African Burial Research

When i first thought of the African Burial Ground, i was a little surprised that it was located in New York because whenever i learned about African history, i learned about it with in locations in the south. But during the eighteenth century some of the land in New York that was known as just common ground was used to bury over 1712 slaves that were executed. These physical remains are of African decent that were imported from the dutch as a way of making money, many years ago. Once labeled as the negro burying place in 1732; the ground was reported to have uninviting suburb elements.. The government desired to plant construction in those very spots. Never the less, the ground has been protected by the original holders, the bodies that have been buried and mean so much to us today. This is a very important honor,especially in New York because like i stated before, it is not often recognized for the history of slaves. There are no buildings or statues in their honor, only their remains and spirits.

My Freshman Seminar Experience

Freshman Seminar has been an interesting experience for me. When I thought of a seminar class, I was under the impression that we would just be learning about how to adjust to college, and different ways to benefit ourselves, as students. Freshman Seminar was so much more than that. We learned about so much more than just how to manage our time, or be college students, which we hadn’t been used to. The first six weeks were a time where I could learn more about my race. Each lesson taught me things that I had never heard about before. One of the lectures that I enjoyed most was when Dr. Benjamin spoke to us about the Human Genome. She was there to stress to us the importance of being Black and the fact that it was our time to change the way things were and to excel and surpass all obstacles. This course was able to help me to increase my esteem as a Black person. It also educated me more on different topics. The trip to the African Burial Ground was able to teach more about what occurred in this nation that I live in. I felt so much more educated from a class that didn’t even fall under a specific discipline. I always wondered about the amount of work that I was putting into a class that was Pass or Fail and only worth one credit, but I believe that might have been worth it for the amount that I was able to learn.
Shayna McCormack

Freshman seminar Overall 2010

Freshman seminar has given me a load of historical information that i can use in the future. When i learned of all of the things our ancestors did to improve society, i wonder why i don't see that eagerness and effort from people today. The broad question of how knowledge can be generated by various fields of study can be used to generate human social problems and challenges has allowed us to be more aware and explore problems and solutions. Through everyones presentations, i was aware of problems in our society and our school. Through the power points, I was constantly reminded of the legacy and importance that Howard holds. It has allowed me to make connections to myself and life as it is. This class made links to religion, race, the mind and body. It was a relief from the everyday study and makes you think critically, on a level that gives you the ability and responsibility to explore change, taking things that happened before christ and applying it to how the world is today. I appriciate the reality and self awareness that was brought to the class. In the end there was a connection from every class to the goal of creating a vision, solving the problem and continuing the legacy. Of course everyone appriciates the work being done through blogs. It allows us to freely express what we got out of each professor and not be limited to any requirements. Also, we can view the point of view from our peers and even respond to what we learned from them. I can take what i have learned from this course and apply it to my everyday knowledge.

Intellect & Rhythm

Intellect and Rhythm talked about the awareness of HIV and AIDS. The stats they discussed are scary in terms of the percentages. 49.8% African American woman have HIV and AIDS. While their white counterparts are 2.8 for every 100,000. Men receive HIV and AIDS from having sex with other men. This led me to believe something about the reason so many black women have HIV and AIDS. Black men are heavily incarcerated and some do tend to have sex with other men while incarcerated. Then when they are released they have sex with black women. I believe it starts in the prisons just from that small fact. You can get HIV and AIDS from semen, breast milk, blood, unprotected sex and even with a condom there is a chance. They showed pictures of people who were a little older that were affected when I feel they should have showed teenagers who were affected. The closer in age, the more of and affect the visual aids would have had. They felt that we should start doing things in the communities to express what is felt about HIV and AIDS. One of the young women said to start having a spokesperson in schools (starting with HBCUs) and stat safe practice campaigns. But my thing is this, HIV and AIDs is always talked about especially among my age group. We are very focused on media and BET always has Wrap it Up campaigns and spokespersons who go out to schools and famous people that talk about these issues. What would be the difference if someone in your school did it? I believe it will have the same outcome, the people who do not want to get in contact with HIV and AIDS will pay attention and be aware, and those who do not think it can happen to them will continue their daily lifestyle.

