Blogger – Page 6 – …on the B.L.

Dear Black Women

February 1, 2018 RaeAnna

Dear Black Women,

Happy Black History Month!

I have a small yet growing following on social media. So I’m going to use that platform to talk about something all month long that is really, really important to me: you.

I am a feminist. I am a white woman. My feminism includes you. My feminism is inclusive.

Women have to deal with some real bullshit. There are some upsides, though. Having to deal with being treated like less, working harder to prove we’re equal, being observed as sexual playthings years before it’s appropriate, and more because there’s a lot bullshit. We’re humans. We deserve respect. We deserve to live our lives our way without fear or judgement or interference from people who have no idea who we are.

I’m white. Those are my experiences. I’m writing this to you because you have different experiences. You don’t have the privileges I do. You have to live life in a way I never will. You have to take precautions I never will. You have to deal with microaggressions and racism I never will. You have to deal with discrimination and harassment and sexuality in ways I never will.

I’m sorry you have to go through that. I wish it weren’t your reality.

Sadly, this world is nowhere near postracial. I love that people think since we had a black president *poof* racism, finito! Those people died the moment Obama was elected because things are not ok. We – as a country, I didn’t – voted Darth Cheeto into office. Unfortunately, 53% of white women voted for that ass hat wearing mongoloid. (I hate using language like mongoloid but yikes, he’s deficient and it’s dated.) We live in a world where #blacklivesmatter is controversial. WHAT??? Ugh. (Just so we’re clear, I’m pro #blacklivesmatter.) We live in a world where black boys and men and women and children are dying because of the police. We live in a world where 1 out of 3 black males will be incarcerated at some point in their lives. We live in a world where black women wearing their hair natural is seen as a political statement. We live in a world where black women are angry and black men are dangerous. I think the only time I’ve ever heard a black woman yell in real life is at step competitions. Let’s just say, the only men I’ve seen with guns are white. This list can go on and on and on.

We all have biases. That can’t be avoided. I’m sure I have been insensitive. I hope if I am someone points it out to me, so I can learn from that experience. The thing is we can learn and do better and change and make this world fair for our children and our grandchildren. But it takes making an effort, learning, and communicating. We have to take ownership of the past and the present. (This is more of a white people issue.)

It’s sad that we have to have Black History Month. IT SHOULD BE DISCUSSED EVERYDAY!!! It’s important. Your history is my history because we’re people, we’re Americans. We need to recognize the faults we made and the faults we make. If it’s not part of the discussion how will we learn?

This month is an ode to you. Every day, I will post on social media about a fabulous black woman past or present. Narrowing it down to 28 is rough. Some may be famous, and some may be friends of mine. I think it’s important to recognize the accomplishments of women and especially black women because if we see excellence achieved by people similar to ourselves we know it’s possible. If we know it’s possible, we won’t just dream. We will act and be amazing ourselves breaking down gender walls and racial walls. Every success made by a woman and a black woman is a step forward for all of us no matter how small.

Women need to stand together. We have no chance if we don’t. Historically, white women have always benefited from the oppression of woc (women of color). Feminism has been historically white centric. When “women” were fighting to work, woc had been working for years because they didn’t have a choice. When “women” won the right to work, they depended on the low wages of woc to do the things around the house they were no longer doing because men didn’t pick up the slack. White women have benefited from the inequality.

Black women have been the leaders in change but never received any credit. A lot of the actions, ideas, and more that helped gain freedoms for white women originated in black communities… but no one cared until a white voice spoke it. A whole bunch of fashion, music, dance, etc trends over the past centuries, which have been popular in the US, have roots in black communities. Yay cultural appropriation… Totally fair and not at all offensive.

Dear Black Women. You are seen. You are important. You are spectacular. You matter. Your experiences are significant. Your voice should be heard. You are worthy. You are smart. You are funny. You are complex beings with layers upon layers of emotions, experiences, actions, dreams, and more. You deserve the best. You deserve the right to be yourself. (I hate telling women they’re beautiful because there are so many other things I can and should compliment them on, but I don’t think you hear it enough.) You are beautiful. You are a knockout just the way you are.

Love,

RaeAnna
Founder of Bookish Liaisons

P.S. I’m hoping white people read this, and learn something. We can always learn something. I have lots to learn.
P.P.S. To other nonblack women of color. You also matter!
P.P.P.S. Dear White People. If you find yourself angry: good. You obviously need an education. Also there are opinions in here that are my own. The facts I talk about are facts. They cannot be refuted. You may try; I will block you. I hope you learned.

Baked Goods, In The Kitchen

Thumbprint Cookies

January 7, 2018 RaeAnna

I love baking. In my family, like many others, recipes become part of the landscape of our lives. The recipes are handed down through generations.

Thumbprint cookies are some of my favorite cookies, and they come straight from my Great Grandmother’s recipe box. Although, she never baked them for me, my mom always did. I had never baked them myself until last year because they were always her specialty, and I was teensy bit scared I would ruin them. They’re amazing throughout the year, but I grew up with them during the Christmas season. They melt in your mouth with a nutty outside. Not too sweet, you can eat dozens of them if you’re not careful! I absolutely adore them with a cup of black tea and a book. The perfect afternoon snack.

Ingredients

1 cup Butter
½ cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs Yolks
2 Egg Whites Beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Flour
½ teaspoon Salt
Chopped Nuts (I prefer pecans or walnuts)
Favorite Jam or Frosting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350॰ F. Ungreased cookie sheet.
Mix together butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Add flour and salt. Blend well.
Roll dough into balls. Dip the balls in egg whites then roll in chopped nuts. I rolled them in pecans this time. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet at least an inch and a half a part.
Bake for five minutes. Take out and press thumb into the middle of the cookie to create a shallow bowl. Put back in oven and bake for eight more minutes.
Pull cookies out of the oven when golden brown and firm to the touch.
Cool completely
Fill the thumbprint with your favorite jam or frosting or leave unfilled! My favorites are blackberry jam, buttercream frosting, or pastry cream. They’re so delicious!

