Reflection

Freshman Seminar, in my opinion, should continue to be a recommended course for entering freshman, and transferring students (1st time attending). This course helped me to understand of the black community beyond slavery. I learn that Africans were more than just slaves, they were the reason for many of the inventions we use today. When in high school students only learn of the black community of their struggle and not the life before, or the impact the had on the Civil Rights Movement. In my on perception the slaves were their own emancipators, they fought and won. I think freshman seminar definitely helped me to view Africans as historical agents, rather than victims of past racial injustice.
Another subject will contribute to success in the future was the research project. It helped me to break the ice of something I had never done before. Not only did I learn interesting things I also made friends with my group members. This course all in all, not only helps the college experience, but provide methods that can be used beyond college.
The Imbongi were also help. It provided me with a sense of how to take notes. During the lectures the Imbongi's helped me to remember what was said in the lectures in order to produce a blog about it. Most times I would jot down notes anyway that would also assist me.  The lecturers were also good. They were very organized and was engaged with the audience. I will definitely encourage future freshmen to be attentive in this course and also attend class! Thank you DR.CARR and OTHERS

Final Reflection - Tammy

      Overall, I think Freshman Seminar did have its high points. Although I sometimes dreaded coming to Just Hall some of the points that the speakers made did give me inspiration, hope, and knowledge. I also appreciate the faculty who sponsor Freshman Seminar for taking all of us to the African Burial Ground in order for us to learn more about our culture. Looking back upon the blogs that I wrote, I can see that I did gain some valuable lessons from each of the speakers; even the ones that seemed to sway more than slightly off topic. I was glad that I got a chance to hear some of the most influential people at Howard University offer their advice on how to make a change in both the world and myself. 
      This is not say that Freshman Seminar changed my outlook on life because I still have a lot of work on myself to be done. However, I can say that I received a huge boost in knowledge about my people, which gave me a greater sense of pride in myself. I always thought I knew more than the average person about black history but what Freshman Seminar taught me was more about my African history and not just my African-American history. Knowing that my ancestors incited change since the beginning of time, gives me in more pride in knowing my predecessors and people in the future generations to come. Although I would suggest tuning up Freshman Seminar a little bit more in order to make it more organized, I think the overall knowledge that one can gain from this class is worth the overall experience.

Final Reflection - Ilesha

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Miller Group Re-Colonization of Ghana - Ilesha

The Miller Groups presentation was on the Recolonization of Ghana. Some background information they gave us on Ghana was the capital is acura. Originally is was called the Republic of Ghana and it is located in Western Africa. On March 6, 1957 they gained their independence from the UK under Kwame Nkrumah who was later overthrown.

Ghana is very abundant in natural resources like gold, oil, cocoa, timber, and diamonds and is often called the gold coast. As the value of their money began to decrease so did their minimum wage as well.

After the was, the relations with Ghana and China became more economic than anything because of the resources in Ghana. Furthermore, other countries that had relations with ghanna followed suit. They were more concerned with their own concernes and countries well being. Ghana was being monopolized and asians were opening up businesses but only letting asians work for them leaving the Africans jobless.

The groups solution is for Ghana to establish trade with other countries by estabblishing their own economic government. This would help stop monopolization, but it would take more work than just establishing trade.

Miller Scholars Presentation Poverty In the Black Community - Ilesha

The miller scholars group presentation was very interesting. There question was What factors have lead to poverty in the African American community and in what ways can those factors be modified so poverty may decrease? In their presentation they said the factors that contribute to poverty are reproduction, lack of education, unemployment, lack of pride in culture, and substance abuse.


In my opinion, reproduction, unemployment, and lack of education are the most important. This is not something that goes on in just the black community but all over. This is something that is widespread in America, but just more prominent in the black community. For reproduction, the black community has the highest rate of any other race. However, there is not much to do about the reproduction except promote safe sex which could maybe alleviate massive reproduction.


The unemployment rate is high as well all over. Because of the economy, people are being laid off from their jobs and people who were already unemployed, can’t find jobs. For people to be able to find jobs you have to directly stimulate job growth by supporting community owned businesses and putting money back into our own community.

Lack of education is a big issue in the black community as well. Blacks were being miseducated back into the reproduction. Without proper education, blacks are likely to have lesser paying jobs. With a high school diploma being very important and most teenagers dropping out of high school, this contributes to the unemployment rate as well. The numbers for average earnings for black without a high school diploma are very low.

There are about 20.7% families in poverty in the United States. Our numbers are the highest of any race. As a community, we need to stress the importance of safe sex as well as education to lower these numbers and slowly but surely address the issue of poverty.

African Burial Ground - Ilesha

On Saturday October 16th, my freshman seminar group attended at trip to New York Where we visited the African Burial Ground. Upon arrival, Dr. Carr gave livation, which is the oldest ritual known to man. We did this for the ancestors that were found at the burial ground, for central Africa where most slaves were brought over during the middle passage, for our mothers and fathers, four ourselves, and for those who were not yet born.

After this the group split off. Some stayed outside while others went inside to view the museum. We also viewed a video which gave us background on slavery, the burial ground itself, and what they african american community had to go through to get the land turned into a monument. It went from being turned into a landfill to a contraversy exploding in 1991 when the remains were found. Protests were staged at the building for the African American community among others thought this was disrespect.

Howard University has to do with the African Burial Ground as well for the remains that were recovered were sent here to be examined. The video also depicted a story of a little girl who's father had passed away and been buried at the grave site.

After the video we entered the museum and there were wax figures of that little girl and her mother that were in the video. Also there were plaques on the wall that had different types of information printed on them. For example one of them had information about the research that was conducted on the remains at Howard University.

After we toured the museum, we went outside and the monument outside with all the pictures and the pyramid were explained to us.

