{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/qz22b8w91k/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Soribel Genao Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSoribel Genao talks about her family, education, interests, and general upbringing in Manhattan, then Brooklyn, then Manhattan again; the challenges of the higher education system and maneuvering it as an undergraduate and graduate student; the importance of mentors in her career and how she started at Queens College as a teaching professor rather than a research associate, as was her initial plan; how COVID impacted her as a teacher and how she has adapted for the current moment with regards to students; reigniting the activist spark within herself during the public confluence of social justice movements and COVID-19 pandemic; the creation of the Black and Latinx Faculty and Staff Association; the personal impact of the Jessica Krug blackface scandal in academia and thoughtful reflection about the differing advantages and disadvantages to being a woman of color in higher education; interacting with staff and bureaucracy at Queens College about social justice initiatives and general frustration with institutional inertia.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1980s-2020 (temporal)","Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens College, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-09-15 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Soribel Genao (Interviewee)","Obden Mondésir (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSoribel Genao talks about her family, education, interests, and general upbringing in Manhattan, then Brooklyn, then Manhattan again; the challenges of the higher education system and maneuvering it as an undergraduate and graduate student; the importance of mentors in her career and how she started at Queens College as a teaching professor rather than a research associate, as was her initial plan; how COVID impacted her as a teacher and how she has adapted for the current moment with regards to students; reigniting the activist spark within herself during the public confluence of social justice movements and COVID-19 pandemic; the creation of the Black and Latinx Faculty and Staff Association; the personal impact of the Jessica Krug blackface scandal in academia and thoughtful reflection about the differing advantages and disadvantages to being a woman of color in higher education; interacting with staff and bureaucracy at Queens College about social justice initiatives and general frustration with institutional inertia.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/128/543/small/Genoa-soribel-aviary.png?1635945368","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Genao_Soribel_Sept152020.mp4"]},"duration":4913.64,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/128/543/small/Genoa-soribel-aviary.png?1635945368","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/128/543/original/Genao_Soribel_Sept152020.mp4?1635945323","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":4913.64,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: So, today's date is September 15th, 2020. My name is Obden Mondesir. I'm collecting this oral history for Queens College and Queens Memory for the COVID-19 project, which is collecting the experiences of those that live in Queens, New York or our staff or students at Queens College. I am with Soribel Genao. Soribel, could you pronounce your name and also spell it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=0.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Sure. My name is Soribel Genao, spelled S O R I B E L. Last name is pronounced Genao. The G is an H sound. It's G E N A O.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=36.0,50.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And, could you tell me your age?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=50.0,56.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I'm 39 years old.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=56.0,61.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: So I'm going to affirm your consent to the Creative Commons, a non-commercial share international license, which just means, do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory informed consent and copyright permission form that I will share with you later today?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=61.0,80.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=80.0,83.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"New Speaker: Could you tell me the first New York neighborhood that you grew up in and what do you remember?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=83.0,96.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: The first neighborhood I grew up in was on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and I remember a street that was part of a community that was very drug-ridden and infested. I usually tell the story of the tenement that I grew up in. The bathtub was also in the kitchen and the toilet was a very tiny room--and I say room because it was only a toilet in there--was the dividing room between the kitchen and the only bedroom in the apartment. The building that we lived in was also attached to a bodega on the ground level. And one of my fondest memories was our families in the building being warned about when the owner of the bodega would ignite fires to collect insurance money.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=96.0,178.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So what he would do was tell us in advance, \"[unclear] light the store on fire tonight, so be prepared to leave your apartments at like one or two in the morning, because I need money from the insurance.\" This is the kind of experiences that we had from a very young age, in addition to living during Reagan's drug on war period. Another fond memory I have was one evening, my brother and I coming home from school and realizing that the staircases were no longer colorful. And I say colorful because the building, as I said, was also in a community or a street that had a lot of drug activity going on. And I don't know if you're familiar, but in the eighties there were drug--we didn't know because we were kids and our parents were also not having these conversations with us, but the bags where the drugs were being sold were extremely colorful. So we had folks that were using drugs, going into the building to use the drugs and then get out, but they'd leave the bags. This all [unclear] piles or whatever in the staircases. So there was a raid one day and then all of us, there weren't any--well, my brother and I's perception was, oh my goodness, what happened to the colorful stairs? Because they had swept out all of the baggies.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=178.0,287.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: From there, and I don't know if you want me to go on, but it's also an important part of--we left there to go to Brooklyn. We moved to Brooklyn, to Bushwick Brooklyn and the community was not--it was also--a lot of uncertainties, we were very connected to Brooklyn because it was where my father's side of the family lived. So we spent the same amount of time, even though we lived on the Lower East Side, we spent the same amount of time throughout the week in Brooklyn. So it was like a constant back and forth. Then we finally moved into a house in Bushwick and although the drug activity was still the same, it was a house. And that was a big deal for, imagine, immigrant families coming to the US, like having your house. So we lived in Brooklyn for a few years. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=287.0,357.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Could you tell me the cross streets that you lived on in the Lower East Side?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=357.0,366.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah. The cross streets were Rivington and Stanton.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=366.0,371.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And what part of Brooklyn did you end up moving to? And do you remember what time period that was in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=371.0,376.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah, Bushwick, Brooklyn. It was late eighties, early nineties.