As the World Burns: “Checking In” (An Annotated Letter to My Students with Lessons from Octavia E. Butler)

162 CLA JOURNAL As the World Burns:“Checking In” (An Annotated Letter to My Students with Lessons from Octavia E. Butler) Kendra R. Parker It should not have been difficult for me to write to my spring 2020 students; we had already endured so much together. In January, I arrived to class red-faced, puffy-eyed, and barely on time—I had an encounter with an officer. In February, we caught whispers of a Black man murdered while jogging in Brunswick—a stone’s throw from Georgia Southern University’s three campuses. In March, we all felt the COVID-19 disruption of the semester, our lives, and the world.And, we were all still reeling from the October 2019 book burning and death of a Black male student-athlete. For five days, I tried to type them something. For five days, I was silent. For someone whose students frequently quip, “Dr. Parker you always got something to say,” such silence was palpable. But they deserved to hear from me. Five days after George Floyd’s murder, I e-mailed my students who, three weeks earlier, had completed my course. But there is so much my message did not say. And so, dear reader, I present to you my letter to them, accompanied by annotations and reflections on Octavia E. Butler’s work, whose wisdom infuses me daily. From: Kendra R. Parker To: ENGL 5590 Date: Saturday, May 30, 2020, 9:42 PM EST Subject: As the world burns: Checking in Hi, all: I don’t have any words of wisdom or cherry-picked quotes from King, X, or Douglass. But after our semester together, where we have discussed so many topics that are underlying many of the things that we are seeing unfold in real time as I type, I didn’t feel right not reaching out to you just to say: take care of yourselves. It may look different for each of you, but however you do it please take care of yourselves. To my Black students in particular: whatever you’re feeling right now is absolutely valid. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently. CLA JOURNAL 163 As the World Burns: “Checking In” If you protest—and however you protest—be safe. If you’re angry about Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, you should also be angry about Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, and Tony McDade. The latter three are a Black woman, a Black man, and a Black trans man also recently shot dead by police. There are so many others. Too many names. That’s all I have folks. Love and light. Dr. Parker “take care of yourselves.” Butler’s Kindred (1979), a novel about a 26-year-old Black woman who time travels back-and-forth between her 20th-century American present and the 19thcentury slavery past, emphasizes the importance of preparation. Each time Dana Franklin returns to her American present, she prepares for an inevitable return to the past, packing essentials: a comb and brush (114), sleeping pills (117), soap (114, 195), aspirin (114), antiseptic (195), Excedrin (195), pocketknife, toothpaste (114, 195), and clothing (114, 195). While Dana is unsure of when she will return to slavery’s embrace, she knows she will return, and she prepares in advance to care for herself. Like Dana, I want you to anticipate the challenges ahead and equip yourself with tools necessary for your survival and wellness. Identify what you need. (Is it a therapist? To take your medication? To get a daily dose of sunshine? To complete deep breathing exercises?) And then figure out how to access it. I encourage you to use your campus’ student wellness centers and mental health professionals, and I offer you three apps you can access from your smartphone or tablet: Therapy for Black Girls, The Safe Place, and Pride Counseling. Prioritize and normalize your mental and physical health. “To my Black students in particular…” There were only three white students enrolled in my class. I wrote the e-mail for my Black students, but I decided to include my white students because I wanted to remind them that if they were not paying attention, their Black peers and Black professor...