After we toured the Burial Ground and the museum inside, we were taken to Harlem and we were able to go shopping and walk around where I ended up buying a really cute hat. Overall i really enjoyed this trip. This was one of the most interesting events from freshman seminar.

Kayla Blackburn's Refection

Upon registering for Freshmen Seminar, my first impression of the class was that it would be one in which taught freshmen the do’s and don’ts of college. I thought study tips would be drilled into our heads, that business etiquette would be practiced rigorously, and that study sessions would be strictly enforced.  One can imagine my amazement when I found out that the lecturers were lecturing on different African-American themes.  My favorite session was lectured by Mr. Pollard. The name of his lecture was “Civil Rights, Hip-Hop, and Hop: The Power of Young People.” I really enjoyed this lecture because Mr. Pollard included topics that I fully understood and relate to. Although Mr. Pollard stated that my generation was too removed from the Civil Rights Movement for it to be freshly on our mind, I believe that I relate to it to the highest degree. The Civil Rights Movement was the first era of history that I ever learned about through independent research since the age of 13. I believe that the Civil Rights Movement is not over. Although during that time the movement originally fought for racial equality, I believe that it can now be extended to gay rights to marriage, women’s right to abortion, and homosexual’s right to serve openly in the military. Also, I really enjoyed the trip to the African Burial Ground. The Burial Ground was very informative. I’ve always known about slavery and different aspects of it, but it was never really personal. After arriving to the Burial Ground, it became real. I was able to clearly see where my ancestors were buried. I was also able to see actually pictures of my ancestor’s bones. Before that trip, I had never vividly seen my ancestors, just drawings of what they “probably” looked like. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my Freshmen Seminar experience.

Miller - The Re-Colonization of Ghana by Tammy Holley

       The last group that presented talked about the "Re-Colonization of Ghana" which refers to the fact that many businesses in Ghana are no longer owned by Ghanians but by foreign countries such as China. Ghana just gained independence from the UK in 1957 but after oil was found in Ghana, many countries came flocking there in order to capitalize off of Ghana's oil supply. Also, the Chinese are starting to own more and more businesses in Ghana while steadily taking away jobs and profit from the natives. My first question was why doesn't the government step in and help fight off foreign entities from taking over Ghana? However, I soon learned that the government in Ghana is very corrupt and not very helpful to its citizens. The group also delved into the history of Ghana and talked about the Ashanti Empire which was once the richest and most respected empire in all of Africa. 
     This presentation reminded me of Dr. Carr's presentation earlier in the semester in which, he talked about the glory of ancient Africa and how ancient Africa played and important role in shaping modern day society. However, due to black oppression and prejudice, the importance of Africa has been diminished severely. People no longer appreciate just how much Africa molded human beings today. Djuhti and Sheshat are the mother and father of arithmetic, language and many other things that are pivotal to society today yet, Africa and its people have been treated poorly throughout history. This group's presentation about Ghana is a perfect example of how Africa has been exploited by countries all over world because of its resources yet few stop to appreciate Africa as historical and precious. Too many countries in Africa have come too far to be so debased and undervalued by countries only seeking monetary reward. As the group suggested, countries should hold a modern day Berlin Conference and agree to leave Africa alone and not try to "re-colonize" it. Overall, I thought this group did a great job of presenting an issues and giving multiple solutions to a rising problem.

Miller Scholars - Poverty and the Black Community - Tammy Holley

     The group, The Miller Scholars, presented a very interesting topic about how poverty affects the African-american community and what are the factors that have led a great number of blacks to be impoverished in America. The five factors they concluded to be the main reason why blacks live in poverty were: reproduction, substance abuse, unemployment, lack of education and lack of pride in our culture. At first I thought all of these factors are not just subject to the black community but all communities because these are widespread American problems. Coming from Baltimore City, I've seen the various ghettos in which, the respective races inhabit. The aforementioned five factors seem to be problem in all those ghettos so I was immediately interested in why this group decided that these problems were integral to why many blacks live in poverty. Immediately after I thought about this group's thesis statement, they told us that 20.7% of black families are in poverty in the United States while other races only have an average of 9.7%. I was shocked to see our statistics so high. In addition, the group said that the black unemployment rate was about 25% which is more than double that of other races. This statistics shocked me the most because I only a couple years ago I had done research on a similar topic and found that the black unemployment hovered around approximately 10%. When I heard that in 2010 the number is 25%, I almost couldn't believe it and I wondered from which source this group got their numbers. Then again, it might be possible that due to the recent recession and rise in unemployment that the black unemployment rate might have drastically increased. However, this group did offer a very viable solution to this problem. Instead of blacks spending a lot of their money into commercial, retail and chain stores, blacks should begin to put their paychecks into their own communities in order because clearly the government will put the necessary money into black communities. 
      The most importance factor that the group presented was a lack of pride in our own culture. This to me, is a core reason why black people today are facing so many issues because we no longer value our race like we used to. Black women are now referred to as bitches, black men are referred to as niggas and black children are feared as violent and uneducated. Our race is far from the prestige that we once were and we are slowly digressing into a race of self-hate. As one of the group's presenters pointed out, "when did black stop being beautiful?"One point that I thought might have needed some more work however was reproduction. The group said that blacks are the #1 reproducer in the U.S; however, it is a fact that Hispanic people are the #1 reproducing minority in the U.S as of the mid-2000s. I think a better point about reproduction to focus on should have been the fact that black women are getting pregnant too young or without any economic means to support a child and unfortunately aborting too many black children. I think as a community we should stress safe sex or abstinence so every child has a chance to survive and less black children have to be aborted by their mothers. 

