Convocation.What I intially thought would be hours worth of lecturing and leisurely rituals turned into something that further expanded my view of Howard and my place here. This assembly served its purpose in truly welcoming me into this great institution.
Dr. Lomax's speech reminded me of one of the points Dr. Carr made in his lecture; that is that we, as students of Howard, have a responsibility to uphold the legacy of educating our surrounding community. Dr. Lomax noted that HBCU's have an obligation to keep striving for excellence and educating minorities. This message motivated me to strive for more than I previously have and to value my community and dedicate time and effort to giving back and continuing the legacy
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Convocation
I had been hearing of a thing called "convocation" and I had no clue what it was. Honestly, in my head I thought, "Why are they making me go to this? This is going to be a waste of time." What I didn't know was that I was going to be dead wrong.
As I walked into the auditorium, I still did not quite understand what was about to take place. I thought maybe they're going to preach to us and bless us into the school. Well that didn't quite happen. Convocation was the official welcome into Howard University and this year was honored to have Dr. Lomax as the orator.
Dr. Lomax gave a powerful and inspiring speech. We all hear that "you are the future", but we don't necessarily believe it , but Dr. Lomax confirmed that this quote is in fact true. Dr. Lomax spoke on how in order for an institution to operate as successfully as Howard does and to remain and institution of higher learning for over 100 years as Howard has, it takes a team effort. Deans, professors,alumni, sponsors, and most importantly students have to work as a team to maintain the reputation of the school.
Dr. Lomax stressed the importance of HBCU's in America claiming that they must remain in an abundance. I believe that that statement is entirely true. Blacks in America are often stereotyped and often times are still seen to be lower than a white individual. HBCU's are needed to further the education of blacks and provide them with the tools of professionalism to prove not only to themselves but to the world that blacks have come a long way in history and can perform at the same level or higher than individuals of another color.
I was truly enriched by the convocation and I'm glad that I attended and plan to attend in the years to come.
African Burial Grounds
This week Dr. Mark Mac came and spoke with us about the African Burial Grounds in New York , in which we are to be visiting. I truly enjoyed how he did not just speak of these people as former slaves who died and were buried in this area and then were found years later; he told their stories. He spoke of the people there and described each one with their personal story and what might of happened to them causing their death.
I feel as though this monument was made to acknowledge those who would otherwise go unknown. Our American history only speaks of blacks who did extraordinary acts, but fails to mention those who suffered through the torture of slavery and were savagely murdered, which in itself is an extraordinary act. These are people who lived day by day working themselves literally down to the bone. This monument tells the stories of these individuals and allows the African American generation of today to learn about their ancestors.
Howard University was chosen to uncover the remains because no other school would have been suffice. Howard is an institution that radiates the true meaning of what it means to be a African American. In the uncovering of the remains, it would only be proper if the same kind of bones that are buried uncover them. I really would like to attend the trip to the grounds and believe that it would really change my view point on my ancestral history. Simply hearing this lecture from Dr. Mac opened my eyes to see how my people once lived.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Abandonment and Dismemberment: something torn and new
This lecture was about the slave trade, and how our ancestors were ripped from our homeland and abandoned in an unfamiliar land. The speaker went into detail about these two topics, elaborating on how the slaves were uprooted from their homes, treated as mere property, and shipped across the ocean. They were socially and mentally dismembered, and many physically dismembered. Various parts of what made Africans were stolen from them, aside from their humanity. Those shipped across the ocean were torn from their families, their religion, and culture. After being torn from everything they knew, the Africans were then abandoned in a new world, bought, sold and worked as chattel, and supplied with the bare minimum to live. Many of the Africans were also ripped of their will to fight. The sense of abandonment loomed large over the slaves, and suppressed their resistance. Being stranded in unfamiliar lands, the slaves were unable to do much to improve their situation. I feel as though the Africans remaining in Africa also felt a sense of dismemberment, having their brothers and sisters shipped across the Atlantic. All in all, the lecture was about how the slaves were forcibly removed from their homeland, and forced to adapt to a hostile environment in unfamiliar lands.
