Amplifying Black Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Rashidah Muhammad
Dr. Rashidah Muhammad, a professor at Governor State University, discusses her inspirational journey in academia, highlighting her admiration for influential Black figures like Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. Dr. Muhammad credits Dr. Geneva Smitherman, her "literary mother," for providing a pivotal motivational push during her studies. Dr. Muhammad emphasizes the importance of balancing life and work, a lesson she continues to pass on to her own children.
Transcript
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Black History Project, amplify black voices, authentic experiences, Dr Rashida Muhammad, extensive scholarship, multiple publications, inspirational family, Nikki Giovanni, Geneva Smitherman, language diversity, rhetorical devices, Black language, higher education, special speaker, Governor State University
SPEAKERS
Amy Vujaklija, Joi Patterson, Rashidah Muhammad
Rashidah Muhammad:Amy, Dr G holds up her hand like a police officer stopping traffic, and she says to me, look here, girl, this ain't Sunday and I ain't over.
Amy Vujaklija:Thank you for joining, teaching and leading with Dr Amy and Dr Joi. This episode is part of a special Black History Project.
Joi Patterson:This project is designed to amplify black voices and provide crucial perspectives on the experiences of black people, which are often overlooked and misrepresented by offering authentic experiences, reflections and successes. This project promotes an accurate portrayal of history and society.
Amy Vujaklija:Dr Rashida Muhammad, you are a professor of English and secondary education and the Academic Coordinator for BA and MA English programs at Governor State University. You received your BA in English education with a minor in history, MA in English and PhD in English from Michigan State University, Dr Rashida, you teach graduate and undergraduate courses in English education, American, African American, black, Native American, women, world and young adult literature, African American language, Black Studies, first year writing studies, literary criticism and studies in race, class and gender. With that, Dr Mohamed, you have an extensive scholarship background with multiple publications, extensive research and numerous conferences worldwide. After three decades in higher education, most of them at Governor state, you are considered one of the most sought after and relevant speakers on black history,
Joi Patterson:Dr Muhammad, in addition to your many accolades, what stands out most to me is how you are adored by your family and children and in your even Your grandchildren. Your family's commitment and opinion of you is more important than any public opinion. We are honored to include you in this inaugural Governor State University Black History calendar for 2025. Can you please share with our listeners? Is there a specific black leader who inspires you. Why do you admire most about this individual?
Rashidah Muhammad:Wow. Well, I have several sheroes from Maya, Angelou, Toni, Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, who just passed away last night. She was, she received an honorary doctorate from Governor State University. So all of them I used in my classes, they inspire me, and they continue to I use them for particularly, I used Nikki Giovanni's poem desperate acts for 911 and because most of my freshmen were not even born during 911 they get, they got most stuff set second hand. So I show them, I share with them Nikki Giovanni's poem, and also, I show them photos that I took of Ground Zero when I was in New York. And so this, this gives us the opportunity to really just get into writing about our feelings. So Nikki Giovanni is definitely one of my sheroes, but I want to talk about my one. Sheroe that kind of like, I will say, inspired me to finish my doctorate.
Rashidah Muhammad:Back story here I went back to work on my PhD later in life, I had kids finishing high school. I had kids still in elementary school, and so it was just like, I have five children. So it was like, really a chore to try to go back and finish my doctor, but my husband was very inspirational. He said, You don't have nothing else to do. Go back to school, as if I didn't have nothing else to do with five kids, but, but we had a little sit down and all my kids, I had them around the coffee table in the living room, and they said, Hey, Mom, we got you. We can do dinner. You know, problems, stuff like that. But you know, as time came to pass, when I'm working on my on my doctor, the support that they promised was not forthcoming.
Rashidah Muhammad:So I was in Dr Smitherman, Geneva Smitherman, and let me tell you a little bit about Geneva Smitherman. She had, I consider her my literary mother, because she has children who.
