friends in Indiana (Carl, Tomika, Eric and Teanna)
• Discovered I have the best girlfriend in the world

These are just a couple of the major and minor happpenings in 2010. I can't wait to see what's in store for 2011.   

One Month Later...

Wow! I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. So much to catch up on so little time. So here is the Cliff's Notes version:

• Went attended my first ASHE (post forthcoming)
• Experienced my first heavy snow in Bloomington
• Spent Thanksgiving away from home for the first time ever
• Finished my first semester of grad school relatively unscathed
• Used my ice scraper for the first time.
• Baked my own cookies

Saturday I head back to TX, and I can't wait. This semester has been great, but I have not seen my family in months and I miss them. Will write more later. Peace!

The Anthropology of Scripture

Saint Benedict "The Moor"
Patron Saint of African Americans

For years I have been trying to read the Bible from cover to cover, and all my attempts have been unsuccessful. The pattern is as follows:

Week 1 - I create (find) a schedule to read the Bible in a year. The first day I read not only the first assigned reading, but in order to get a head I will read the next's days reading as well. This pattern of reading and getting ahead will last the first couple days.

Week 2 - I will get distracted by something that must be completed and miss a day or two of readings.

Week 5 - I have scaled back my plan to read only the old testament

Week 6 - Switch to the new testament.

Week 7 - Plan failed! abandon ship!

I am starting again to try and read the Bible in a year. Hopefully at age 28 I have picked up some tricks that will allow me to complete my readings.

Years ago when I tried to accomplish this the goal was much different. In my mind I saw reading the Bible from cover to cover as a mark of piety. In my Evangelical Christian circles I could lay down that badge of honor, "I've read the Bible from cover to cover." This time its different. My focus is not to plow through the book just to say I've done it. My goal this time is to read the text, and try to piece the grand narrative of the scripture together. I am interested to see what themes will emerge as I read with new eyes a very familiar book.

This week in my proseminar class we discussed the role of anthropologist. Dr. Bradley Levinson summed it simply. He said the role of an anthropologist is to study our own distinct cultures in hopes that we can render the familiar as strange. As I read the Bible over the course of this year my hope is that the familiar would become strange,  and this ancient text would produce new thoughts, new questions, and new perspectives on my life under examination.

The Autumn Leaves

Friends here are a couple pictures from my first fall in Bloomington. Enjoy!

Outside of my apartment

On the road to class

Outside the Wendell Wright School of Education

Trees on Campus

Front Steps of the School of Education

Video Blog

So Carl and I are creating a weekly vodcast on our history of higher education class. Since his Toshiba webcam was not working we decided to give my awesome Sony Vaio a try. Well as we were trying to find the appropriate file, I came across this gem from the summer...

So even though you didn't request to be featured on the blog, I could deny the world of your awesomeness from this summer. Also any video featuring Coco is a must see.

Getting Baked in Bloomington

If you ever come to Bloomington, there is one place you must visit. It is called Baked. It is a cookie shop where you get to create your own cookie. It is a three step process. First you choose dough for your cookie: oatmeal. sugar, chocolate or peanut butter. Then you choose your fixins - you can choose anything from traditional chocolate chip to crasins. And finally you can chose an afterbake which is actually a candy bar added to the cookie after it is done baking.

The design of the place reminds me of Common Grounds in Waco. I met my friends Carl & Dominique. Dominique is a first year law school student and a recent Notre Dame graduate. She is destined for big things. We arrived at 9pm and ordered our cookies.

I went for the oatmeal white chocolate, walnuts, and crasins. It was DELICIOUS! There is something about milk and cookies that just puts me in a great mood. We end up staying at Baked until 2am. We also met Travis, one of the managers and chatted with him about the cookie shop, religion and life in Bloomington. It was nice to connect to someone that lived in the city prior to becoming a student.

As we left he loaded us up with a ton of cookies for free. Needless to say Baked is a place I will frequent for the next four years.

Game Night: In a hundred and forty characters (or more)

SO... I finally finished decorating my apartment. Check out Mel's facebook. I think she has some pictures posted from her trip. My apartment is a little over 750 square feet, so I have a little space to host guest. I invited my classmates Tomika, Carl, Teanna and Seth to come play games.

We decided on dominoes, unfortunately Teanna did not bring big six dominoes she brought the big ten dominoes and no one knew how to play. So we just matched ends. It was not really all that fun. It deprived me the opportunity to talk noise, and try to impress my new friends with my domino skills. After a couple games of dominoes we switch to Phase 10. It was a good night. Carl, Seth, Tomika and Teanna are all interesting people. As we played games it gave us an opportunity to get to know each other.

