African Burial Ground

Going through my blogs, I realized that I never added an entry about the African Burial Ground. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot, so I don't know how I forgot. Before the trip to the African Burial Ground, I was upset that I had to wake up so early to go, but by the end of the day, I was happy that the trip was mandatory. It was so moving to be able to walk where my ancestors had walked. When we first arrived, my group was given a tour of the outside of the grounds while another group was inside. The architecture of the outside of the grounds was so beautiful in contrast to the horrible injustices it sat on top of. We learned a lot about the African symbology on the architecture. When we got inside, we watched a very moving video about how the Africans living in New York during the time lived. Inside the grounds, there were pictures and various objects to interact with. I would love to go back to the African Burial Grounds again in the future and I am thankful for the opportunity I got during freshman seminar.

Alcoholism

The first group to present in my class was the group who decided to give a presentation on underage drinking. It was a great opening to the group projects because it really grabbed the attention of the class. Howard is supposed to be a "dry campus" but I know plenty of people who know how to sneak alcohol in and I've even seen it done. I don't drink, but a lot of my friends do so this issue is very important to me. Just last weekend, my friend from Florida got blackout drunk (on Four Loko) and decided to drive. He ended up crashing his car and got picked up by the police. Overall, I think that the fact that drinking isn't allowed until a certain age, makes it seem like a forbidden fruit to a lot of people, so then they really want to try it.

PWIs Vs HBCU

One of the groups in my freshman seminar class gave a presentation about the differences between PWIs and HBCUs. This was one of the more interesting presentations to me because this was the decision I had to make before deciding to come to Howard. I've attended predominately white schools all of my life, so to me, it was really important to come to Howard for undergrad. One of the girls in the group made a good point that many undergrads at Howard and other HBCUs don't wish to attend an HBCU for grad school, as if attending an HBCU is a fun experience but in order to justify attending one, one must attend a white grad school. For med school, I do intend to go to a white school back home in Florida, but not for the reasons the group brought up. It simply would be cheaper for me to do so and after spending a large amount of money on Howard for undergrad, it would be nice to save money.

Self Reflection

During the course of this class, I have learned many things. Even though I'm not a freshman, I had a lot of fun in this class. My favorite professor had to be Dr. Carr and I even signed up to take one of his classes next semester. One of my favorite moments in this class was going to New York for the African Burial Ground trip. I learned a lot about my ancestors and what they went through just to survive in the beginnings of this country. I also loved the guest speakers. I wouldn't mind listening to any of them speak again.

Faculty Interview - Dr. Eleanor M. King

Why is gentrification such a big issue?

Gentrification is a big issue because when middle class owners start moving into an area, housing prices start going up, often forcing long-term residents out because they cannot afford the new property taxes. These residents will start moving into the city where the tax is lower creating an over population in the city, creating more issues.

Dr. King also provided us with a number of statistics as well as graphs for our research project.

HBCU's vs. PWI's - Jahna Carolina

The group Los Colores did a very informational research project on HBCU’s vs. PWI’s. An HBCU is a Historically Black College or Institution and a PWI is a Predominantly White Institution. They mainly highlighted the many stigmas’ that are related to HBCU’s. According to peers that do not attend HBCU’s, they feel that Black Institutions do not focus their attention on academic but instead on partying. I do not feel that this is true at all. Howard University is a very prestigious University that is very concerned with our grades. They stand as the most prestigious HBCU so that stereotype is far from the truth. Another concept they covered was that our peers at Howard University would not want to continue their education at another HBCU. They want to be able to say that they were a well-rounded student so most of them will further their education at a PWI. Although, I learned a great deal about stereotypes that come with HBCU’s, I felt that Los Colores went into too much detail when explaining their research topic. I feel that they could’ve slimmed down their presentation to ten minutes instead of 20.  I did enjoy the beginning part where they translated their purpose of the research in both Spanish and English. It added a nice touch to their presentation. 

