Well, I'm back from Newark where I spent the last few days at the Third National People of Color Conference(program here). Seton Hall hosted the conference in their fabulous building. (In the first edition of this post I said their "fabulous new building," but I'm now reliably informed that the building just looks new and is actually something like 20 years old). We should all be jealous of their facilities. The building is beautiful and downtown Newark was really lovely. I'd never really spent any time in Newark, other than passing through Penn Station and their airport and I can see why people are talking about the renaissance in Newark.
I felt like Rip Van Winkle, because I haven't worked in that literature for a few years and so much has changed since the last NPOC conference back in 2004. Many speakers were quite skeptical of post-racialism (a concept that no one spoke about in 2004, as I recall) – whether we're in a post-racial era and whether that would be good anyway.
I was on a panel on reparations — which also felt rather different from reparations discussions that I participated in back when I was working on that topic. Carlton Waterhouse, our moderator, noted one of the differences — at the last NPOC conference (which took place at what I now think was the high-water mark of reparations talk in the legal academy) there was a plenary on reparations. This time we were one of perhaps a dozen concurrent panels. Still, I am expecting a resurgence of writing on reparations — there have been some developments in apologies and in local action of late and scholars in philosophy and history seem to be carrying the issue forward. At some point I'd like to talk a little more about the changes in the field, in terms of scholarship and action. Perhaps I'll do that as I prepare comments for a panel on reparations at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which meets in Raleigh in a couple of weeks.
Anyway, to get to the subject of my post….
Last April I wrote "a Rather Pedestrian Post," about a new literary magazine from Philadelphia, called … The Pedestrian. I love their logo — reminds me of Emerson's eyeball … except this time, the disembodied body part is the leg. (Or more properly the legs.)
The Pedestrian's website explains that it "seeks to explore the ordinary." They continue:
It is easy to find coverage of big events, big ideas and bigger-than-life people. But as for life’s unassuming features, as for our less theoretical, more practical thoughts, and as for the people we daily interact with, they fail to inspire a comparable degree of sustained reflection. For this reason The Pedestrian was founded, so that the people and things that are familiar – or have become too familiar – might be allowed to enchant.
The issues are centered around themes. The first issue, on empathy — such a wonderful nineteenth century topic — is now available. The next issues are tools, play, and quiet.
The building is beautiful and downtown Newark was really lovely. I'd never really spent any time in Newark, other than passing through Penn Station and their airport and I can see why people are talking about the renaissance in Newark.