Carl is my best friend here in Bloomington. We clicked right off the bat and spend time together daily. It is good to have a good guy friend again. In Waco my best guy friends from college moved away, and I struggled creating deep relationships with other men. Carl and I have that potential.

Seth is SOOO young. He just graduated college in 2010. He went to Oberlin and was an RA their. He is the baby of the group, but he really is very mature for his age. I can't wait to get to know him more.

Teanna has white skin but really embraces black culture. She made the transition from being Catholic to C.O.G.I.C (if you know Donnie Mcclurkin he has roots in the holiness church), she was an African American Studies major, and dates a Kappa. 

Tomika is an IU allstar - she just had an article on the black athletes development as a student. Google her. Also she did her masters at IU, so she knows everything about this campus.  I am excited to get to know these folks better. I think they will be an essential part of my community here. And for that I must say God is great!

Cheeseburger & Paradise (Karaoke Edition)

It has been over a month since my last post. I know- totally slacking. So in an effort to redeem myself the next couple will be short vignettes about my second full month in Bloomington. Enjoy!

Pop quiz blogging friends. J.T. moves to new town. What should be his first outing in the city:

A. Take in a concert at Bluebirds (One of Bloomington's live music venues)
B. Go see a movie at one of the AMC theaters
C. Sing Karaoke at Cheeseburger and Paradise with friends in the HESA program
D. Go out? I didn't know doctoral students left the library

If you answered A, B  or D, then you clearly do not know me at all. The correct answer is yes (shouts out to KP). I love to sing karaoke, and that is just what happened. [On a sidenote the first car I owned was a 1989 Ford Probe that I named Emily (R.I.P 2003). It was for sale by owner so I took it for a test drive and checked out all the functions. It had an aftermarket pioneer cd player professionally installed. It was sweet! Unfortunately the AWESOME cd player had a Jimmy Buffet cd stuck in it. So every time that I got in the car I would hear the song cheeseburger and paradise (think How I Met Your Mother episode  arrivederci fiero).]

I arrived at Cheeseburger and Paradise around 10pm, and met up with several of the other graduate students in the HESA program. Folks had already begun drinking and sing karaoke. Two people in particular had tremendous voices: Brian Mcgowan & Whitney (I can remember her last name. Let's just say Houston - pre Bobby and crack).  Brian and Whitney sang a duet of one sweet day. It was phenomenal. All the new HESA doc students had to perform. I considered doing one of my all time favs  (Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye), but I decided to go with Journey - Don't Stop Believing.

 Now I am usually a little nervous whenever I perform, but this time I was literally shaking before the track started. So I took a deep breath and got into character. I grabbed the microphone and kept repeating to myself, This is Journey - I can't lose. As soon as the music started the crowd cheered and sang along. It was great! You know before I came to Bloomington I didn't really see myself being able to meet new people and have fun. I thought I was going to bury myself under a mountain of books and never see the light of day. But the students I met at Cheeseburger and Paradise give me hope for some semblance of a life away from doc student work. Here is hoping.

Labor Day

WARNING: this blog post contains strong academic references and textual innuendos. Reader discretion is advised.

I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day. Unfortunately I did not get the day off and had class this afternoon from 1pm-4pm. It is a course on the history of higher education in the United States. It is a great course. Today Dr. Walton laid down the foundations for the course. We discussed the impact of the Colonial Colleges on higher education. One of the main books we use for the course is Rudolph's Curriculum. 


It is a good read. Instead of chronicling a linear history with dates and important names Rudolph focuses on the interplay between the curriculum and key constituents in higher education (students, faculty and society). By focusing on the curriculum Rudolph provides a unique lens through which we can (re)interpret the prevailing narrative of American higher education. 


We had a great discussion about how have great thinkers of the past defined education, and are there thoughts about education still relevant. The quote I picked was from Bernard Bailyn and he said, "Education is the entire process by which a culture transmits itself across the generations" (Education in the Forming of American Society 1960). My partner Yang said that the quote is only true for the dominant culture here in America. Oppressed and minoritized populations often times must reliquish their own culture in order to participate in the enterprise of education. The text from our readings this week even bear witness to that fact. Charles Eastman was the first Native American graduate of Dartmouth. About his educational experience he said:


I renounced finally my bow and arrow for the spade and the pen. I took off my soft moccasins and put on the heavy and clumsy but durable shoes. Everyday of my life I put into use every English word that I knewm and for the first time permitted myself to think and act as a white man.


What do you all think about Yang's critique of Bailyn? Do you agree? I'm interested to read what you all think. 