Richelle Jenkins

BE PRESENT

Awareness,Vision,Memory...With the knowledge we hold, we hold the power to recognize problems and solutions in life. Rather than letting these problems go unsolved or trying to advicate them ourselves we must make others aware. Initiating the vision is the key to more successful changes. I was told to never be passive about the plan of possibility. But before making the world aware, we must plan a vision for what we desire the world to be. The imagination and a plan of what we can create makes what we want to do more realistic and somewhat easier. Although it is always possible for the vision to be recreated, at least you can learn more about the factors of the situations by having the positives and negitives of the vision. This creates even more for the memory. Memory is the historical part of the vision. There is a chain that connects from memory back to awareness. That is why it is important to scribe. We were made aware through the scribes and what they recorded. Before christ, scrolls and clay was used to make memory and show us what once was their vision, which makes us aware. I have found the link between awareness,vision and memory and continuing the legacy. It is impossible to continue legacies with out initiation and great expectation.

Black Slave Owners

There was a group in our Freshman Seminar class which did their presentation on Black slave owners. I found this to be an interesting topic since it addressed an issue that I had never thought about and had not even been fully aware of. I knew bits and pieces about Black people who owned slaves. Most of what I knew and believed included that they worked to free their own families and, if they did have other slaves, they would at least treat them properly since these people were of the same race as them. I found it interesting to learn that these slave owners treated their slaves the same way that white slave owners treated their slaves. They bought these people and beat them when they behaved in a negative way. There were Black slave owners who basically bought slaves for their own profit, no to help their people. I find it to be disconcerting that these people would treat their own people like this, since it would have been better to have some form of solidarity in the face of racism and mistreatment. This presentation was really able to open my eyes and even made me question most of what I learned in the past. There could have been other roles that Black people in the United States had with putting down the people of their own race, with the issue of slavery. It was an interesting topic that I would actually be interested in looking into more myself, some day.
Shayna McCormack

Brown Group 2014

Brown Group 2014 research project was about the affects of underage drinking. They informed us that underage drinking can lead to sex, suicide, arrest, death, homicide, suicide, memory loss and change in brain development. The brain affects that they discussed were issues such as structural problems, smaller brains, and the exposure to drinking disrupts development. With drinking being an issue with college students, though they are on a dry campus, it affects their school work. A lot of underage drinkers do it because they think that it is cool and they are trying to fit in with another group of people who drink. 31% of people from the age of 18 to 20 binge drink. Binge drinking is basically drinking primarily to become intoxicated and excessive drinking. Binge drinking leads to diabetes, poisoning, high blood pressure and issues with brain development. At the end of their presentation people asked why did they do their paper on underage drinking when it is against the law. They responded that even though it is against the law, people under the age of 21 still drink and still have access to alcohol. They were not really trying to prevent underage people from drinking, they were just trying to inform people what can happen because of it.

Richelle Jenkins

Mr.Polland...power of young people.

First i would like to say that today i learned that i have been in places where history has happened and never even knew it! As a young person we know we hold power but often times we don't recognize it. Some times we are made to think that it is not adequate enough to change circumstances or move mountains, sometimes we are not taught to take what we have and be the best we can be for the world. As i compare teenagers now to teenagers in history, i wonder what it was that gave them the courage to protest, speak out, sit in and be the difference. Was it because the situations that our people often face was new and blacks were so greatly not excepted? Have we gotten comfortable with the way we are treated and the problems we face. Do we think that the changes our ancestors made for us is enough to live equally and perfectly. I sure hope not. Standing up and making a difference doesn't have to be about racial issues. It can be activated towards sexual rights, age rights and other things that people judge one another by. The power that young people hold has the ability to effect the next generation. What we say, wear, do and how we act is a chain reaction of how the little ones under us behave. We can confirm this when we listen to the progression of music and media. How clothes are starting to fit tighter, how music continues to me more suculant as time goes on. Young people create new things and the world listens to us and recognizes our power when we come together. It brings our age, race and society closer when we stand together at this age. Our fresh imagination can bring forth new ideas to solve new issues. Young people; lets do something profound with our power.

