Russell J. Rickford Explained

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Russell John Rickford (born [1]) is an American scholar and activist who is an associate professor in the History Department at Cornell University. He has written the only in-depth biography on Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X.

Rickford's research focuses on the black radical tradition and on black liberal culture after World War II. He lectures on American social and political history, among other subjects.[2]

Early life and education

Born in Guyana, Rickford grew up in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Angela E. Rickford, is a professor of Special Education at San Jose State University[3] and the author of I Can Fly: Teaching Narratives and Reading Comprehension to African Americans and other Ethnic Minority Students.[4] His father, John R. Rickford, an authority on African-American Vernacular English and the author of numerous books and scholarly articles, teaches linguistics at Stanford University.[1]

Rickford attended Gunn High School in Palo Alto and won a National Merit Scholarship.[1] [5]

He went on to study journalism at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he also served as Alpha Phi Alpha president for two years and wrote for The Hilltop.[6] Rickford earned his bachelor's degree magna cum laude in 1997.[1] [6]

Career

Rickford began his career as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer[7] and went on to work for a public-relations firm in Philadelphia.

Early works

In 1998, he began doing research for his biography on Betty Shabazz.[8] In 2000, Rickford and his father co-wrote Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English, a book about African-American Vernacular English[9] which won the American Book Award.[10] The term "Spoken Soul" was coined by author Claude Brown in the 1960s and pays homage to the rhythmic, poetic qualities of African-American English.[11]

In 2001,[8] Rickford left his job in Philadelphia and moved into his parents' garage to write the first, and to date only, in-depth biography of Betty Shabazz.[5] An effort that spanned five and a half years, Betty Shabazz: A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X was published in 2003.[8] Writing in The Crisis, William Jelani Cobb called Rickford's work "a thorough, insightful and engaging book, befitting its enigmatic—and ultimately heroic—subject".[7]

Academia

In 2002, Rickford enrolled at Columbia University, studying for a master's degree in African-American studies under Manning Marable.[12] [13] Between 2003 and 2004, he contributed research to Marable's Malcolm X Project and, according to Marable, "was instrumental in setting up many oral histories and interviews" with Malcolm X's contemporaries.[14] Marable credited Rickford with coining the term "Malcolmology" to describe the way in which African Americans rediscovered Malcolm X as a cultural icon after he was embraced by major hip-hop artists of the 1980s and 1990s.[15] Rickford completed his doctorate in history at Columbia in 2009.[13] His dissertation won that year's Bancroft Dissertation Award. His research concerns African-American politics after the Civil Rights Movement. In an interview, he said he was trying to answer the question, "Why did black nationalism become increasingly conservative towards the end of the 20th century?"[16]

Rickford joined the Dartmouth faculty in 2009,[16] moving to Cornell in 2014. In early 2011, he edited a collection of writings by Marable entitled Beyond Boundaries.[17] Described by his former mentor as "one of the most talented and insightful" members of a new generation of black intellectuals,[18] In 2016, Rickford completed a history of Pan-Africanist private schools during the Black Power era titled We Are an African People: Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination.[2]

Remarks on the 2023 Hamas attack

In October 2023, a video was publicized of Rickford speaking at an October 15 rally held in support of Palestinians after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel,[19] [20] where according to The Telegraph, he "appeared to refer to the massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis on Oct 7 by the terrorist group as a 'challenge to the monopoly of violence'."[21] He also said "It was exhilarating".[21] [20] [22] Cornell officials issued statements over the next several days condemning his remarks.[20] [19] [23] [22]

On October 18, The Cornell Daily Sun published a letter from Rickford, in which he wrote, "I apologize for the horrible choice of words that I used in a portion of a speech that was intended to stress grassroots African American, Jewish and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression."[24] [25] [22] By October 20, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney had called for Rickford to be fired.[25] [26] [22] A semester leave of absence for Rickford was announced on October 21.[27]

Personal life

Rickford was introduced to his wife by Manning Marable[12] when they were both working as research assistants for Marable's Malcolm X Project.[28]