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=376.0,385.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And then what happened after you moved to Bushwick?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=385.0,394.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah, so we lived there for a few years. Our parents split and we moved back to the Lower East Side because majority of my mom's family was still there and we felt comfortable knowing that we knew people there. However, interestingly enough, in spite of knowing the Lower East Side just as much as I knew Brooklyn, I've always had an affinity for Brooklyn. So much so that I moved back to Brooklyn as soon as I became an adult. And we lived on the Lower East Side; it's also where I went to high school. I was also part of a dance organization called the National Dance Institute, which was extremely influential in all the other parts of my life. Dance was one of those moments in my life where I realized how much of what I learned in terms of discipline also assists me in everything else.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=394.0,467.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: When I was in high school, I was also the editor of the school newspaper, and that too had influenced me in realizing how informing myself of what was going on, not just around my local community, but the impact that that had on me wanting to know what was going on locally and globally and the decisions that I was making. Again, not knowing anything from outside of what I knew on the Lower East Side and Brooklyn experience, one of the things that stayed with me was, I never knew how different I was until I went to undergrad because I was always around folks that represented me. All I knew was the Black and brown communities, Black and brown faces. I felt comfortable around people that look like me. Outside of my teachers, I didn't know any white folks and I was okay with that, until I got to undergrad.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=467.0,538.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And just some clarifying questions. So the dance program that you were part of, was that affiliated with your high school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=538.0,547.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: It was actually affiliated with my elementary school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=547.0,552.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Which was P.S. 142?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=552.0,558.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: P.S. 2. I went to two elementary schools.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=558.0,560.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"New Speaker: Okay. So this program was part of P.S. 2. And what was the name of the high school that you attended?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=560.0,574.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Seward Park High School.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=574.0,581.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"New Speaker: And, you mentioned that then you attended college. So could you tell me the college that you attended and the year that you started?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=581.0,594.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I went to St. John's University in 1999.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=594.0,598.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, I guess you were mentioning that the demographics changed somewhat, so could you talk more about that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=598.0,610.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah. So coming from Seward Park High School, which at the time--well, today it no longer exists. Under the Bloomberg administration it became a school building with several schools. I was there during the comprehensive school days and what ended up happening was, we were involved in programs that were primarily dedicated for Black and brown communities needing assistance. The guidance counselor at the time, I remember her name to be Anna, she was an older woman. She did what she could to get us the information that we needed. But I will say that, very much like today, the, and I don't know if this is too much to say, but, we weren't always advised accurately.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=610.0,666.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So had I known then what I know now about selecting post-secondary experiences, I probably would have left the state, even though I knew my mom was not for me leaving, which is why I stayed in New York, in New York City. I didn't realize how the cost was going to have so many implications on whether I decided to go on or not. I didn't understand the financial aid process. I didn't understand the selection of what it actually means to have a degree from a school that can fund you versus a school that has all this pedigree attached to it and who you knew.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=666.0,714.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I get to St. John's University and it wasn't an institution that was catering to Black and brown students, even though I was a HEOP [Higher Education Opportunity Program] student. And HEOP is a federally funded program that was dedicated at the time--they no longer have it anymore, and I don't understand why they don't explain why it no longer exists either; I know other institutions are still a part of the program. But at the time, it was dedicated to assisting students from marginalized communities who had a decent grade average in high school, decent anywhere between an A and a B, and could not really afford--so they give some assistance, but not all. There was a lack of support and most of all, we were ill advised.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=714.0,771.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So, I graduated with way more credits than I needed. I was also a commuter student who had a full-time job as well, because I needed to help at home and also pay for school, and then I became aware of programs like the McNair Scholars program and other supported enrichment programs at the university where catering to Black and brown students was their purpose. But I also will say that even those programs were not always funded to the max because they just didn't invest in us like that. So they would take, I guess, and now that I'm in higher ed, I understand the process, they would take what was given to them, but it wasn't like the administration at the university will look for these resources for us. So it was a struggle. I don't feel that I was also fully prepared for grad school. What I will say I got from St. John's University was what not to do and being able to pass that on to other students later on, who were either interested in going to an institution like St. John's University or St. John's University.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=771.0,863.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And, you mentioned that you work in higher education now, would you mind stating your position and briefly describe what you do on a regular basis or on a day to day?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=863.0,880.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Do you want me to start with what I started doing and where I am now, or does that matter?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=880.0,887.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Let's do that. I would love to understand it in its entirety. So, yes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=887.0,894.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: So I started working at Queens College, City University of New York in 2010. I was hired during the economic downturn, and I say that because graduating in May of 2010 and being hired August 2010 was almost a miracle considering the economic crisis. So the options were very dire and I decided to take the position at Queens College under the advisement of my advisor, my dissertation advisor from Rutgers University. And his take on it was, \"Hey, I know you want to be a researcher, but the jobs are looking slim. Why don't you consider Queens College so that you can continue your research, and also teach?