the president’s corner—thea sweo alvarado, pasadena city ...paradise transplanted: migration and...

California Sociological Association Bulletin, Winter 2018, Volume 29, Number 1, Page

California Sociological Association Bulletin, Winter 2018, Volume 29, Number 1

The President’s Corner—Thea Sweo Alvarado, Pasadena City College Last November, the California Sociological Association held its annual conference in Sacramento, California, centered around the theme “A Legacy of Sociology.” The keynote speaker, William Domhoff, is a legacy him-self. Based on his well-known and now updated “Who Rules America?”, he presented a spellbinding network analysis of political and economic power players, complete with elaborate visuals materializing the connections among the elite ownership class. I have attended many keynote speeches throughout the years, and I often look around at the enthralled audience members as our first day of sessions comes to a close. This year, I was struck by the spectrum of ages I saw on their faces. From retired Traditionalists to emerging Millennials, each cohort was represented. The CSA truly is an organization that connects sociologists across the generations, cementing “A Legacy of Sociology.”

Within the next few years, Millennials will be the largest generation in the U.S. labor force, outnumbering even

the Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation has seen its share of heartache. The Great Recession shrunk as-

sets meant for a comfy retirement, forcing Boomers to continue labor force participation out of financial neces-

sity. Workforce competition between seasoned workers and less costly new graduates ensued. Sadly, one result

was that Millennials developed a bad reputation. The punching bags of popular news, and the scapegoats for

changing social norms, Millennials are characterized as being lazy, high-maintenance, and self-absorbed

“snowflakes.” Participation awards have made them feel entitled, the argument goes, and a reliance on social

media “likes” demonstrates their intense need for validation. Hipsters, caricatures of the Millennial generation,

are stereotyped as living in gentrified neighborhoods, wasting away their monthly budgets on gourmet food and

craft beer, more interested in providing for their dogs than starting families of their own.

Even amongst Millennials, there are some intra-cohort differences. Some sociologists split the generation into

Old Millennials, born between 1981 and 1988, and Young Millennials, born between 1989 and 1997. Again, the

Great Recession is to blame for the intragenerational wedge. Many Older Millennials entered the labor force

while there were still good jobs to be had; Younger Millennials have been forced to cope with the ensuing gig

economy. As a result, Millennials are seeking a more competitive edge in the labor market through higher edu-

cation, taking on more student loan debt in the process. With fewer stable job prospects, many of them then

boomerang home, delaying the traditional markers of adulthood, including marriage, home ownership, and pro-

creation. The stress and depression that can result when roles do not meet expectations is of little surprise when

the long-fabled American Dream seems so far out of reach for so many. Real wages have dropped, and unem-

ployment rates for recent graduates have increased.

It is no wonder Millennials feel detached from major social institutions, including mainstream political parties,

organized religion, the military, and marital relationships. The average

age at first marriage for both men and women is increasing, and Mil-

lennials are no longer reproducing at replacement level. Perhaps this is

because most Millenials no longer feel pressured into marriage, the

way previous generations may have before them. With changing soci-

etal norms comes new hope. Millenials are more racially and ethni-

cally diverse than their older counterparts. They are better educated

Continued on Page 2

California Sociological Association 2018 Annual Meeting November 9-10, 2018

Mission Inn Riverside

Elvia Ramirez, CSU Sacramento ([email protected])

California Sociological Association Bulletin, Winter 2018, Volume 29, Number 1,

Continued from Page 1 as a whole. They are more liberal than generations before, and tend to favor progressive social policies. Commitment to equality and freedom of expression are at the forefront of Millennial generational values, and these characteristics also help to define good leadership. Developing the next generation of leaders is our legacy, and the CSA plays its part. Personally, I hope Millennials are known as “The Generation of Revolu-tionaries.”

President Elect and 2018 Program Chair—Elvia Ramirez, CSU Sacramento Theme and Call for Proposals for the 2018 Conference This year’s California Sociological Association conference will take place November 9-10, 2018 at the Mis-sion Inn, a historic and beautiful landmark hotel located in downtown Riverside. The theme of this year’s conference will be “Inequality and Social Justice in the Contemporary Era.” The keynote speaker for the 2018 CSA conference will be Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California. Her research has examined how Latino immigrants negotiate challenges with informal sector work, varied legal status, and changing gender, family and community relations. She has authored or edited nine books, published 50 journal articles and chapters, and held research and writing fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation for the Humanities, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, UCSD’s Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, the Getty Research Institute, and the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM. Her most recent book is Paradise Transplanted: Migration and the Making of California Gardens (University of California Press 2014), which tells the story of immigrants building, enjoying and maintaining California’s beautiful garden landscapes. She is currently writing a book about the Latino transformation of the historically African American neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. If you would like to organize a session, panel, or workshop for this year’s CSA conference, please email me at [email protected] by July 30, 2018. We encourage submissions that address the conference theme, though all topics of sociological interest are welcome. We look forward seeing you at this year’s CSA con-ference in Riverside!

