Tag Archives: Identity

“Five Questions” from the book UNAPOLOGETIC: A Black Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers, 2018

August 20, 2019 4:47 pm /

Submitted by: Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Professor, Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Dept. of Africana Studies at John Jay College

This chapter is from the book: Carruthers, Charlene. 2018. Chapter 5 “Five Questions,” pp. 87-110. In UNAPOLOGETIC: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements. Beacon Press.

However, this book is not available in the John Jay Library. To read an interview with the author outlining the five questions click here: “Unapologetic”: Charlene Carruthers on Her Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements

“And so, the five questions begin with the question of “Who am I?” because if you don’t know who you are, what your self-interest is and what your best position to do, you can’t be as effective of an organizer as you could be.

The second question is Ella Baker’s question. Prolific organizer, Ella Baker would ask people the question, when she met them, “Who are your people?” And the answer to that question has so much to do with the work that you do, why you do it and why you show up.

The third is “What do we want?” We have to be clear about what we’re actually fighting for. Are we fighting for healthcare reform, or are we fighting for universal access to healthcare? And I believe that we have to actually make transformational demands, right? And universal healthcare just run by the state, in and of itself, isn’t transformational. I want to live in a world where people actually have, and communities have, self-determination over their lives.

The fourth question is “What are we building?” Are we building a 40-year strategy? Which we need. Are we building a year-long strategy? Are we engaged in electoral politics? Are we doing not—are we doing direct action, civil disobedience? All those things are necessary, but are we clear about what we’re building towards.

And the last question is “Are we ready to win?” And that question, to me, is one of the toughest ones, because what happens when we live in a world, which I believe is possible, without prisons and police, where safety goes beyond prisons and policing, and it’s in the hands, the hearts and the work of everyday people? Are we ready to win that? Are we doing the work that when we actually are able to govern ourselves and our communities, to provide healthcare, mental healthcare, deliver basic needs like food? And so, when I think about the work that we need to do—and I talk about it in the book—I’m really interested in how are we getting down on a 40-, 50-, 75-year strategy, and what are the things that we’re going to do along the way.”

The interview is open access. The book is copyrighted and available to purchase.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , , ,

“Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”, Speech by Audre Lorde, 1984

August 15, 2019 7:17 pm /

Submitted by: Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Professor, Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Dept of Africana Studies at John Jay College

To read online: “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.

Author says: “Much of western european history conditions us to see human differences in simplistic opposition to each other: dominant/subordinate, good/bad, up/down, superior/inferior. In a society where the good is defined in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need, there must always be some group of people who, through systematized oppression, can be made to feel surplus, to occupy the place of the dehumanized inferior. Within this society, that group is made up of Black and Third World people, working-class people, older people, and women. As a forty-nine-year-old Black lesbian feminist socialist mother of two, including one boy, and a member of an interracial couple, I usually find myself a part of some group defined as other, deviant, inferior, or just plain wrong. Traditionally, in american society, it is the members of oppressed, objectified groups who are expected to stretch out and bridge the gap between the actualities of our lives and the consciousness of our oppressor. For in order to survive, those of us for whom oppression is as american as apple pie have always had to be watchers, to become familiar with the language and manners of the oppressor, even sometimes adopting them for some illusion of protection. Whenever the need for some pretense of communication arises, those who profit from our oppression call upon us to share our knowledge with them. In other words, it is the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their mistakes.”

This is a library resource, accessed using the John Jay login. It is from the database Black Thought and Culture and was published in the “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches”, Trumansburg, NY, pp 114-123, 1984,

Posted in: 1970-1989, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

“The Impact of Neoliberalism on the Psychological Development of Low-Income Black Youth” by C. Jama Adams, 2014

August 15, 2019 3:48 pm /

Submitted by: Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Professor, Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Dept of Africana Studies at John Jay College

Read online at: “The Impact of Neoliberalism on the Psychological Development of Low-Income Black Youth”

“This paper is a brief, psychoanalytically informed exploration of youth development, with a focus on the often-negative psychosocial impact of neoliberal ideologies on low-income Black youth. Neoliberal policies have influenced the psychological development of low-income Black youths, who are embedded in psychosocial contexts that are often under-resourced and negatively racialized. This substantially constrains their attempts to love and work. There is often a paucity of safe places, identity capital and caring tutors of the imagination that might facilitate good outcomes for these young people. As a consequence of being embedded in such emotionally austere and unsafe places, they often adopt postures that lead to their under-development and, too often, their early demise. The paper also discusses some strategies of resistance to neoliberal ideology and policy.”

