My Legacy !

When I think of the word lecture, the first thing that immediately comes to my mind is being at home. I think of how my parents often lecture me and sometimes it almost feels as if they take pleasure in haranguing me. If my lectures at home were anything even close to “Learning, Wisdom, and the African World”, I would pay more attention. When Dr.Carr first began to speak, he was talking so fast that I did not think that I would be able to catch anything that he was saying but within a few minutes, my attention was so captured that I was going to make it a point to hear what he had to say. There were three key points that I walked away from the class period with. The first point was how great my people truly are. A light bulb went off in my head when Dr.Carr said something along the lines of, “If you think that our legacy begins with slavery then anything after that will seem like progress.” Those few simple words were so profound! Way too often when I think of our great thinkers and achievements, I focus on the time period during and after slavery. I think about the four hundred years of chains and the oppression that followed. I think of people such as Douglas and Dubois but it never occurred to me that slavery was just a sort of disruption in our history. Our time in America was just a short time period. We have had so many great philosophers, achievements, and accomplishments way before Columbus “discovered” America. Another point that ties into this one is, is that all throughout grade school, teachers speak about Egypt and Africa as if the two are of no relation. Egypt is in Africa and it is about time that teachers make it a point to point that out! The second point that Dr.Carr made clear was why Howard is the place to be. So many people are mesmerized by the number of celebrities that have called Howard there alma mater but it felt good to hear him speak of intellectuals that teach at or have matriculated at Howard University. I remember when he was talking about the Egyptian symbols and the two black men that had degrees certifying them as fluent in this language. When he pointed to one of them in the back of the room, my jaw dropped. A third point that Dr.Carr brought up was how this all affects me. This is MY legacy. Greatness is running through my veins because of the people  who have come before me. These are all points that I never realized or even hinted at. I have always been proud of my heritage and loved being black but these ideas made me take my thoughts a step further. I feel as if I am apart of an elitist group.  The saying ,“You are either in it or in the way”, is clearly appropriate. I do not feel as if other races or ethnicities are beneath  me but I am an African American student at Howard University so the world is my oyster. As long as I take full advantage of the opportunities given to me, there is nothing I can not do! HU-U KNOW ! ( AND IF YOU DON’T, YOU BETTER ASK SOMEBODY!)