L+ideas
LTU Library Digital Magazine
T h e F u t u r e o f Wo r k
Issue #5 1
February 2022
Table of Contents
Library Mission Statement .................................................. 4 Editors and Contributors ..................................................... 5
Director’s Letter ................................................................. 7-9 LTU Campus Map ............................................................... 10,11 Learn About Your Library .................................................... 12 Library Assistance is a Click Away ....................................... 13 What I Have Learned About the State of Change by Alice McHard………………................................................. 14-17 The Future of Work by Sherry Tuffin ................................... 20-28 Recommended Reading ...................................................... 29 Off the Rack ..................................................................... 30-31 Notable African American Books.......................................... 30-34 Book Looks ........................................................................ 37
Women’s National History Month ........................................ 38-41 Heads Up! Non-motorized Trails .......................................... 40, 41 Archives, Submissions ........................................................ 44
Cover Photo: brett-jordan-5L0R8ZqPZHk-unsplash.jpg 2
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Mission Statement of the Lawrence Technological University Library Bring People and Information Together The library’s mission is to play an active role in the instruction of library users including students, faculty,
administrators, staff and alumni, in the effective use of information resources. The faculty and the professional librarians are full partners in the educational process.. The librarians perform both an educational and instructional function. In the modern technological environment, it is imperative that students be taught how to locate and evaluate appropriate intellectual resources for study, research projects, problem solving, and professional advancement both in the library and from alternate sources. 4
L+ideas Editors: Sheila Gaddie Sherry Tuffin Contributors Gary Cocozzoli Alice McHard
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What’s Unique about LTU “...is that it combines theory and practice. Our degree in technological
humanities is endlessly adaptive, offering students a chance to pursue their own interests. It is a utility knife degree for the twenty-first century. By combining multiple disciplines, we incorporate specific knowledge of technologies with culture, history, politics, social justice, and so much more. We’re preparing our students to be reflective and adaptive, which will position them well for the jobs of the
future.” Most importantly, “students in our program can craft their own pathway of learning to create a career that feeds their soul.”
~ Dr. Paul Jaussen LTU “Foundations” 6
Gary Cocozzoli LTU Library Director
Never Stop Learning Libraries have been with us for centuries, and they had been more or less the same since the early days. Although we don’t chain the books to the desk to avoid theft like in medieval times, the concepts of providing knowledge to others are similar.
most libraries in the world. But libraries began to change in the mid-1970s when computerization began linking libraries and the dawn of networked and personal computers would soon push more changes for the better. It was and still is a sea change in the way libraries work. A masters degree wasn’t enough, librarians had to keep on learning all of the new technologies and protocols to make sure their users would have the best resources. Imagine having to learn HTML, database management, statistics, vendor license negotiations, online reference, and information evaluation, among other new innovations. These are things I had no concept of before I realized I had to learn and use them.
When I stepped into the Lawrence Tech library as a young librarian in 1975, the library was really just the same as it might have been at the turn of the century (1901). We typed and filed card catalog cards, we manually checked out books, we sent periodicals to be bound, we used reference books and printed indexes. It was sometimes tedious work, but if you knew what you were doing, it made users’ research much easier. What you saw Marian the Librarian do in 1912 in “The Music Man” was just the same as what we were doing 63 years later. This was true at
The truth is, I learn something new 7
every day, and yet never feel like I “know it all”. The one minor advantage of the pandemic is the wide use of virtual meetings and learning experiences. There is a session almost every day that staff can take advantage of to learn new skills. When we migrated to our current library system in 2012, all of our training sessions were virtual…this is way before Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc. became commonplace. This saved much time and much money (no travel required!) and the sessions were recorded and could be viewed later. There are so many options today to enhance your mental skill set that it is sad to not take advantage. I feel we can never stop learning, and if we do not learn, the library staff will be left behind in the dust.
In addition to formal training, we shouldn’t forget that libraries have always been and will continue to be the centers for self-education, sort of a university for the common man. Our books and databases allow our users to pursue independent research and learning, just as has been done since the early days.
When Andrew Carnegie donated libraries to towns, he stipulated they should be open every day so that immigrants and the less wealthy who could not afford books could count on a place to go to learn and improve their lives. This legacy for learning continues today at every public, academic, and school library. Sometimes it is just a book from a library that can spark a mind to create the innovation that will make things better for all of us.