Article published in Culture & Society (2014) 19, 39–46.  The library does not have access to this article. However, the author, C. Jama Adams, is faculty at John Jay and posted the article (author copy) at Research Gate. Free to use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision of the Copyright Act.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Chronology, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

“Our America” by Jose Marti, 1891

August 12, 2019 9:22 pm /

Submitted by: Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Read online at: “Our America”

“This essay was written in New York City in January 1891; published (as “Nuestra América”) in the newspapers La Revista iIlustrada (New York City) on January 10, 1981, and El Partido Liberal (Mexico City) on January 30, 1891.  This is a seminal work of Latin American nationalism, “Our America” argues for the rejection of European and United States cultural values in the forging of racially harmonious and politically stable Latin American nations. José Martí was born January 28, 1853, in Havana, Cuba, to lower-middle-class Spanish parents. The man who would become known as the “Apostle,” and adored by Cubans of all political persuasions was only 17 when he was convicted of treason and sentenced to six years’ hard labor for agitating for Cuba’s independence from Spain. Marti spent his adult life in exile, most of it in New York City, a situation that he grew to think of as his “cup of poison”. While in exile, Marti wrote prolifically for Spanish-language Latin American newspapers, mostly about the United States and the necessity of defending and nurturing Latin American culture, and he organized what he hoped would be the revolutionary army that would at last free Cuba. His essay “Our America” speaks not just to Cuba but to the whole region now known as Latin America. The essay strives to create a new commonality among the people of Latin America, to encourage a sense of unity and self-determination in the face of growing U.S. expansionism. (It should be noted that Marti did not use the term “Latin America,” which would become common only in the twentieth century; rather he spoke of the “Americas” and “Our America.” For clarity, this entry employs the twentieth-century term.)”

Accessed from the Internet. Written before copyright law. In the public domain.

Posted in: 1700-1899, Latin America & the Caribbean, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL) / Tagged: , , , ,

“The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation: Street Politics and the Transformation of a New York City Gang” by Brotherton and Barrios, 2004

August 7, 2019 5:42 pm /

Submitted by: Adrian Bordoni, Adjunct Lecturer, Dept. of Latin American and Latina/O Studies

To view online:  The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation: Street Politics and the Transformation of a New York City Gang

From Los Angeles and New York to Chicago and Miami, street gangs are regarded as one of the most intractable crime problems facing our cities, and a vast array of resources is being deployed to combat them. This book chronicles the astounding self-transformation of one of the most feared gangs in the United States into a social movement acting on behalf of the dispossessed, renouncing violence and the underground economy, and requiring school attendance for membership.What caused the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation of New York City to make this remarkable transformation? And why has it not happened to other gangs elsewhere? David C. Brotherton and Luis Barrios were given unprecedented access to new and never-before-published material by and about the Latin Kings and Queens, including the group’s handbook, letters written by members, poems, rap songs, and prayers. In addition, they interviewed more than one hundred gang members, including such leaders as King Tone and King Hector. Featuring numerous photographs by award-winning photojournalist Steve Hart, the book explains the symbolic significance for the gang of hand gestures, attire, rituals, and rites of passage. Based on their inside information, the authors craft a unique portrait of the lives of the gang members and a ground-breaking study of their evolution.

This is an ebook. It is a library resource found in the EbscoHost database and accessed using your John Jay login. Published by Columbia University Press.

