Well, this is it. My last introduction as editor. Soon it will be time to pass the editor’s baton to our incoming co-editors, Laurie Grobman and Deborah Mutnick. I wish them well, and I look forward to working with them during this transition stage until Fall 2017.

Front matter for Reflections Volume 17, Issue 1, Spring 2017 issue.

Introduction to Reflections 2016 Fall issue by Editor Cristina Kirklighter.

I will begin this introduction with one of my favorite quotes written by Maya Angelou. I have shared this quote with many friends, family, and colleagues, and I’ll share it again. The quote is this one: “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” In another quote she says we are not born with courage, but we develop it “by doing small, courageous things.” As I reflect on my years of editing this journal, I admit I’m drawn to courageous authors— those willing to take risks and put themselves out there—those who admit to their failures and courageously learn from these failures to better themselves and those around them— those who challenge what we might initially celebrate. Courageous authors help us in our quest for “doing small, courageous things.” Courageous authors consistently check their virtues. Courageous authors make up what you’ll read in this issue.

As the Editor of this journal, I am delighted to have interviewed Dr. Cassandra Simon, founding editor of the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. Some of you who were at the Conference of Community Writing may have heard me enthusiastically talk about this journal as I showed you a copy of an issue. Some of you know our journal is about “Getting on the Bus” as we pay homage to the young civil rights student activists did many years ago. We strive to walk the talk as a social justice and racial justice activist journal. The Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship also walks the talk through a founding editor who had this vision guided through her life experiences and made it into a reality with one of the most successful journals in our area. We know our journals are different from the mainstream. We encourage our authors to take risks with their research and writing, work against an ivory tower mentality, and strive for inclusivity by embracing the voices of academics, students, community partners, and others. I am pleased to interview a sister editor and share her inspiring insights on what it means to be a journal editor who celebrates community engagement and scholarship.

Introduction to Reflections Fall 2015 issue, by Editor Cristina Kirklighter.

After reviewing some of the manuscripts for this issue, we, as editors, thought it would be appropriate to interview Steve Parks’ regarding his perspectives on graduate students and community projects. Steve has worked with graduate students for many years, including Jessica Pauszek, our Assistant Editor. He was also the past editor of this journal for a number of years, and we have benefitted through his guidance. As he says at the end of the interview, the interview format cannot capture the spirit of “collaborative discussion” that comes from this work. However, given our close relationship with Steve over the years, the questions we did develop come out of our conversations with him and thus is a product of previous listening and dialoguing. An interview with a friend, mentor, and colleague is a different type of interview—one grounded in the familiar.

Welcome to another issue of Reflections. We are particularly pleased to begin the issue interviewing Steve Parks, someone who the editors have worked with for a number of years. Given we have a couple of articles focused on graduate student experiences with community projects and service-learning, we thought asking Steve Parks to reflect on this particular area would add continuity to this issue. For many years, Steve has mentored many graduate students, including Jessica Pauszek, our Assistant Editor. He is also the previous Editor of Reflections and someone I’ve known for years.

As Editor of Reflections, I am pleased to introduce this special issue focused on Disability Studies. I have had the pleasure of working with Allison Hitt and Bre Garrett, the Special Editors to this issue, these past few months. Their commitment to this special issue shows through in the dedication and hard work they’ve exhibited throughout this process. Although my area is not disability studies, as a personal essay scholar and teacher, I was particularly impressed with the narrative styles of many of the contributors and the courage they had in speaking openly. As I’ve said many times about my editorship with this journal, we must not just talk about our areas of interest, but walk it as well. These special editors and contributors do just that.

Front matter for Reflections Volume 13, Number 2, Spring 2014 issue.

"A white double consciousness would not involve the move between white and black subjectivities or black and American perspectives, as DuBois and Fanon developed the notion. Instead, for whites, double consciousness requires an ever present acknowledgment of the historical legacy of white identity constructions in the persistent structures of inequality and exploitation, as well as a newly awakened memory of the many white traitors to white privilege who have struggled to contribute to the building of an inclusive human community." —Linda Martín Alcoff, The Whiteness Question

Cristina and Isabel’s invitation to be interviewed for this edition of the journal is an honor. I apologize to all readers in advance for a contribution that could have been much better with more time, but I’m grateful to have the chance to comment on a topic that has been the motivating factor in my personal life and my life as an educator and linguist. I will respond to a few questions that have been posed to me by Cristina and Isabel, frame the ethnic studies problem in a larger context, highlight NCTE and CCCC’s work in this area, recounting the work of the Task Force on Racism and Bias in the important work of assisting teachers to recognize and implement a curriculum that authentically represents historic work, and comment briefly on Cruz Medina’s insightful essay on the ethnic studies issue in Arizona.

“You should know that the education of the heart is very important. This will distinguish you from others. Educating oneself is easy, but educating ourselves to help other human beings to help the community is much more difficult.” —Cesar Chávez

Introduction to Reflections Spring 2013 issue.

Front matter for Reflections Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 2013 issue.

Front matter for Reflections Volume 12, Number 1, Fall 2012 issue.

Regular Reflections readers will notice, among other things, a change in the journal’s subtitle. We are now “A Journal of Public Rhetoric, Civic Writing, and Service Learning,” having shifted from “A Journal of Writing, Service Learning and Community Literacy.” Title changes—even subtitle changes—are no small things, so we begin with a note on what led us to make that decision.

Research on early Latino/a immigration in the deep South is minimal largely because of the Black and White racial dichotomy that pervades the South. New Orleans has a rich Latino/a and Spanish presence, yet little research covers Latino/a immigration from the 1700s to the mid- 1900s. This paper will trace the early history of Latino/a immigration in New Orleans to help foster deep Southern Latino/a "roots" for this growing immigrant population. The paper will also focus on the largest New Orleans Latino/a community, Hondurans, tracing their early history and current immigrant experiences after Hurricane Katrina.

This paper examines how first year students at a South Texas Gulf Coast university became engaged as researchers and writers in investigating the multi-dimensional issues that impact hurricane victims and their communities. Working with a number of faculty from their learning community and beyond who helped them see the cross-disciplinary implications of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, many of these students succeeded not only in creating a scholarly conversation on this topic in class, but demonstrated a compassion for others in their research. Through their research projects, many of them developed a research obsession that was manifested when they learned to care.