Miller Group by Kayla Blackburn

The third group to present November 3, 2010 was a group named Miller. The title of their presentation was “The Re-Colonization of Ghana.” The group began with key information about Ghana. The capital is Accra and President Kwame became the president after Ghana gained its independence March 6, 1957. Ghana is a country with bountiful gold, timer, cocoa, diamonds, and oil. It’s often called the gold coast. After learning this information I began to wonder why the inhabitants of this country were so poor. I wondered why the minimal wage had to continue to increase because the value of Ghana’s money continued to decrease. The group answered my question when they began discussing the trend of Asians going over to Africa and basically monopolizing Ghana’s economy. According to the group, the Asians were opening up many businesses in Ghana and only hiring Asians to work for them; meaning that many Africans were left jobless. The group leader summed this cause and effect situation into “Chinese owned = Black unemployment.”

The group’s solution to this problem was for Ghana to make a make effort to trade its national resources with other countries to stop the monopolization within its country. I agree with this solution, but I don’t think that it’s that simple. I believe that if it was that simple Ghana would have been started doing it. In fact, citizens in Ghana don’t have enough power or influence to trade with other countries, because if they had the power to do that, they would have the power to stop the Asian monopolies and open up their own businesses.

Miller Scholars by Kayla Blackburn

The second group to present on November 3, 2010 was the Miller Scholars. Their question was: What factors have lead to poverty in the African American communities and in what ways can those factors be modified so poverty may decrease? Upon hearing their question I immediately began to synthesize different factors that collectively contribute to poverty.  I first thought about the lack of jobs in America period.  I then formed a question of my own. If the rate of unemployment is steadily increasing, and the people that are losing jobs are the educated with degrees, how are the people without degrees fairing? So the first factor that I thought of is a lack of jobs. Secondly, I believe that the increased rate of teenagers conceiving children out of wedlock is also a factor. However, I believe that the two preceding factors is a result of the lack of education within the African American community.

After coming up with my own conclusion of why poverty is so prevalent in the African American community, I began to listen to the reasons the Miller Scholars named. Their factors were lack of education, unemployment, lack of pride in culture, and substance abuse.  Overall I agree with their factors because they coincide with the reasons that I believed contributed to poverty.  Nonetheless, I believe that the group vaguely discussed their reasons why they cited these particular factors. Although I completely agreed with the factors they cited, I was looking forward to facts and details to back up their rationale.

... MiLLeR... Presentation

The Miller Presentation was very interesting. I think that they did they project on a subject that someone in the group had first hand experience. Their project was on the Re-Colonization of Ghana. The stated a lot of informative data about the history of Ghana, such as they gained their independence from the UK in March 6, 1957, although it wasn't approve for another thirty years. They also stated that in 2007 there was a lot of oil found in Ghana and they were a nation resource agent. Ghana's money isn't worth much so minimal wage keeps going up.
The main reason for their presentation was to state that the Chinese has come into Ghana and built businesses and refuse to allow the Ghana African from working in their businesses. The Chinese are hiring their own kid to come to Ghana and work in their establishments. The Chinese are also mating with the women of Ghana. In their presentation they stated that there is some corruption the the government in Ghana. Although the Chinese are not letting the citizens of Ghana work, they are paying the government for them being able to use the Ghana land for their business. Then it was also stated that Howard had a three day conference called Chinese in Africa, which they also stated that the Chinese were not employing. They ended with the Chinese  and other places like the United States being throughout Africa as a continent not just Ghana.
I think this was a good topic. I was not aware of the Chinese action in Ghana or any of the history, except their money wasn't worth much.

Miller Scholars Presentation

The miller scholars presented research on the factors of poverty mainly within the black community. There were different categories from, reproduction to lack of communication to lack of pride to substance abuse. In each category they gave a significant amount of information informing us of the problems and then following they gave a solution of each problem.
I think their presentation was very informative, but it was also obvious. Many things that they stated was common knowledge material. The reproduction aspect is a visual in everyday life. The good part about their solution was they weren't just trying to say use condoms not to get pregnant, but also to prevent from getting a STD. The lack of pride was, to me, the best factor because many people don't realize just how demeaning the word bitch really is. Men say it to women, women say it to women as an insult. Taking pride also connected with the black community lacking the proper education. Without education the black community is only able to see what is right before their eyes and what they "know" about slavery. There is more to their culture that they have not been exposed to due to lacking education, such as the accomplishments in Africa before the slave era.
All in all their research assignment was very informative for those who were not aware of the factors that cause people of the black community to be in poverty. Their was also a unity within the group that looked as if everyone had contributed and they also all spoke on the topic with confidence.

InterView( Dr. Harrell)- HU UKNO

HU UKNO interviewed Dr. Harrell for our research presentation. He contributed aspects that caused us to reevaluate some of our research in ways to organize it better and have other views. He also gave a reference of  book on Farel (completely isolated children) and his knowledge matched with the previous information that had been researched.. Here are the questions and Dr. Harrell's answers:

            

1. What are some characteristics of feral children?

• Retarded language
• Very hard for them to learn
• Characteristics are nearly permanent
• Samller and suffer from many diseases
• Mainly stay institutionalized
  2. How can you prevent them from acting a certain way?
• Find out what they like
• Usually no reasoning with them
  3. What is your view on children born in the wild?
• Not necessarily born there more like left and abandoned
• confusing for that child
• impossible to determine if there was a troubled pregnancy
  4. How can you help them to adopt to a human way of life?
• Do all you can
  Three key ingredients: empathy, warmth, and positive regard 
  5. What are the causes of lack of communication within the black children or the black community in general?
• Technological society is a risk

• Less human to human contact
• Things like music in black culture are bringing us together, but if that is lost then we lose communication with each other.
  6. Have you had contact with children that lack communication?
• Yes
• Question of them being able to work in groups
• Not a great increase

7. Whats your input on home school children

• Ease them into interaction with their peers
• Early interaction is very important