Jahna Carolina

HBCU vs PWI

Over the years I've been spending time at a mostly white school, I have been hearing all sorts of stereo typoes about HBCUs, I knew that they werte wrong but after a while you start to think if they are right. When I came to howard I learned that most of the stereotypes about HBCUs were wrong. The presentation that was done about the HBCUs vs PWIs, was on point to me. Many of the people, white or black, who attend PWI look down upon HBCUs saying that our academics are weak and that we have no diversity. They were all wrong Howard is a fine academic establishment filled with some of the worlds brightest minds, and Howard is very diverse we have students from all parts of the United states and all over the world. One thing thats a testiment to that is that the Howard University Carribean Student Association or HUCSA is the biggest group on campus. The presentation was well done and it covered all of the negative stigmas alot of the people who dont go to HBCUs think aobut HBCUs. This was my favorite project out of all of the Projects that were done in out area.

Christian Nestor

Self Assesment

This year in freshman Seminar I have learned many things about african american culture. The presentation by Dr. Carr was the most memorable presentation for me because I was able to learn the reason why Africa was where all of the great civilizations came from. He explained that there were african influences on every single civilization including the greeks. Citing the fact that the greeks learned how to compute the pythagorean thorem from the ancient egypotians who ended up building the pyramids. Also another highlight from freshman seminar is the trip to new york when we went to new york I was able to learn about african barial grounds and why they were sacred. The sacredness of the site was truely moving. Also the fact that the staff allowed us to hang out in the Bronx for hours was great I visited Rucker park the site where famous basketball players like LeBron James and Ron Artest played. In the end I am very satisfied at with freshman seminar. Freshman Seminar was great for me beacuse I learned a great deal of information in the class.

Christian Nestor

Dion Robbins Self Assesment

Freshmen seminar as whole has defiantly been an experience. Coming into this I did not expect freshmen seminar to be the way it was. I thought freshmen seminar was just going to be a one credit class where you came in and talked about your freshmen experience and got tips on how to make it better. At some times I did feel as though we were doing to much for a one credit class, but in the end now that I think about it, it really wasn’t that bad. Overall I enjoyed freshmen seminar at times. Some of the lecturers were defiantly boring but in the end I could appreciate them for taking the time out to come and speak to us. Many of the speakers, if not all, came with a very good message for us freshmen to take away with us. They taught and spoke about many things that I never knew about. I feel as though after every speaker I left knowing something’s I didn’t know before I came in the auditorium. I think that the best part of freshmen seminar was the trip to New York to the African burial ground. I really enjoyed the place and learned about something I never knew about. I had never heard of the burial ground and never knew it existed. The entire exhibit was very interesting and educational. If you left there without more knowledge then you wasted your time. Traveling there was defiantly something that enlightened me a lot and something that I will always remember.

Presentation on PWI's & HBCU's

Today’s group really did it. I enjoyed what they talked about and it was something that I could really relate too. The group talked about the comparison of Historically black colleges and university to that of predominantly white institutions. I could relate to a lot that was being said in the presentation because for one, I am a student at a Historically black university and I plan on going to a predominantly white institution for graduate school. In the presentation they talked about the reasoning why many of the people at historically black colleges plan on going to predominantly white schools because they feel as though it will balance out there resumes. It will show that they are able to prosper in many different types of environments. I feel the same way. I’m attending Howard University coming from a predominantly white school in Williamstown, NJ by way of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The time spent in the majority white school in jersey made me want to go a Historically Black college or university But afterwards I do plan on going to a predominantly white school because I feel as thought it will make things easier for me when it comes time to look for a job. It’s not to say that I don’t feel a education at a historically black college or university will suffice but I feel as though in the “white” working world it will make things better for me and I will always have love for Howard University though.

