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.