Question of if you teach academics or communication

8. Is social or acedemic communication more important?
• Social
• If you don't have social, academics could backfire.

African Burial Memorial

The African Burial Memorial was a very significant sight. I felt closer to my ancestors as Dr. Carr did his speech. I also developed a better understanding from the tour guide. All of the symbols and the pyramid contributed as a visual way of understanding. The Pyramid was not completed and the opening was faced towards Africa. There was something important every step of the way. Although I was under the impression that I would not be attending due the malfunctions with the bus, I am happy I was able to join the others in this memorable experience. The movie, after the tour outside, helped me to connect on a more personal note. It was the fact that the movie was a first hand experiment for how slaves buried their loved ones.
Harlem was exhilarating. The New York night life was wonderful. The store contained cheaper items, but their food wasn't so good. The trip in general was a wonderful idea. Even though I found myself being frustrated because of the pase of the bus driver as well as how many times we were lost, I still looked at the bright side that I was fortunate enough to even be accepted to Howard to experience the African Burial sight.  Some of the quotes that surrounding picture captured from the movie grabbed my attention. One of the quotes was "Some of those bones are my fathers' bones And some of those bones are mine.." This specific African Burial ground provided me with information that was hidden from me and I appreciate being able to experience this, especially at Howard University, which contributed to looking at the bones of the bodies.

The African Burial Ground - Kayla Blackburn

I went to the African Burial ground this past weekend on the 23 of October.  I almost didn’t make it on the trip. My roommates and I woke up late at 5:30, took a quick shower, and arrived outside of Crampton right before the buses were pulling off. To my amazement, there were two seats left on the 4^th bus right across from Dr. Carr and Dr. Dana Williams, my two favorite lecturers.

Before arriving to our destination, my mind wondered what waited upon our arrival. I figured that it wouldn’t be a graveyard with tombstones because the graveyard consisted of unmarked graves. But I knew that there were many of our ancestors still buried in the site. When we arrived I saw that it consisted of a memorial and a museum. After passing through the metal detectors, the first thing I saw was a group of about four people standing around two tombs. As I walked closer to the scene I slowly began to realize that the group was not real people. I really liked the exhibit because it looked so realistic. I saw the pain and sorrow in the statues faces. The sorrow that they expressed was sorrow that had been passed from generation to generation. Sorrow that I knew of, but had never felt. One of the speakers summarized what I was thinking when he said that my generation was not one that was close to the African American battle; meaning that we were born too far away from the Civil Rights Movement to fully comprehend the African American struggle.

The African Burial Ground - Tammy

      My experience at the African Burial Ground in New York City had a major impact in how I viewed slavery in relation to modern day times. Usually during history class, one only hears about slavery in the south or mid-atlantic states; however, the African Burial Ground enlightened me about the treatment and jobs of slaves in the northern territories. Although the wind was whipping and the temperature was around 55 degrees, I gained a lot from my experience in New York City.
      The first thing I did when I got the Burial Ground was go inside the museum and watch the documentary about how the Burial Ground came to be. It was amazing to see how so many people around the country, not just blacks, gathered as a united front against the desecration of this historic cite. I couldn't believe that the government was actually going to build over the Burial Ground and actually tried to defend their actions in court. All I could think of during this scene was how differently the government would have reacted if they would have found the remains of Europeans instead of the remains of African slaves. Despite the government's insistence to build a building over the cite, people from across America rallied together and got their sentiments heard in court. They made everyone realize the significance and importance of these bones. The bones were then taken to Howard and scientifically analyzed here. I find it fascinating that Howard seems to play an integral part in major issues in America. If I would have known just how great the legacy is at Howard, there would have been no debating as to which university I was going to attend.
      During the second part of my trip at the African Burial Ground, I listened to the guide as he gave the historical background of the monument built to the slaves buried there. As I walked around the bottom half of the monument and looked around at the various symbols from the different African languages, I was in awe at how beautiful yet literal some the symbols were. Symbols like the Sankofa appeared throughout multiple symbols because Africans and now African-Americans stress the importance of learning for our past and building a better future. Towards the end of our trip our tour leader asked all of us to stand inside of the monument that was built to look like a ship in order for us to understand what it was like to be on a slave ship and feel the lack of space. This was a very powerful experience because it allowed us to get one step closer to our ancestors and feel what they felt as they made the journey to America. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the African Burial Ground and would love to come back some other day.

Learning Wisdom and the African World Experience

    With the title of this lecture being Learning Wisdom and the African Experience I immediately suspected it was about slavery (again). When Dr. Carr began his lecture I realized he was taking us all the way back before slavery. He was showing us the importance of the African decent. He began the lecture with how Egyptians created writing, which as I began to think I realized that there are way more things that originate in Egyptian that the public may be unaware of. This lecture created in sight on the something more important than slavery, in my eyes, instead of talking of the Africans demeaning slavery experience, he spoke of their accomplishments. African contributed, but the Europeans fought to dehumanize them and make them feel as if they had no history, so they could expose it as f it were their own. In result to this may people may believe the Europeans are to thank for the Africans work.
     Dr. Carr was also a good lecturer. As he spoke, the enthusiasm in his voice caused me to become more attentive. Although he did a wonderful job of getting through as much as the presentation as possible, he spoke very fast and I was unable to write a complete thought without missing something else of the same of more importance. I am not sure what is left to come, but I am more than sure this was the perfect lecture to begin with. It gave me the mind setting of time before slavery which is not a setting my mind was prepared for.

