"Inside Gwinnett" Natasha Trethewey Article

Meet the “Gwinnett Reads” Author: Natasha Trethewey

September 21, 2012   Blogs & Contributions, Features

By Lee Brewer Jones / Georgia Perimeter College

Natasha Trethewey, the 2012 “Gwinnett Reads” author of Thrall and Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University, was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1966. Her mother was American, and her father was a legal immigrant from Canada. Yet baby Natasha was “illegal” in the state where she was born.
How, you may ask, can this be? The answer lies in pre-Civil Rights era laws against “miscegenation.” Natasha’s mother, Gwendolyn, was African-American, or in 1966 Mississippi Birth Certificate parlance, “colored.” Her father, poet Eric Trethewey, is a white man. One year later, the United States Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, ruled unconstitutional any laws banning interracial marriage.
Eric and Gwendolyn divorced during Natasha’s childhood, and she moved, more or less uneasily, between the black and white worlds of her parents. Natasha’s awareness of Southern history and her various identities in it was heightened by the odd coincidence of her birth date, April 26, 1966, being the actual centennial of Confederate Memorial Day. When an abusive ex-husband murdered Gwendolyn in 1985, during Natasha’s freshman year at the University of Georgia, the young woman began expressing her tortured selves and her pain in prose and in what she later characterized as “really bad poems.”
Fortunately for us, Natasha Trethewey persevered through an A.B. at UGA, an M.A. at Hollins University (where her father teaches), and an M.F.A. at the University of Massachusetts. Along the way, she honed the poetic style Rita Dove characterized as “reclaiming for us that interior life where the true self flourishes” when Dove selected Trethewey’s first volume of poetry, Domestic Work, as winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Domestic Work also garnered the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Book Prize and the Lillian Smith Award for Poetry.
After 2002’s Bellocq’s Ophelia won additional awards, Trethewey unexpectedly learned of the Louisiana Native Guards, a group of black Union soldiers who protected a fort holding Confederate captives. While Southern history had commemorated Gulfport Confederates’ roles in the Civil War, no plaque or memorial existed for the Native Guards. Trethewey was moved to write 2006’s Native Guard: Poems, which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Although Natasha Trethewey is only 46 years old, the Library of Congress selected her this past June as United States Poet Laureate. She is the first Southerner given the honor since Robert Penn Warren and the first African-American since Rita Dove.
Trethewey’s newest work, Thrall, has only recently debuted to an eager public. Just as earlier volumes did, Thrall draws us to sometimes uncomfortable topics regarding our nation’s complicated racial history, which Trethewey herself represents in microcosm. To Trethewey, such nearly forgotten terms as “mulatto,” “quadroon,” and “mestizo” still echo with meaning. Sometimes she presents freedom itself as transient or unavailable, predetermined by skin color and perceptions.
As you read and hear Trethewey read from Thrall on October 7, expect to be challenged. Better yet, expect to think.

NFL Officials Lockout Ends

The NFL has ended its lockout of the officials.  Baltimore Ravens fans gave referee Gene Steratore and his crew a standing ovation before tonight's game against the Cleveland Browns began.  Fans may decide for themselves whether or not the lockout's end had anything to do with the atrocious call that awarded the Seattle Seahawks a victory against the Green Bay Packers Monday night.

Among the reasons the NFL locked out the officials in the first place, the union and the pension plan emerged as primary.  For decades now, American unions have been in decline.  In the private sector, only about one in twelve workers belongs to a union.

Unions still matter more for public employees, but government officials have begun wresting power away from them, too.  Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, which includes Green Bay, took collective bargaining away from some public employees' unions and then defeated a recall effort.  Ironically, Walker then helped lead the call for the "real" NFL officials, the union members, to return to their jobs.

In the case of the NFL, almost everyone seems to have agreed the guys who worked their way up through the system and who belong to the union are simply better than the ones who replaced them.  In this private club that receives tons of public support, especially through funds for beautiful stadiums, taking away the union members downgraded the product.  With the credibility of an industry worth billions at stake, the owners felt tremendous pressure to yield.

Pension plans, as they have existed for several decades, are -- in a word -- unsustainable.  Workers have followed thirty year careers with forty year retirements.  Not enough new money and capital gains are moving through the system to support indefinitely the people who retire every day.

Practice is shifting away from defined benefits plans to defined contributions plans.  In other words, instead of the company promising the employee a certain percentage of her salary when she retires, based on her years of service and other factors, the company instead puts a combination of part of her salary and matching funds into a 401(k) and, ideally, gives her some choices about how to invest the money.

Investments that perform solidly can lead to a comfortable retirement.  Unfortunately, for employees who have entered 401(k) plans in recent years, two once-in-several-generations calamities have occurred: the dotcom bomb of 2000 and the Great Recession of 2008 - 2009.  The Dow, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ are all currently lower than they were in March of 2000.  Fixed yields often run less than 1%, far below even inflation.  From current levels, bond prices have very little room to go up and a lot of room to go down.  None of these factors speak well for a "well diversified" portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash.

