Personal Reflection

Note on group project: I really enjoyed working with my group. I think our project really came together in the end, and I'm excited for our presentation.

Speaking of presentations....

Here's the link to our prezi.

Here's the link to my documentary. 

When looking back on this semester, three meaningful pieces of the course that had a strong impact on me were the Journey for Change film, The Boys of Baraka film, and the service-learning project. These three components all relate to one another. All three pieces were programs for minority children who were struggling as a result of the inequalities they face on a day-to-day basis. The programs were meant to help alleviate some of their struggles in a productive and beneficial way and empower the children. For starters, Malaak Compton-Rock’s Journey for Change program took inner-city kids from Brooklyn to South Africa in an effort to empower youth through global service. The Baraka School took inner-city kids in Maryland to Kenya in an effort to give them the adequate attention they needed and deserved in the classroom in addition to empowering them to become strong young men. Lastly, Boyz2Men was an opportunity to imbed myself in a cause I truly care about, and help young minority boys through a program that empowered them and gave them access to resources and an open and safe environment where they could voice their opinions and concerns. In addition, I was able to produce a short documentary highlighting the importance of mentorship/empowerment programs for young minority children.

            These three pieces are really inspiring me to make a difference in the education system. Blatantly stated, the education is flawed and children are not getting adequate access to the resources they need to succeed. I believe programs like Journey for Change, The Baraka School, and Boyz2men are necessary to compensate for the short fallings of schools. Before this class, I thought I had a pretty good idea of the African American community; however, I realized I had so much more to learn! This class has better prepared me to work in tough communities. Next year in San Antonio, I plan on starting mentorship programs at the different middle schools City Year works at. I realize that one cannot just blame the schools because they are not the one’s making all decisions. There is a problem with the government’s allocation of funding to school districts, budget cuts, and school closings. Every child deserves access to a great education, and it is not fair that so many children, mainly minority children, are not getting access to one. I’ve been inspired to go into education policy and fight for the rights of children who are falling through the cracks of the education system. 

Aftermath of our screening

Our screening was yesterday! We didn't have a very good turnout, but I believe the audience really enjoyed the screening. Two of my really good friends from my Ghana trip came out to support which was really nice :)

The best part of the screening was after I showed the documentary I made for Boyz2Men. One of the girls in the audience worked at Gus Garcia Middle School. She was telling me how she knows some of the boys I work with. In addition, she was talking about how much the boys really do enjoy Boyz2Men and how she can see change in the attitudes and behaviors since last semester. She also said the boys rave about the program all the time, and go to the CIS room to hangout with each other even though we don't have meetings on those days. It was such an awesome thing to hear that our group has been a success and more importantly that it had an impact on the boys :) :)

Also, at the end of my documentary I put up a notice looking for people to continue the program next year. I had THREE people come up to me and say they were interested in continuing the program next year. To be honest, I was really worried that the program would fall apart after my group graduated, but it looks like there's a good chance of the group surviving next year :)

success.

Screening.

My group finally has got the wheels rolling on our project and I’m very excited J Our screening date is set for Wednesday April 25 from 5-7pm in the Utopia Center. In the beginning, it seemed like things were going to run very smoothly for our group because we had had the contact made with the group we were working with. The only part of the CRAFT model we had left was action, and the we believed the rest would follow. Unfortunately, the process ending up taking a much longer time due to unforeseen circumstances, i.e. the boys school schedule, our availability, and moving around my other group’s schedule. Because of all these problems, and the deadline quickly approaching, I posed the idea of doing a screening of The Boys of Baraka. This way, everyone in the group could feel a bit more connected to our project. Now, we are in the process of advertising our event and coming up with questions for our discussion after the screening.