Abandonment, Dismemberment, and Reawakening:The History and Legacy of Howard University

    Dr. Georgia Dunston, located in the Microbiology Department,  began and ended with her introduction slide. She never reached the other slides in the power point. As I listened I felt more connected with her than the previous lecture due to her giving knowledge that wasn't scripted. The lecture was still organized and I would have picked this lecture before the original power point slide.
  When I first heard Dr. Dunston speak the word genome I pulled out my phone and looked the work up. I figured it had something to do with genes, but I wanted to be sure.  When I looked this word up I came with the sum of all information contained in DNA for any living things. Dr. Dunston mentioned genome holds knowledge and that human genome holds energy. The energy disturbance tells us our destiny. This lecture lead me to understand that everyone contains their own genome, which also make people unique in their own way.  She also mentioned that all people derived from Africa stating that it was the motherland.  This point goes back to my blog from last week of stating more this was created in Africa than people are lead to believe. Another thing she mentioned that I touched on last week was blacks within history not knowing their history, which makes it difficult to obtain the truth of their own people. As I watched a clip of a video by Shakbeezy, for a different course, he also stated that the Europeans erased African memory, suppressed African culture, taught white supremacy and controlled institutional socialization to prevent African from educating their children from sending their messages through media. This video actually helped me to understand this lecture so much more. Thank you Dr. Georgia Dunston.

The Final Lecture - Ilesha

This Weeks Lecture was entitled Research and Methodology : Inscription as a Liberating Practice. The lecture was given by Dr. Dana Williams and she was explaining to us how the lectures were given to us relate to our research and how we were to construct our project.

Honestly I never knew how these lectures would relate to our research so I never found the point of sitting in class and blogging other than getting a grade. Dr. Williams cleared that up for me.

Not to my knowledge and the other students as well, we were actually part of a research project that was being conducted by the COAS department. The primary objectives were for us to identify the principal components of research and to relate these components to our group projects. The related objectives were to show the relation of the previous lecture to our group projects and to review the previous weeks' lectures to reaffirm this relationship. They were trying to find an effective way of giving us information and for us to be able to retain this information for future knowledge .

Dr. Williams reminded us of our research topic which was In what ways is knowledge generated by various fields of study used to develop solutions to human social problems and challenges? Then she went on to explain to us the basic components of research which are as follows:
1. Statement of The Problem or Challenge
- Consider the purpose
 Consider reasonable questions


2. What is the Current State of Your Research
- What has already been said
- What is new
-What information is needed to complete the research


3. Methodology (how we approach our research)
- Conceptualize a research design
- Determine a method of collecting data
- Disciplinary approach


4. Frame Work
- How will we structure our projects
- How will we display our data


5. Development of our thesis


6. Conclusion


I can see that just like in English, we have to develop a thesis for our project.
Then Dr. Williams explained their research to us which gave us an example of what we should do for our projects. These six components will definitely give my group as well as myself an outline to follow when we conduct our research to find out how our majors will help solve problems in the future.

Freshman Seminar - Ilesha (10/6/10)

The lecture from October 6th, was entitled Omoluabi: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility and was given by Dr. Segun Gbadagesin. Dr. Gbadagesin started off his lecture by paying homage (or ijuba) to certain people before and after him. For example as young adults we need to pay homage to our parents because with out them, we wouldn't be the young adults we are today. Furthermore, Dr. Gbadagesin suggested we pay homage to the people in ours lives and each other more often.

Next Dr. Gbadagesin told us the story of Iwa. Iwa in yoruba means existence and character. In the story Iwa was Orunmilas wife. Orunmila in yoruba means the god of wisdom. The story of Iwa tells us how Orunmila mistreated Iwa by putting her down saying she could not cook well or sweep well. He stressed out Iwa and in turn, Iwa left. When Iwa left, everything Orunmila had, he lost because of the way he treated Iwa. In Despiration, Orunmila looked for Iwa. When finding her, Orunmila begged Iwa to come back and he gave her a second chance.

The Moral of This story is if you lose your Iwa (your character), you will lose everything. In other words, if you lose you character or your being you lose your materialistic things as well.

Dr. Gbadagesin then goes on to talk about some religious figures we know like Socratese, Plato, Moses, and Jesus Christ. He said before these figures there were The goddess Ma'at, Vizier Ptahotep, and Pharoah Amenemope. In relation, before there were the 10 Commandments, The Sharia or Kents Groundwork, there were Coffin Text, Principles or Ma'at, The book of Instructions, and The Pyramid texts.

The Principles of Ma'at tought ancient Egyptians truth and how to maintain justice order, balance, and harmony. These codes that the ancient Egyptians lived by helped form and shape their society. It also could be considered the confessions of the innocence of people.

Coffin texts told of the principles of reward and punishment in the afterlife and were written in the tombs of nobles. Coffin texts were said to give moses the inspiration for the 10 commandments.

Dr. Gbadagesins whole lecture was to teach us that our character and being is very important in our lives. Furthermore that our wisdom should be to benefit others and not just ourselves which was stated in a previous lecture given by Dr. Carr. I know from experience in my 17 years that your character is important not just for yourself but for others around you. The way you carry yourself is very important and if you do not have good character and carry yourself well you will lose everything and there have been times where I have lost myself but I to catch it and turn it back around. Dr. Gbadagesins lecture was very informal and i enjoyed it.

Freshman Seminar 10/6/10 - Tammy

This week in Freshman Seminar Dr. Williams taught us how to conduct research in order to prepare for our upcoming group presentations. She told us that there are six components in conducting a formal research project. The first step is the statemen tof the problem or challenge in which the researchers narrow down what their research topic is and what challenges are facing their topic.The second step is teh current state of the research. This means that researchers must find out what research is already available about their topic and figure out what new research they need to find out about it. Third is the methodology which includes, how the researches will get information about their topic, what design they will use and what discipline will they focus on. The fourth step is the Framework in which team members discuss how they will present their data and how the project will flow. The members construct the outline of the project and what is necessary in order for the project topic to be presented clearly, efficiently and effectively. This also goes along with the fifth step which is the development of the thesis where group members use the data and relate it to the thesis and then come to a conclusion which is the final step.