The world of libraries has changed and evolved and will no doubt continue to do so, maybe at an even faster pace than before. This change will continue to push the need for education and training for our staff, since we don’t know what the next big thing in libraries will be. You have to wonder what could be next, but we will soon find out what technology will bring to us, and hope to be ready for it.
“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.” ~ Andrew Carnegie
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The Rand McNally book of favorite pastimes
This is the first book ever cataloged online in 1971 at the revolutionary Ohio-based virtual library network which became a force in the mid-1970s. This was a major change after centuries of manual cataloging of books and foreshadowed the upending of the status quo for libraries:
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LTU Campus Map Architecture Resource Office
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WHAT HAVE I LEARNED ABOUT THE STATE OF CHANGE….
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash 14
Life is not static it is always in the midst of change. The way you looked at things when you were ten years old looks totally different when you are 25. And. the way life is when you are in your twenties looks completely different in your thirties and forties and on and on it goes. If you take the time to reflect on the years of your life you will see just how much both the world and your place in it has changed. Life is constantly on the move.
Learning more in elementary school, the progression grows to take in more of the world and the others that you share this world with on a day by day basis. Suddenly you find other kids with families of different make ups, different religious backgrounds, and different views of the world around them, even at that young age.
When I was in elementary school I can remember a teacher telling us two things that I thought were so far from reality that I thought they were silly. One was that someday in the future we would all have computers in our homes.
When I look back over my life to see the changes that evolved all around me, it causes me to realize that the solid footing of my childhood has whirled around me at a dizzying pace since those days.
Ridiculous as that sounded to me when back then only those in the space program or massive companies had computers and the computers were large enough to fill an entire room. And, now everybody has a little computer in their pockets where at a moment’s notice we can find information on just about any subject that we want to know in an instant.
Learning and growing are an essential part of living. You start off by simply learning to walk and talk. And, being a part of a family you quickly learn about sharing and caring for those in your family unit and start to broaden your views to see the others living outside of your own immediate family.
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The second idea I thought was just as out of reach was the idea that someday the USA would be a bilingual nation speaking Spanish and English. Growing up I had no Spanish speaking friends, I did not know any Spanish speaking people and did not hear the language
on TV shows while I was growing up (I know that this will date me a bit) was that one day we would be able to travel into space on our own. I was mesmerized as a child watching the space
rockets blast off, watching the moon walks and was hooked on sci-fi TV shows like Star Trek yet I never thought that we would see individuals actually going up into space on privately owned vehicles. And yet just these past few weeks we have had two individual space vehicles take off in privately owned vehicles. I guess it was not such a farfetched or unthinkable idea after all.
except in my second grade school classroom where we had a brief lesson in Spanish each day. And as this prediction has not totally come true yet, Spanish is all around us, from instruction manuals, to information on all products being in Spanish and English, to automated voice greetings for many companies asking if you wish to be directed to a Spanish speaking person, to TV and radio shows. I now have close Spanish speaking friends and have visited Spanish speaking countries of Mexico and Spain three times.
Whereas some changes are subtle and not difficult to adjust to others require us to actually change the way we think about what to us could seem to be a very negative new experience. I am sure that no one today would have guessed that the world would hold its breath for two years as a pandemic swept around the globe putting our lives in a weird state of flux. None of us would have guessed that we would be gathering around our home computers
Another seemingly silly idea presented
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to visit with friends and loved ones through the wonders of Zoom, that there would be drive by birthday parties, that we would have to get back to cooking our own meals instead of going out for dinner at a restaurant, that our sphere of entertainment would change from going out to the movies to watching streaming shows in our homes, or instead of gathering for worship services we would be watching services online with virtual choirs and
orchestras and that the whole work environment across the world would be uprooted in a change in a massive way that many employees began to work remotely and not at an office.
Working remotely was something only a few who had a home business knew anything about and now a good many people in all kinds of fields are working
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remotely all the time. We don’t know what other changes are in store for each of us as we move through life but we can learn to look towards the positive, and not feel that changes to come will all be negative but learn to embrace change and learn new and exciting ways of doing things in times of uncertainty.
These are the days and times when we need to flex our adaption skills muscles, listen to those around us as they share new ideas and never be afraid to try something new or learn something new.
