My boyfriend of three years broke up with me; my heart was shattered like a mirror on the ground, cracked and pieces missing. I never thought that this would affect me so much. I couldn’t let everyone see how upset I was, so I hid my emotions behind a fake smile that no one ever knew existed. That is where all my problems started; something started to grow inside of me like an embryo of a new unborn child. Slowly but surely I sank into a dark abyss of depression.…
I want to be a part of this association who advocates for minority groups and who also empowers minorities in becoming a success story and breaking away form stereotypes changing views and attitudes towards cultures through personal stories/experiences. Unpacking Black in America developed greater appreciation for the culture and respect for who they are as individuals and as a community. It allowed me to really look into a culture that I lacked knowledge in. In which I gained a greater respect, admiration, and knowledge towards the African American community and their…
Problems Black Young Men Face How can a young black man go through what Richard went through and become so successful? Richard is a young black boy trying to move he and his family to the North for a better life. In the book Black Boy the author argues how the issues of poverty racism in the Jim Crow South. The loss of the of the opportunities made things hard for Richard.…
I remember the first time my mother took me to get my hair straightened. I clenched her hand as we walked into the salon. Beautiful women lined every station, bickering about their husbands, gossiping about neighbors, all managing to stay intertwined in every conversation. It was rapid; it was raw, it made me smile. I remember the smell, the fetid ooze of creams wafting over the stations.…
14.7 million children live in poverty. I am one of them. And yet, no one seems to notice me or care. I’m just another piece of garbage in the street, just another thin, starved child that is above the notice of anyone. I wish tears could change my life, as if they could somehow wash out the hurt, and pain, as if they could drown the struggle.…
When I was in six grade, my PE coach made it clear to me that I wasn't alone, and I could accomplish anything I put the time and effort into. He was the football coach for Atascocita middle school. An African American in his late 20s, very friendly, and Guidable when it came to his students. On the first day of school as a new student with no knowledge of the language, I was extremely terrified to transform from speaking different language, and having a similar set of friends into an inexperienced world and dissimilar students who I had absolutely nothing in common with. Fortunately, I had my brother as a personal translator throughout the year.…
I have spent a lot of time exploring what it means to be black in America and to be a woman. With a journalism career spanning 17+ years as a writer and editor, I established myself as a trusted music historian, cultural critic and impenetrable voice of my generation. I have interviewed Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Common and numerous others while examining Hip Hop as a sociopolitical movement along with analyzing contemporary black culture and urban life for The Chicago Defender, HipHopDX, Soul Train and numerous other media outlets. After many years of living my dream, I became disgruntled and decided to pursue my life long goal to earn my college degree. I returned to Harold Washington College in my beloved hometown of Chicago and went…
I kept the same habits from high school, where I wouldn't ask for help even if I needed it, and tried to do things entirely on my own. Since that wasn't working, and the end of the semester nearing, I did something I never did back in high school: I sought tutor help. The tutor I met with, Cecilia, not only helped me craft near perfect lab reports that were needed to narrowly pass the class, she also inspired me to be a better person. It turns out, which I later found out, that university tutors are not required to help with lab reports. Thus, it occurred to me that Cecilia helped me out of her own whim.…
I have felt many pressures, race is such a big problem among black people but as community can get over the hump of being pressured into a few stereotypes. From my own personal experience being a young black man growing up in many places of black being the majority such as Detroit, Chicago, New York I felt an amazing amount of comfort around these areas. Once I move down to La Vernia Texas, being enrolled into an all white school with a lot of Mexicans and the only black people could only fit on a bench in a hallway that we called “The Black Bench” in high school, I attended La Vernia school district for 7 years from 4th grade all the way to 10th grade in high school. My first encounter with this whole move, and experience this new…
African American students often faced several different obstacles that alter or sometimes deter their goals of continuing their college career and leading them to graduate. Between both readings, they explain how African Americans are portrayed as less than, which is one reason they do poorly in school settings. Steele calls this; stereotype threat. “Stereotype threat---- the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype” (Steele, 46). This is a major obstacle when it pertains to the African American students education.…
Isaiah Edwards Freshman Skills Ms.Wilson Growing up in Trenton, New Jersey, a predominantly black community where violence is promoted towards one another. As you live, you get used to talking a certain way while you adapt to the lifestyle of people you think are your Idols. Believe it or not, this is the way you live, this is the way you perceive things.…
The place was very large. I assumed the man who took us was rich. He was rich enough to allow us to sleep and eat at his home. I wish that was the case. He was rich, but he did not care for us.…
Growing up is tough. Every day people go through life with careers that they may not enjoy. Throughout the past few weeks I got the opportunity to interview two people about their jobs, one being a young adult who just started working, while the other was approaching her mid-life with an established career. The advice from both of these individuals was both eye opening and helpful. The age of the interviewee definitely influenced the responses I received.…
My vision for america’s youth today is that we focus less on the newest Jordans or the newest iPhone and focus more on issues that affect us because we are the one that inherit this earth. Materialism eats us from the inside out. Our society places significance on what you own—not who you are, it is sad and bitter fact. Many problems may arise and often do when young people embrace this culture of materialism. Lacking the means to acquire the much-valued material things, some individuals develop low self-esteem., especially for those of those of younger age.…
The history of African Americans has always been limited in many school systems creating an ignorance to many people on the construction of this race. To truly understand why a race of people do things you need to know their history and where they came from. The African American Experience is often considered one of the most interesting pieces in history. Africa, the world’s oldest populated area and also considered the beginning of humanity was comprised up to 10,000 different states and groups with distinct languages and religions. The country of Egypt was a huge contributor to the development of Africa and other world civilizations and was the land of mathematics and problem solving.…