Works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pride and prejudice / A young author looks back at the tragedy -- and triumph -- of Betty Shabazz's life . Nakao . Annie . February 22, 2004 . . November 17, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406084440/https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/Pride-and-prejudice-A-young-author-looks-back-2792483.php . April 6, 2023 . live.
  2. Web site: Russell Rickford Department of History . history.cornell.edu . 18 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101202526/https://history.cornell.edu/russell-rickford . November 1, 2023 . live.
  3. Web site: San Jose State University Directory . . November 17, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221006135933/https://www.sjsu.edu/people/angela.rickford/ . October 6, 2022 . live.
  4. Web site: Bio. Angela E. Rickford . November 2011 . . November 26, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406084440/http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/doc/promotion/20111121_lc_english_seminar.pdf . April 6, 2023 . dead .
  5. Web site: More than a widow . Eymer . Rick . February 6, 2004 . . November 14, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231031150349/http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/2004/2004_02_06.russell6ja.shtml . October 31, 2023 . live.
  6. Web site: Why Spoken Soul means more to me than any book I've written . Rickford . John Russell . January 22, 2000 . . November 26, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104085655/https://aalbc.com/books/spoken_soul.htm . November 4, 2023 . live.
  7. Web site: Betty Shabazz: Uncovering the Woman Behind the Widow Veil . Cobb . William Jelani . Jelani Cobb . March–April 2004 . . 52 . November 26, 2016 .
  8. Web site: Russell Rickford . Trotz . Maya . January 2004 . Jouvay.com . November 14, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120213205753/http://www.jouvay.com/interviews/russelrickford.html . February 13, 2012 . dead.
  9. Web site: Father and son authors make case for acceptance of Ebonics . Wagner . Venise . April 30, 2000 . . November 26, 2011 .
  10. Web site: American Booksellers Association . The American Book Awards / Before Columbus Foundation [1980–2012] ]. 2013 . BookWeb . 2000 [...] Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English, John Russell Rickford and Russell John Rickford . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130313174235/http://bookweb.org/btw/awards/The-American-Book-Awards---Before-Columbus-Foundation.html . March 13, 2013 . September 25, 2013.
  11. Book: John R. Rickford. Russell John Rickford. Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English. November 26, 2011. 2000. John Wiley and Sons. 978-0-471-32356-3. ix.
  12. Web site: A Eulogy for Manning Marable . Rickford . Russell . April 4, 2011 . . April 29, 2018 .
  13. Web site: What Matters to Me and Why? . January 18, 2011 . . November 26, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120121043323/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mlk/calendar/what_matters.html . 2012-01-21 . dead .
  14. Book: Manning Marable. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. November 26, 2011. April 4, 2011. Penguin Books Ltd. 978-0-7139-9895-5. 492.
  15. Web site: Rediscovering Malcolm X's Life: A Historian's Adventures in Living History . Marable . Manning . Souls . 7 . 1 . Winter 2005 . 24–29 . November 26, 2011 .
  16. Web site: Despite cuts new profs. join College faculty . Baum . Ann . November 10, 2009 . . June 20, 2018 .
  17. Web site: Manning Marable Remembered as Public Intellectual and Activist . Watson . Jamal Eric . April 5, 2011 . Diverse Issues in Higher Education . November 14, 2011 .
  18. Book: Manning Marable. Russell Rickford. Beyond Boundaries: The Manning Marable Reader. November 26, 2011. April 30, 2011. Paradigm Publishers. 978-1-59451-861-4. vii.
  19. News: Quinn . Ryan . Cornell Leaders Condemn Prof. 'Exhilarated' by Hamas Attack . 25 October 2023 . . October 18, 2023 . en.
  20. News: Anderson . Nick . War in Mideast inflames college campuses and raises fears of antisemitism . 24 October 2023 . . 18 October 2023.
  21. News: Nanu . Maighna . Ivy League professor: Hamas attack was 'exhilarating' . 24 October 2023 . . 17 October 2023.
  22. News: Touré . Madina . Cordero . Katelyn . Why colleges are struggling with their response to the Israel-Hamas war . 25 October 2023 . . 21 October 2023 . en.
  23. News: Levenson . Eric . Debate over the Israel-Gaza war has raised tensions -- and the stakes -- on college campuses . 24 October 2023 . . 19 October 2023 . en.
  24. News: Bandler . Aaron . Cornell Professor Apologizes for Calling Hamas Terror Attack "Exhilarating" . 24 October 2023 . . 20 October 2023.
  25. News: Lapin . Andrew . Cornell professor apologizes for saying he was 'exhilarated' by Hamas attack, as campus Israel battles continue . 24 October 2023 . . 20 October 2023.
  26. News: Saffer . Matthew . New York senator calls for firing of Cornell University professor . 24 October 2023 . WSTM . 18 October 2023 . en.
  27. News: Reschini . Rodge . BREAKING Rickford takes leave of absence . 24 October 2023 . The Cornell Review . 21 October 2023.
  28. Web site: About the MXP. Staff . The Malcolm X Project . . November 26, 2011 .

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