It may be a bit out of our comfort zone but it may also be a breath of a gift, of something unexpected, new and precious for all of us.
Alice McHard Graduate Student Services Coordinator amchard@ltu.edu
"Our workforce is very rapidly becoming more entrepreneurial. A significant percentage of US workers have an alternative work arrangement as their primary job. The vast majority
of large corporations plan to substantially increase the use of contract employees. Beyond that, the "Gig Economy" is growing quickly as workers seek alternatives to working in traditional 40 hour per week jobs. The workforce is changing and universities like LTU need to prepare students to flourish in this growing entrepreneurial economy. "
Ross Sanders, Director Industry Partnerships & Entrepreneurship
Lawrence Technological University rsanders1@ltu.edu, ext. 2221
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The Future of Work
Photo: https://unsplash.com/photos/qzGigk8ydN4—Brett Jordan
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ” ~ Charles Dickens Today, when, “... economic prospects
When Charles Dickens wrote those words in his classic book, “A Tale of Two Cities” in 1859, the 1st industrial revolution (1750s – 1830s) was already phasing into the 2nd industrial revolution (mid-19th century into the early 20th century). Patterns of living and working that had survived for generations were being uprooted and replaced by new, not necessarily better, ways. Dickens could not have imagined what life would be like in 2022 but he certainly understood the chaos, confusion and fear that massive societal changes had created in his own time.
are uncertain in an economy being reshaped by globalization, automation, and artificial intelligence...”, (Luckianoff 13) we are similarly facing tectonic shifts that will transform the way that we live, work and think. To understand the 4th industrial revolution it is necessary to look at the three previous industrial revolutions, what triggered them and how they reshaped the world of work. Each revolution was built on the inventions and innovations of the previous one.
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1800s to early 1900s) “... came about
It began almost three hundred years ago in England. The 1st industrial
with the invention of electricity and enabled mass production (think production lines).” (Khan & Israb) It took the 1st industrial revolution to the next level. For example, the new technology created another massive population migration as illustrated when workers responded to Henry Ford and his assembly line work offering $5 a day.
revolution (1750 – 1830) harnessed “... Spinning wool at home
the use of steam
power and mechanization of production. What before produced threads on simple spinning wheels, the mechanized version achieved eight times the volume in the same amount of time”. (desouttertools.com) Realizing the
Cotton Mills
Ford Vintage Assembly Line
immense profitability of the new technology, factories were built to centralize production. A network of rails were built so that steam engines could transport the goods faster and farther. “Life was
The explosion in jobs and goods demanded ways of tracking progress so the, “... 3rd industrial revolution (1950s onward) was about computers and automation and enabled new ways of processing and sharing [mountains of] information” (Gillis) The middle class
no longer centered around villages, small farms and local cottage industries.” (PwC)
was born when workers could accrue enough savings to obtain homes, cars, and pay tuition for their children. The
The 2nd industrial revolution (late
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new middle-class enjoyed – long term job security, decent salaries, and
Marin Ivezic in his book, “The Future of Leadership in the Age of AI” noted the 4th industrial revolution will, “...disrupt
our business environment more than any previous technological revolution.” (Ivezic 100)
company retirement pensions. There was honor in being a loyal employee for one company and suspicion of workers who ‘job hopped’ from company to company or from career to career. In time they would take these things for granted and believe this was a permanent way of life. The 4th industrial revolution would be a game changer and put an end to those perks. The 4
th
The prevailing thinking today is that artificial intelligence, which is, “... the
ability of a digital computer or computer -controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings”, (Britannica) will profoundly change the landscape of the world around us. Road maps are out and GPS is in. Simple bank transactions previously done by human tellers are now handled by ATMs. Self-driving cars will make human drivers redundant. If you use Amazon’s Alexa, a virtual assistant technology, then you are using artificial intelligence. Robots are being used in medicine to dispense prescriptions. Drones are
industrial revolution is, “a
fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies.” (Salesforce) The pervasiveness of the 4th industrial revolution is such that “unlike the
previous three, this one touches every section, sector and country”. As author 23
imaginations”. (Larson)
being used by the military. And much more.
Another area disagreement is about jobs lost versus jobs created. Pessimistic forecasters predict that the elimination of old jobs by AI will be greater than the creation of new jobs. Optimistic prophets suggest that the 4th industrial revolution will, as seen in the three previous revolutions, create a surplus of new jobs. However, there is a consensus that workers in low income and middle class jobs will be most affected as routine jobs increasingly become more automated.