Freshman Seminar Reflection

Freshman Seminar… What can I say? Freshman seminar started off being my most dreaded class because it was at 9 in the morning. But by the third lecture, it was a class I looked forward to. I always found myself learning something new in each lecture and each lecture engaged me more than the one before. When I used to think of freshman seminar I thought of a class that solely helped the transition from high school to college. I was wrong. Do not get me wrong, as a class we were taught time management, study skills, how to do research and preparation skills. But what I took away so much more than that. I learned life lessons. The lectures, which one tied into the next, all told a story that could be related to me in some way and made me want to look at myself differently. All very positive lessons, all inspiring lessons, all life changing lessons. I do not know if anyone else felt the way I felt during those lectures but I noticed a change in my thinking after each lecture. I was influenced to want to go out and try new things not just here at Howard, but back in my own home town.
The moment I really want to discuss is visiting the African Burial Ground. That moment changed how I felt about a lot of things. I was so interested in the whole trip from the beginning to the end. The history and the stories were so… right in my face and it was all real. Watching a movie about slavery and being in the presence of my ancestors are two different feelings. When I used to watch movies about slavery they would get to me but I would always brush them off as “just a movie”. Being at the African Burial Ground made me even watch movies different. I am just really thankful for the experiences I have had through this class and for all I have learned.

Richelle Jenkins

Research..explore.

Education, knowledge,development, life itself grows by the discovery of people. Everyone has the right to research, and to research anything that they desire. How do we learn about society? How do we learn about our backgrounds? How do we understand and determain the factors of our future? RESEARCH. But I find research done by african americans alone to something a little more profound. Because we originate from where everything began, we have a natural resource of knowledge built with in us and have inherited energies and experiences. The way our lives have been broken down can help us to understand small pieces of life and put the pieces of the puzzles together in a way that other races may not be able to execute. But with this knowledge it is extremley important to USE it. To take it as far as we can. To take these experiences and make sure we move forward. "The significant problems we have can not be solved on the same level of thinking with which we created them"-Albert Einstien.

..Research is a word that is often used when required to gain information for a paper of assignment of some sort. Exploring is what we should think of it as..Take what we learn and use it to the maximum, don't stop exploring it until there is no more left and problems in society have been solved.

The Incredibles- Sickle Cell Anemia

There was a group, named The Incredibles, which spoke about Sickle Cell Disease. This group addressed both the trait and the disease in their presentation. I found it interesting when they mentioned that the disease developed as a way to fight malaria. The body had developed the sickled cells that the mosquitoes would not be able to ingest. I also found it interesting, since I could tell that the group members were working from personal interest. These were members who had family members that had to deal with Sickle Cell Anemia. They discussed how some days were good for them, and how some days were bad. I know from Biology that the disease is caused by one change in a nitrogenous base in the DNA, and it is interesting that the one minor change could cause a disease that puts people through so much pain. This is a disease that has been known to be prevalent in the African American community, and has caused many people much pain. I would actually want to join an effort to help people who had to deal with this, because how could I know if I had the trait for it? Anyone could have the Sickle Cell trait and the best thing for a person to do is find out if they are one of the people that has the trait. It would probably be in my best interest to find out if I do have the trait, and maybe I can continue to make decisions regarding this disease in the future.

Shayna McCormack

Faculty Interview

The interview with Dr. Marie C. Jipguep was something that I found interesting, and was able to apply to our assignment. It was interesting to learn the difference between the foreign language system that is in place in the United States, and the systems in other nations, like Cameroon. Dr. Jipguep’s reaction to the fact that students in the United States could actually stop taking foreign languages at a certain level was interesting. She found the fact that this nation does not put enough emphasis on learning these languages to be a bit negative, and even chalked a bit of it up to the arrogance of some Americans, who would see learning another language to be unnecessary since many people spoke English. This view could also be seen as related to the fact that, despite the fact that most of the people in the United States speak English, there is such a difference in all of the different regions of the country, that each region seems to have its own culture. She also mentioned the fact that people would want to pick languages to learn based off of the prevalence of a language in an area. People put more emphasis on what is around them and what is affecting them at the moment. I do know that this seems to be a problem with many people, probably myself included. Most languages are taught because of the prevalence in a certain area, and then the students might only want to put forth effort to learn the language if they feel that it actually matters to them. This interview was quite helpful.

Shayna McCormack

African Burial Ground

The African Burial Ground was an interesting experience for me. I was able to learn more about a certain part of the country that I had never really known much about. I have noticed that, over time, people have chosen to not mention much of the fact that areas in the North had slaves, just as the South did. The African Burial Ground was able to better enlighten me to that fact and was able to show me a bit of history concerning the nation that I lived in. I was able to learn about an area in New York where thousands of slaves had been buried, as their way of still holding on to their traditions and the humanity that they had been denied. I found the different items that were associated with what the slaves had to do for work back then to be interesting as well. I remember trying to push that heavy barrel and it being difficult for me. I felt sympathetic for the person who had to do that every day, maybe even multiple times a day. What was normal for the slaves of that time, are not even heard of in this time that I live in. Going to the African Burial Ground made me feel less detached from the history that I had been learning about, and closer to the actual meanings. The history was more than just words when I realized that I was standing right above so much of this significant history. I found this experience to be extremely rewarding.