I was very surprised that Dr. Williams told us that Howard University was the leader in interdisciplinary research. Of course, Howard is world-renown for its leadership in African-American studies (i.e the African Burial Ground); however, it is good to know that Howard goes beyond just African-American topics. I love the fact that schools that are considered to be better than Howard, look to us on how to conduct proper research on a particular topic. Although, I learned how to conduct a formal research project in high school, Dr. Williams helped clearly defined what it is our group needs to do in order to answer our group project question. Our group will use the process outlined by Dr. Williams and hopefully do a good job in answering how we will use our degrees to help out the community. Too often black people who graduate from college, forget about the community from which they came. Our group wants to be a part of the few people that go back and use what we have learned in college to help out the black community as a whole. Hopefully, next week during our group meetings we will use Dr. Williams's powerpoint to help direct our project.

Research and Methodology

  This particular lecture was dedicated mainly to the six components of research. Which were: Statement of the problem/challenge, current state of research methodology, framework, development of the thesis and, of course, the conclusion. She also stated there needs to be  goal of the lecture was to pursue a lifetime of independent discovery importance of research. Within all of these categorized she gave key things that would help to describe the category. These six components were unheard of until now. These are new steps that I look forward to using to improve the research I engage in. The objective was to identity the six components and to relate the components to the group projects. Lastly we going to relate the previous lectures to the up coming group projects. Then she stated there was a rotation of memory, historical memory, awareness, memory or knowledge that has been institutionalized, and vision, imagined or unimagined.
  These six component definitely will help in y up coming research paper in English 002. I know that they will contribute in all my research assignment so I will be keeping these notes even after graduation. The presentation was well put together and Dr. Dana Williams spoke loud and clear. The six lectures this semester were very insightful. I can now understand why they all are combined into the final project. I also appreciate the structure of the class. There was a plan and I followed along with in and now I feel on task with everything. Thank you Dr. Carr and Dr. Williams

Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility

  When Segun Gbadegesin began his lecture I was not following along due to not being able to follow along with his accent. It was very difficult for me to understand him. His presentation brought forward the emotional connection that was needed for me to engage. I thought it was brilliant telling the story of Iwa. The story was a good way to understand the definition of Iwa. The statement Gbadegesin made saying that without existence and character one may lose everything, made me take a second to think of my own life. I related this lecture to my life in a way that helped me to understand that this was indeed a fact. There has been times in my life where I was confused of my character and as a result I was lost.
  He also list the principles of ma'at which he then went into description of learned and practice, truth, justice and maintained order, balance and harmony. He then spoke of the coffin text in which was written by nobels and put in their coffins. In that time everyone were strong believers of the afterlife. Which even today there is a form of an afterlife that people believe in.
  I also enjoy the him giving us the definition of the names in the story in advance. It was a lot easier to follow along with. The father was patience, Iwa was existence/character, and Orunmila the God of wisdom. Overall, besides the accent, it was a well put together piece of work.

Civil Rights, Hip Hop and Hope- The Power of Young People

   This title helped me to engage in this lecture. I feel that because young people are the future that we need some guidance and support. We also need acknowledgment for the routes we have taken to better our future, such as attend Howard. We all have goals of becoming more and making our society more. In this lecture there were a lot of different names mentioned that I have and haven't heard before. We talked of people that made a difference in different categorize from African Independent Leaders, Julius Nuerere and Nelson Mandela, to Black Power, Angela Davis, and Frances Beal, to African scholars like Chancellor Williams, to poets like Muhammad Ali and Maya Angelou. Then we touched on music, which is involved in all African American (blacks) lives. The artist that I was most happy to see posted was Jill Scott. I think many artist, in one way or another, is teaching viewer of their history. Whether it be due to the way they dress, do their hair, or their lyrics, there is a message that is given within the performance.
   There were many messages within the lecture that was very meaningful. The message from Ella Baker, which was that we all are leaders. As well as we should always ask why, how, what and where. We should never settle for less because corruption is everywhere and asking these questions can get you further. The last thing I noted was it is because of faith of ancienty we are here today.

"The Eloquence of the Scribes": Initiation, Expectations, and Mastery- Continuing the Legacy of HOward University

   The Eloquence of the Scribes lecture taught a lot about Howard and the founders of all the different buildings. It was very interesting learning of these significant people that contributed to Howard's sterling name. As the lecture continued I found myself enjoying the thought of being a student at Howard because of all the people that contributed and struggled. Knowing the background behind the halls and other building will make my experience more intriguing. I learned that the Founder Library in 1938 became the world largest library with documentation about African American decent. 

   She also mentioned the history of scribes and that they were around since ancient Egypt. The only reason why scribe were being used less and less was because of upcoming technology. Since scribes were people manually write books and documents, when typewriters came out more people began using those instead. Their jobs were in every field and they could be used just about anywhere. One thing that did catch my attention was that there were women scribes. I know that women weren't rewarded for things they accomplished compared to men, but I really liked hearing that some of the buildings were named after women as well.  

   I was unaware of all of these peoples significance before attending this lecture. I was aware that General Otis Howard was how Howard University, but I was unaware of his accomplishments.  After every lecture I feel I always leave with more than I come in with. Knowing the history of your surroundings is always a plus.

October 6, 1010 Kayla Blackburn

This week’s lecture was “Research and Methodology: Inscription as a Liberating Practice.” It was given by Dr. Dana Williams. Dr. Williams caught my interest from day one. She caught my attention by the way she carried herself. She portrayed herself as an intelligent sophisticated African-American woman.  These are traits that I wish to gain during my years at Howard University and embody upon graduation.  

