Under the baobab: Penn State to lose a rising star who deserved more recognition
Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
-“Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou
Penn State has lost another star. She did not play football, basketball, or wrestle. She will not be part of any professional sports draft, nor will she be walking the boards on Broadway. But, she is a rising star known throughout the academic and theological world.
AnneMarie Mingo was an assistant professor of African American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University, and an affiliate faculty member in the Rock Ethics Institute. As of next year, she will be an associate professor of ethics, culture, and moral leadership and acting director of the Metro-Urban Institute at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS). The Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, president of PTS, said:
“I am excited about Dr. AnneMarie Mingo joining our faculty and Seminary community. She is not only an expert in exploring the faith roots of the civil rights movement and in Christian social ethics, but she is also a prolific writer and researcher with a proven track record of engaging students in the classroom”
Mingo is the recipient of multiple awards for faculty excellence at Penn State and was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College in 2016 and received the Jean Anne Swope and James L. Mechem Prize in Christian Ethics at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is the founder of the Cultivating Courageous Resisters Project, which since 2019 has worked collaboratively to equip intergenerational religious activists to help meet critical contemporary needs for social justice. She was the most junior person to earn the Forum for Theological Exploration’s Excellence in Mentoring Award.
Her awards and accolades did not sufficiently impress the “powers that be” in her PSU department. She is not alone in her lack of local recognition. Many women, especially highly credentialed and skilled Black women, suffer from a lack of recognition, respect and appreciation at Penn State. In these times women of color rise to the top when provided the opportunity. Consider Vice President Harris, Justice Jackson, Karine Jean-Pierre, Stacey Abrams and our new PSU President Neeli Bendapudi. All of them became stars through their tenacity, skill and grit. They have helped transform our world for the better.
Some women who succeed have not yet attained a platform from which they can be heard. Their work, particularly if it is non-STEM fields, often goes unnoticed and unrewarded. In addition, for single women there is often a lack of social and community support. To maintain a realistic social life, they commute to urban areas like Philly, NYC, D.C. or Atlanta. Another star is rising but not in Happy Valley.
Local events
Live theater is back. Mary Skees, co-founder and artistic director of the Next Stage Theatre Company, opened a new season at The State Theatre with Sartre’s “No Exit,” directed by Norrine Sims and featuring Jeff Buterbaugh, Alexa Krepps, Jason Zanitsch and Penn State School of Theatre and film graduate Mandy Brown. Mandy has recently relocated from Los Angeles. The production is one of the best acted and directed we have seen in a while and runs through July 31.
There was an excellent turnout for the rebirth of the African American Heritage Festival at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona. Spearheaded by Paige Lightner and Harriett Gaston, the event was well attended and included appearances by Urban Fusion, Ibeji Drum Ensemble, Eric Farmer, PennSOULvanians, Da One Band and others.
“Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I riseInto a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise, I rise, I rise.”