ginniemcknight

[ginniemcknight]

Volunteering at the World Trade Center site during the Holy Week immediately after the attacks introduced me to a level of devastation I’d never encountered. It was also the time myself and my other college classmates were deciding on which career paths we would choose.

This experience lead me to work for the newly formed DHS. As a result we learned how our duty during any crisis or moment was to remain objective and keen on the facts.

This post is an objective presentation of facts. The photos of the East Orange fire Department indicate their arrival to the Building my Loft is located that had 3 building wide alarms urging our evacuation due to a chemical. The loft building is a state of the Art building with 20ft plus ceilings. To change a lightbulb requires assistance and work order to be changed. The initial alarm I was prepping for a zoom to show my progress of a Lauryn Hill painting. In the video my dog is trying to get my attention. I thought he had to use the bathroom so as I was taking my time getting ready to go out in the freezing cold to let him use the bathroom the alarm began to sound. The video shows me gathering my things and calling the police to confirm. When I was exiting my chest felt a heaviness as if I was running a long distance race on a high elevation. It felt like I was about to collapse. When the fire chief came upstairs and pointed to my ducts with this handheld apparatus, he said there was something of a high temperature is the vents and that I should not return to my unit. The property manager, front desk personnel, and maintenance were all not available for a further inspection and investigation that night. As a result I had to stay in my car until the next morning. The pictures are of the fire departments arrival to my loft.

While in my car I would also begin to experience the same chest and heart sensations. So I went to the nearest Home Depot and purchased a carbon monoxide detector and a radon detector. Even with these detectors in hand nothing was alerting me to what was going on besides my service animal who could smell whatever the debilitating fumes were.

These fumes were label debilitating because when I went to the hospital and had them do full labs of my blood, a urinalysis, and everything else they informed me that my heart was going into cardiac arrest due to whatever the fumes were. They said that their was a heightened protein that causes heart and brain failure. Each emergency room visit a Covid test was taken and they all returned negative. There was a chest X-ray that required a special dye to view my lungs. The dye caused me to cough up and regurgitate blood. They told me to alert the attending about that.

These fumes persisted in my car to the extent that I took it to the dealership and explained what was occurring. I told them it felt like my car(that I’d grown to like over the other cars I’ve had) had turned into kryptonite to myself and my dog. Out of serious concern I called the police and they brought the K9 unit to investigate the car. It was then that I went to another ER for blood tests and assessments and was discharged. My car was towed to a lot after the police cleared it from any possible malfeasance. I had to pay out of pocket to get the care released. By this time on several occasions the the blood test kept showing this spike protein elevated.

So I had to pay out of pocket to take my car to the dealership and have them inspect and clean out the air ducts I also contacted the manufacturer about what took place to see if this issue was due to any open recalls. They kept my car for a week and a half and I had to drive a rental.

The photos are of pictures I took of what underneath my seat looks like. These photographs are after the Virginia dealership released my car back to me. As it stands there’s been no resolution to what that chemical was that was dispersed in my air ducts and nothing explained about my car.

My car was purchased via Carvana and that process was also out of the norm. Once the purchase was finalized it said my car was located in TX and would be transported to me in one day. Along the way it was said that my car experienced an accident in NJ and there would be a one week delay if not more for retrieval. This was beyond peculiar because the car was coming from Texas and was In route to MD. No one answered my inquiry about why it by passed me and went to NJ where my previous Jobs Global Headquarters are located. Anyway,They then said I had to search for a different vehicle. So I searched for the exact same make and model; and there on the website was the car I had just purchased. So, I purchased it again and selected the next day pickup for the car. They said that the car would take an additional few days because it had been in an accident and I asked why was it placed back on the public online portal for purchase again. They then assigned me with an executive relations officer for the full duration of ownership.

SO MUCH has transpired And this is my best effort to summarize the events that took place. I’ll have to save the hotel incidents of getting a room and the from desk person writing on the key sleeve 911 circled even though my room assignment was 119….

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Remembering My 1st Academic Conference Presentation Experience.

Topic: Title IX Compliance Under Judicial Scrutiny, Black Women an Unsuspected Class by Ginnie McKnight.

When presenting this research at the IL State University Political Science conference at the height of #TitleIX compliance the room was packed. I was the only Black Presenter. After talking about Black Women being invisible to the Court. An entire Softball team walked out on me.