Jonathan Newton
Abandonment and Dismemberment
This weeks seminar focused on Abandonment and Dismemberment. Dr. Beatty started his lecture by further describing the Abandonment and Dismemberment of Africans and "something torn and new". The first key point is that of abandonment. The abandonment of African's from their home was brought by the middle passage of slaves. The middle passage is the process of taking Africans and dispersing them to the new world. The new world includes Brazil, the European and French Caribbean and North America. During this process more than 16 million Africans were stripped from their roots.
The second key topic of the lecture was the assimilation of Africans to their new homes and cultures. Victims of the middle passage were forced to participate in and learn a new culture. From social structures, to family patterns, to languages and many more, Africans abandoned what they knew and what defined them as a people to learn the culture of their slave masters.
The resistance of slaves was also a distinguished topic in the lecture. Runaway slaves established maroon societies apart from the plantations. Many were developed in remote areas and new communities were built where African's could create a "home away from home" which was self governed and cultured to their liking.
Along with the resistance of slaves back then comes the resistance of ignorance in modern times. Dr. Beatty says that it is imperative to rewrite the history of the Americas emphasizing African presence and impact. Many aren't aware of how critical a role Africans have played in molding the Americas in what they are today. We, as students of Howard, have the responsibility to resist this ignorance and spread the knowledge throughout the community.
Kristen Bailey
The second key topic of the lecture was the assimilation of Africans to their new homes and cultures. Victims of the middle passage were forced to participate in and learn a new culture. From social structures, to family patterns, to languages and many more, Africans abandoned what they knew and what defined them as a people to learn the culture of their slave masters.
The resistance of slaves was also a distinguished topic in the lecture. Runaway slaves established maroon societies apart from the plantations. Many were developed in remote areas and new communities were built where African's could create a "home away from home" which was self governed and cultured to their liking.
Along with the resistance of slaves back then comes the resistance of ignorance in modern times. Dr. Beatty says that it is imperative to rewrite the history of the Americas emphasizing African presence and impact. Many aren't aware of how critical a role Africans have played in molding the Americas in what they are today. We, as students of Howard, have the responsibility to resist this ignorance and spread the knowledge throughout the community.
Kristen Bailey
Abandoment and Dismemberment: Something torn and new
As I stated in my first blog entry, I was really anticipating this lecture and indeed the lecture exceeded my expectations. Dr. Mario Beatty discussed with us the asepct of the Africans being torn away from Africa and what they carried with them to the new land that they were thrown in. He opened the lecture with a question, " Does physical abandonment directly correspond to mental abandonment?" The answer to this question was revealed by the end of the lecture.
As the Africans were taken from their homeland, everything was loss or so was to be believed. The whitemen that took the Africans expected that the Africans would have nothing to give to the generations in the future, but indeed they were wrong. Africans carried with them the art of music, speech,religion,cuisine, and song along with them. Even to this day we see evidence of these traditions in our everyday jargon and simple actions.
Dr. Beatty, in my opinion, challegened us to transform knowledge by asking us to think about what is considered the norm and what makes it the norm. Are we to conform to what is normal because it is the standard or should we go beyond that and challenge the status quo?
So in correlation to the question stated at the beginning of the lecture, the answer is no. Physical abandonment does not correspond to mental abandonment. The Africans proved that by retaining their african heritage and bringing it with them to the new land and teaching their traditions to the younger generations.
Dr. Beatty presented an excellent lecture. I'm looking forward to the lectures ahead and visiting the African Burial Grounds soon.
Jesseca Farr
As the Africans were taken from their homeland, everything was loss or so was to be believed. The whitemen that took the Africans expected that the Africans would have nothing to give to the generations in the future, but indeed they were wrong. Africans carried with them the art of music, speech,religion,cuisine, and song along with them. Even to this day we see evidence of these traditions in our everyday jargon and simple actions.
Dr. Beatty, in my opinion, challegened us to transform knowledge by asking us to think about what is considered the norm and what makes it the norm. Are we to conform to what is normal because it is the standard or should we go beyond that and challenge the status quo?
