Barbara was a friend and an inspiration to many.
Talk about a big heart.
Talk about unselfish giving.
Talk about a brilliant scholar who had an open door/home policy.
Talk about someone who mentored.
Talk about someone who fought the system, and kept the door open for others to run through.
Talk about someone who was relentless.
She encouraged me to do my doctorate.
She was instrumental in getting my first short story collection, Bake-Face published.
She hosted my book party.
My wedding took place in her backyard.
She hooded me when I got my Ph.D.
She was godmother to my oldest child, Shola.
She hosted parties for all of us.
She wrote me letters of recommendation for jobs and fellowships.
She listened while I talked and heard me.
She asked me to teach her classes when she was going on leave.
She encouraged me to keep writing and not allow the academy to get in the way of my creativity.
She confided in me about her life, growing up in St Thomas.
She said she was going to write a novel and tell it all when she retired.
She helped so many writers, including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker & Audre Lorde, et al, to make their work canonize in the academy.
She supported numerous students and young critics.
She fought.
She loved.
She wrote and lectured and worked and lectured.
She was the first Black woman to get tenure at UC Berkeley.
She was the first in many regards.
She must be remembered.
She is remembered
She is remembered
with love, with kindness, with praise, with sadness, with hope…
She is remembered.
She is remembered.
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Barbara Christian was an author and professor of African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Wikipedia
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Born: December 12, 1943, Saint Thomas
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Died: June 25, 2000, Berkeley, California, United States
Opal Palmer Adisa 