The billionaires who own all the NFL teams except the publicly owned Green Bay Packers (again!) can easily afford to continue paying their referees pensions.  All the same, the new agreement will result in pensions giving way to 401(k)s.  Officials near retirement will do fine.  Their younger and future colleagues' futures are far less certain.

The deal between the officials and the owners may feel like a win for the officials, but it is not a convincing one.  It seems an unlikely catalyst for any union resurgence, and the 401(k)s are coming, even to the officials.  Many of their and our children may one day wonder what these "pension" things were.

The standing ovations may go on through this weekend, but I don't see them lasting longer.  Hating referees, umpires, and even lowly side judges is too ingrained in American sports fans.  The officials should enjoy this love while they can.  If Gene Steratore plans a run for public office, he'd better get his name on the ballot -- quickly. 

Larry Wayne Jones

In 1990, Todd Van Poppel was one of the best high school baseball players in America.  The woefully bad Atlanta Braves, who had the first draft pick that year, considered picking Van Poppel.  The young pitcher would have none of it.  He let the Braves know he absolutely would not sign a contract with them.

Instead of Van Poppel, the Braves selected infielder Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones.  They should have sent a "Thank You" card to Van Poppel.  Between 1991 - 2004, Van Poppel won 40 Major League Baseball games and lost 52.  He compiled a career 5.58 ERA and 711 strikeouts.

Chipper Jones, barring a Roger Clemens-like "unretirement" or an equally Clemens-like cheating scandal, is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He'll probably get the call in five years, the minimum waiting period.

The numbers, while not those of the greatest Brave, Hank Aaron, are impressive.  Chipper will finish with approximately 2,730 hits, at least 468 home runs, well over 1,000 career extra base hits, and 1,622 or more runs batted in.  His career batting average is four points north of .300.  Almost any all-time list of Major League Baseball switch hitters or third basemen puts Jones in the top three.

In 1999, Chipper won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.  His rookie season, he played for the Atlanta Braves' only World Series Champion team.  In each of his first 11 full Major League seasons, the Braves went to the playoffs.  They won their way back in 2010, Bobby Cox's final season.

Last year, the Braves seemed a lock for another playoff run until their horrible September collapse.  That won't happen this year.  This very night, as soon as Freddie Freeman's ninth inning line drive cleared the center field wall, chasing home Chipper, the Braves and their veteran third baseman had qualified for one more playoff run.

Recently, Chipper spoke introspectively in a television commercial.  Commenting on having spent his entire career as an Atlanta Brave, Chipper admitted he hadn't done very well at being married.  (A second divorce is reportedly in the works)  The marriage between Chipper and his fans has endured, however. 

Sooner rather than later, Chipper will make his late plate appearance or field his last ground ball.  Next spring, the Braves will retire his jersey number, 10, and he will join Spahn, Matthews, Hammering Hank, Knucksie, Murph, and the 1990s "Big Three" Cy Maddux, Cy Glavine, and Cy Smoltz as fond memories.

Until (and after) then, go Braves!  Let's end Chipper's last season the way we ended his first, as Champions of the World!

The Day the Butler Did It

On a warm September Saturday afternoon, the 1984 Georgia Bulldogs hosted their nearby rivals, the Clemson Tigers, the #2 ranked team in the country.  Clemson featured mammoth defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry.  A brand new UGA student, I took my seat around the 50 yard line in the student section.

I had not yet mastered the art of sneaking an entire fifth of rum into Sanford Stadium, so I was sober and a little sunburnt as the game drew near its close.  With the game tied, Georgia's offense at the Clemson 43, and only seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Coach Vince Dooley sent placekicker Kevin Butler out to try a 60 yard field goal. 

From my midfield seat, I could see every foot of those 60 yards and how narrow the goal posts looked from that distance.  "It's just too far," I and several of my friends around me murmured.

We watched with interest and then with awe as the kick carried and carried and carried, and then the officials ran out from behind the goal posts, their hands held high. The kick was good!

The stadium erupted.  The late humorist, my cousin Lewis Grizzard, used his next column to address a hypothetical son and explain how he came to be named Kevin.

Now comes the part UGA fans whisper, at the loudest, amongst ourselves.  Clemson had a Nigerian-born kicker with the unlikely name Donald Amechi Igwebuike whose range extended well beyond 50 yards.  Georgia had to kick off to Clemson, and the Tigers returned the ball into Georgia territory, setting up a potential tying field goal.  The last couple of seconds mysteriously melted from the game clock, however, and the Dawgs celebrated their victory.  We dreamt of another national title.