When Dr. Dana Williams was announced as the speaker, I was really excited and anxious to hear what she had to say.  However, I was quite disappointed when I learned the topic she was discussing. I believe she said that she was in the English Department of Howard University so of course it makes since that she discuss research methods with us, but I would have liked her to give a lecture with more of her own personal touch. 

Dr. Dana Williams’s objectives were to identify the principle components of research and to relate these components to the group project.  There are six components of research. The components of research are …

1.       Statement of the problem/challenge

a.       Consider the purpose of research           

                                                                                       i.      To advance knowledge

                                                                                     ii.      Solve a problem

                                                                                    iii.      Inquire

b.      Consider the reasonableness of your research question

                                                                                       i.      Is it specific enough

                                                                                     ii.      Do u have enough time to address it

                                                                                    iii.      What skills and/or skill levels does it require

2.       Current State of Research

a.       Consider what has already been said

b.      What new info will your research bring

c.       What info will u need to complete your research

3.       Methodology

a.       Create research design

                                                                                       i.      Before and after approach

                                                                                     ii.      Retrospective

                                                                                    iii.      etc

b.      Method of data collection

                                                                                       i.      Secondary          

                                                                                     ii.      Primary

4.       Framework

a.       How will you structure the project?

                                                                                       i.      Report

                                                                                     ii.      Presentation

                                                                                    iii.      Scholarly paper

b.      How will you display your data

                                                                                       i.      PowerPoint

                                                                                     ii.      Graphics

                                                                                    iii.      Video

                                                                                   iv.      Handout

5.       Development of the thesis

a.       Articulate the thesis

b.      Provide supporting details

c.       Structure the research findings/ questions logically

6.       Conclusions

a.       What new insights?

b.      What limitations did you have?

c.       What should future researches consider?

Dr. Dana Williams’s six components of research will be very helpful to my group and I when we began our research.

Freshman Seminar 9/29/10 - Tammy

      This week's lecture was given by Dr. Segun Gbadegesin and the topic was OMOLUABI: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility. To start off Dr. Gbadegesin's lecture he the Yoruba story of Iwa. In Yoruba, Iwa means character and she gets married to a man that treats her very poorly even though good things happen to while she is around. Eventually, she decides to leave this man and he searches everywhere for her. Bad things begin to happen to her husband until he eventually finds Iwa again and begs her to return. This story symbolizes what happens to a man when he loses his character. Dr. Gbadegesin's main point of his lecture rested in this opening story. He told that without character we are nothing and have no sense of self. Fame, fortune and reputation may come and go but one's character should always remain the same. We should remain humble and not let our accomplishment's or life ruin our sense of character. This by far was this most important aspect of the lecture because it's a point that most of us need to hear. While at Howard, many of us will begin to discover what our true character is but it is up to us to define what our true character will be. Instead of focusing solely on popularity, money or even grades we should remember to also focus on ourselves and not forget that type of person we want to be and the person we wanted to become before we arrived at Howard University. 
      Dr. Gbadegesin also talked about the goddess Ma'at who was the goddess of truth, justice and harmony and gave set of principles to live by that preceded the ten commandments. The ancient Egyptians lived by these codes that helped form and shape society. He also talked about coffin texts which contained themes of reward and punishment in the afterlife. These texts were thought to be the inspiration for Moses who delivered the ten commandments. The point Dr. Gbadegesin also tried to make with these ancient texts and goddesses is again never to forget the importance of one's character and one's sense of self. Also he was not allowed to learned about these ancient beliefs in his school, he still ventured out on his own and decided to learn more about his culture and found that the ancient texts were in fact still relevant and good. One may seek many avenues and still find that the preservation of one's character is still very important in the development of self. 
      Finally, the most inspirational part of the lecture that Dr. Gbadegesin left us with was the Yoruba poem which said:

"Honor may vanish from your house

Cosmetic beauty may fade

Iwa is what endures even into the grave

Take care of your iwa"

An important lesson for all...

Kayla Blackburn

The lecture on September 29, 2010 was given by Segun Gbadegesia. He started off by giving homage to certain things and people. Some of the things that he paid homage to was the creator and the created, ancestors, giants before him, giants after him, and the class of 2014.  After giving homage to several other things, he told the students attending the lecture that we should thank our parents for putting us on the right path.

After that, Mr. Gbadegesia told us the story of Iwa. According to him Iwa, is our existence and our character, but in the story it was portrayed as Olounmila’s wife. During the story Olounmila lost his wife, thereby he lost his existence and his character.  The story ended with Olounmila desperately searching for his existence and character (his wife.) Like many African folklores this story had a moral. The moral is you can’t lose Iwa because if you do you lose everything.

Mr. Gbadegesia also said, “Wisdom is how you use your knowledge to benefit others.” I completely agree with Mr. Gbadegesia, I feel like there is no point in having knowledge if u aren’t sharing it with others. I personally strive to learn as much as I can from people with a lot of knowledge. Sometimes learning from someone else about what they know personally can be more rewarding then learning from a textbook.

Mr. Gbadegesia also introduced the class to what some may consider pagan religions. He stated that before Jesus, Moses, Sophocles, and Plato, there was the Goddess Ma’at, Vizier Ptahhotep, and Pharaoh Amenemope. He also stated that before the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, there was the Sharia.

Overall, this lecture was interesting. I learned more about African beliefs and traditions.

Freshman Seminar- Ilesha

This weeks seminar given on Wednesday September 22, 2010 was given by Dr. Alton B. Pollard III . His lecture was entitled Civil Rights, Hip Hop, and Hope: The Power of Young People. His lecture focused overall on how the young people of the past, present, and future contribute greatly to the changes in the black community of America and also the world as well.