Self-Reflection - Jahna Carolina

I have greatly enjoyed Freshman Seminar. I have learned many things that I will be able to take with me and apply for the rest of my life. I enjoyed the lectures given by all of the professors. I honestly did not think that I would learn as much as I did in Freshman Seminar. Each week was a new lesson that I was eager to learn. Each lecturer had their own way of captivating the audience. I appreciate the fact that these professors went out of their way to share their thoughts and ideas with the class. This class has also made me so proud to say that I go to Howard University. All the great people that attended this school truly make it an honor to even attend Howard. There are so many rich and cultural lessons that I have learned that would not have happened if I had chosen to go to any other school. This course has allowed me so many opportunities, like going to the African Burial Grounds in New York. That experience really helped me relate to my culture and I cannot thank you enough for allowing me that opportunity. This research project has allowed me to be a better researcher and has taught me more about different issues that affect the black community. I enjoyed listening to everyone else’s research projects and the topics they chose to research. I feel that I have a more understanding of myself as well as my school just by enrolling in this class.

Jahna Carolina 

Presentation On Underage Drinking - Jahna Carolina

Teen drinking has become a major epidemic within college communities. There is too much underage drinking behind closed doors on college campuses. This excess of drinking has led to at least 5,000 deaths per year as we learned in the presentation. Not only is it causing adolescent deaths but it is also causing an increase in risky behaviors. Many teens engage in activities that they normally would not do if they were sober. When drinking, you lose all inhibitions causing you to do unruly things. Some teens become angry when having had too much to drink. This can cause them to fight with others that could possibly severely injure the victim. Sometimes these fights can get out of hand and can result in possible jail time. I knew some of these effects of drinking prior to this presentation but I did not realize how serious this epidemic has become. I think that the group did a wonderful job engaging the audience. They provided many graphs and chart to give us a visual feel for how underage drinking has risen throughout the years. I appreciated the fact that the group took the time to make their presentation visually appealing. It forced the audience to pay attention and really listen to what they had to say. I also enjoyed that for each topic discussed regarding teenage drinking, they had a song that represented that topic. I found that very creative. After watching their presentation it motivated me to add more slides to my presentation to make it more visually appealing.

Jahna Carolina 

Presentation on Drinking

Today’s presentations was very good. The group talked about a topic that is very serious and something that is plaguing many teens in colleges all over the country. Underage drinking and binge drinking. The cover many of the bad side effects that come with drinking. Many of the numbers shown in the presentations were very shocking. The numbers showed a trend that is not looking good and is something that needs to get better to save more lives. Throughout the presentation they also explained why it is better to just wait until you turn 21 to drink alcohol. 21 years of age is the minimum drinking age in all states I across the country I believe. The age limit does not stop many teens from drinking and it is something that is causing problems for many teens too. The drinking is leading to many negative outcomes like poor behavior in school. Many teens that start drinking early become alcoholics and learned to depend on alcohol. Depending on alcohol is not good and is something that lands people in rehab over and over again. Throughout the presentation the group really focused on drinking on college campuses and why we shouldn’t do it. People that drink are the ones that are failing there classes and not able to function right during the week while in school. These people of the ones who subsequently end up dropping out of college and becoming dependent upon alcohol and may venture on to other type of controlled substances.

African American Burial Ground

The trip to the African American burial ground in New York is one trip that I will never forgot. Before actually arriving in New York I was very tired and thought the day was going to be a waste. I didn’t really understand why we were going and the what we were actually going to see. The 6 hour drive was defiantly worth it. I left very satisfied with what I was able to see and the knowledge gained from the trip. The museum it self is something I feel all people from around the world should go see. The museum tells and untold story about the way many of the African Americans in American had to live and the way they were brutally treated in the end. I think that it is very good that the area where they were buried was preserved and left alone. While we were there we went into their theatre and watched a short clip telling the story of how the African American Burial ground came about. The story was very interesting and it was very good seeing all the African Americans coming together and marching the streets of New York in protest to keep the area preserved. One thing that also caught my attention was the role that Howard Universities biology department played in preserving the space. I was very proud to know that I went to the school that played such a huge roll in persevering the space and making sure the right moves were made.