A year later, Kevin Butler and "The Fridge" joined each other on Coach Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears, who brought Chicago its lone Super Bowl Championship.  A Falcons fan even in those leanest of years, I rooted against Chicago and, it only followed, against Butler.

For that one Saturday, however, I relished in having witnessed what remains one of college football's most memorable field goals.  Far back in my memory, the ball is still sailing, Georgia's improbable victory still only a few yards and seconds away, and my own youthful sense of wonder still ever so slightly within my grasp.

Why I Am an LGBTQ Advocate

Growing up in a small Southern town during the 1960s and 1970s, I heard some pretty awful and embarrassing comments.  Schools in my county didn't integrate until I was in the third grade, and a sign of being in the comparatively enlightened class was using "nigra."  One way to get a good deal off a salesman was to "Jew him down," particularly if you were shopping at the "Jew store."  My mother forbade me to watch the television program The Odd Couple because it was about "those people."

People of color and Jewish people could take or leave the way people talked around them; we weren't changing, at least not yet.  Whatever LGBTQ people were around could hide in plain sight, however, adopting the mannerisms and slang of the straight majority. 

Of course, there were a couple of exceptions.  I can remember two men, in particular, who were so obviously and publicly gay that no one could conceive a world where they'd be anything other than "queers."  One of them cross dressed and shopped around town in a blouse and painted fingernails.  Just mentioning either one's name was a virtually guaranteed laugh line.

As I reflect upon those days and stories involving the local gays, CB radios, and truck drivers, I realize those must have been two tough men.  If I were going to pick a fight with someone, it wouldn't be a queen.  A pair of size 10 pumps upside one's head could do real damage.

When I was in college and graduate school in the 1980s, multicultural education, at least in the South, was not yet a cliched list of platitudes and bizarre conversations about empathizing with people who want to blow up people like me (white, Christian, American, etc.).  We actually had serious discussions about using basic human decency, staying away from hurtful stereotypes, and not assuming everybody else believed or worshiped as the majority did. 

Such courtesy did not always extend to LGBTQ folks, however.  As a young TA and instructor, I joined in smirks when an effeminate male left the room.  I snickered about the potential sexuality of Homer Barron, a character who "liked men" in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily."  I declared myself liberal on social matters -- pro-choice and opposed to teacher-led school prayers, for instance -- while clinging to and all too frequently voicing homophobia.

Around 1993, I experienced one of a few epiphanies, or "aha" moments, in my life.  I was attending a conference on diversity, where I participated in a session about attitudes.  The facilitator asked questions, and if we strongly agreed, we walked to one side of the room, if we strongly disagreed to the other.  Often, our group found ourselves in clusters, some on either side and some gathered near the center.

Then came the question, "A truly multicultural class reflects respect for others' sexual orientations."  I paused for a moment.  I thought of my "I have gay friends, but" past.  It wasn't right.  My attitude and actions throughout my adult life just weren't consistent with kindness or fairness.  I determinedly walked to the "Strongly Agree" side of the room.

I wish I could add a "happily ever after" postscript, but neither life nor LGBTQ issues in America are that simple.  Not until after the year 2000 and political fights over same-sex marriage did I finally decide that I cared deeply LGBTQ students and civil rights.  In my defense, I can offer only that I've come a long way since 1970, baby.

How far?  I'm really, deeply proud of one example.  Last week, my high school freshman daughter decided to attend the Gay-Straight Alliance, a group only in its third year at her high school.  At the meeting, she overhead another student speak into his cell phone, "Don't pick me up at the usual time today, Mom.  I have a chess club meeting."  My daughter was puzzled.  Why, she wondered, would someone have to lie to his mother about something as innocent as a GSA meeting?  I breathed a sigh and muttered a silent "Thank you, Lord" when I learned of this story.

I have heard dreamers speak aloud of a time when skin color will be as meaningless in our culture as eye color.  I wonder if sexual orientation will ever become as insignificant as whether a person loves jazz and is unmoved by rap or vice versa.  I hope such a day comes.

For now, I have a voice, a vote, and this little blog.  As a father and a teacher, I will try to follow Gandhi's advice and be the change I want to see.  That is why I am an LGBTQ advocate.

About Those Federal Taxes

Virtually everyone who cares to has seen or read about a Mitt Romney YouTube clip where the Republican Presidential nominee talks about the 47% of Americans who pay no federal income taxes.  Romney's critics have pointed out that many of these citizens are retirees living on Social Security, members of the military, and the unemployed.  If Romney wants to discuss imposing new taxes on these Americans, his critics say, they're happy to have the argument.

While both Romney and his critics have their points, they all overlook a devil lurking large in the details.  Many people have jumped to the conclusion that 47% of their fellow Americans pay "no federal taxes" or, worse yet, "no taxes."  Anyone who pays a cent in sales taxes, property taxes, ad valorem taxes (such as a "tag tax"), local taxes, or state taxes can immediately correct the latter misunderstanding.  The former, however, is more pernicious.