Rashidah Muhammad:Stanford, brown, Ohio State, Penn State, Syracuse, Michigan, Michigan State, all over the United States, students have learned and still gleaned from her, from her work, her most popular text, well, this is my favorite text. It was. She wrote it in 1977 when she was a professor at Wayne State University, talking and testifying the language of black people of black America. And since then, she's written and COVID and several, several, several books, probably over 30. I was blessed to have a chapter in one of her books, language diversity is language diversity in America in the classroom, and
Rashidah Muhammad:language diversity in the classroom from intention to practice the second the part after that cola is very significant, because a lot of times we don't we really need to hone in on Our practices as well as as well as our intentions when we teach, I know a lot of times we tell our students, what was your purpose for this lesson, our future teachers, that is so this, my chapter is on language diversity in the classroom, and I really get into some of the practices that we have done, and some sometimes in unintentionally, they disenfranchise some children, some of our students. So a little bit more about Dr miss. She's retired from Michigan State University. Now she has when she retired, she went to set up schools in South Africa. Now she's back in Detroit with the My Brother's Keepers program that she founded years and years and years ago. And she also founded the African Americans in African Studies program, doctoral program at Michigan State University. So I applaud her work daily and make use of it and conferences, and we have done conferences together for 4c for language conference and composition and community for Wow,
Rashidah Muhammad:over the 40 years that I have been been involved in higher education.
Rashidah Muhammad:So that was the back story. So Dr Smith has he had a huge office at Michigan State University, a huge office. She had two computer stations. She had a sofa on one wall. She had her desk and everything. It was a gigantic office. And oftentimes the graduate students working on our doctor we were, we were allowed to work in her office, on her computers. You making use of those computers. So this one night, Elaine was on one computer. Elaine, who's now a full professor at Ohio State University, she was on one computer, and I was on the sofa, not working, actually, so Dr G, we call her Dr G. Dr Smitherman came in, oh, it must have been close, close to midnight, and she came in with brownies and hot and coffee, and she found me on the sofa.
Rashidah Muhammad:So she looks at me and asks, you know, why are you on the sofa, not the computer? I start with my story. You know, the kids, dinner, my my MSU students, I'm going on and on and on. Dr G holds up her hand like a police officer stopping traffic, and she says to me, look here, girl,
Rashidah Muhammad:this ain't Sunday and I ain't Oprah
Rashidah Muhammad:and
Rashidah Muhammad:she could've just said, Get your act together and get over there to that computer,
Rashidah Muhammad:but those the way she said it, you know, come on, if you want to confess, go to church on Sunday if you want to cry on somebody's shoulder Oprah's. You know, at that time, Oprah had a daily TV show in Chicago area. So she if you want to cry on somebody's shoulder, go see Oprah. But for me, you got a job to do. Get yourself organized, get your schedule time, manage your balance, balance your life work schedule and get to work. And interesting that has, that has resonated with me all these years. The other part about balancing your life work schedule, but the part about
Rashidah Muhammad:it ain't Sunday,
Rashidah Muhammad:she was letting me know I don't want to hear your confession. That's not my job. My job is to get you through this program. And she did, and I applaud Dr G every day for helping me and encouraging me in that probably I really needed butt kick to get my work done for my doctorate, and I use that line with that is that often times in the same word, especially with my my children.
Rashidah Muhammad:I have five children. Three have graduated from Governor State University. One is an engineer. One works for insurance. One's a special ed teacher. I.
Rashidah Muhammad:One is my other son is in finance that just graduated from Governor State University. So I often use the same line, the same inspirational line to they suggested, okay, yeah, there's a lot to do, but there's a lot that needs to be done. Dr G told me this morning,
Rashidah Muhammad:and I was telling her about this podcast, and she said, Well,
Rashidah Muhammad:you look like you're doing well, little little she calls me baby sis. You look like you're doing well, baby sis, but And always remember, you gotta keep on. Keep it on.
Rashidah Muhammad:So I applaud. Dr, G is my my special, special leader, and her words and her work, I think, is, is highlight. And also, it's a book that everyone should read on articulate why black and on the language of Barack Obama and race in the United States. It's one of her latest volumes. It's excellent text. Often use that as well. And you know, it's just so much. I did a presentation at Perry State University using Dr Smith Amy work on on rhetorical devices of Black Light, of black language. It's just, it's amazing what she has done with her life, and I just hope to just do a little bit of that in my work.
Amy Vujaklija:Thank you so much, Dr Rashida Muhammad for sharing your story with us so we can highlight your voice and your shero for this black history calendar.
Rashidah Muhammad:Thank you. Thank you.
Amy Vujaklija:Thank you for listening to teaching and leading with Dr Amy and Dr Joi. Visit our website at G, O, v, s, t.edu/teaching, and leading podcast to see the show notes from this episode.
Joi Patterson:We appreciate Governor State University's work behind the scenes to make publishing possible. Stay tuned for more episodes with Dr Amy and Dr Joi.