However, not everyone is in agreement about the power of AI to surpass and replace humans. For a difference of opinion about the impact of artificial intelligence read, Erik Larson’s new book, ‘The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why
Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do’. Larson argues that “The myth of artificial intelligence is that its arrival is inevitable ... and that we have already embarked on the path that will lead to human-level AI, and then superintelligence. ... The path exists only in our
What will happen to workers displaced by technology? The ‘Earn, learn, retire’ (Weiss) blueprint that so many of us used to map our careers is no longer viable and has given way to the continually repeating career paradigm of ‘learn, earn. Learn, earn. Learn, earn.’
Larson will be a speakers at: World Summit AI
The speed of change in the 4th industrial revolution will create two major challenges. First, how to prepare workers for jobs that don’t even exist yet? Second, how will workers access the continual training that will be integral to work?
Americas 2022 Montreal May 4-5 For more information click https://tinyurl.com/bddbasra
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Because it is impossible to train workers for jobs that don’t exist yet then the path to success has to be to prepare workers for lifelong learning. The term lifelong learner is often applied to people who take courses for fun, but in the 4th industrial revolution lifelong learning is the key to viable employment because, “...learning and work will become inseparable”. (Weiss 16) Acknowledging the new reality, in 2019 Amazon began to retrain 100,000 warehouse workers earning $15.00 an hour for data tech jobs paying double that amount. That is the type of foresight and planning needed to cushion workers for the bumpy road coming.
updating of skills and knowledge. Generational differences must be addressed. Mature workers are often shouldering responsibilities to children, elderly parents, and are unable due to time or money constraints to become full time or part-time students. Also, they often feel uncomfortable and out of place with students young enough to be their children.
Learning will not be confined to a young adults. People of all ages and abilities
In addition to generational issues the difficulties in determining a worker’s capabilities will need to be addressed. A degree or certification previously earned is not necessarily indicative of a employment candidate’s up-to-date knowledge or skill in a rapidly evolving job market. A degree will not be the unquestioned ticket to job placement in the future.
be working in an ever changing labor market. Employment in the 4th industrial revolution will demand continual
Another area of immense potential of human capital that will be mined with is 25
in ‘soft skills’. Hard skills refer to degrees, certificates or on-the-job training but soft skills, “... are personali-
of a job we’ll call it something like economic activity....doing dif. things for dif. people simultaneously”. (Allwork)
ty traits and behaviors that will help candidates get hired and succeed in their work.” (Weiss) What author Peter Smith calls, ‘hidden credentials’.
In anticipation of a gig job market, “...peer-to-peer employment sites such
As PeoplePerHour and Fiverr have made it even easier” (gigonomy) for workers to enter the new world of gigs.
Displaced workers will need to convert skills they possess but don’t have a degree to prove it. These skills can include: punctuality, patience, strategic thinking, problem solving, listening, teamwork, organization, conflict resolution and more. Soft skils can be transferred from a job in one field to a seemingly unrelated job in another field. Companies like Skillsmatch and Skyhive match skill assessments, recommend training to fill gaps and pair people with future job trends. The future economy will, “...become more interdisciplinary with critical soft skills becoming essential”. (Reimagine)
We will also see the rise of ‘solopreneurs’ who form ‘start up’ companies and don’t view working for someone else as an option. Generation
Z, born between 1997 and 2010, are digital natives and, “...so it’s only natural that they’d want to use that technology to make employment more flexible to their schedules”. (Gigonomy) Many Gen Z have formed startups before even leaving school. Gen Z is becoming known as “the most
entrepreneurial
generation
ever”
(wpengine.com) with 62 percent of Gen Zers indicating they have started— or intend to start—their own business.