Check stubs (for whose who still receive them on paper) and W2 forms distinguish among federal income taxes, FICA taxes, and Medicare taxes.  Together, FICA and Medicare taxes are known as the "Payroll Tax," and they typically account for 7.65% of the average American's wages -- that we can see.  True, a tax holiday has temporarily reduced the W2 Payroll Tax to 5.65%, tax relief most people certainly appreciate.

Those ever disappearing pay stubs, however, don't show the 7.65% combined FICA and Medicare taxes paid by the employer.  Anyone who is self-employed can certainly vouch for these taxes.  Not only that, but too many assume naively the employer really pays this additional 7.65%.  Instead, as part of passing along business expenses, employers reduce salaries by the amount necessary to pay these taxes.  This practice is really Economics 101.

Whatever their political philosophy, then, commentators need to acknowledge that via the Payroll Tax alone, the federal government currently takes 13.3% of most American workers' earnings.  This tax is levied against the first dollar every working American earns, with no deductions or exemptions.  The only wages exempted are those over a six figure dollar amount.  Many would argue, then, this tax is as regressive as taxes come.

In theory, even, separating federal income taxes from FICA and Medicare taxes makes no sense.  Workers are left with the idea that what they hope to receive from Social Security is repayment.  Such isn't and never was the case.  The money Joe Citizen pays to the system today goes directly to paying the benefit for someone who has already retired.  Joe Citizen, Jr., will in turn help pay his father's Social Security.

Whether the federal government takes money from your paycheck and calls it a federal income tax, a FICA tax, or a Medicare tax matters not.  Money the federal government subtracts, directly or indirectly, from your income is taxes paid.

If your current income and deductions are such that you pay "only" 13.3% of your income to the U.S. government, you owe no one an apology, and you aren't part of some underpaying 47%.  And a shrewd businessman like Governor Romney has to know it.

2012 Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves will try to complete a three-game sweep against the Washington Nationals, who are closing in on their full year division title, going all the way back to their days as the Montreal Expos.  The Braves still have an outside chance at making up 6.5 games against the Nationals and winning the National League East, but the Braves' best chance at the postseason is as a wildcard team.

Last year, the Braves held a big lead in the wildcard race before collapsing in September.  In the final regular season game, rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save, and the Braves finished one game behind eventual and improbable World Series victors, the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Braves lead the Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers by seven games with sixteen games remaining.  This number comes with two pieces of good news.  First, Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez appears to have used his bullpen more effectively this season than last, so Kimbrel and his setup men still look fresh and effective.  In the first two games of the series against Washington, Kimbrel has six strikeouts in only two innings.

Also, the Cardinals or Dodgers catching and passing the Braves would not eliminate Atlanta from the postseason this year.  Major League Baseball has added a second wildcard team for each league, meaning the Braves would have to fall behind the Cardinals and the Dodgers (or some combination of these teams and their pursuers that equals at least two), or they're in.

Since the Cardinals and Dodgers are playing each other today, one of those teams is guaranteed a loss.  A Braves win, then, would decrease the Braves "magic number" against that team by two. 

If the Braves can win 10 or more of their remaining 16 games, they'll not only play in the Wildcard Game, but they'll host it.  Health permitting, then, Atlanta fans will watch retiring superstar Chipper Jones play at least one more home game.

I can't vouch for Chipper's aging legs, but I do think they Braves will make the 2012 playoffs.  Judging from the 2011 Cardinals' magical postseason, that playoff slot may end up meaning a lot.  Here's hoping.

Reflections on Lehman Brothers' Failure

Four years ago today, Lehman Brothers failed.  A storied franchise with a more than 150 year history filed for bankruptcy protection.  A website, but nothing else, remains.

And some protection upper management received!  Through four years and Attorneys General from both political parties, no indictments have come against anyone at Lehman.  Nor has even a single word of apology come from anyone in upper management.

The failure of Lehman had much to do with freezing our banking system, and it may have helped doom Senator John McCain's Presidential chances.  The stock markets went into free fall, dropping to their lowest levels in over a decade.

What would Henry Lehman, a German Jew who emigrated to Montgomery, Alabama, and started a dry good business during the 1840s, have made of the tremendous rise and catastrophic fall of the firm his brothers moved to New York after Henry's untimely 1855 death?  As a family run commodities business, Lehman came to represent thrift, savings, and hard work.

Today "Lehman," like "Madoff," symbolizes failure -- and more than a hint of dishonesty.  Potential investors hoard cash, unwilling to trust our equities markets.

American capitalism will probably recover in time.  Real damage, however, has occurred, and meanwhile we wait in vain for an explanation or accountability.