\" As a graduate assistant and teaching assistant at Rutgers University, I had the experience of teaching and was also adjuncting at Hunter [College], at Fairleigh Dickinson [University] and at St. Joseph's [College]. So while teaching wasn't the favorite part of my experience, I said, you know, if teaching is what I have to do in order to continue my research I'll do it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=894.0,975.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So I started teaching in the department of education and community programs. My program is education leadership. So, I prepare teachers to become administrative--into administrative positions, whether it's a district or a school building leader. So the criteria to get into the program is three to five years of teaching experience, recommended by your school building or district leader, and someone who demonstrates the desire to be prepared to lead communities of New York City, and connected areas, Long Island, rural, suburban areas as well. As time went on, I realized that the academic rat race, as what it's called, getting tenure and getting known for your research and work, was also an important part of being a faculty within academia. That was not my favorite part, but I fell for the trap and while I did what I had to do to attain tenure and earned it, it's still something that I am very aware of in terms of their respectability politics and the bureaucracy. What I will say that has transpired is, I was able to reignite the activist in me, especially through the Black Lives Matter movement, but more specifically during COVID. And that activism was in fact what ignited, I won't say that it started, but it certainly ignited the Black and Latinx Faculty and Staff Association.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=975.0,1095.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. Let's work our way up to that, because I know that that started later, not later, but in the middle of the pandemic or after the peak in New York, which was in April (2020). So, could we talk about March and the initial, the beginning of this pandemic? So, by the second week of March, we get basically stay at home orders and what do you remember from that time period?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1095.0,1137.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah, it was a very interesting period because January and February were the first times that I had heard on the news, there were these cruise ships that were out at sea and folks were getting sick and it was a virus, right? And that virus was identified. But considering that we lived through SARS and Ebola, in my mind, I was under the impression, \"Oh, here is another movement of science where we're now going to be educated on and informed, and somebody's going to figure it out because somebody always figures it out.\" It figures it out and we are able to then get an idea of where it starts and how it ends and vaccinations are out.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1137.0,1193.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So when it then led to March and we get these notifications that it's real, right? Like, there's this idea that this virus isn't going anywhere, there isn't a vaccine. It's not something that's known. We're being advised daily, by [Governor Andrew] Cuomo and [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, and I believe her name is Brix [Dr. Deborah Birx], about all of these anticipated results that we may or may not be prepared for. But then having it impact our Black and brown communities, the way it did, and the way that it was, was truly the tell all for me, because I realized that a lot of my students, the majority of them are white. The majority of them are teaching in schools with students that look like me. And the majority of these families of students that look like me don't necessarily have the best quality healthcare. So I started understanding that there was going to be a bigger impact on communities of color and how we as an institution or institutions overall, we're not generally prepared to deal with how to advise families and that we'd certainly had to rely on what the public health administration was going to ascertain.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1193.0,1293.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Another interesting part was realizing and recognizing that in the past, as institutions, here we are always relying on what the Ivies are telling us, or can tell us, and recognizing that even Harvard was willing to shut it down...it was the first indication that was just like, okay, this is real. If Harvard's closing its doors, then we may have to learn about what we're going to do next. So getting that email from our administration saying that we were going to go online was telling in March. But even more telling was the recalibration process because it gave a sense of the lack of preparedness on an institutional front, how they were faculty and still are some faculty members who are in need of some preparation and guidance. But it speaks volumes as to what we have: all this time and thinking has been important and no longer is.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1293.0,1370.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: And I say that because we've taken for granted how we have been working on day-to-day basis without really understanding how some of our families are getting by, especially in our marginalized communities. How the recalibration exposed how many of our students did not have access to digital devices, how technology then became the crisis of how do we continue to stay in touch, how downloading software became a bigger issue than perhaps needed to if folks had been curious enough to prepare for something like this. And not that we could have told folks like, \"Hey, in 2020, we're going to have a pandemic!\" Right? But the university as a whole has always been willing to teach faculty on how to move into hybrid. I recall taking, in 2016 the Center of Teaching and Learning offered these courses for faculty. So every Friday for a semester, we came onto the campus and we sat there and we learned how to teach hybrid courses, online courses. And that was very telling about how forward thinking folks were from the administrative lens. So, to see this happening now, and from March to this current fall semester 2020, it has been very revealing as to what it is that we can or cannot do as a whole.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1370.0,1477.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: I do want to continue on talking about how you've noticed the revelations of how Black and brown communities have been affected by this pandemic, but when you received the email that you will be working remotely, in your personal life, how did you have to adjust to the pandemic? Do you remember any preparations that you made when you realized you'd be working from home?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1477.0,1511.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I'll be honest, Obden, I was not impacted. And the reason I wasn't impacted was, again, I give a lot of credit to that 2016 preparation with the Center of Teaching and Learning on campus. So when I reached out to students and told them, \"Hey, here's, what's happening: you might or might not have gotten an email about where we are with having to teach and learn remotely. Here's what's going to happen.\" And the majority of our students are parents themselves, so they appreciated the fact that we were going remote because they didn't have to use that travel time to get onto campus, and then also look for parking and get to class late. Our classes, usually, are evening courses, so they start anywhere from 4:30 to 7:00. So it worked out and it was actually a favorable move. In terms of preparation, I have always done a blended learning model where some days are lectures, other days they're student led. Other days, I have colleagues from the field call in via Zoom or Skype and help assist teach a course that perhaps I'm not always an expert on or rather them take over. So I won't say that I had a little bit of leverage during this time because I was much more prepared than most.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1511.0,1605.