Honest Johnson, I only do the title because of my black and brown and queer students who have effectively said to me, “I wish a bitch would call you Tressie while I’m standing here so help me help you”. So yeah. https://twitter.com/ebonyteach/status/1247555985935421449

And at some point I also realized that my peers who have different struggles with legitimacy than I do needed the solidarity. So now I do titles. It is not really for me but for others.

My whole M.O. is don’t let them see me coming so I used to think burying that title lede kept me in my comfort zone. But it doesn’t really. Sometimes what we think of as humility is also a trap? Something something. My head hurts.