We are not ok. We are Black Women in America.
I am reminded of this book by Antija Allen and Justin Stewart. We’re Not OK: Black Faculty Experiences and Higher Education Strategies
Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, Vice President for Student Affairs at Lincoln University, a beautiful, passionate, social justice activist, committed suicide this week. Lincoln University is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Jefferson City, Missouri, founded in 1866 by African-American veterans of the American Civil War. Dr. Candia-Bailey reported to Dr. John B. Moseley, the university’s 21st president. https://www.newstribune.com/news/2022/jan/30/new-lincoln-university-president-its-go-time/
Dr. Moseley is the first white president since Richard Baxter Foster, the first principal of the Lincoln Institute in 1866.
He had been serving as interim president since May 2021 and was appointed to the permanent position in January 2022. He previously served as the Head Basketball Coach for LU before joining leadership as the Director of Athletics in 2015. Please take note of the qualifications, which so many often mention with respect to women of color. https://menahpratt.com/on-qualified-women-and-minorities/
This basketball coach became the president.
Sources state that Dr. Bailey was left “unsupported, disregarded, and abused after countless attempts to speak out on the bullying and harassment she experienced in her role from President Moseley.”
Dr. Bailey also reportedly discussed in a letter before her passing, the “stigmatized bullying she faced from the President and other leadership officials,” after disclosing her mental illness to the university.
If you look at social media posts across a variety of platforms, Black women are often holding on by threads. Our jobs are trying to shred us; tear us down; humiliate; and dehumanize us. Yet, we are trying to hold on and sometimes we can’t.
As one of her friends shared: “she was still smiling.”
“I was literally just with her at homecoming and she was like ‘I’m just trying to make it through.’” said Shaunice Hill, another close friend of Candia-Bailey’s. “Her whole demeanor had changed. Yes, she was still smiling, but you could tell that something was off – something was different.”
This is why I created Healing Hours as part of the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference. These healing hours are opportunities for women of color in education to gather in community to understand that we are not alone; that we can engage in a variety of strategies to save ourselves; and that we can daily work on healing from the injustices that we experience.
If you are a woman of color in education, please join our next healing hour.
Our first Healing Hour of 2024, “Healing through dancing: The power of movement and its African influence in the Colombian musical culture,” facilitated by Natalia Pizarro on January 31, 2024 from 12-1 pm, EST.
Register here: https://bit.ly/hh-jan-31-24
Musical expressions have been part of humanity since the beginning of time. Through singing, dancing or by playing instruments, humans have been able to express themselves and endure difficult times. In the case of Colombia, music and dancing had 3 major cultural influences: Indigenous, Spanish-European, and African. To this day, music continues being an important tool and intrinsic part of Colombian culture, as diverse as the natural regions of the country.
If you are a woman of color, please take time to go to counseling. It may take time to find the right one, but keep at it. I have gone to counseling most of my life, and as I write about in Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back Her Superpower, during COVID, I began to have suicidal ideations because of the stress of my marriage and but for my counselor reminding me that I was a tree and that I could stand tall, I’m not sure I would have made it.
Blackwildgirl and companion journal are available for preorder:
We are all dealing with so much hidden stress and pain, but we must persist on. Let’s work on coming into community and healing together.
Registration is still open for the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference. Please ask your institution to sponsor your attendance as a graduate student, faculty member, administrator, post-doctoral fellow, independent scholar. It is virtual and in-person. It will be a powerful conference this year, its 12th year, with keynotes and workshops, April 11-14,2024 in Arlington, Virginia. Learn more at:
https://www.inclusive.vt.edu/Programs/FWCA.html
Let’s us do it in remembrance of Dr. Bailey.
Learn more about her below:
“Dr. Bonnie Bailey was a ’98 Lincoln University alum who was appointed as their VP of Student Affairs in May 2023. As a long time advocate and supporter of HBCUs, Dr. Bailey was excited to return to her alma mater to give back.
“Lincoln University believed in me and provided numerous opportunities,” she said in April 2023. “I’m where I’m at today because of the opportunities afforded at LU.”
A Chicago native, Dr. Bailey worked in higher education for over 20 years. In her previous role, she was VP of Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. She also served as Associate Dean of Students at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Assistant Director of university housing at North Carolina State University.
Dr. Bailey was also an advocate for social justice, inclusion, and diversity and worked diligently to examine self-esteem and identity development, particularly in African American women.”