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And what was home like at the time and your neighborhood? What do you remember seeing and hearing, during the early days? Like for me, I'm not used to working from home and time was something that disappeared, but space was something that became more apparent. So, I used to be not someone that was attentive to space, but now all I do is move things around and make things clear and dedicating places to like: this is where I work and this is where I don't work. What do you remember about things related to that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1605.0,1648.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Definitely creating an actual physical workspace was not always easy, because I have always been very clear on I didn't want to bring work home. I just wanted to have work at the workspace dedicated for that, and kind of come home and Zen. And having to transition that, it was very different. As for communities and neighborhoods that change, the one thing that I will say, gave a rise to the attention of essential workers and what that actually meant, you know? Even questioning, \"Am I essential,\" right? Because I didn't have to be there and have to be out on the streets, but also shed light on the humanization of being extremely grateful for our essential workers. So it brought me to start thinking about even the janitorial departments of Queens College and CUNY overall. What about them? What happened to them during this time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1648.0,1727.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Because even in our communities here in Brooklyn, thinking of the way that folks had to recalibrate themselves, right? The restaurant owners, the small mom and pop businesses, having lines just to get into supermarkets, having to understand that our subway system was going to be wiped down and sanitized. The way that it was understanding just the way that folks were no longer going to be employed because their jobs weren't necessarily thought as essential jobs, what that meant for the economic development of a community, right? Folks are very aware, or may not be aware, that sometimes hiring people from the community and the neighborhood means that you're going to economically have those funds coming and staying in the community. And what was that like? A personal story: the laundromat, on the corner where I live. I recently went over and asked for a long-time--I mean, she became a friend. I've been here for quite some years and every now and then just seeing her standing outside, her name is Mayra. I walked in and asked, \"Hey, what happened to Mayra?\" And the associate that was behind the cashier desk said, \"Oh, she was let go because of COVID.\" So I think of people like Mayra, and what could have possibly happened to her and what is she doing? Is she okay? Where is she? And so many like her.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1727.0,1846.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, do you know anyone that caught COVID within your circles?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1846.0,1856.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yes, actually I know a couple of people that have. Fortunately, no one has passed. But I know of three people personally that have had it, have had COVID.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1856.0,1873.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: How were you able to stay in communication with them? And what do you remember about that experience?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1873.0,1896.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So I went to Hunter College right after undergrad and he also became a mentor of mine. And one of our friends reached out and said that she had heard that he was at the hospital, but they didn't what hospital he was in, just started calling every hospital. So that was scary. Because for us, it was like, what would our life be without him?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1896.0,1978.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: What was your mentor's name?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1978.0,1978.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Sigmund Shipp.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1978.0,1978.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Say it one more time? You slowed down a little bit.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1978.0,1986.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Oh, sorry. Sigmund Shipp.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1986.0,1988.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Sigmund Shipp, okay. Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1988.0,1989.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Did you hear me now?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1989.0,1990.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Yes, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1990.0,1991.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So finding him and hearing that he was in stable condition, certainly calmed us down, but it was real. It was something we were very afraid of. Another friend of mine, his name is Marco Padro, friend from a very long time, just, I reached out to him on the random, and he said, you know, Sori, I've been in and out and [unclear], but the virus got me. And that too was hard. It was just like, this is insane. And then finally, a very recent example of somebody who I haven't known for a long time, but have gotten really close to, to hear that he too had the virus was a very real experience. Like this is so arbitrary. Who you are, it doesn't matter where you live, your lifestyle, what economic bracket you fall under, how old you are, anybody can fall into it. It is, it is that real. So those are my three experiences.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=1991.0,2086.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: You did mention that the virus is a bit democratic as to who can catch it, but, there has been a disparity in regards to the discrepancy of cases in Black and brown communities just because they have had more exposure. And you did mention your recognizing that and seeing that. So I guess my next question is, aside from the person by the laundromat, did you know anyone else financially affected by the pandemic?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2086.0,2129.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Absolutely. A lot of my family members lost their jobs. And economically, financially, mentally, physically, emotionally, I know several people that have unfortunately fallen victim to the pandemic. And that has certainly impacted...Like, what now? What can they do now?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2129.0,2164.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And could you describe, how did your day to day change? How did it feel to stay home more often during the pandemic basically?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2164.0,2195.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So I have always been extremely active. So moving around was a concern for me, running much more seriously now, but I realized that as much as I did it in the past, now it's become a necessary part of my day to day. It is the moment that I'm able to clear my mind and, just have that time to myself and reflect on what the day before, the days before had represented. While it's also a part of my health routine, it is also become a necessary part of what I need to do to create the rest of my days. So I mean, there are moments where I'm on Zoom, much more than I'd want to be on, but there are also moments that a lot of my ideas that I've been able to, that I've been harboring for years, if there's anything that this experience has given is time. Time to flesh out those ideas, time to really think about what's next. What can my journey look like from this moment on? How can I continue to contribute? [Unclear] What is my purpose? What else can I continue to do to add value to this everyday thing called life?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2195.0,2297.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. You mentioned that, in regards to your work life, that you were prepared through a lot of the workshops that you took every Friday and in regards to developing hybrid courses, but do you remember what it was like, in regards to interacting with your fellow coworkers, as well as the department that you're working with?