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

... 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.

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.

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.

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.