College of the Canyons and Contra Costa College Students at the 2017 Conference Sociology students from the Sociology Club at College of the Canyons again volunteered at our 2017 confer-ence. They worked with registration and the audio-visual equipment as well as helping in many other ways. It was a great help to the California Sociological Association and an important learning experience for them. The California Sociological Association thanks them and their mentors, Anne Marenco, Rebekah Villafana, and Kim Bonfiglio. More than 100 sociology students from Contra Costa College attended the 2017 conference. The students made the 80 miles trip up Highway I 80 to attend the gathering of sociologists. Some of those students vol-unteered at the conference by assisting their professor, J. Vern Cromartie, with setting up the conference room for a packed in audience and helping with the audio-visual equipment. Special thanks go to Monique Nichols and Mariah Roberts for their help at the conference.

mailto:[email protected]


In Memoriam: Elizabeth “Liz” Ness Nelson, November 28, 1938-- January 10, 2018 Elizabeth Ness Nelson died in her sleep on January 10, 2018, after a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her parents Helmer and Helen (Brand) Ness and her sister, Jean Leroux. She is survived by her husband, Ed Nelson; her daughter and son-in-law, Lisa Nelson and Robert Kosky and their children, Mat-thew, Nathan, and Seth; her son and daughter-in-law, David and Carrie Nelson and their children, Elizabeth and Grace; her sister Patricia Bjerkan; nephew, Chas (and Cyndy) Bjerkan; her niece, Tonya (and Darrell) Heike and four grandnephews. Elizabeth was born and raised in Everett, WA and received her BA with Honors from Washington State University in 1962. She attended graduate school at UCLA and received her Ph.D. in Sociology in 1975. She taught at California State University, Fresno from 1973 to her retirement in 2000. She was Chair of the Department of Sociology from 1988 to 2000 and helped develop the Women’s Studies Program and the Multidisciplinary Gerontology Program at Fresno State. Elizabeth’s professional associations included the American Sociological Association and the Pacific Soci-ological Association both from 1965 to 2018. She was also a member of the Western Social Sciences Asso-ciation, the California Sociological Association, and the National Women’s Studies Association. She was a member of the CSU Emeriti and Retired Faculty Association and the CSU, Fresno Executive Council. Elizabeth traveled to India and Nepal with the People to People Citizen’s Ambassador Program in 1988 and again in 2007. She was very active at Hope Lutheran Church and Lydia’s House both in Fresno. She served on various boards, including the Friendly Visitors Service, the University Religious Center, and Lutheran Campus Ministry, Fresno. She also volunteered with Elderhostel. Elizabeth was proud of her accomplishments, and she delighted even more in her children and grandchil-dren, traveling to visit them in Wisconsin whenever she could. She loved to travel and spent this last Continued on Page 4


Continued from Page 3

Christmas in Wisconsin and visited Orlando with her daughter and family and Colorado with her son and fam-ily this last summer. She called her sister daily and visited Washington often. She will be missed by all who knew her. MAY GOD BLESS THE MEMORY OF THIS FAITHFUL SAINT (Editor’s Note. The photograph and text above were part of the official obituary disseminated at the memorial service for Elizabeth “Liz” Ness Nelson. The memorial service took place on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Hope Lutheran Church in Fresno, California.)

Tina Wyneken, CSU Fresno Alumnae Tribute to Elizabeth “Liz” Nelson My relationship with Liz goes back 40 years to 1978, when my father Karl became the new pastor at Redeem-er Lutheran Church, here in Fresno, and the Nelson family was looking for a new church home. With children exactly the ages of two of my younger siblings, soon our two families were doing lots of things together, from attending church, annual church retreats at too many camps in the Sierra to count, catechism instruction and confirmations, and, eventually, eating out and “sharing” their cable television to watch sports events, as a good portion of my family always has been stoically opposed to paying for cable television.