Lifestyle

Happy New Year

January 1, 2018 RaeAnna

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Thank you all for following me on my literary lifestyle. It’s grown far more than my wildest dreams could have imagined. Really, I’m still very new; I began this blog a year and one week ago. So thank you! May we continue our journey for many years to come. This community I have become a part of through my blog, Bookstagram (Instagram), Twitter, Litsy, GoodReads, and more has expanded my life in so many ways. Part of me wishes I would have started doing this years ago. Better late than never!

Looking back at 2017: WOW.

I moved to Houston in October, 2016 with the intent to risk so much and dedicate myself completely to freelancing. I quickly realized: a) I lived in a city where I didn’t know anyone b) I had never not worked in an office or some job outside of the home, so what would I do with my c) I needed a hobby aside from reading and baking d) I was very bored and lonely. My best friend had been bothering me for years to start blogging about books. I was reading a lot in my new home. I posted a couple pictures on Instagram about my late night reading garnering far more likes and interaction than the previous four years had ever seen. The idea hit. I would start a blog and social media presence dedicated to books, which would give me something to do with my free time and all those darn books I read.

Here we are.

I spent 2017 reading, blogging, traveling, and spending time with my dog. I read a whole bunch of books with the intent of rereading books on my shelf and exploring authors of diverse backgrounds. I did very little rereading but a whole lot of diversity reading. My bookstagram took off like wildfire, and I started receiving books from authors and publishers, which is a bookworm’s dream come true really. I was able to travel all over the country seeing friends in Chicago, Iowa, Minnesota, Los Angeles, San Diego, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, and more. I may be tired of road trips for awhile. I did a bunch of freelancing (shameless plug: I’m always open for more!). I adopted my dog, Beauvoir, in February naming her after the author and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. I tried to explore my new home, Houston, but I have so much more to see. I had some serious downs in 2017 specifically health troubles, but I have done everything in my power to keep it from holding me back from living a spectacularly exciting life.

With a little bitter sweetness I am saying goodbye to 2017 looking forward to 2018. After such a wonderful year, it’s hard not to be a little apprehensive of the year to come. I am looking ahead with optimism. My reading list is long and ever growing. I already have a few trips planned. I am going to start blogging with a new found vengeance because I love it, and I have a bunch of ideas!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you for following along, supporting, and enjoying this bookish thing I love so much. I look forward to another year full of adventures, books, friends, and new experiences.

RaeAnna Rekemeyer
Founder of Bookish Liaisons

Experiences, Travel

Ames Public Library

September 14, 2017September 8, 2019 RaeAnna

I grew up in Ames, Iowa. Growing up the library was a mainstay in my life, and it often comes up when discussing childhood memories. The house I spent my first eight years in was located about half a mile from the library, so my mother, brother, and I would regularly go for walks to return and check out books.

When I was in Ames last month, I revisited the library for the first time in almost a decade. The library I remember as a child does not exist anymore. It has the same location, a lot of the same exterior, and the same name, but it went under an extensive renovation and expansion a few years ago. Walking through the library, I recognized nothing. It had vastly changed for the better. I think the expansion and renovation is amazing. It was a little bittersweet for me, but I think money is best spent on books and knowledge and community outreach, which a library epitomizes. I wandered around with my parents enjoying the newness of the building until I wandered into the kid’s section of the library.

As a little girl, there was a display case made of wood. Every month or few weeks, the display behind glass would change to reflect the season, activities, or holidays. It was the first, the last, and my favorite thing I looked at whenever I went to the library. Even as a teenager, I would stop by the display to take a peak. I had forgotten about the display. Like childhood, it had disappeared into a fuzzy haze I like to call the past. When I walked into the children’s section at the library, the first thing I saw was the display. In a library I no longer recognized, the display had remained the same. So many memories came rushing back all at once. I am normally a very level headed and non-emotional person. I do not cry often. As I stood there looking at the display with my Mom and Dad, I started to tear up. We were taking pictures for this article, and unfortunately, there are no pictures where I was not teary eyed. It’s funny how childhood memories can do that to you: sneak up and pounce out of nowhere.

Libraries hold memories for a lot of people I am sure. The library holds so many memories from my childhood. I grew up in that library in a way. For me, the library was the epitome of the world. Knowledge was always the key to everything. If I could access the knowledge the library held, I would have access to the world. Or at least, that’s how it felt when I was little.

I read A Midsummer Night’s Dream in second grade. I was inspired. When I was done, the first place I went was the library. I had no idea how to navigate the library, so my mother taught me. This was in the era when the card catalogue still existed next to the computer while everything was digitized. My mother taught me how to look up books in the card catalogue and then through the computer. At first, it was difficult, and I kept having to ask my Mom for help. Eventually, I got the hang of things. It was the clouds parting and the sun shining through moment for me. I was able to find books about history, literature, language, and more.

The library was the beginning of the story of my life that would unfold.

In college, I worked all four years at the library. I enjoyed it immensely. It was a wonderful way to spend my academic career surrounded by the books I had worshiped my entire life. At Cornell, I studied Literature, French, and Russian, which is basically a triple degree in how to read well. In my life after college, I am now a freelance literary translator and editor and writer, a senior editor at a literary magazine, a rampant reader, and a book blogger – obviously, you are here reading this.

The Ames Public Library founded a passion that will stay with me forever just like the memories I cherish.