It is also thought that some displaced or new workers will adapt to the new paradigm of a ‘gig’ economy where workers will contract for jobs (gigs) from multiple companies. Instead of being an employee of one company people will contract for multiple jobs from a number of companies. “Maybe instead
Whether workers remain and retrain at one company, opt for gig employment, become solopreneurs or transition their ‘soft skills’ in a new direction, the newly created jobs will require skills that must 26
be constantly upgraded in order to keep up with the lightning fast pace of the innovations that fuel the 4th industrial revolution.
describe what a method to accomplish this might look like. Business, Workers, Learning Providers & Government need to create a transparent and smooth system for workers to get on the employment highway, access an off ramp temporarily in order to learn new skills, then seamlessly reenter the highway and continue on their employment journey. This type of interdisciplinary structure will be imperative to meet the challenges that are certain to come with the 4th industrial revolution
There needs to be collaboration between learners, educators, businesses and government, “an interdependence of stakeholders”. (Weiss 57) to pave a path for workers to acquire learning at,”...conferences, team work-
shops, innovation challenges, as well as taking skills courses and certifications” . (reimagine)
The foreseeable future is about continual, rapid, change. The way we live, work and think are going to be challenged in the 4th industrial revolution. We need to learn to, if not embrace change, at least become comfortable with it. In order to minimize the chaos, confusion and fear certain to be inflicted by the 4th industrial revolution we have to adequately prepare for the changes coming. What we do will determine, to paraphrase the words of Charles Dickens, whether the future will be,“... the best
ON/OFF RAMPS How are people going to squeeze the time from their busy schedules to acquire mandatory training on a continuing basis? How will companies deal with the disruption of workers going back and forth between work and constant retraining? Michelle R. Weiss uses a highway analogy to
of times” or “the worst of times”. ~ Sherry Tuffin
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Works Cited
“AI: Evolutionary Computing.” Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/Evolutionarycomputing Accessed January 2022 Allwork: The Future of Work. https://allwork.space/2019/12/future-of-work-will-the-concept-of-a-job-be-destroyedby-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/#:~:text=Space%3A%20Not%20only%20is%20the,you%20included%20the% 20Public%20Lab Accessed January 2022. Desoutter Industrial. Industrial Revolution – From Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0 https://www.desouttertools.com/ industry-4-0/news/503/industrial-revolution-from-industry-1-0-to-industry-4-0 Accessed January 2022 Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Puffin Books. 2009. Gigonomy https://gigonomy.info/is-freelancing-for-generation-z/ Gillis, Alexander S. “What is Internet of things (IoT)?” TechTarget, https://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/ definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT. Accessed January 2022. Ivezic, Marin, and Ivezic, Luka. “The Future of Leadership in the Age of AI”. Self-published. 2020. Khan, Gulandam, and Isreb, Dean. “101: 1,2,3,... Here comes the 4th Industrial Revolution.” PwC Australia Digital Pulse, https://www.pwc.com.au/digitalpulse/fourth-industrial-revolution-guide.html. Accessed January 2022. Larson, Erik. The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do. Harvard University Press. April 2021. Lukianoff, Greg, and Haidt, Jonathon. The Coddling of the American Mind. Penguin Books, 2018. Reimagine (https://www.reimagine-education.com/15-future-jobs-impact-4th-industrial-revolution-next-generation/ Schwab, Klaus. The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Crown Business Books, 2016. Skillsmatch. https://skillsmatch.eu/ SkyHive. https://www.skyhive.ai/old/careers Study Academy; The Industrial Revolution. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-industrial-revolution-1750-1850growth-impact.html. Accessed January 2022. The 360 Blog: What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution? McInnes, Devon. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/what-isthe-fourth-industrial-revolution-4ir/ Accessed January 2022. Weise, Michelle R. “Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don’t Even Exist Yet.” Wiley. 2020. WPengine. Generation Influence: Reaching Gen Z in the New Digital Paradigm. https://wpengine.com/resources/gen -z-2020-full-report/#The_most_entrepreneurial_generation_ever. Accessed January 2022
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The Future of Work Recommended Reading:
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Off the Rack Is a Civil War in the US Possible? In a guest essay, the 39th president voiced grave concerns about the state of the country a year after the Capitol riot. “Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy,” wrote Mr. Carter. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/opinion/jan-6-jimmy-carter.html?searchResultPosition=2
Indeed, there have been essays in the New York Times that warrant attention:
“Are We Facing a Second Civil War?” by Michelle Goldberg https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/america-civil-war.html?searchResultPosition=1
And
“Let’s Not Invent a Civil War” by Ross Douthat https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/opinion/civil-war-america.html?searchResultPosition=1
discuss the likelihood of a US Civil War.