In 1980, I graduated from high school and entered Fresno State. The first semester I was there, I took Wom-en’s Studies class. In that class, one of the first assignments was to write a paper on a notable woman. The fact that I was even taking that class at the time was due to Liz’s efforts, as she helped to develop the Woman’s Studies program there not long before I entered Fresno State. In so many ways, Liz was a notable woman, in my life, as well as the lives of so many others. Liz was a pioneer in many ways throughout her life. Coming from a time of limited roles for women, she per-severed through college to a doctorate in sociology from UCLA, after starting out in home economics. She and Ed came to Fresno because it offered them both faculty positions in the Sociology Department, something that was hard to find in 1973. One of my jobs during college was typing papers for her, on an actual typewriter that had correction tape, for those, other than my children, who know what that is. After she became involved in the leadership at Redeemer Church, she eventually became Board president and also preached sermons dur-ing worship services, at a time when that was not fully accepted and to the distinct consternation of even some very close friends. After a lengthy fight, she became a full professor at Fresno State, and we celebrated that along with my graduation in 1985. Liz was also a thoughtful and caring person. In my life, she was there for me when my second son was born, I had a 3-year-old daughter, and my closest biological family was 2000 miles away. One would have thought that Liz was a huge sports fan, judging from the ridiculous number of football, baseball, soccer games she at-tended and watched over the years. Actually, it was what the rest of us were into, especially my son Jacob, and she went along with rare exception, suffering through multitudes of games in oppressive heat and freezing cold. It’s what we were doing the last time we were together—watching the College National Championship on her cable television and sharing Chinese takeout the day before she died. She and I had also discussed our latest Hope Book Club selections and the knitting project I was working on two more interests we shared. Our families also shared interests in music, theatre, and other cultural activities. Liz was a great friend to many, including my mother, Carol. My mom was not always the easiest to get along with, but Liz stood with her, always patient, always listening, and was a great influence on my mom’s endeav-ors to graduate from college and obtain a master’s degree in fine arts. Liz was also a great customer of Mom’s! And Liz and Ed were there with us when my mom died. Continued on Page 5


Continued from Page 4 That she was one of the wisest and intelligent people I have ever known is undisputed. She could argue theolo-gy, among other topics, with anyone. But it is how she applied that intelligence in her life, in her gentle but firm way, that is so notable. (Editor’s Note. The text was delivered as an address at the memorial service for Elizabeth “Liz” Ness Nelson. Tina Wyneken granted permission to the California Sociological Association Bulletin to publish her wonderful address.)

Odds and Ends

The spring issue of the California Sociological Bulletin will include the preliminary list of ses

sions for 2018.

Please join the California Sociological Association on Facebook.

Is your department doing something especially well—receiving awards, preparing students for

employment or graduate study, promoting research skills, or service learning? Please let the

rest of us know by contacting J. Vern Cromartie ([email protected]).

Other 2018 Sociology Meetings:

Pacific Sociological Association, March 28-31, 2018, Long Beach, California, pacificsoc.org

American Sociological Association August 11-14, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, asanet.org

The California Sociological Association thanks the departments that donated

to the 2017 Conference. The departments represented the following institu-

tions:

CSU, Channel Islands

CSU, East Bay

CSU, Fresno

CSU, Northridge

CSU, San Bernardino

UC Merced

UC Riverside

2017 California Sociological Association Student Award Winners

A highlight of the annual conference is always the Friday evening student awards and keynote address fol-

lowed by the buffet reception. The 2017 student award winners are as follows: (1) Julie Martin, College of the

Canyons, Community College Student Award; (2) Katherine Mize, CSU Fresno, Undergraduate Student

Award; and (3) Yvette Servin, CSU Los Angeles, Graduate Student Award.

2018 Conference at the Mission Inn, Riverside The next conference will be at the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside. It is always a great location for our

meeting in southern California. There are good conference rooms, and it is a fun place to stay. The Mission

Inn is located 16 miles from the Ontario International Airport. For more information, please visit its website at

www.missioninn.com.