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2297.0,2330.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yes. So this is interesting because we had COVID March, George Floyd happened and I remember waiting for about a week. My department is unlike most on Queens College campus and other campuses, we're extremely diverse. So I am not the only one of anything in my department. We have been fortunate enough to really congregate as a real diverse spectrum of people intellectually, but also aesthetically. So after George Floyd happened, I waited for about a week to see if any of our white colleagues would check up on the Black and brown colleagues to see how we were doing mentally, to see how we were doing emotionally. Nobody did it. And that silence spoke volumes and it hurt. It was hurtful. It was also very telling as to what folks really understood about Black lives. And I finally sent out an email explaining, you know, it's been about a week since this happened. What's up? Like, where have y'all been? And it didn't really hit me that we [unclear] until that moment. It's just been a very covert process of racism. But that exposure was revealing and I'm a little bit more comforted now with who they are versus not knowing, and what that actually means to me as a faculty, as a Black woman and as a Latina woman and as an Afro-indigenous woman, [unclear].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2330.0,2483.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And then, in regards to the death of George Floyd and the protest that ensued afterwards being led by the Black Lives Matter movement, what--I guess there must have been a stark contrast between what white staff members were saying to you or not saying to you versus what do you remember of Black staff members and staff members of color talking about in regards to this.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2483.0,2517.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So I'm going to give you the Black and Latinx faculty and staff association formally developing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2517.0,2523.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2523.0,2525.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So when I was hired in 2010, I was introduced to June Bob who at the time was the assistant provost. I don't know if you ever got to meet her?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2525.0,2535.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Not yet.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2535.0,2535.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Or had the opportunity? Well, she's retired now, but I will say to have her on campus was to have a personal fairy godmother on the campus. She was a Black Caribbean woman who just knew her stuff, but was right [unclear] what to do as another young Black woman on campus. How do you survive the world of academia when you just don't know, right? I also wasn't fortunate enough to have the mentoring that I needed and what she did was that she informally gathered Black and Latinx folks on campus every now and then. And we cultivated a relationship with each other to build beyond our professions, just wanted us to get to know each other, to have each other's backs, to provide support and to build a network that would assist in guiding us beyond just our day-to-day.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2535.0,2609.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: What ends up happening in 2015 and 16, we were charged as the Black and Latinx professors on campus to cultivate a committee that was leading into promoting Black history throughout the year. And how do we promote that with our intellectual knowledge on what that actually means to us as individuals, but how do we promote it so that the students can also be involved? That committee kind of died down and I will be honest and tell you that I stepped down from the committee because having a white man lead that committee did not feel right to me. And it was clear that he did not take this as serious as we were taking it and was very dismissive of what we needed to do. And then there was always budget issues, oh, we don't have enough money for this or that, but then there'll be money for other things on campus and that wasn't okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2609.0,2685.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Then fast forward to George Floyd. Nathaniel Smith, who's the director of the Men Teach program at Queens College, reached out to the Black and Latinx faculty on campus and said, you know, we need a breathing moment. We need to reconnect. We need to really engage and just check in on one another. And we were on a Zoom call for two hours, just dissecting and understanding who we were, but the most beautiful part was, here we are on Zoom having the Black and brown faces of Queens College connect for the very first time in a very formal way. Yes to discuss sadness, but also ignited an association of primarily staff. The majority of the folks on that call were staff. But to really come together, convene and speak of what was on our hearts, what was on our minds and just show up for one another. Couple days later, we took that moment and just ran with it and emailed around on what Black, Latinx, BIPOC communities were actually writing up and asking for. And we did the same. We then decided, hey, let's just convene for a formal status on this and kept following up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2685.0,2790.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Somehow along the way, I was nominated to be the chair of the Black and Latinx Faculty Staff Association, which while it is not something that I understand--it's not like saying, \"hey, I am the provost of diversity!\" or, you know, it's not that. But I do take pride in being and leading a part of our community that for so long has been either voiceless quote unquote, and I don't like that terminology, but we've not been seen. A month later, I applied for the diversity fellowship at Queens College and I was also awarded. So the leverage just kept going up for me in that sense where here I am now as a diversity fellow, I can also speak on behalf of the BLFSA. And this now means that our voices as a collective are going to be heard because I have the attention of the administration. I'm going to cultivate not just our demands, which are now being responded to and how we are moving forward, but the more beautiful part has certainly been to meet, Obden. (And you are more than welcome to join our meetings if you'd like spaces that have led to a discourse and dialogue that we didn't necessarily have before.) But it is always with the mindset that students are our priority. Although we are convening as faculty and staff, in the end it is to support our students' success, safety, and wellbeing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2790.0,2913.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And could you describe the process in regards to how you created some of the demands?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2913.0,2927.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So we broke it down in three sections. We broke it down from the administrative lens, what we wanted from the administrative lens. We broke it down from the pedagogy and instruction, what we were demanding about what is being taught and how it's being taught. And then we finally looked at students and campus services and what was it that our students on campus overall needed to provide resources and supports. And we looked at the areas that we realized we're not meeting up to what they said they would do for us. And everybody that was part of each section spoke very deeply on what it was that they're not doing versus what we are getting and we had to be very efficient because we wanted to get the attention.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2927.0,2992.