I had to skip to the anecdotal personal experience of not receiving my funds for track instead of the findings with Craig v Boren. Them walking out was disruptive! Anyway a random professor from Iowa of all places requested a formal copy of my research. This was my 1st panel.

Back then* In order for Black women to bring a successful IX claim it would require them to be joined with either black men and/or other white women to be considered a Suspect Class. This Iowa invite is consistent with things BACK THEN!

This peculiar subjugation of Black Women never made sense when the shine of excellence & achievement enters the chat. This LSU win is the largest point margin in the History of the Game. Undeniable excellence. Now, the UnSuspected Class claim is buried with its guardian Scalia🗑

When I think about Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, her presence on the court alone, and that nasty confirmation hearing; the experience she endured mirrors what many Black Women, independent of men & other women, uniquely face. Her presence on SCOTUS codifies Black Women. 🌹

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I survived many years without having to wear a school uniform. Growing up in foster care since the morning of my 7th birthday I didn’t have many fashionable clothes to begin with. When I moved to Chicago at the age of 10 it was the Jordan era. Back then and even now I have not owned a pair of Jordans. Spending my days in school and my evenings at church, what I wore wasn’t considered much of a concern anyway.

Many thought I was a preachers kid, because my mother’s sister and her husband (Aunt and a uncle in law) were both an evangelist and elder at our church. They didn’t disclose to most people at church of the fact that I was their niece. More often than not, they treated me fairly invisible in public. It was not until the end of my 7th grade year and entering my 8th grade year of junior high that school clothes would become an important discussion.

When Paul Vallas was handed the job, by the then Mayor Daley, the topic of school uniforms became an area of enforcement just as much as truancy. In the Chicago Suburbs along with-the usual police officers, there were truancy officers that patrolled every street during school hours.

When Vallas took office many of my school friends, also in the gifted and talented program, began to experience the additional pressures of being stopped on the way home from school for not having their shirts tucked in.

At the time official uniforms were not written into the school policy fully. Vallas sent members of his team to alert our school board they wanted us to be in unison with the Chicago City Schools uniforms. As a result, if you were not fully wearing the correct color blue paints or white shirt, you would receive a notice to be sent home with you.

My home room teacher sent a notice for me to get signed by my aunt and uncle about the school dress code policy, because my shirt was too baggy and didn’t meet the guidelines for a girls shirt.

Not only did my aunt use that as an opportunity to beat me, she designated her husband to wake up early in the morning to make sure my outfit ,that I laid out the night prior, was in compliance with the new uniform policy.

By this time, my uncle had already began to molest and fondle me. This new school dress code gave him even more access to do so in the mornings. My personal experience, and the countless other expulsions of children due to school uniforms brings up thoughts and feelings I haven’t had to think or discuss in a very long time.

The harm Vallas’ policy brought into my life left a trail of unspeakable damage. Both my Aunt and Uncle were ministers in a prominent church, and due to them buying many church members cars outright, and giving money to their families, my voice was insignificant and silenced.

My Aunt and uncles behavior is no reflection of the overall ministry. The abuse they showed was very hidden. As a result, I was a terrified 10 year old girl.

I had to figure out ways to avoid the inappropriate and illegal molestation by my uncle. However, the school uniform policy gave him easier access to me in the mornings once again. His pedophilia and sexual deviance set the tone for my young understanding of body privacy, and the damages of non consent.

Graduating from Junior high was one of the happiest moments of my childhood, because the uniforms were struck down for high schooler’s.

I’m still not sure if it was by the State or by Federal intervention, but I was removed from their abusive custody for the 1st semester of my Freshman year.

I never shared the horrors of that home until much later in adulthood. In my Short Documentary film “Moving Home” I did not detail this experience in it either.

With every choice I’ve made in life as an adult, I strongly consider what does advocacy look like for someone whose experience was just like mine. Bad policymakers tend not to realize, and many instances don’t care, about the impacts of their decisions. I said in a Twitter comment earlier today that “when I think of School Violence, I think of Vallas.” With safety, protection, and the memory of the unthinkable I stand firm in my strong concern for his presence on the ballot. My experience of harm cannot be erased, and this is true for the other children, teens, and families experiencing the harmful impact of his policies in the other cities in the US.

