The Ebony Tower: Recent Episodes
Daphne and Rachel
For today’s Scholar Spotlight, we interview Dr. Ashanté M. Reese, an assistant professor in the department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at UMBC. During the interview, we discuss her recent book, Black Food Geographies: Race, Food, Access, and Self-Reliance, which explores the issue of food access in urban areas. Dr. Reese also provides insight into the process of transforming PhD research into a book, shares how she situated her work within the larger field of anthropology, and offers advice on choosing the right academic press.
Resources:
- Black Food Geographies: Race, Food, Access, and Self-Reliance: https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469651507/black-food-geographies/
- Website: http://www.mamboanthro.com
- Twitter: @AMReese07
- IG: @AReese07
In this episode, Daphne and Rachel are joined by Dr. Riddhi Bhandari, a Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting Scholar at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. In addition to discussing her research, Dr. Bhandari also shares her experience of navigating academia and the job market as an international scholar.
In the latest installment of Ask Ebony Anything, Daphne and Rachel offer advice to prospective graduate students interested in beginning the PhD application process (4:30), provide tips on how to get a glowing letter of recommendation (14:10), offer insight into selecting between and negotiating with graduate programs before the April 15th deadline (21:40), and provide guidance on preparing for the dissertation defense (30:50).
Resources
-Pomodoro Technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique
For today’s Scholar Spotlight, Daphne and Rachel interview Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack about his new book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Disadvantaged Students. In addition to discussing important findings and implications from his book (15:00), Dr. Jack also provides insight into his academic journey (1:17) and the experiences that shaped his research agenda (9:00). Finally, the professor offers advice on finishing the dissertation (21:05), writing a book proposal and securing a publisher (30:05), and navigating the job market (37:50).
Learn more about and connect with Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack:
Website: https://anthonyabrahamjack.com
Instagram: AAJack07
Twitter: @tony_jack
Book: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976894
In this episode of Tales from the Tower, Whitney shares her story of managing postpartum complications, dismissive healthcare providers, a diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy, and parenthood while also navigating graduate school. Whitney, Daphne, and Rachel also discuss how race and social capital shape the healthcare experiences and outcomes of black women.
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
Resources:
Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/black-mothers-babies-death-maternal-mortality.html
Black Mothers Respond to Our Cover Story on Maternal Mortality - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/magazine/black-mothers-respond-to-our-cover-story-on-maternal-mortality.html
Preeclampsia Strikes African American Women Hard - https://www.preeclampsia.org/get-involved/advocacy-efforts/53-health-information/532-preeclampsia-strikes-african-american-women-hard
In this new installment of Ask Ebony Anything, Daphne and Rachel begin by discussing the professional and financial considerations that prospective graduate students should take into account when deciding to pursue a PhD at a for-profit college (1:24). They then shift gears and provide insight into maintaining long-distance relationships while in graduate school (9:20). The pair also give advice on structuring the CV (16:09) and provide guidance on how to handle friends and family members who can’t seem to comprehend why you’re still in graduate school (23:10).
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
Episode Description: In this episode, Daphne and Rachel discuss the latest news and gossip in higher education, including how the government shutdown has impacted academic researchers, the controversial Notre Dame job ad, and the consequences of free speech in the academy. They then discuss the question of the day related to the role that academics of color play in addressing issues of race and diversity in higher education.
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
Episode Description: Have you ever been placed in a situation where you needed to stand up for yourself but also wanted to avoid the “angry POC” label? In this episode, Omar shares his tale about managing stereotypes in the classroom while also standing up for what’s right.
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
On this episode of Tales from the Tower, Keyshia shares her story about managing depression, anxiety, and a difficult advising relationship in graduate school. Following her tale, Daphne, Keyshia, and Rachel discuss strategies that promote mental, social, and physical well-being in graduate school. If you’re interested in anonymously sharing your tale, reach out to us at info@theebonytower.com.