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: It was a Google doc that was live for about three weeks. And we had faculty staff, folks from everywhere, and on campus edit to make suggestions. And then we finally simplified it in a way that was going to be very clear and direct. Still we added some data and qualified it with supports from each of the sections that we broke it down. And while that took a while to understand from the perspective of how our collective experiences we're adding to this document, it was also a very interesting process because we just didn't know what we didn't know. And as a collective, we're all finding this out. And that really made a difference.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=2992.0,3052.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: I mean, what were some of the things that you didn't know that you didn't know?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3052.0,3058.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: So for instance, as a faculty member teaching grad, I wasn't aware that some of the undergraduate courses that were being taught were mandated through a program initiative called Pathways, where some faculty and staff were still being very resistant about, like \"Why do we have to do this? This doesn't make sense for the overall curriculum or agenda of a student getting their degree.\" I also was not aware that our cabinet on campus was completely white. I was also not aware that we have seven deans and all seven of them are white. I was not aware that when it comes to faculty and staff at Queens College, [unclear] isn't a large, but the union is supposed to be doing [unclear]. And, so these were moments where, had it not been because of these meetings I would not have known. And just to hear people's experiences was enlightening.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3058.0,3145.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And just for some clarifying questions: when you say--so the Pathways is a particular curriculum that students have to take part in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3145.0,3154.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Right. So I, again, as a faculty member, teaching graduate programs, I'm not too familiar with it. So I can send you, a link based on what I was able to find, but it is literally like a process that all departments have to go through to decide which classes are required courses for students that need to go under this umbrella of Pathways. So it provides information on the required courses versus electives that all students have to or are supposed to take.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3154.0,3199.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: I understand. Thank you. But I mean, I'd still love to see that document. And then, my other question was: could you tell me what is a cabinet in this context?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3199.0,3215.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: All the cabinet is the president's advisory board on campus. So it is made up of all the VPs and provosts.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3215.0,3227.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Oh, okay. Hearing that it takes three weeks to create this document, in regards to the demands. And it sounds like one of those moments where within the university staff decides to take a stand. So within this time period of COVID, what did that moment feel like?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3227.0,3260.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: It was very telling, I'd be very consumed with finding every day, checking this document. And to who and the process in itself was very revealing. As to when you want to make change, you're not going to get it by those who are not invested, but those that are, will do monumentous things with this, and I realized this convening of Black and Brown people on campus, and see the need for change. We're coming together and meeting weekly and biweekly to shape this actual document. So even today, we're now discussing how we're going to move forward with the demands that were going to be presented. So now that we have the administration looking over our demands and saying, \"Okay, based on your desires and demands and wants and needs, here's what we can give to you right now versus what we're going to continue working with.\" But it's a dialogue, it's a discussion, it's a warranted conversation that we've not really had in the past. So it feels amazing to be able to live through this history and say, look what we did.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3260.0,3376.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: I guess in regards to like, how does this moment--this moment where we do have the pandemic, we do have the death of people like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others even within this year alone, it's also Jacob Blake who is still alive--you have been working at Queens College since 2010. Could you think of other moments like this that are similar, I guess not similar, but have a family resemblance to what's happening in the sense too, like, it reminds you of this moment, but obviously doesn't, isn't a direct comparison.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3376.0,3424.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Does it have to be in the past or is it a current thing? Because, yeah. Does it have to be in the past or something that's more current?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3424.0,3434.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Whichever works for you. So if it's something that's more current, we can talk about that. If it's something that's in the past, I guess something I'm thinking about, but obviously we both have our input within this oral history. I guess I was thinking of people like Michael Brown where, that was a watershed moment for me, but obviously, and the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement, but there doesn't seem to be as much--the intensity to me feels different now just because the focus is there more is here now more?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3434.0,3475.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah. So I will say this to you. So Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin will forever go down in history because it was the igniting, I guess, for Black Lives Matter to really cause the ruckus that they needed to. The victim recording; in the past, we've had the outlets, the news outlets, just telling us about the unfortunate circumstance. And then we had Sandra Bland, right. Black women are certainly not really spoken of as much and we have to be very mindful of what we're not doing. Also, I can't remember her name and that's unfortunate because there was a Latina soldier who was also killed and she's now--but again, I think, I know that George Floyd in itself, that experience, was very telling for us because it was recorded for us to see it live, to see it happen. Jacob Blake as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3475.0,3564.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: But what really, really hurt me has been Jessica Krug. The deceit of a white Jewish woman teaching and perpetuating this lens of \"I can claim Blackness\" and for years receiving grants and scholarship and supports on the front of stating that she was who she was not. And then taking that, or those opportunities, away from people who qualified and definitely deserving is hurtful because it goes back to that saying, \"You all want our rhythm, but you don't want our blues.\" You want us to listen to you, but you're not willing to give up your privilege. I mean, it hurts. It hurts. You know, as somebody that, like myself--I didn't get all the funding that this woman has gotten. I didn't get all the opportunities that she has received, and I'm sure that based on all that has been uncovered, I'm sure that she played both sides. I am sure she had circles of white privilege that she would reach out to because colorism is real. And I am very confident in saying that she probably reached out to her white networks in Kansas where she grew up and what that pedigree looks like go into practice.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3564.0,3674.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I am sure she was able to get access to that. Where even myself as a faculty member who's been in academia for ten years now, I still have imposter syndrome. I still suffer from moments of thinking, \"Why do I deserve that?\" or \"How can I get that?\" or \"Who do I reach out to for that?