Shayna McCormack

Freshman Seminar and I

Freshman Seminar and I have an interesting relationship. On one hand, I love the concept of the course. I enjoyed some of the presentations and I was intrigued by my group's research topic. However, I resented the work I had to put into the class. I am a sophomore and if I were more clear about what I'm doing for the future, then I would have taken Freshman Seminar last year. But my career goals have changed in the last year, so I am taking Freshman Seminar this year. I resented the work because I heard stories of how Freshman Seminar was for my peers. I believe that knowledge kept me from approaching this experience with an open mind. Luckily, I was able to get through it. Dr. Carr's lecture, first and most inspirational, forced me to take a more critical look at me, my people, and my being. I was forced to think about ME. It is difficult to explain the impact his lecture had on me, but I know that in the future I will attend his classes whether or not I'm registered for them. I was floored by the folk-stories and the talking drum. I just loved having a glimpse into my history. I am half Ibo; but since I was raised by my African-American mother, I know absolutely nothing about their culture. It hurts more sometimes because so many people can claim not to have ties to Africa, but my bloodline is second-generation so I feel like I should know more than I should. Freshman Seminar allowed me to know more. The trip to the African Burial Ground was amazing. My favorite part was the video and imagining I was traveling across oceans. It has never felt so real to me. Overall, I can honestly say that I learned many things in this course. Not all of which can be explicitly recited verbatim, but can manifest through my daily living.

Alexandria Igwe

Reflection

I am extremely happy that this Freshman Seminar course has come to an end. I still do not have a clear understanding of the purpose for this course. During my time in this course, I do not believe I grabbed much from this course. However, there were a few interesting guest speakers. My personal favorite was Dr. Carr. His method of deliverance kept me extremely attentive. I could tell that he felt strongly about what he was, in a sense, preaching to the students. I also found the lecture on Howard’s Scribes to be interesting as well.

I feel as though this lecture course may have been a small waste of time. I cannot say that I completely enjoyed coming to this class every Tuesday morning, but I can say that I did enjoy some of our guest speakers. On a good note, at the end of this course, I do feel as if the groups’ presentations can help benefit me in the future. I have always had a tough time speaking in front of any crowd, no matter if it was big or small. I also had a hard time working in a group before. Working in a group was something that I enjoyed this time around because everyone was willing to put in an effort to get the assignment completed. I know that these two accomplishments will benefit me in the future, especially in the medical field profession. If I got anything out of this course, it was to always have good character and to be willing to learn new things, whether it is something you’re not sure you are going to enjoy doing.

Interview with Faculty Member

Shareef Abdul Malik

From my understanding, I thought that there was only suppose to be one person out of the group to post the interview with the faulty member. So to be on the safe side here is what I have from a summation of Allie in our group. Allie gave a interview with Dr. Jipguep on the question theme: Why do you think foreign language programs are not being implemented in US elementary schools despite the increasing emphasis on globalization? Jipguep: "What does primary education consist of? Reading, writing, and arithmetic. And after you learn the three R's then social studies and natural sciences are added. If I had to take an educated guess, then the reason would have to be that having foreign language programs in elementary school does not make fiscal sense. I am not an expert on US primary school systems because I did not go to school here. You went to school here, tell me about your experience with foreign language." I believe that Dr. Jipguep was quite funny with her responses, not saying that she was trying to be funny, but I think naturally she has a good sense of humor. There were multiple question asked the the Dr. that fortunately and finally answered the topic question. I am satisfied that Allie was able to reach her and sit and have a nice conversation without waiting as long as I had to. Dr. Jipguep went on to tell about her experience in Cameroon.“In Cameroon, schools begin teaching another language in the 5th grade. Cameroon has two official languages: French and English; so if you lived in a French speaking area, you learned English and vice versa. In Jr. High School, you pick a language of one of our colonizers: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, or Dutch, and you stay with that language until graduation. You can't graduate without knowledge of French, English, and your third language.”