In addition to showing The Boys of Baraka, I will be showing my piece on the work I’ve done with the Boyz 2 Men group. I think these two pieces together could set up a really awesome conversation about the education system in the US. I'm thinking of stressing the importance of groups for young minority students who are dealing with a system of inequality in the education system. It will still hit on the achievement gap, but instead of focusing on the negative I want to shed light on the positive programs that are out there and that can be developed to help minority students. As for my independent research project, my focus of research has shifted as a result of this class. Working on my research and being in this class have really been nice complements of each other :)

I’m excited for our screening next week J

Music.

Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes was a really interesting documentary. I listen to hip hop/rap music, but I've never really examined the culture surrounding the industry. The one part of the film that really stood out to me was the fact that when rappers were questioned about their lyrics affect on African American women and men, they couldn't even look at the camera. They knew what they were singing about was not productive for the black community, but they also knew that their lyrics were filling their bank accounts. The message I got from the film was that hip hop/rap music can really influence a culture to project stereotypes that are unfair to the African American community as a whole. 


I thought the Peterson article was interesting. 


In the video, it was sad to see women parading around scantily clad at the BET Spring Break Party. These women were walking the streets practically naked. Men were grabbing all parts of their bodes, filming up their skirts, and referring to them as "bitches and hoes." When these women were interviewed they kept saying that they weren't "bitches," but rather were classy females who simply made a decision to dress sexy that morning. While watching the film, I noticed that the women weren't even bothered by the negative attention they were receiving from the boys and men surrounding them. I feel like if I was ever degraded or disrespected like that I would NOT just giggle and keep on walking, I'd probably get aggressive. As upsetting as it was to see these women parading around, I have to take into account that these women are at a hip hop convention/party/whatever meaning they listen and love that genre. More than often, a woman's role in hip hop is to dance around a male giving off the appearance that she wants to be all over him and at a drop of a dime she'd be DTF. Young girls are watching this, and I feel as if their unintentionally making these women there role models. In Peterson's study, it was reported that women were more likely to be binge drinkers/drug abusers in addition to having low self-esteem. I realize that black women who have access to a strong support system i.e. family, school, etc. may not be affected by hip pop videos, but women in high maafan areas may be viewing this videos and striving to become these sex kittens they see plastered everywhere in the hip hop industry. 


Also, I liked Pratt's idea of having the boys he was working with to use critical thinking skills to analyze the components of the hip hop industry. It was a very interesting concept, and I believe a much needed program for young boys to be involved in. Also, it gave me some ideas for the boys group I work with :)

Education.

First, After I saw the movie I really wanted an update on the boys... click here.

Quick Thought: I first say the film Boys of Baraka in Ghana. Hands down, this is one of my favorite documentaries out there. It's absolutely amazing. Watching these boys grow from their tough backgrounds to succeeding in Africa was inspiring. I loved it. It was heart wrenching when the schools funding got caught and the boys had to return home. They so badly wanted to succeed and do well. Baraka proved that these boys can be successful given the proper resources and environment. The one part I thought was sad about the movie (despite the fact the went back home) was they had to go all the way over to Africa to realize their potential and truly believe they were successful, unique, important, valued individuals. 

There's a problem with the US Education system. 

The article Closing the Gap focused on a school where the median house income was about $70,000. The article addressed the fact that there's a gap between the White and Black students i.e. a white student's average grade is a B, and a black student's average grade is a C" This article was interesting on the grounds that it brought up the problems faced by African American kids in good schools i.e. the problem of acting white, lack of knowing about resources, but I don't think it really delved into the achievement gap plaguing the United States. 


For starters, what is the achievement gap?
Achievement Gap: the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures, including standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college-enrollment and -completion rates.


How is this caused? I would argue it is caused from  the lack of funding to distressed communities for the school districts. Lack of funding means lack of resources, good teachers, programs, facilities, etc. These results from lack of funding lead to high drop out rates, low test scores, failing grades, etc.


When this occurs, a school can be labeled as failing, and then be shut down. This is not okay, and something must be done asap. People argue that the problem is the kids, but I would COMPLETELY disagree with that statement. The problem isn't the kids or their parents, the problem is the US education system. This is a failing system, children are failing through the cracks every day because they don't have access to a good education. the sad thing is that many of these kids and parents dream of having access to a better education; however, this is not always within their means. 