Human Receives Heart of Genetically Altered Pig in Medical Breakthrough by Roni Caryn Rabin, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/health/heart-transplant-pig-bennett.html?searchResultPosition=1
“This is a watershed event,” said Dr. David Klassen, the chief medical officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing and a transplant physician. “Doors are started to open that will lead, I believe, to major changes in who we treat organ failure.” 30
Additional insight into transplant research is discussed in, The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South by Chip Jon.
“How the Royals Once Shared Their Secrets” by William J. Broad https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/science/european-royals-letterlocking.html?searchResultPosition=1
Mary Queen of Scots and others used ‘letterlocking’ to exchange sensitive writings. Locked letters faded in the 1830s with the emergence of mass-produced envelopes and improved systems of mail delivery. It’s now seen as a fascinating precursor to the widespread encryption used globally in electronic communications. Make sure you view the video included in the article for a demonstration of how letterlocking was accomplished.
For Your Consideration: “Days of Rage”, “Takeover” and “The Queen of Basketball “. These are short documentary films are being considered for an Oscar and can be viewed at: nytimes.com/fyc
- Compiled by Sheila Gaddie
LTU library strives to develop informed global citizens. Thus, we are pleased to announce that students, faculty and staff now have access to the Wall Street Journal.
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February
2022
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A Civil Rights Journey by Doris Derby
as Miles tries to imagine herself into the lives of the women she writes about. ——————-
In late August 1936, just after the assassination of Medgar Evers and the March on Washington, photographer, organizer and teacher Doris Derby went to Mississippi. Over the following nine years, Derby traveled between Jackson and the state’s rural areas with her camera, documenting and participating in the southern Civil Rights interesting is her commentary on the photographs that she included in the compilation.
Black Food: Stories, Art & Recipes From Across the African Diaspora, edited & curated by Bryant Terry This certainly is not a traditional cook book. It is structured by themes such as motherland, Black women, food and power. Most notable is the inclusion of essays, poetry and visual art. ——————Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World by Wil Haygood.
——————All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, by Tiya Miles.
Haygood recounts the incisive, fascinating, and little known history spanning more than a century, of Black artists in the film industry, on screen and behind the scenes. If you would like to view vintage black films visit:
Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction is about women and chattel slavery as framed by a single object: a cotton sack that dates back to the mid-19th century, given by an enslaved woman named Rose to her daughter Ashley. Little about the sack is definitively known. The trauma of separation emerges as a central theme of the book,
Black Film Archive https://blackfilmarchive.com The archive was created by Maya S. Cade and catalogues over 200 films, 33
ranging from 1915 to 1979, spanning multiple genres and countries of origin.
kidnapped by the warring factions of Europe in their ravenous quests for land, resources, power and destruction. Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, 1888. This is familiar territory for Jones, who explored the same landscape in her 1975 debut novel, “Corregidor.” Palmares recounts the journey of Almeyda, a Black slave girl who comes of age on a Portuguese plantation in Brazil in the mid-seventeenth century but escapes and begins a search for the rumored fugitive slave settlement called Palmares. Following the settlement’s destruction, Almeyda embarks on a trek across colonial Brazil to find her husband, Anninjo, who disappeared in battle.
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Corregidora by Gayl Jones Corregidora tells the story of Ursa, an AfroBrazilian blues singer who suffers a miscarriage and hysterectomy after her husband, Mutt Thomas, assaults her. Ursa’s resulting inability to “make generations” - a dictum her foremothers demanded of her since childhood prompts a difficult reckoning. How can Ursa honor her family’s enslaved heritage while also unburdening herself of their traumas? How can she cement her individuality when the past plagues every iota of her life?
——————An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege by Heidi Ardizzone
——————Palmares by Gayl Jones
Belle da Costa Greene was born Belle Marian Greener, raised in a family of color who had long been a part of Washington, D.C.’s “Black Four Hundred.” Belle changed her name as an adult and lived as white. In 1905,
This is Jones’s fifth novel and her first 22 years. Set in Brazil in the late 1600s, “Plamares” is an unveiling of the brutal enslavement and degradation of various African peoples who were 34
Belle da Costa Greene was hired by J.P. Morgan to organize his rare book and manuscript collection, she had only her personality and few years of experience to recommend her. Soon she was Morgan’s confidante, responsible for shaping his world-renowned collection of rare books and art. This is a nonfiction account of Belle da Costa Greene’s remarkable life.
to the sewer system, where he takes refuge in a cave and, in a series of allegorical passages, peers into a church and gains access to businesses and other facilities through their basements. Daniels eventually returns to the light of day, eager to share the lessons he learned underground but is greeted with indifference and cruelty.