2nd peer Evaluation Rap Music

Shareef Abdul Malik
A group chose to do their project on the influence of rap in the American society, or the cause and effects of Hip Hop from the African Americans to the secular world. I am very educated when it comes to the history of music, the intentions of the African Americans, and the plan of the white man. This group expounded on the influences that modern day music and hip hop models are effecting. I agree, there is a great influence when it comes to the newer music or pop culture. The group spoke on "gangster" music and closely naked women in videos dancing. I wanted to interrupt at that very point and let it be known why blacks talk the way the talk and dress the way they dress. They are being paid for this. They are not financing themselves when they are exploiting there nakedness and threatening society with their ambiguous viewpoints on life in America. The group mentioned a few lyrics from a song that should have brought shame to the whole class, but it did not because this is the music we pay for. This is the music we desire to hear because the beat satisfies our natural desire for rhythm but the lyrics goes against our original nature. The group did a pretty good job with pointing out the issues in today's music but they did not do enough research on the reason why why are in this position now. Hopefully in the future they should not leave this matter alone because it is critical for every to be enlightened on our pathetic situation.

Elite 6- Childhood Obesity

I think the Elite 6 group did a good job with their presentation. They discussed childhood obesity. In their presentation, they discussed different factors that contribute to obesity with children and the consequences that can come along with childhood obesity.

Some factors that can contribute to obesity within children are race, gender, and economic groups. For example, between the years 1976-2002, there was a lower percentage of white children with obesity problems than there were black children. Also, in respect to the economic groups, it is more likely for the children growing up in the poor economic groups to have obesity issues. Some consequences that can come along with childhood obesity are Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and psychological child depression. The group explained that if parents were to spend more time with their children, the children would not have much depression. A fact that the group brought to light was that there is a direct correlation between the amount of television being watched and the amount of physical activity being done. I strongly agree with that fact. Many children would rather spend hours playing video games and watching television than going outside to play. A majority of weight gain comes from puberty. The more physical activity the child does, the less the weight gain during puberty will affect him/her.

In conclusion, the group decided that parenting and ethnic background are major contributors to obesity. I do agree that ethnic background can be the biggest contributor, as in the style of cooking and what is being served to the child.

Rap and Responsibility

A group of my peers recounted one of the hottest topics in the music industry: censorship. Not general censorship of all music, but the exclusive censorship of the hip-hop industry. It's odd to think that when censorship comes up, it seems to target forms of entertainment that are primarily or stereotypically enjoyed by African-Americans. Regardless of where the censorship is aimed, it is an issue and it seems no one is taking responsibility for it. The group members felt that the hip-hop music industry should take responsibility for censorship. They cited a couple of song lyrics that contained gender deprecating and alcohol appreciating subtleties. They told us about videos that contained vulgar images and glamorized "gangsta living". The industry should be responsible for the messages they send out to the masses. In some ways I agree with my peers, but then I remember that the people that put out these images are entertainers. It is not necessarily who they are. Actors, writers, directors, and rappers should all be held to the same standard. No one should be held more responsible than the other. Perhaps there should be a rating system for music like there is for movies and video games.
In my opinion, the bulk of censorship responsibility lies with the parents. A child will naturally develop an affinity to what is seen and heard in the home. Yes it is true that the "corridor curriculum" of school life and peers can starkly contradict what is taught at home, but there is no substitute for a solid foundation.

Self Assesment

All week I have been having troubles trying to get in contact with Ms. Claudia Dezak, Head of the Foreign Language Department in the Washington DC public school system. I was told she has all the answers to my question when trying to figure out why is the foreing languages not flourishing in the DC public school systems. I have a list of questions pertaining to this topic that I need to have answered before it is our time to present. Earlier during the week, I believe I had to make at least eight calls just to get in contact with Ms. Dezak and then she did not have time to entertain my questions. I must say she is a very nice women with a sweet attitude but by her eagerness to end our conversation I could also tell she was very busy. Fortunately, the following week I receive a call from the Mayor's office of Employment and Services. Ms Elba Garciez from Washington DC, member of the foreign language department in DC public school systems allowed me to give her an interview covering the issues pertaining to our group project. She quickly answered my questions and was actually expecting for more. I email the information received from the interview to my group-mate and she posted it on our power point. I was the last one to hand in my information but I think my persistence in helping the the group along the way made up for it. This is the final week and we are doing pretty well as a group. We scored a 93 on our group project presentation, but I feel we did much better than the previous groups.