Dr. Pollard starts off by mentioning the Civil Rights Movement. I think we all learned that there was more to the civil right movement other that Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The young people establishing sit ins in diners in Greensboro and Nashville contribute to the civil rights movement as well. However in 1958 Ronald Walters organized a sit in protest of a local drug store in Witchita, Kansas. This was one of the first major sit in before any others occurred. This sit in probably had some type of impact of later sit ins and movements.

The Dr. Pollard starts talking about some of the elders of the civil right movement. Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, Rosa Parks, Joann Robinson, Correta Scott King, and Malcolm X just to name a few. These are some of the very important leaders of the Civil Rights movement when it was first starting out.

More towards the end of his lecture, Dr. Pollard talks about some of the Hip Hop artists of today.  This is when he started to connect the young people of today to the civil rights movement. When I think of hip hop, I think of music that gets you "hype" forgetting about some of the other artists that actually have some meaning in their songs. For example KRS One, Chuck D, Lauryn Hill, Common, Talib Kweli, John Legend, Kem, Anthony Hamilton, and Angie Stone. These are some of todays present hip hop stars that have an actual message in their songs promoting change and human rights.

At the very end Dr. Pollard talks about Barack Obama saying that just having a black president in the White House is NOT enough. That the struggle is still going on. As stated in "Why" By Jadakiss ft. Anthony Hamilton. This song was released in 2004. This was only 5 years ago. His song is stating there is still a struggle going on in America.

On A side note, I looked up who Queen Mother Audley Moore Was. She was a very important figure in the civli rights movement. She was the founder of the Universal Association of Ethiopian Women as well as the Committee for Reparations for descendants of U.S. Slaves.

Freshman Seminar 9/22/10 - Tammy

    This week's freshman seminar lecture was given by Alton Pollard, whose topic was Civil Rights, Hip Hop and Hope: The Power of Young People. Mr. Pollard's lecture focused on the power that young people have had throughout history and how they have made great changes not only in America but internationally as well. He then later compared the young generations of the the Civil Rights Movement and other eras to our generation and told us that we are a generation of hope and change and that we should define what our generation wants to be.


     I was especially intrigued when Mr. Pollard talked about not only the great civil rights leaders but also the lesser known civil rights leaders that helped make a difference. Although he was a little rushed due to time constraints, he still enlightened us on some of the people besides Rosa Parks, MLK and Malcolm X who still made a difference through bravery and courage. However, by far my most favorite part of his lecture was his focus on those involved in the modern day struggle for equal; including, hip hop, R&B, caribbean artists whose words and actions changed the way people thought. Among the artists that he mentioned, the ones that stuck out to me the most were Common, Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott because to me the things they have done have been very influential for the advancement of the African-American community. They are one of the few artists who are still prevalent in today's popular music who talk about things that matter and don't merely make a song just for album sales. They are certainly no Soulja Boys who make song that only progress the stereotypes of black people. Common's lyrics honestly talk about problems within the community and by the end of the songs he usually seeks to find a solution to the problems or at least bring the problems to all listeners' attention. He has survived in the game for decades and is one of the few rappers that has yet to sell out due to fame and money. However, just as Mr. Pollard said, the man is great rapper but the poor boy just can't act...he should probably stick to the booth. Also, Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott are real singers who make songs that speak to modern day black culture. For example, Jill Scott's "A Long Walk" was her breakout song yet it actually had some substance and wasn't just an auto-tuned version of her "singing". In addition, Lauryn Hill's cd The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was filled with inspiration of songs that greatly influenced they both black men and women thought. Songs like "To Zion" and "That Thing" were both deep and emotional and spoke about real things in the lives of African-Americans.


   Finally Mr. Pollard equated the influential people of our past to our generation and said that we can be even better than the ones who came before us since they have laid the foundation for us. I found this part to be very inspirational because our ancestors have done so much for our generation to be successful and it is only right that we honor their memory and do something greater and better. Like Mr. Pollard said our bounds are limitless. We have a black president for the first time in history, a strong foundation on which to stand and now it is our time to shine and show America just how great the black race can be. What great way to start off our experience at Howard University.

Kayla Blackburn September 22, 2010

The lecture given on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, was by Alton B. Pollard. Mr. Pollard’s lecture was named “Civil Rights, Hip Hop, and Hope: The Power of Young People.” Mr. Pollard started his lecture by informing my peers and me that our generation is one of hope. Other than that description, he states that our generation easily defies description. He proposed that we define our own generation.

Mr. Pollard’s lecture was split into 3 parts. The first section was about civil rights. Before this lecture, I thought that I was thoroughly informed about the Civil Right’s Movement.  Of course I knew about the well-known Civil Rights activist, but I also took time to learn about the people who were equally active but less known. However, Mr. Pollard introduced people and demonstrations that I had never heard nor learned about. For an example, I had never heard about Ronald Walter and the Wichita, Kansas sit-in.  I learned that this sit-in occurred before the actually Civil Rights Movement; therefore, it probably had some kind of impact on the movement.

The second section was on Hip-Hop. According to Mr. Pollard, the Hip-Hop Generation was born from the Civil Rights Movement. At first, I didn’t quite understand Mr. Pollard’s rationale. I always thought of the Civil Rights Movement Generation as one of mature and dedicated youth. Contrarily, when I think of Hip-Hop, I think about ruthless, reckless, and immature youth without morals.  Yet, when Mr. Pollard introduced his Hip-Hop artist, they were artist that promoted change, stood for human rights, and had a story to tell; artists like Mos Def and Jill Scott.

I don’t think that Mr. Pollard fully got into his last section but he did say that you should become the prayer that you pray for. I love that statement. Many of us, including me, pray for certain things but we don’t change our lifestyle or the things we do in order to obtain the things we prayed for.

Overall, I enjoyed this lecture. It’s my favorite thus far.