J. Relerford

ATLANTA born. HOWARD bred. Lover of Black books, Black talk, Black folks. Perpetual student. Wingin it at all times.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

Check out Monos! https://t.co/Gh3uWjGdtW

[SchomburgCenter @SchomburgCenter]

Know of a person from 11-18 years of age would be interested in studying at the #SchomburgCenter on Saturdays? The online application is out for the 2021-22 class of our Junior Scholars Program. The deadline is Sept. 14.
https://t.co/zq4by7YIk7

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

3 weeks. Everything Zora. What a ride. #HurstonontheHorizon #HotH @TheZNHInstitute

[alexandria frank @franklyalex_]

I truly believe @HowardU doesn’t realize the magnitude of the mistake they are making in getting rid of the Classics department.... they’re on the kick of devaluing the humanities to prioritize STEM and it can only hurt Howard students

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Kenya_D Ashe. 😌

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Lexi_Caly The Binti trilogy

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

If someone had told me around 06-07 when I was sitting in @DWill5’s class and she was lovingly but firmly fussing us out about our half-assed responses to “The Field and Function of the Negro College” that I’d end up co-writing a piece with her, I’d have laughed at em. An honor.

[The Langston Hughes Review @LangstonReview]

@DWill5 & @JimishaIman fascinating essay review of Zora Neale Hurston's #Barracoon will be published in our upcoming tribute to Hurston and #BlackLove guest edited by @aykiha & @drjelks. The special will be published next month.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@TysonG45935477 This idea of "story activism" is compelling! How is this like (or different from) so-called "hashtag activism?" Does "story activism" involve an even lower degree of involvement?

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 What trauma, exactly? BE SPECIFIC. Langauge as a coping mechanism is an interesting topic for discussion...

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 Who are the "New Negroes"...???

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 Were they completely erased though? Those languages are still spoken in West African countries, and many of their grammatical structures and a good bit of vocab lives on in AAL and other African-inflected languages spoken across the diaspora. How are you defining "erasure?"

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 Smitherman answer this question in Ch. 1. What does she tell us?

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 What do you mean, here? Black survival in what contexts? What standards of living, exactly? Are you thinking about a specific text? Be more specific. (Y'all will be tired of hearing me say that by the end of the course. 🙃)

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 We might ask why ANY language needs to be dissected. Why do we need to understand how a language works?

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Madisyn39814542 We talked about this in class some, but historically, the language has been marginalized and denigrated. Part of what Smitherman did was challenge that by showing how it's a legitimate language with its own history, rules, and structures.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@NylaJ45959298 But it's also interesting that when speakers see other speakers attempting to "write out" something that's pretty standard AAL usage, we usually know exactly what they mean.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@NylaJ45959298 It's definitely difficult to represent AAL in writing because it's such an ORAL language! You see this all the time on social media.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@NylaJ45959298 Both Smitherman and Gilyard and Banks definitely analyze the language, but where have you read a text (in this class or outside of it) arguing that the way we speak should be taught?

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@NylaJ45959298 Do you have an example or source where someone says "That's just the way it is" when other languages are taught? All languages have a history and structure that can be studied. This is exactly what folks in linguistics do.

[J. Relerford @JimishaIman]

@Zmas150 What do you agree with, exactly? What does this quote explain? Dig a little deeper...