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The last time the pivotal experience of not having my email and user login information change crossed my mind is when I was studying the User Access Rights module for my #Google System Administration and IT infrastructure #Certification. It was actually a hurtful reminder of how low of a priority my request was to change the username “MCKNIGG@”. The opportunity was presented during an entire user administration credential refresh due to the company merger. Still, the change never happened. Many years later, upon completion of my System Administration certification, my methodology for ticket priority and user admin rights expectations are very high when I assign those tasks. This Black history month in 2023, while considering this #experience, I’m celebrating myself and overcoming difficulties. The below excerpt from the “I, Too” poem by Langston Hughes commemorates this experience best. Today is not only the first day of #Blackhistorymonth it is the famous author’s birthday.

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Busted.

An Essay on my 1st experience of discovering the missing representation of full body statues for Black Historical Figures in High Value Public Art/Domain Spaces.

Spring break 2001 our newly formed / revived Black student Union spent our spring break in Washington, DC. This was my first return to DC after choosing DePaul for my studies in Political Science. My 1st visit was during thanksgiving and my swiftly approaching sweet 16 birthday. It was love at first site when initially visiting DC and Howard University’s outdoor track. As a varsity track and field runner, this was my first visit to a Division 1 University track.

Years later the Spring break trip to Washington, DC was a return visit as a student from a different university. With our newly formed DePaul Black Student Union, We met with Howard’s Black student Union as well as George Washington University’s. Our goal was to understand the culture from an HBCU and PWI perspective. We wanted to know which matters each wanted to bring attention to, and which pressing issues each university approached in their Black lead student organizations.

We also spent a significant amount of time on Capitol Hill meeting with the congressional leaders of our district. DePaul University is located in the legislative district that Rod Blagojevich was elected in. Blagojevich took the opportunity to introduce himself, and announce his then intentions on running for Governor. Our focus was more on the Representative that we were already meeting.

Jessie Jackson Jr. was elected US representative of the south Chicago and suburban district I spent my remaining years of elementary, junior high, and my 1st year of high school. Our visit as students and constituents was only intended to last for 30 minutes. However we arrived with some pressing matters and wanted more guidance on steps, beyond voting, to better serve and civicly engage our community. The youth vote was still considered a non factor at the time, and voter registration was the direction and advice focused on the most by the older generation. The next election cycle a huge upward surge in youth voting was already underway, and has been climbing ever since.

For me something more poignant happened during that visit that has informed my career as a visual artist. During the tour of the Capitol Representative Jackson showed our group the only statue of a black person inside the main corridor of the Capitol building, the bust of Dr. King. The statue was only of his upper torso; in comparison to the full body statues of several slave holding members of the confederacy, and other white men political figures that were given full body statues.

The torso bust was insulting. Representative Jackson brought our attention to an even more disturbing aspect of the capital tours. Each tour guide shared the acoustic phenomenon of the US Capitol building. Historically, there was a spot where if you bent over and directed your voice to the floor, people on the opposite side of the room could hear everything that was being discussed.

This phenomenon was a popular occurrence to share by all the tour guides we witnessed. Congressman Jackson had us step back to recognize something else. The spot that was chosen to display this acoustic ease drop was right in front of the Dr. King torso statue. Without acknowledgment, each tour guide would bend over with their back side facing the only statue of an African American Historical figure in the Capitol building at the time, the torso statue of Dr. King. As a group of concerned black students we were stunned and angered. We then reconvened in Congressman Jackson’s conference room and voiced our concerns of what we saw.

As a Visual Artist when brainstorming the conveyance of a black historical figure dignity, reverence, and amplification of their unique imprint of inspiration is top of mind. Dr. King gave more love to this world than we deserved, and was heartbreakingly murdered. Dr. King was a full man, and outstanding Global leader. Dr. King’s commemoration is deserving of a literal and figurative representation of his full body in every iteration affiliated with his name, image, and likeness. The Dr. Martin Luther King National monument took a long time to build because careful consideration went into his image, what was being conveyed, the lasting impression beyond this generation, and fundraising efforts. These are all healthy steps when considering art in the public domain to avert provocation for a life with such meaningful, yet interrupted, impact.

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Impromptu interview

https://youtu.be/se39lRpSyU4

[ginniemcknight]

This was a very hard 4 pages to write. This event WILL be live streaming and possibly televised. I'll provide the link once I get my bearings. So glad I made it #MyTestimony

[ginniemcknight]

I Wonder. If you know what it means to find your dreams, share it please.

[ginniemcknight]

I Wonder. If you know what it means to find your dreams, share it please.