Today those voices out of bondage seem to transmit what is now meant by “soul.”[1] Arna Bontemps
Celebrating my Son in Heaven on his Birthday #Griefjourney #LifeafterLoss
I love my son Ricky so much. I wake up thinking of him and he is my last thought before falling off to sleep each night. Now that he is in Heaven...
Upendo Rising: On Gratitude— #NewYearsDay
***Upendo means love in Swahili The above picture was taken on December 26, 2020 when I was doing some winterbirding on Mattamuskeet Lake, Hyde County, North Carolina. Birding is something that I have recently come into as I navigated my grief journey. Birding makes me happy because my son loved birds very much. His favorites … Continue reading Upendo Rising: On Gratitude— #NewYearsDay
Grieving in the Time of the Pandemic- How Cyber-organizing Can Help Communities of Grievers| Grief Support Protocols
Hold space. Holding space means be with the griever in a nonjudgmental way. Be there but do not push, listen, and make statements that show your support. Avoid the wording “I understand” unless you have suffered the same loss. Try to say “I am so sorry you are going through this and I am here to help you with what you need.”
Punitive Landscape: Geographies of Escape and Concealment
This essay assesses relevant sources in the account of Ann Clarke’s escape from slavery with a view to examining how the political landscape of the Kansas Territory impeded or facilitated her escape. In identifying the zones of containment, concealment, and wayfinding this paper will illuminate how enslaved freedom seekers and their abolitionist allies circumvented the punitive landscape of Kansas Territory.
1857-Ann Clarke Escapes Slavery in the Great Plains
The hope? To illuminate how enslaved freedom seekers and their abolitionist allies circumvented the punitive landscapes within the antebellum Great Plains.
#Grief 60 Day Check-in
But beyond the many beautiful things I know of my son from his time on Earth I now know that as his mother the ways that I cope with Ricky's transition will mark my transformation in the After.
#Geography and Institutional Barriers: GEO’s Elimination at Harvard-1948
The publication of “Academic War Over the Field of Geography” by Neil Smith sent shock waves through the discipline of geography’s academic community. Smith’s purpose in writing the piece was to begin a conversation about the state of geography through reclaiming the history of the Harvard debacle.
The New Census Interface: Tutorial #CensusGeography
American Factfinder has been retired and it happened on March 31, 2020 in the midst of COVID reality in the United States.
Rare Books and Grief Work
A bit of research excitement- I managed to get my hands on an extremely rare book that was published by the Norfolk, VA Historical Society in 1968.
Message to followers of my blog: Bereavement- UPDATE
My heart hurts. It is a pain I can’t ignore. I have lost my son. Because of this time of intense grief in the wake of my son's passing I will likely not post again for some time. Please keep my daughter and me in your prayers. Obituary for My Son Ricky Gerard Dawkins, Jr., … Continue reading Message to followers of my blog: Bereavement- UPDATE
Slave Narrative Set in the Great Dismal Swamp Now Available on Audiobook: Moses Grandy’s Life
For Moses Grandy, his end in telling his story of enslavement was to reveal the horrors of slavery as he experienced it as well as use the proceeds of the sale of his book to purchase his enslaved children’s freedom who had been sold further south into Louisiana from the Virginia/North Carolina border.