A good example of this are the school lotteries. Basically what a school lottery is, is a chance for students to go to a charter school in their area. the charter school often excel beyond a child's regular school. These schools are free, and the kids come out very successful. There's a catch though. In order to get into these charter schools, kids have to enter their names into a lottery. Hundreds of kids enter these lotteries, and only a few get there names called to be in the charter school. the problem is that the charter schools are at max capacity. This means hundreds of families are being rejected, and their children will continue to be subjected to shitty educations. 


Two documentaries cover this topic (they're on netflix btx)


1. The Lottery

2. Waiting on Superman



It's evident that these kids are dying to succeed and do well, the system is just holding them back. The question is, how do we make sure everyone has access to a good education? I wish I could answer that question, but I can't. There is always going to be some sort of barrier in the way keeping these kids from excelling in life. 


On the bright side, attention has been given to the problems in the education system. Programs like City Year and Teach for America aim to solve this problem, but these organizations can only do so much. 


Next year, I will be working as a City Year Corps Member in San Antonio. It is my hope that this will give me a good start in learning the inner workings of the education system and lead me on the path to fighting for the right of every child to have access to a good education. 


City Year.

Questions:

1. What do you think are the contributing factors to the achievement gap?

2. What can we as a country do to close this gap?

A conversation with my boyfriend.

My boyfriend's name is Emmanuel, him and I have been together for almost four years. Emmanuel is half Nigerian and half African American. While reading the article Family Life and School Experience: factors in the Racial Identity Development of Black Youth in White Communities by Beverly Tatum, I couldn't stop thinking about Emmanuel.

His mother was a strong African American woman proud of her history, and his father was a Nigerian who had escaped Nigeria during the Civil War wanting to forget his history.

Emmanuel and his family grew up in a wealthy community in North Carolina. His father was a doctor and his mother was a lawyer. They were living the high life, and were the only Black family in the area. Despite the fact Emmanuel and his siblings were immersed in white culture, they have nothing put positive memories from their childhood. 

Unfortunately, Emmanuel's parent's marriage fell apart, and Emmanuel was shuffled in and out of boarding, private, and public schools where a majority of the student bodies were white.

Despite the fact he grew up in affluent white communities, Emmanuel never really felt out of place or let his surroundings have an affect on him. He excelled and succeeded everywhere he went surrounded by his white colleagues. 

He has never really been in a situation surrounded by African Americans or Africans.  

White people always say they wish "other blacks were like him" or "you're not really black, you're white," "I'm surprised I feel so safe around you." Blacks tell him, "You're not black enough" or "you're a disgrace to all blacks. acting like you're white," "why don't you date black girls," and the ever popular "self-hater." etc., etc.

He's stuck being an exception or a self-hater. 

Last night, I was talking to him on the phone about my outrage about the Trayvon Martin case. We had talked about the case before, but this time his tone had changed. He said he was tired with the case, and nothing was going to change.

A little upset, I immediately went off on a rant about how important this case is. I ended my rant with, "no matter what, you will never be looked at as an able-bodied, white, heterosexual male. ever."

he said, "I know." and was silent for a second.

He then began talking about facing and fighting racism in his own life and an identity crisis. The picture he had painted about a charmed life began cracking in my eyes.

Despite everything he had told me, everyday for him was a fight. We had just never really talked about it before. I think it has something to do with the fact we both try to think progressively about race. Before we had the mentality to view people as individuals and not let ideas of color or creed affect the way we viewed them. We chose to be "colorblind" and not judge others on their race. Recently, I've realized I can't think this way until everyone thinks this way which unfortunately probably will not happen in my lifetime. 

I believe last night this really sunk in for him too.

Despite the fact he's well known and liked around his campus, the president of the pre-med honors fraternity, works in the ER, and makes stellar grades... people still see him as a black man. There's a reason that two cops were following him in west campus when he had on his hoodie. His hoodie was from his high school boarding school in Princeton. At his time there he served as student body president, was on the honor roll, and was a track, football, and basketball star. The cops didn't know that, they just saw a "suspicious" black man walking through a mostly white neighborhood.

