Johnetta
Richards -- Helping students experience Africa
When
Johnetta Richards graduated from high school in Richmond, Va., her parents
surprised
her with a sleek set of Hartmann luggage and the
promise that "You are going to travel and learn about the world." She
proved them right -- and she's made learning-based travel possible for
dozens of students, too.
This summer
Richards, an associate professor of Black Studies, completed her sixth
visit to Africa with SFSU students.
She views
the travel study classes as a way to help shatter the myths of Africa
for students. "Even
today, there is this mystery about Africa unlike other continents.
But when you get there you can see the exquisite beauty and potential
of the country. Then you say to yourself 'I've been lied to all these
years about Africa.' The experience changes your perspective," said
Richards, known about campus for her colorful Zimbabwean print dresses
and scarves.
Lisa White,
chair of geosciences, has accompanied Richards and her students on
two trips to Zimbabwe, and calls Richards a remarkable
individual. "Her
dedication to organizing study tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa
is wonderful," she said. "Her commitment to providing SFSU
students with an opportunity to experience Africa in the context
of a course
year after year is amazing."
Key to
the success of the visits is Richards' painstaking attention to detail
in preparing for the
trips, White added.
"Not only does she assume all of the responsibility for the trip logistics,
including scheduling the on-site coursework, and the daily activities
and excursions, but her wide base of contacts at universities and
cultural centers in South Africa ensures that students have a complete and well-rounded
educational experience," said White.
Richards said her early days in Richmond, home of the Confederacy,
put her on the road to become a college faculty member.
"I
grew up in the days when we really did have to sit in the back of the
bus and then later I walked to white schools during the early
days of what they called 'pupil placement'. Those experiences got me interested
in history," said Richards, who celebrated her 53rd birthday
while in Africa and likes to note that she shares the same
birthday -- July
18 -- as Nelson Mandela.
Richards
attended Virginia State University, a historically black college located
in Petersburg. "It
was such a nurturing environment -- that was especially helpful
for so many black students," said Richards,
who earned her bachelor's degree in American history. "Our
professors wanted us to succeed as individuals and as a race.
Those professors were
tough."
She was
then selected as a recipient of a Danforth Fellowship and began studying
Southern history in the graduate
program
at the
University of Cincinnati, where she earned a doctorate
in American history with
an
emphasis on Afro-American history and social movements.
For her dissertation on the Southern Negro Youth Congress, Richard
traveled
the South
collecting
oral histories from blacks who had been a part of the organization
from 1937 to 1949.
Richards'
research emphasis then shifted to Africa, as Rhodesia became the independent
country of Zimbabwe in
1980. The next
year Richards
visited on a Mellon grant to study the status and impact
of women ex-combatants on Zimbabwean society.
"It
was a very exciting time to be there. These women were former guerrilla
fighters in the independence movement and now they
had radically new roles in society," said Richards. While in Zimbabwe
she began to learn more about the country and make connections with
college professors.
An expert
on African American history and former national
president of the Association of Black Women Historians,
Richards joined
the SFSU faculty
in 1988 after teaching positions at Trinity College
in Hartford and CSU Fresno. With encouragement from former
international
programs director Harvey Charles, Richards took her
first group of SFSU
students
to Zimbabwe
in 1998.
"You
should have seen the excitement on the faces of the students once we
arrived in Africa. They couldn't believe they
were on African soil. It has been that way with every group since. And some
students have gone
back on their own," said Richards, who works
closely with the offices of Community Service Learning
and International Programs in coordinating
the visits.
Political
unrest in Zimbabwe forced Richards to suspend trips there and begin
visits
to South Africa
last
year.
After taking
a required travel and study course in Black Studies last spring, her
SFSU students
this
past summer
traveled to
Johannesburg, Soweto and Durban in South Africa
and the neighboring countries
of Swaziland and Lesotho. The group of five
students also attended lectures
at the
University of the Free State and performed
community service learning work in government agencies,
churches and nonprofit
agencies. They
each donated a suitcase filled with books,
educational toys or sports equipment
for the children there.
Now Richards
has her sights set on future travel experiences for SFSU students. "African
people have settled all over the world, in Latin America, in Europe
and other places," said Richards, who teaches
a Black Studies course on the Black Diaspora. "I
would someday like students to travel to
other places around the world to broaden
their
education in Black Studies."
Her interest
in travel and education goes far beyond
the annual travel study classes
to Africa.
Richards
heads the
faculty
affairs committee
of the California State University's All-University
Committee on International Programs. The
influential committee
awards coveted slots for faculty
resident directors in locations such as
Japan and Italy. Richards, who lives in Brisbane,
also finds
time for
her hobbies of working
on interior
design projects and visiting museums during
her travels
On campus,
Richards also works with international students.
"Our
international students are so excited about coming to the United States
and especially to study at San Francisco
State," said Richards. "I
want to continue working to help more of
our students examine the world and truly become agents of change."
-- Ted
DeAdwyler
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