Final Blog (service projects)

For my last and final blog I would like to start out talking about the presentations we viewed in class on Thursday. The Tim wise screening, the ACC Men of Distinction, and the East Austin project were all amazing. All three presentations were exciting to watch and were very inspiring. I was extremely proud of my classmates and it was nice to see everyones projects come together in such a great way.

The tim wise screening turned out a success and I think it was awesome that the targeted audience was the majority, I know many people were reached out to and these conversations were sparked up which have them thinking about issues of White privilege and hopefully continue you to address this issue.

The ACC Men of distinction program was new to me and I think it is an Awesome program. I admire Edden for working with such a positive cause and devoting her time to this. I love how this group applied their project to everything that we learned about Black men over the semester only to find that the information is still true and relevant. Black men do want to be responsible and make something of themselves, they just need the resources to support them!

The East Austin presentation did not finish but I enjoyed watching their documentary. I love hearing from the older generations because they have so much knowledge and experience. Im looking forward to seeing the outcome of their project.

I am looking forward to seeing the remainder of groups and also presenting. The second group I am involved in (Theatre for dialogue) will be presenting on Tuesday and I hope our class will enjoy what we have planned for them also for the Patriensa School supply drive Lydia and I will not be presenting but only discussing the outcome of what we collected!
School Supply Drive presentation

Service Project Blog

I participated in two service projects over the semester. The first was the Patriensa School supply drive and the project I am currently working with is the theatre for dialogue focusing on African American Experiences. First I would like to thank all of my classmates who helped at the bake sale as well as those who contributed donations and supplies!!

Lydia and I completed the Patriensa school supply drive and I feel it went really well. I was happy to be a part of this project giving back to Africa where it all started. Before being in this course I never knew much about the roots of being African American. I didn't have much knowledge about Africentric ideas or way of living. From this class I learned that taking things back to where it all started is a perfect way of passing knowledge on to so many who know nothing about their history or identity. I feel that now I have a better understanding and more of a connection with being African American and all the principles that stand behind our culture such as Unity, and collectivism. We learned about the Nguzo Saba principles and about the African centered behavior change model and this project enabled me to live out these principles.I was honored to participate in a service that enabled us to give back to Africa and I am excited to continue to contribute to this effort every year!

Here are a few pictures from our bake sale! (more to come in our presentation)

I am continuing to work on the Theatre for dialogue with my second group which I am also excited about. So far we have decided to base our first demonstration On the Trayvon Martin case because it is a very touching topic that also bridges throughout time in the fact that the African American community has seen and dealt with these types of issues for decades now. It also stems along with discussions and readings we had this past week with the overwhelming number of African American men incarcerated and/or harassed by law enforcement. The burdens of fear and rehearsal when it comes to dealing with Law enforcement while being African American reveals itself in the Trayvon Martin case as well. I feel that we will open a lot of conversation with our classmates and hopefully discuss some solutions that will help end or semester on a positive note and with a positive hope for the future as we all continue on our college and life journey!

Hip Hop/ Media & the black community

Overall I feel that the film Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes did just what it's title represents. The film took us beyond the music and entertainment to a very personal and sensitive aspect behind the scenes of hip hop. The film portrayed the hip hop industry as an outlet feeding black communities with negative images and ideas of what the black community is or should "look like". The film shed light on the injustices of society and how media is used against African Americans . I feel the film brought an awareness of just how many people of the black community have been negatively influenced by what the media portrays about African Americans. The film also brought the artists to the forefront and how they react to taking on responsibilities within this issue or how they reinforce these negative ideas on the black community and other communities. I feel the film raised several questions such as who truly is behind the hip hop industry or orchestrating this negative depiction of blacks? Who is effected overall? How do these images compare to the realities of the black community? and what came first the reality or the depictions?

After viewing the film I feel that both articles highlight very important topics. The Black community has to set up early interventions with children to help them break down and understand images depicted of African Americans within the media. The black community has to steer away from internalizing the idea that in order to be a respected black man you have to be "hard," or a "gangster," or being a woman of the black community equates exploiting yourself or being over sexualized. Simply viewing this film and reading about the research results in the Peterson article convince me enough that there is a serious need for interventions such as the warrior program. Awareness and intervention are crucial to several aspects of the black community and one being the health of the younger generations of African Americans. The Petersen article reveals the impact of hip hop lyrics/videos on the sexual health of the women within the black community. I feel that it is great to know that interventions on these kinds of topics do exist and I feel that we have to uphold the need for these interventions so that we can see them continue and grow. Media has proven time and time again its ability to influence across races. The depiction of blacks within the media call for concern in the idea that blacks are portrayed through a very biased approach negatively influencing those of the black community and how the world views African Americans.

Achievement Gap (Boys of Baraka)

I feel that it is systematic factors that effect the "achievement gap". Several of these children grow up in areas that do not present them with the same resources of other students. Such as we saw in the film Boys of Baraka they are limited to resources because they live at a lower socioeconomic level and thus they are not afforded the same opportunities. It is unfortunate but of no surprise to me after being in this course and learning what I have learned to this point. The system is extremely harsh and it was difficult to watch the film Boys of Baraka, at many points in the film I began to tear up. I have a son who will soon be two years old and I thought about him and what kind of world he is living in. I am thankful that we are blessed but my heart hurts for those who are not as fortunate. Institutional oppression within our school systems reflects the importance of those who are in power and how they can effect minorities. Unfortunately most in power do not have the best interest of society as a whole.
I also feel that as a result of the environment the children live in individual factors come into play. Each of the young boys in the film presented adult like qualities which is a result of them having to grow up faster than they should and be men without enjoying their childhood. Their parents lifestyles and many of their living situations played a role in this.


I feel the achievement gap is yet another systematic idea set in place to keep those already down further down. You cannot measure achievement across a group of people or races without giving them the same resources to succeed to begin with! Thus there is not a true "achievement gap," just another justification for an unjust society. I agree with Steptoe's article in that teachers have to show more interest in minority students. In high school I was involved in many AP courses where I was one of the few African American students. I often felt like at times I did not receive the same guidance. I can also agree with the idea that some white parents may be more involved, however I feel that Black parents value success in education just as much but sometimes they do not have strong relationships within the community with other parents or school staff.


Coming from a biracial background I did not get the term acting white I was often told well "you aren't really black," however growing up I heard the term "acting white" directed towards my best friend. My best friend growing up was full black.She talked proper and succeeded in school. Many people would say "she talks white" or "acts white", it was always said to her in a joking way and we would all laugh. Now that I look back I never knew if it may have hurt her feelings or gave her a reason to hold back. I always saw it in a joking way but looking back now I see how stereotypes set forth in society effected our thinking at such a young age and that some people may have internalized this which in turn could have effected their behavior and achievement in school.