At the end of our conversation, I stressed to him the importance of combining his life experiences and Africentric theories, values, and culture. He has never really had a crash course in african american history, values, and culture despite the fact his mother claimed to be a strong, proud African American woman. We began talking about Nguzo Saba principles and the 4 quadrants. He said he would look into this "africentric stuff," make his own opinion, and get back to me.

It was a really amazing conversation we had. My hope is that by combining his personal experiences and facts that he can move forward and help the African American community. He has already accomplished so much in his life, I just hope this sparks an interest in helping the African American and African community in the US. 

Part Dos.

I think one's racial identity plays a big role in one's concept of privilege. I believe the further you're away from a white racial identity the more likely you are to realize what privileges you lack. Being biracial, I was in a stage of personal identity for a long time. My parents never really pressured me to pick one or the other. Honestly, I would say I was in a stage of personal identity for a majority of my life because I never really felt the need to choose one or the other, or felt guilty choosing one over the other because I never really was forced to. On forms I would always check "hispanic" and "indian/asian" because that's how I identified myself. 

I'm not sure if it's possible according to the Poston's Bi-racial identity model, but I honestly feel like I jumped to the appreciation and integration stage. Coming to college made me want to immerse myself in my cultures and other cultures. I have such a high appreciation for other people and their own personal heritage, culture, history, stories, etc. I try to take their stories and incorporate them into my outlook on life. I think not being forced to choose a race when I was younger made me more able to be open and receptive to other people's races. I think this helps me to identify with people better which is really important when trying to reach a group of middle school boys. 

Affirmative Action.

I'm currently looking at a picture of the young white male student who wrote the piece against affirmative action. His article is entitled Affirmative action: racist by nature. 

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how I should feel. For starters, I think I "hate" this kid. He's been a white male his whole life, and the amount of privilege attached to that is priceless. How can this kid be harping about how bad affirmative action is at such a high place of privilege? Then I read his article a little further where he mentions poor whites, and questioning why they are not treating in the same way as minority students. That makes sense so maybe I don't "hate" him. I'm just unsure about him. 

Then I go back to thinking about what we've said about racism in class. African Americans could never have enough power to actually use racism against white; therefore, you can't really be "racist" against white people, meaning affirmative action isn't being racist.

In addition, I think about how just 50 years ago, blacks and other minorities were being discriminated against because of the color of their skin. Times were bad then, and to be frank, have they really gotten any better?

yes, there are now laws protecting minorities agasint discrimination, and society has more or less become more accepting, but not everything is as picturesque as people would like one another to people. racism still exists.

i.e. Trayvon Martin.

The first comment on the Daily Texan Page is by "Educated Black Man." He goes on and on about how successful he has been, and how he wants to be looked at as an equal, and how he feels equal in society.

I understand what he's saying. For a long time, race was of little importance to me. Being biracial, people have always been just people to me. I don't judge people by the color of their skin, but rather what's on the inside. I to though of myself as equal, and didn't want special perks of privileges because of the color of my skin. 

Now, I can't afford to think that way.

As much as I would love for that to be the case, I can't think and accept that until society thinks and accepts that. 

To society I am a minority female. the end.

I am not white. I am not a man.

I can no longer pretend that oppression against me doesn't exist, and that I am equal. 

Yes, I understand that I am a lot well of than other minorities, but when it comes down to it I'm not equal to a white heterosexual male, and sadly, I don't think I'll ever be.

That's why laws like affirmative action are there. It helps add diversity, it helps minorities be represented. It helps struggling minorities achieve greater heights. It leads people on a path to lower maafa and higher authenticity. It's giving people an opportunity to excel in life because sometimes life doesn't give you the best cards.

Until people are truly and solely judged by the content of the hearts, laws like affirmative action should be enforced.