Common Text with Isabel Wilkerson

I was excited to go hear Isabel Wilkerson talk about her book "The Warmth Of Other Suns". I wanted to know where she drew her inspiration from and what motivated her to even want to write the book. The first thing she said that really shocked me is that it took her 15 years to finish the book. Thats probably more than half her life but this just shows me how dedicated she was to writing a well thought-out book. Her parents were migrants which was apart of her motivation for writing this book. She also talked about the laws in the south that motivated African-Americans to migrate to the north. She went on to say if they came into interaction with a white person they had to behave a certain for example, if a black person was driving behind a white person they could'nt honk the horn or swerve in front of them to get in front because this sort of behavior could result in harsh consequences such as lynching. Hearing this just melted my heart because we have it so good today that we never really think about this kind of stuff. She then went on to talk about the people she interviewed for the book, who are the main characters, George, Ida Mae, and Robert. She said she took the initiative to travel the same path of migration that some of these characters did, just to get the full effect of what they had to go through. Isabel Wilkerson is really an inspiration of mines. She has showed me anything is possible, it just takes some time.

Miss Evers Boys

Miss Evers Boys was a really good play. It had a good story line but the overall story could've been a lot "juicer". I really liked the relationships between each of the characters, it was really clear, especially the relationship between the boys and Miss Evers. I was able to tell by the physical movements that their relationships grew over time. They began to interact with each other a lot more. What I really like about Miss Evers' boys is that there is a lot of physical movements especially with Stanley's character, and his movements also told a story over the width of the play. As he got sicker his movements slowed down and he started struggling to dance. When I left the theatre, I wasn't as moved as I think i should've been. I don't really know the reason for that, maybe it had to do with the play or directing or acting. I can't really point it out. Usually when I leave the theatre it has an impact on me but not this time. The best part of the play were the boys. The way they interacted and trusted one another was really nice to see. It was like a brotherhood and relationship is really important in the theatre. I felt like the directing was "ok", there were many ways the director could've made the scenes more interesting by placing the characters in different places, or different points of view. Besides my critique, overall I enjoyed the play.

Self-Reflection

Freshman Seminar has taught me a lot of new things that I had no knowledge of before, especially coming from a very diverse high school. When freshman seminar began I thought the class would be very pro-black and a lot about African studies, and I wasn't wrong, lol. Learning new things about African culture was very interesting, although I didn't think I would need to remember a lot of these things for future reference, especially because of my major. It was overall a good experience but I wish that freshman seminar offered more than just lectures about African cultures and terms. It would've been nice if the class offered us a guide to Howard University and spoke to us about how things work around campus, being that we are incoming freshman and don't really know much about that. I've never took a lecture class before, and though I learned some beneficial things, it would've helped to learn things that I needed at that point in time. I enjoyed blogging about the lectures because with each different blog that I did, I discovered more and more about the lesson that I didn't realize before hand. The Lectures' shared some beneficial knowledge with us, I enjoyed learning about the different people who worked with Howard and about the changes they were making and continuing to make.

Research Group Project Evaluation

Working on the group project was definitely an interesting experience. I usually rather work by myself, but I also enjoy working in groups because it gives me a chance to hear different prospectives from the different group members which benefits the overall project. Surprisingly being in a group of all women, we got along very well, there were no arguments, disagreements, or attitudes. Everyone had very welcoming attitudes and we took everyones opinions into consideration although like any group, we did have our issues. Our research question was "how have previous Howard professors advance the world of psychology?". I liked our research question because it gave me a chance to dig deeper into Howard Alumni and see the changes they've made within the University. I found out new things about the university that I've never knew before and it was an awesome learning experience. A key learning experience from all of this was interviewing a Howard Professor. This helped me to meet different and new professors and understand their reason for teaching at Howard, and why they love it so much. When presenting the group presentation I felt that I was a teacher myself because I was educating my fellow classmates and bringing forth new information that they don't know about. I mean, what good is learning new information if you can't share it ?

The Purpose of an Education

It is because of people like Ms. Worthy that so many young people today have been inspired to go beyond just making it through school, but actually strive to succeed throughout the rest of their lives. It is so refreshing to see the type of enthusiasm and dedication she holds towards giving children a better future through their education. She expressed how important it was for young African American children to realize their potential and how they need a deeper sense of knowing someone cares about their success.

Community responsibility was a topic that needs to be addressed more over the country. This concept is crucial in raising children to understand they can do anything and that they have the support of everyone. There is a saying I always hear, “it takes a village to raise a child” and I truly believe this is accurate. Everyone needs to work together to bring our people out of the bad stereotypes and let us know that we are just as god as any other race. We all need to support each other I order to survive at the fullest.

“Ubuntu: ZULU PROVERB A person is a person through other persons. We affirm our humanity when we acknowledge that of others.” I love this concept also because it plays into the fact that we need to respect and treat others as though they were family. It is important to show respect to all people, no matter the case, because you never know what effect you may have in someone’s life.

Howard Homecoming...what an experience!

The amount of activities, performances, food stands, and entertainment in general was amazing. Homecoming here at Howard is definitely something you couldn’t even come close to at another institution. The football games, to begin with, keep your blood pressure up at all times with the many interceptions and touchdowns. The vendors lined up outside the gate added to the excitement and true football game feeling we had been lacking during previous games.

            Yardfest was an experience in itself. I couldn’t believe that many people could fit on the yard at one time. The performances were pretty good but I felt that we could have had better artists. The step show wasn’t as good as it had been in past years but it was still entertaining also. I loved watching the different fraternities and sororities get up and show their dedication and love with their line brothers and sisters. The performance by Travis Porter was also nice although it was hard to see from where I was sitting.

Overall, homecoming was an amazing experience and I truly believe no one can compare to a Howard Homecoming although many may try. I wouldn’t trade this school for anything and I love that we can be known as prestigious but yet know how to throw a good party.  

Freshman Seminar Group Projects

Our group focused on advances in the field of psychology and what scholars have done to further advance this field. Our power point focused on Mamie and Kenneth Clark who were Howard graduates who worked in child racial psychology. They studied the effect society had on black children and their thoughts of which race was prettier, better, uglier, etc.. They opened a counseling center over 65 years ago in Harlem, NY  in order to help the youth of the neighborhood overcome challenges and have a safe haven. This center is still in existence today along with many of the changes they made to help support Brown vs. Board of Education. The effort these two people alone made in the field of psychology is amazing and I really enjoyed learning about them during this project.