http://www.missioninn.com


Editor’s Corner—J. Vern Cromartie, Contra Costa College As the Crow Flies No. 1 When sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois served as the editor of The Crisis, he had a column called “As the Crow Flies.” Du Bois also used the same name for his column when he wrote for the Amsterdam News and the Chi-cago Globe. During my editorship of a publication called Poetry Illustrated in the 1980s, I also had a column called “As the Crow Flies” as a homage to Du Bois. In continuing homage to Du Bois, I have decided to call my column “As the Crow Flies.” However, I have also decided to number each one. Thus, the present col-umn is No. 1. Sadly, on January 10, 2018, Elizabeth Nelson, the former editor of this organ passed away. I was selected to succeed her after I volunteered to do so. Sociologist Max Weber has informed us that we can gain a deep un-derstanding of other people by placing ourselves in their shoes and seeing things from their point of view. As the new editor of this organ, I now stand on the shoulders of Elizabeth Nelson and I am certainly willing and able to see things from her point of view. Hence, in this issue of publication, I have included her official obi-tuary and a tribute by her close friend Tina Wyneken. God bless Elizabeth Nelson and may her soul rest in peace. Loving My Akan and Yoruba DNA Roots I am a man of Black African descent with a Geechee and Gullah heritage. On the one hand, Gullah refers to the enslaved people (and their descendants) who were brought to the present limits of the United States of America (USA) from Africa and elsewhere as well as the language they brought with them. On the other hand, Geechee refers to the Gullahs (and their descendants) who ran away from enslavement by White slave-holders, joined the Seminole Nation as Maroon partisans, and fought alongside American Indians in the three Seminole Wars against the USA and White slaveholders. The First Seminole War took place from 1816 to 1818. The Second Seminole War lasted seven years from 1835 to 1842. The Third Seminole War occurred from 1855 to 1858. The grandmother of my mother’s father was a Geechee and a Black Seminole. Whereas his name was Augustus Manson Frazier, her name was Bessie “Bess” Frazier. He is buried in Wayne County, Georgia. She is buried in Camden County, Georgia. I have long wondered about the ethnic groups, also known as tribes, which I come from in Africa. A company known as AfricanAncestry.com has developed a trademarked test which can indicate which ethnic groups my DNA can be traced to. During 2016, I ordered a kit and followed the instructions for accessing my DNA with swabs. I then sent the swabs to AfricanAncestry.com. About eight weeks later I got a report and certificate indicating that my Y chromosome can be traced to the Akan people in Ghana through my father Jimmie Lee Cromartie. I also received a report and certificate indicating that my X chromosome can be traced to the Yo-ruba people in Nigeria through my mother Julia Frazier Cromartie Boyd. I love the fact that I have Akan and Yoruba DNA roots. Both of my parents are deceased as well as their parents. However, I now know the source of my Black Afri-can descent. During October 2017, I went to Ghana to present a paper at a conference held at the University of Ghana, Legon, which is located in the capitol, namely Accra. The conference was held under the auspices of the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) of which I am a member. The title of my paper was “W. E. B. Du Bois, Pan-African Ideas, and Pan-African Actions: Remembering the Founder of the Pan-African Congress Movement.” While in Ghana, I got a chance to explore some historical sites and points of interest. In Accra, I visited the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture where the great Black sociologist, political activ-ist, Pan-Africanist, and poet once lived and is now buried. I also visited the George Padmore Memorial Li-brary where the great Black philosopher, political activist, and Pan-Africanist is now buried. In addition, I Continued on Page 7


Continued from Page 6 visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park where the great Black philosopher, political activist, first head of state, and Pan-Africanist is now buried in a mausoleum. To explore my roots in Ghana, I visited the so-called Elmina Castle and so-called Cape Coast Castle. Both places were enslavement “factories” wherein countless Africans were shipped through each “Door of No Re-turn.” It was a cathartic experience to lay my eyes on both. Since I am an Akan on my paternal side, it is quite possible that my ancestor, through my father, was once forced to go through one of the two doors. My trip to Ghana lasted one week. It was my first trip to Ghana, but not my last. In the future, I plan to go to Nigeria so that I can see the land of my Yoruba people. I anticipate that I will enjoy that trip as much as I did my trip to Ghana.

Editor’s Note. This photograph comes from the J. Vern Cromartie Archives and shows the grave of W. E. B. Du Bois in Accra, Ghana during October 2017. Editor’s Note. This photograph comes from the J. Vern Cromartie Archives and shows him standing near the doorway to dungeon where enslaved male Africans were kept at the so-called Elmina Castle in Ghana’s Cape Coast area before they were shipped in the nefarious Middle Passage. The photograph was made during October 2017.


Elizabeth Nelson 1142 E. Menlo Fresno CA 93710

CSA Executive Board and Governing Council 2017-2018 President (2017-18) Thea Sweo Alvarado Sociology Pasadena City College [email protected]

President Elect (2017-18) Elvia Ramirez Ethnic Studies CSU Sacramento [email protected]

Vice President—South (2016-18) Anne Marenco Sociology College of the Canyons [email protected]

Vice President—North (2017-19) Tonmar Johnson Sociology Solano Community College [email protected]

Executive Director (2015-18) Ed Nelson Sociology CSU, Fresno [email protected]

Bulletin Editor J. Vern Cromartie Sociology Contra Costa College [email protected]

Webmaster Tim Kubal Sociology CSU, Fresno [email protected]

California State University (2017-20) David Boyns Sociology CSU Northridge [email protected]

University of California (2017-20) Christopher Chase-Dunn Sociology UC Riverside [email protected]

Community Colleges—North (2017-20) J. Vern Cromartie Sociology Contra Costa College [email protected]

Community Colleges—South (2016-19) Rebekah Villafana Sociology Long Beach City College [email protected]

Private College & Universities (2017-20) Ed Clarke, Sociology Vanguard University of Southern CA [email protected]

Practitioners (2015-18) Robin Franck Consultant [email protected]

Students (2017-18) Elizabeth Bogumil Sociology UC Riverside [email protected]

Immediate Past President (2017-18) Tim Kubal Sociology CSU Fresno [email protected]












the president’s corner—thea sweo alvarado, pasadena city ...paradise transplanted: migration and...

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