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
On this episode of Tea from the Tower, we speak with The Student Loan Doctor, Sonia Lewis, about budgeting, our biggest student loan mistakes, how and when to start paying off your debts, and things to avoid when deciding to take out a student loan. Sonia shares some really honest advice on the impacts of student loan debt on women of color, the importance of weighing the implications of using large loans sums to fund your education, and even delivers some gems Sally Mae not want you to know...(see what we did there).
Resources:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestudentloandoctor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestudentloandoctorllc/
Website: http://www.thestudentloandoctorllc.com
This episode is sponsored by Taupe Coat. Visit their site today: www.taupecoat.com
In this episode, we interview Cherrie Bucknor, a PhD student in Sociology and HGSU-UAW Bargaining Committee Member at Harvard University, about the whats, the whys, and the hows of graduate student unionization in higher education. Specifically, we discuss graduate student working conditions, arguments against unionization, recent changes to the NLRB and the future of unionization, and strategies for successfully organizing a graduate student union.
Resources:
- Cherrie Bucknor’s Twitter - @CherrieBucknor
- Harvard Graduate Student Union - http://harvardgradunion.org
- NCFFDD (National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity) - https://www.facultydiversity.org
In this first installment of Ask Ebony Anything, Daphne and Rachel discuss personal style and aesthetics in graduate school (0:45), the merits of a mixed-methods dissertation (4:00), how to overcome a bad reputation in your department (7:27), tips and strategies for writing your dissertation while away from campus (13:45), and the politics of rearranging the dissertation committee late in the process (23:05).
Website: The Ebony Tower
Resources: Writing for Social Scientists (book), Anti-Social Productivity App, Forest Productivity App
On this Scholar Spotlight episode, TET interviews Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Founder and CEO of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity and author of The Black Academic’s Guide to Winning Tenure Without Losing Your Soul. We discuss Dr. Rockquemore’s educational trajectory, her inspo for starting the NCFDD, and Dr. Rockquemore gives us her best, “real talk” advice for staying productive and being successful in academia. Hint: it’s not that same old advice you are used to hearing!
Key Topics:
- 2:30 - The Origins of the NCFDD
- 5:05 - The Importance of a Daily Writing
- 9:15 - NCFDD Dissertation Success Program
- 16:47 - Healthy Conflict in Academia
- 27:34 - Biggest Mistake Newly Minted PhDs make
- 29:45- Piechart of Priorites/Success
- 32:40 - Mistakes Postdocs Should Avoid
- 35:05 - One Piece of Advice She’s Tired of Giving
- 41:20 - Advice on Becoming a Public Intellectual
- 44:10 - Overcoming Fear of Failure
For more information or to sign up for the Dissertation Success Resources mentioned in this episode and check out other NCFDD offerings for graduate students go to:
www. facultydiversity.org/graduate-students
Facebook.com/ NCFDD
Follow Dr. Rockquemore on Twitter @divaprof
Rachel spills some tea on a particularly climactic eruption of an otherwise tense advisor-advisee relationship during her dissertation proposal defense, while Daphne discloses how and why she made the difficult decision to transfer, half way through one program, to a new Ph.D. program.
Today, we interview Dr. Tyrell Connor, assistant professor of Sociology and Criminology at Suny-New Paltz’s and founder of the Black and Highly Dangerous Podcast. We begin the conversation by discussing how he got into sociology and criminology (3:03), how his HBCU prepared him for graduate school (8:08), and why he chose academia over industry (13:11). We also discuss how he works to create change outside of academia (23:35) and how he balances teaching, service, activism, and community engagement (34:00). Finally, he gives us some good advice on the social aspects of academic interviews (18:34) and going on the academic job market (39:30-46:44).
Links:
Twiiter: @TConnorBhD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BhDPodcast/
BhD Website: https://www.blackandhighlydangerous.com
Each year, U.S. universities award more than 55,000 doctoral degrees. Among degree holders, less than 15% are Black, Latinx, or Native American. Often serving as trailblazers in their communities and disciplines, scholars of color face unique challenges as they scale the Ivory Tower. Enter the Ebony Tower podcast—a resource, conversation and community for and by brilliant yet underrecognized and underrepresented scholars of color. Get to know Daphne and Rachel in their very first episode of The Ebony Tower Podcast!