We Were Never Meant To Survive, But We Have

An Interview With The W.E.B. Du Bois Professor: Noliwe Rooks

In this podcast, I interview Noliwe Rooks, also known as Profesor Rooks. Professor Rooks is involved in the Africana Studies, American Studies, and Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Programs at Cornell University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Spelman College and her Master of Arts degree and Ph. D in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Professor Rooks is the author of four books, numerous articles, and essays including material on the advancement of education and food policy.  Her work also explores race, capitalism, and education, as well as Black women and material culture.

While Noliwe Rooks does not hold a position in a political office, her works, and continuous efforts directly affect politics, history, and the advancement of policies. She is very much an activist. She is not only dedicated to educating others but she is also dedicated to educating herself; she does research, she continues to seek understanding, explanations, and reasoning in order to assist an education system that serves and represents all students. I was very interested in gaining insight from this Black woman in politics because her work contributes to the innovation and improvement of the entire education system, which is very essential and worthy of acknowledgment.  

In this interview, we discuss her journey to success, her “failures,” discriminatory experiences and so much more. Something very unique that she shared is the importance of forming allies- creating distinct relationships with people, people that can advocate for you, people that can give you insight from the grand scheme of things, and people who can give you advice from the “business” perspective when you need it. Another highlight from this interview is the discussion of how she navigates and curates her space as a Black woman in politics, at Cornell, as a student, and so on. And thankfully, she gives advice to those who she inspire, for those who are considering assuming leadership, and for Black students. 

A challenge that I experienced during the process was a lack of responses from politicians that I had initially planned to interview. I initially reached out to politicians who were lawyers and women who held positions as house representatives but, I did not receive any responses after many follow-up emails. Luckily I took a step back before it was too late and reevaluated. I thought about all of the local resources I had access to because of Cornell and other connections. While it was a bit frustrating that I had to reconstruct the theme of my original anticipated podcast episode to best-fit Professor Rooks, I am thankful for my peer’s recommendation to interview her. This interview is insightful and motivational, building up my excitement to enroll in one of her courses in the future. 

References:

CUAfricana. “Noliwe Rooks: Cornell University Africana Faculty Profile.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtfLt6suVsc. 

Hanson Jr., John. “Dr. Noliwe Rooks On The Business Of Public Education.” KUT Radio, Austin’s NPR Station, 27 Dec. 2017, www.kut.org/life-arts/2017-12-27/dr-noliwe-rooks-on-the-business-of-public-education. 

“Noliwe Rooks.” HurstonWright Foundation, www.hurstonwright.org/authors/noliwe-rooks/.