Posted in: 2000 - 2010, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , , ,

“Diversity and Social Justice: A Glossary of Working Definitions”, 2018

July 31, 2019 5:41 pm /

Submitted by: Monika L. Son, Assistant Professor, Chair and Director, Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

To view online:  Diversity and Social Justice A glossary of working definitions

Note: This glossary is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every word and term used in our conversations about diversity and social justice. Because of the way language works especially around these concepts, many of these words and terms will continue to evolve. Even so it can be useful to have a reference that provides basic working definitions that help spur discussions.

Open Access. This was found on the Internet. Published by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. This resource was compiled from existing resources provided by the National Conference for Community and Justice, Oregon State University, Arizona State University – Intergroup Relations Center, and The National Center for Transgender Equality.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , ,

“City Kids” by Maria Kromidas, 2016

July 26, 2019 3:43 pm /

Submitted by: Monika L. Son, Assistant Professor, Chair and Director, Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“City Kids” is only available in physical book format at GN495.6 .K76 2016 in the John Jay library. Introduction and chapters 2,3, and 11 are recommended.

“City Kids” profiles fifth-graders in one of New York City’s most diverse public schools, detailing how they collectively developed a sophisticated understanding of race that challenged many of the stereotypes, myths, and commonplaces they had learned from mainstream American culture. Drawing from more than a year of close observations and interviews with students, anthropologist Maria Kromidas not only examines how we can best support children’s anti-racist practices, but also considers what they might have to teach us.

This is a copyrighted book which is not available as an ebook at John Jay, but is available in the library.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , ,

“Macaria’s Daughter” by Américo Paredes, 2017

March 14, 2019 5:32 pm /

Submitted by:  Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Taken from Google Books, click here: “Macaria’s Daughter”

“Macaria’s Daughter” is from the book, The Hammon and the Beans and Other Stories by Americo Paredes, Arte Público Press, 2017.  Click here for a book review.

Copyrighted. In his stories, Paredes explores the friction that frequently occurs within and between cultures at such points of difference as ethnicity, language, gender, class, and family role. Macaria’s Daughter is a murderous tale of male dominance and female virtue where there is a sacrifice between an altar of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the marriage bed of two distinct cultures. This story is set in south Texas and surprises the reader with the murder of a beautiful young woman named Marcela. She is found in the bedroom, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, 30 to 40 knife stabs decorate her breasts, while the local men gaze indifferently on her lifeless body. 

This is from Google Books found on the Internet. Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , , , ,

“In Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam” by Juana Iris Goergen, 2015

March 12, 2019 3:54 pm /

Submitted by:  Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Click here to read online: “In Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam” by Juana Iris Goergen, 2015.

This study intents to broaden the scope of Puerto Rican literary criticism and to read Nuyorican poetic language as intimately linked to the Island’s oral poets, to Afro-Puerto Rican music, and Afro-diasporic performance cultures, such as bomba, salsa and hip hop.

Copyrighted. Available through library catalog using a permalink and a John Jay login. 

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Latin America & the Caribbean, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL) / Tagged: , , , ,

“The Boricua-Macheteros Popular Army: Origins, Program, and Struggle” by Filiberto Rios and Alicia Del Campo, 2002

March 7, 2019 5:56 pm /

Submitted by:

To read online, click here: “The Boricua-Macheteros Popular Army: Origins, Program, and Struggle”  

Article explores the impact of globalization on Puerto Rico (PR) & argues for the development of a revolutionary program. The establishment of the Boricua-Macheteros’ Popular Army & its struggle for independence from neocolonial policy are introduced. The Macheteros’ analyses of globalization, neoliberalism, & privatization are presented with attention to the role of the US & implications for PR. Internal factors that may be problematic in the construction of a revolutionary program in PR are evaluated.

This article is copyrighted, but available via the John Jay Library, using login credentials. It is from Latin American Perspectives, 29(6), 104-116.

Posted in: 2000 - 2010, Latin America & the Caribbean, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL) / Tagged: , , , ,
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