\" You know, the government has for as long as I've been reading or able to understand how our system works has been supporting these white legacies. White families have been getting over government grants and information because they've had access to them, where Black and brown people are just coming to terms with, \"Oh wow, we too can apply for that?\" or \"How do we get to be a part of that conversation?\" or \"Who do we speak with about that?\" So that level of deception is what's rooted in: how dare you. That is evil. You aren't even considering, how you're taking food from somebody else's mouth or ability to move forward in a society that has been set up for us to be very limited, not just in our thinking, but in our physical being.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3674.0,3763.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Yeah. That's--all really amazing points. And in regards to Jessica Krug, some of the things I think about, is that it's almost like she, being born as a white person, she also has this like, not instinctual...but there's a way that she knows how to use a system versus someone that is actually born being a person of color. And it makes me think of what academia wants versus--what academia wants and knowing what to give them. And, she just had a particular training that would allow her to receive those grants just because, you know, you mentioned things like imposter syndrome, which is what people--hello?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3763.0,3831.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Having internet issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3831.0,3833.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. Yeah. Can you hear me now?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3833.0,3843.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yes, I can.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3843.0,3843.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. So I was just, commenting.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3843.0,3848.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: I'm going to move.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3848.0,3848.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3848.0,3859.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Can you hear me?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3859.0,3860.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: I can hear you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3860.0,3871.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Can you hear me now?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3871.0,3881.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Can you hear me?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3881.0,3882.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Yes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3882.0,3882.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Okay. Sorry about that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3882.0,3884.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: No problem. Not your fault's, the internet's. So I was just commenting that, you know, Jessica Krug...I was hopping onto the idea that she's had a particular training as a white person, knowing how to basically work within the system, but whether she had problems, things that she's also unaware of that, you know, dealing with microaggressions or dealing with things like you mentioned, which is imposter syndrome, that if you are a person of color entering the field of academia, there are things that terrify you and things that you're not really sure of how to do correctly. That is, we are at another interesting moment where this liberal idea of, participation within the system has been shown to be continuously problematic. And things like what's being done with the BLF as a...is really important because it properly an enacts change as opposed to the bureaucratic system that is academia. Just because academia has so many problems that are hard to deal with while they think they're fixing a lot of things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3884.0,3976.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Right. Hold on just one second Obden and let me just update my lighting here. So this is also the issue with COVID right? Having to move around and...","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3976.0,3997.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Yeah, I've run to so many places! But I mean, to do interviews I get this ethernet, I got a laptop that has ethernet. So that helps sometimes, just because the internet on this block is all run by Optimum, which means I have no chance of fixing the wifi anytime soon.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=3997.0,4033.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4033.0,4033.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: But, I guess the last question I asked was, how this current moment of change is different from others and...","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4033.0,4043.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Ah, yeah. So it's different because it's inevitable now. Like if I don't say something personally, I am part of the problem. I feel more confident in calling people out now. You know, I don't have this desire of meeting people where they are anymore. It's too blatant. It's too real. It's too disingenuous what they've done. And they (I mean, white supremacy and white folks who choose to be ignorant), it is too careless, and more than ever my desire to be part of a larger conversation to hold folks accountable, right, to be able to measure our own performance, and not be part of this performative idea. Right? And even that word being the new trendy buzzword, how long is it going to take before your realness runs out, or your quote unquote, \"I care moment\" because this is not work for the week or the meek.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4043.0,4123.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: This is work from the soul. And I have to credit Nathaniel Smith for emphasizing that in one of our meetings when he mentioned we're not able to move away from this and say, tag, you're it. We were born into this and this is a moment where it is very telling [to] us to who is willing to step up for us. And it's also us being very mindful that even our own Black and brown people are very colonized still. Just because they look like you doesn't mean they'll stand up for you, and being mindful of those conversations. And most importantly, understanding that in order to get something we're going to have to lose something. This moment is unlike any other because it's out. Yes, COVID happened, but what's crazy is that it exposed all of these issues that we've been dealing with for so long and speaking on them, not even from a surface level, just that folks weren't paying attention.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4123.0,4193.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Now it's like, all we have is time. All we are at this moment is confined to our personal spaces where we're being forced to think about our own biases. And even as somebody sharing these thoughts with you, I recognize that I too have my own biases. And how only as recently have I been able to finally say no to things, say no to things I don't want to do versus the things that I need to do for my self-preservation. Even having this conversation with you is not something that I probably would have felt comfortable doing a couple of years ago, because I would have thought about the consequences and how I was probably going to agitate somebody else and how it was probably going to impact my career and what moves I had to make. And not that I'm not afraid of those things anymore, but I understand that there is a bigger conversation and the leverage of knowing assists. So being a part of union conversations and as a delegate within the union now, how the union is meant to be there to support, but the union also needs to be decolonized because there are racist players within the union, knowing all of this and being able to bring this information forward to folks has really, assisted me in building a role that perhaps my confidence was not allowing me to do in the past.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4193.0,4293.