So in correlation to the question stated at the beginning of the lecture, the answer is no. Physical abandonment does not correspond to mental abandonment. The Africans proved that by retaining their african heritage and bringing it with them to the new land and teaching their traditions to the younger generations.
Dr. Beatty presented an excellent lecture. I'm looking forward to the lectures ahead and visiting the African Burial Grounds soon.
Jesseca Farr
Abandonment and Dismemberment"Something Torn and New"
This weeks lecture about, Abandonment and Dismemberment:"Something Torn and New"; put several things in prospective for me. The lecture gave an understanding about the way African Americans were forced from their native lands to other places. From all the things that our ancestors went through our heritage still goes on. Even though our ancestors were treated badly they remained strong through it all.
One of the things that was discussed during this lecture was the dismemberment of our African American peoples. A basic definition of dismemberment is suffering of a person or a group of people. What Africans suffered from was the forcing of them from their native land. Many of the slaves would never see their homeland again. The reason why Africans were used as slaves because their bodies were immuned to diseases and they were much stronger. They new how to cultivate rice which was a major thing during slavery. Dismemberment makes it seem like everything was lost but it wasn't. Traditions were kept alive and their lives still continued only under someone elses authority. The moving of the Africans was known as the middle passage. The Middle Passage also consisted of the triangular trade in which millions of people from Africa were taken to the New World. This was organized by groups of investors rather than an individual alone. This was a loss of emptiness.
Although Africans were forced from their homelands they didn't lose everything. Their culture still went on. Their beliefs and behaviors stayed the same. Several of their traditions are still apart of the Americas now. Such as the modeling of families with the dad always being at the top. With out African Americans several things wouldn't be going on in America today.What if there wasn't a such thing as medicine men and women? The development of cures wouldn't probably have been in existence. From my own experiences with making baskets and chairs this still goes on in my family and has been passed down for generations. One of the important things that still goes on today is agricultural cultivation.
One of the ways that scholars have tended to explain African dismemberment is how Africans suffered but they remained strong through the rough times. Like I mentioned earlier about the medicine men and women they paid the way for other people. Now we have technology to help make things much easier and we also have research facilities to make the job easier. Back during the days of slavery people worked hard and wasn't able to have short cuts to get the job done. Now we have anything you can think of to help with cures and other things that help the nation.
Niesha Bush
One of the things that was discussed during this lecture was the dismemberment of our African American peoples. A basic definition of dismemberment is suffering of a person or a group of people. What Africans suffered from was the forcing of them from their native land. Many of the slaves would never see their homeland again. The reason why Africans were used as slaves because their bodies were immuned to diseases and they were much stronger. They new how to cultivate rice which was a major thing during slavery. Dismemberment makes it seem like everything was lost but it wasn't. Traditions were kept alive and their lives still continued only under someone elses authority. The moving of the Africans was known as the middle passage. The Middle Passage also consisted of the triangular trade in which millions of people from Africa were taken to the New World. This was organized by groups of investors rather than an individual alone. This was a loss of emptiness.
Although Africans were forced from their homelands they didn't lose everything. Their culture still went on. Their beliefs and behaviors stayed the same. Several of their traditions are still apart of the Americas now. Such as the modeling of families with the dad always being at the top. With out African Americans several things wouldn't be going on in America today.What if there wasn't a such thing as medicine men and women? The development of cures wouldn't probably have been in existence. From my own experiences with making baskets and chairs this still goes on in my family and has been passed down for generations. One of the important things that still goes on today is agricultural cultivation.
One of the ways that scholars have tended to explain African dismemberment is how Africans suffered but they remained strong through the rough times. Like I mentioned earlier about the medicine men and women they paid the way for other people. Now we have technology to help make things much easier and we also have research facilities to make the job easier. Back during the days of slavery people worked hard and wasn't able to have short cuts to get the job done. Now we have anything you can think of to help with cures and other things that help the nation.
Niesha Bush
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