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The Project 1619: A New Origin Story, edited by Nikole HannahJones
——————-
The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright In 1941 Richard Wright after experiencing success with “Native Son” submitted a draft of a new book called “The Man Who Lived Underground. Wright was excited about his new book; his editor was not. A portion of the novel was released as a short story but the original manuscript remained unread until his daughter, Julia Wright, unearthed it from Wright’s papers at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale. It is the story of Fred Daniels, a Black man who is detained and beaten by the police, who coerce him into a false confession that he killed a white couple. He escapes, then flees
In late August, 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of somewhere between twenty and thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This book includes nineteen essays explore the legacy of slavery. How the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society. There are also thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of struggle and resistance.
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The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs
and differences – as individuals and as mothers — represent a piece of history left untold. ——————*Hundreds of books are published with themes concerning the African American experience; one cannot read them all. The selected books came to my attention serendipitously.
The Three Mothers tells the story of the women who raised and shaped three of America’s most pivotal heroes. These women, their similarities
Compiled by Sheila Gaddie
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LTU
Library Check Out
Book Reviews Sherry Tuffin Book Reviewer
& Book Club 3rd Thursday of the month 7—8 pm For details contact: stuffin@ltu.edu
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March is
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Artemisia Gentileschi and Ingenious Italian Women Artists Honored "Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes,"
Exhibition opens February 6, 2022
1523-1525, Artemisia Gentileschi,
Tickets can be purchased at www.dia.org/ByHerHand(opens in new window) or by calling 313-833-7900. Ticket prices range from $8-$18, and are free for DIA members and discounted for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties
Available for Streaming: March 1-7 Beyond the Visible: Hilma aF Klint: Hilma af Klint was inspired by modern science, spiritualism, and the riches of the natural world. An abstract artist, af Klint was for years an all-but forgotten figure in art history narratives until recently. Beyond The Visible describes not only Hilma’s life and craft, but also the process of her “erasure” by academics and art dealers. March 8-14 Eva Hesse: Focuses on one of America’s foremost postwar artist. Eva Hesse’s pioneering sculptures, using materials such as fiberglass, steel and plastics (including her stunning Accession II, in the DIA’s collection) helped establish the post-minimalist movement. March 15-21 Into Her Own: Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own
illuminates the fascinating journey of sculptor Ursula von
Rydingsvard, her difficult early life emigrating to the US after five years 39
in a post-WWII displaced persons camp, her arrival in 1970s New York to establish herself as an artist and the staggering body of work she subsequently produced. March 1-7 Beyond the Visible: Hilma aF Klint: Hilma af Klint was inspired by modern science, spiritualism, and the riches of the natural world. An abstract artist, af Klint was for years an all-but forgotten figure in art history narratives until recently. Beyond The Visible describes not
only Hilma’s life and craft, but also the process of her “erasure” by academics and art dealers. March 8-14 Eva Hesse: Focuses on one of America’s foremost postwar artist. Eva Hesse’s pioneering sculptures, using materials such as fiberglass, steel and plastics (including her stunning Accession II, in the DIA’s collection) helped establish the post-minimalist movement. March 15-21 Into Her Own: Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own
illuminates the fascinating journey of sculptor Ursula von
Rydingsvard, her difficult early life emigrating to the US after five years in a post-WWII displaced persons camp, her arrival in 1970s New York to establish herself as an artist and the staggering body of work she subsequently produced. Related Information: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists by Linda Nochlin Women Made: Great Women Designers by Jane Hall. Women Made brings together the extraordinary work of over 200 female product designers, both iconic and little-known, from more than 50 countries, spanning from the early twentieth century to the present.
~ Compiled by Sheila Gaddie 40
Call to Action
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The next edition of
L+ideas will explore the ways that
Art Speaks Please submit any: Ideas, Artwork, Stories, Media on this topic by March 30th to: stuffin@ltu.edu
or sgaddie@ltu.edu
L+ideas
Past Issues
2021 Fall
Food for Thought
2021 Spring
Connecting the Dots
2021 Winter
Imagine
2020 Fall
Pandemic
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