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, do you feel that...I mean, so much has happened within the last few months, but I think one of the things you mentioned, one thing I liked that you really said is that we are born into this and you can't really tag someone into it. And you've also mentioned that now we have nothing but time. So do you think this issue of temporality, realizing if it's not now that we don't know when, it's something that has affected you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4293.0,4322.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Absolutely. I had too many distractions. There were just too many distractions in the past. I mean, if it wasn't life, it was, \"How do I want to be a part of this conversation and that conversation?\" and not recognizing that now, again, the limitation has allowed all of these other moments of ideas that I was harboring for years. Not wanting to share because of fear and not wanting to express or expose, because again, I had this perception of consequences and validation that I needed to have, because part of the academy was also playing this game of who you knew. And again, it's not that those things don't matter to me, but they matter differently, right? They matter in a way that has personally allowed me to be much more authentic with myself and understand that if you're not here for the cause, then it's okay for us not to be in touch or it's okay for us to have limited conversations or it's okay for us to develop a different type of relationship.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4322.0,4397.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Those moments for me were not clarified before. I was bamboozled, right? I was part of this idea that bureaucracy and respectability politics mattered. However, I am not--it's not lost on me, but in order to speak about inclusion, that I do have to understand the politics, right? I am aware of that. You know, this idea that now as Black and brown people we've been charged to be leading these diversity equity and inclusion conversations. For years, I was very reluctant to be a part of diversity committees because I kept preaching to people that look like me and the people that needed to be in those rooms were clearly white folks who were not aware of the damage they were doing. And fast forward here I am the diversity fellow. But it feels great to be in a position where I can finally be part of the conversations that I didn't realize I needed to be a part of in the past. But I'm a part of the conversations with a different mentality, a different quote unquote title, a different lens, but also engaging different people. The audience is different. So that makes a huge difference for me because it's no longer me speaking to other Black and brown people on campus. It's me speaking to the white people on campus that need to do the work. And that was very telling, and it was a securing moment for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4397.0,4512.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. And, I guess, we have some time left and I do think we might have to...I have to re-listen to this interview and have some follow-up questions that I would like clarity on. But I guess, with the fall in mind, and usually when you collect any oral history interview, you ask someone, \"How do they think some, a neighborhood or their life, or maybe a movement would be five years from now?\" And with this pandemic and the loss of the concept of time as we know it, how do you see the rest of the semester going in regards to your work with BLFSA as well as within your department?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4512.0,4562.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Yeah. So, one of the things I forgot to mention to you, and I guess I was really into it. So how do I think it's going to go for the rest of the semester? So last week was the first actual, the first class session followed by the introductory class. And admittedly, I was very, just, I wouldn't say afraid, but I just had no idea how this was going to work out because in the past, in the spring semester, I had already known all the students physically before the pandemic, and remote learning happened. But this is the first time where we're fully online. So I'm teaching the very new cohort coming in, first-year students. So creating those connections and those bonds, where I've had the advantage of creating in the past physically are no longer. So I was very intimidated and just thinking of the unknown, like \"How can I do this?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4562.0,4627.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: How can I really build those authentic, sincere relationships with these students that I've been able to do in the past? And one of the things that I decided to do is before every class ends is ask students, \"What's the highlight of today and what do you want us to do going forward?\" And I think I am going to continue doing that just so that I too can continue to learn what works best for them. And in cultivating that I come to the point that, you know what, there is a new sense of teaching and learning for me. I cannot always be the provider here. I need to be more engaging in understanding how I'm going to learn from these experiences as well. So it's almost like this ethnographic lens for me. As a faculty, yes, I'm providing the facilitation, but as a researcher, I'm a part of the facilitation.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4627.0,4691.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: And that has given me a sense of encouragement that, you know, there are multiple ways to do this. One of the--going back to what I wanted to tell you regarding my experiences, however, with faculty and staff. During the spring of 2019 I was on sabbatical and I had, after Philando Castile and thinking back to Michael Brown and Sandra Bland and Trayvon Martin, I was also very, very aware that as a department in the school of education, we are the department that prepares everybody else to do what they're going to do, right? So we're preparing teachers, we're preparing administrators who in the end are going to prepare our next generation of everything else. It was important that we had a social justice statement on our landing page, on our site. So while on sabbatical, I created a social justice statement, sent it out to my department, asked them, I need your input while I'm on sabbatical, take some time, invest in this, add your keywords. Let's see how we build something in unison so that we can post on our landing page. I was heartbroken to learn that it took George Floyd.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4691.0,4787.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/118","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Soribel Genao: Again, this happened spring 2019. It's took George Floyd to happen so that our statement could finally go on. So we had our first faculty meeting last week, and I didn't act any different. I didn't treat anybody differently. I didn't give anybody shade. I was very clear on mentally and emotionally stepping into that meeting with the same mindset. We're here for the same thing. We're here for students. We're here to make change, but the clarity for me is we don't all want the same thing and that's okay. We're here to do our respective doings. But I'm not going to call you out. I'm also not here to blame you for what you don't know, or what you choose not to know. I'm going to continue doing what feels right. What has always worked for me, which is thinking about students first, but primarily knowing that there isn't a moment that has gone on throughout this experience, even prior to COVID that I didn't do anything without keeping students at the forefront. This is not a research one institution. We are at a teaching college. If the students are not there, we are not there. So that has always been my eye on the prize and certainly the students.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4787.0,4905.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543/transcript/35421/annotation/119","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Alright. Thank you so much. I think, that is a wonderful stopping point. So I'm going to hit stop on the record button.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/55041/file/128543#t=4905.0,4913.64"}]}]}]}