Grad Assistanship

Today I finally figured out what exactly my Graduate Assistantship is and what my responsibilities are. I met with Shanna Stuckey. She is the project coordinator for the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education (CUME) and it is this wonderful department at IUPUI that is paying the bill for my graduate school.

Quick side note: I had a mini heart attack last week when I got my Bursar bill. It said that I owed nearly $8000. I freaked out. I thought I just quit my job, left the only place I've ever lived, moved up to Bloomington, bought new furniture and signed an apartment lease. This would be a horrible time to find out my tuition and fees are not covered. A word of advice: if you are attending a public school and you are not a resident of that state, make sure that your contract covers not only tuition but fees as well. I had not asked that very important question. So I sent a very panic stricken email to Shanna, and waited to hear back from her. The next day she resolved the issue, and my bill went from $8000 to $350. Thanks be to God (Shanna & CUME too). Sorry - the quick story was a little longer than I had anticipated, but I digress 

So I am working at a research center on the campus of IUPUI, and I am very excited about it. My course work is at IU-Bloomington which is more of the traditional four year college. IUPUI is urban and has a good number of non-traditional students pursuing several different degrees. The best program at IUPUI is the Medical School which this year will become the largest medical school in the nation.

CUME oversees and around 30 different programs. Our ultimate goal is to create a sustained partnership with institutions that are interested in furthering scholarship in the area of urban education. Our largest grant comes from the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system. Over the past four years, our program director Josh Smith has been successfully building more bridges with IPS  The program for which I will serve as student lead is the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship. This program was designed to bring working professionals back to the academy to teach STEM programs in secondary, middle and elementary schools. The program is funded at IUPUI by a $500K grant from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. My job will be to assess the Fellows, IUPUI Faculty and teaching mentors in the program. Currently I love working for CUME. I couldn't dream of a better working environment. I'm hoping my work at CUME will help me to become a better research and a more knowledgeable scholar.

Firsts

I've been in Bloomington for almost a month now, and my transition into Bloomington and the midwest have been fairly seamless. People in Bloomington remind me a lot of people in Texas. Most people I have encountered (both inside and outside the university setting) have been very friendly, courteous and helpful. Today as I reflected on my current and future endeavors, I thought for you (my faithful blogging audience) I would put together a list of firsts for me in Bloomington. So here is a short list of things I came up with. This will be the first time:

• I have lived in a state other than Texas
• I have lived alone
• Have no family members within 100 mile radius 
• Be a student at a public university 
• As an alumni I will miss Baylor's homecoming
• I will not be able to eat at Ninfa's or Vitek's
• As an adult I do not have a full time job
• I will be one of a handful that refer to soft drinks as "coke"
• I will experience the four seasons (can't wait for fall)
• Attend a Big Ten Sporting Event
• I will no longer have a TX Drivers License and TX license plate 
• I will not drive home for Christmas or Thanksgiving
• I will be able to buy Gino's East frozen Chicago-style deep dish pizza
• My home airport will be Indianapolis International (NOT DFW/ Love Field)
• I will not be able to lead incoming freshmen in a Sic 'Em Bears
• I will not see my girlfriend every weekend

Many of these first I'm excited about (see: Chicago-style deep dish pizza), but others on the list are going to take some getting used to. Well that's all for today... Talk to you all soon.

What's in a name...

Shakespeare's character Romeo asked the poignant question, what's in a name? that which we call rose by any other name would smell as sweet. This name business is why for so many years I avoided diving into the blogosphere. If I were going to blog it was imperative that I create a blog with a cool name and an even cooler look and feel. Currently I have failed on both of those fronts, but my wonderful girlfriend will help me remedy the look and feel problem next weekend... hopefully.

So while I don't love the name of the blog it does hold some significance. It is a reflection of my current mind set and status in life. Sojourner Truth is one of the most amazing African American women in our nation's history. Born Isabella Baumfree she was able to escape her oppressors and fight to liberate herself. Immediately after gaining her freedom she petitioned for the emancipation of others slaves. Later on in life she was commissioned as a traveling preacher by the methodist church, and took up the new name Sojourner Truth.

In addition to this blog paying homage to the abolitionist and suffragette. I also wanted the name to reflect an element of my faith. Through out my life I have always felt that this place is not my home. That I am merely passing through. Like Abraham I am a stranger in a land unknown to me. I also wanted my blog title to have an element of wandering and searching, because for the next four (or five) years I will be a journeying as a stranger in a new land. My goal is to seek out truth wherever it may be found. So what's in a name? Hopefully  a lot. 

Welcome

So I did it! I finally did it. I made my first official blog. And if you are reading this, then you are a person that is important to me.  This blog is a way for me to keep you posted on what is going on in my world, and to also share the musings of an young man with an old soul. So enjoy!