Alcoholism Project

The project o falcoholism on campus truely struck me and had me interested in the subject. The fact that alcohol is so prevelent on college campuses is alarming. The numbers presented to us is striking. the number of college student s drinking has soared since the time my parents went to collegge and alcoholism is huge on college campuses. Alcoholism on campus results in to failing classes in college, and more commonly it leads to depression. And depression leads to suicide. The presentation was veryu well done and informed me of the dangers of alcoholism and taught me the very important lesson that is, never drink until your 21 and never drink and drive and finally don abuse alcohol. in the end life is not about the abuse of alcohol it is about fulfilling dreams and other important ideas.

Christian Nestor

Dr. Williams

Dr. williams is a truely inspirationakl speaker she has the amazing ability to demand a large audience's attention by just speaking. She needs not to yell or to even raise her voice she uses rhetoric to command the attention of her audience. In freshman seminar she talked about the setting goals for ourself and more specifically, stating what our main goal is in our research projects. we also learned about the six basic components if research were. Component number one was identify the problem. Component number two is identify your current state of research, that is how much do you actually know about ur subject. component number three refers to the methodology of the research paper that is how it is we will go about researching our subject and comming up with an answer to our proposed qwuestion. component number four is the frame work of the research you will find, that is how will you organizeyour paper. Component number five is developement of your thesis. the thesis sumzs up the arguement of the paper. it sets the tone of the p[aper and prepares the reader for what he or she is about to read. and finally component six is the conclusion of the research, restating the full arguements and reminding the reader of wjhat you said in your research paper.

Christian NEtsor

African Burial Ground

It all started on an early saturday morning we I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to get ready to go on the bus to the african baraial ground with the freshman seminar group. I slept all throughout the bus ride but we arrived in Manhattan, NY around 10 A.M. We started off by Dr. Carr doing the Opening ceremony along with the help of our toor guide. As we looked at the monument I looked in amazement at how detailed the inscriptions on the stues. They were inscriptions from the ancient african civilizations, and some were even from the island country of Haiti. After the getting instruction about the Monument we moved on into the actual museum. Inside the museum we saw a truely uplifting and informative movie about the importance of burying the dead in african culture. After that we went to the bromnx and split up into groups. While in the bronx myself and a group of friends travl;ed to the historic basketball park named rucker park. Some of the best basketball players who have ever playe dthe game played at rucker park, for example Karim Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Ron Artest, Michael Jordan, and many other basketball greats. We left the bronx at around 630 pm and saw a movie on the bus that was very scary. And we arrived back at drew at 1 o'clock in the morning. Upon retrospect I believe that the exp[ierience of visititng the african burial ground has made me a stronger individual and made me a more informed african American and I thank Dr. Carr for bringing me to learn to explore my roots

Christian Nestor

African Burial Grounds - Jahna Carolina

The Burial Ground was established in 1991 during the construction of a building. While building constructers ran across remains of people’s bodies, which caused further inquiry. They quickly found out that Africans were buried in this location underneath the ground. This served as a cemetery for the enslaved Africans that once lived there. The trip to the African Burial Ground in Manhattan, New York was inspirational and I am grateful that I was granted the privilege to see this museum. By walking into the museum you could instantly feel your history and roots all around you. I was moved by the passion that everyone who worked in the museum had. By the pain in their voice, it was almost like these people lived in this time period themselves. We were given a small tour of the museum with a brief film introductory. The film was entertaining and it explained to us why the African Burial Ground holds such significance. We were then taken to a room where any questions were asked about how we felt about the film and if there was anything we wanted to know about the actual museum. Our speaker had us huddle near her stating that she was a former Howard University student and that we are all family. She also mentioned that in one way or another we have all been affected by the burial of these Africans. After we finished, we were taken outside where another speaker told us about the different symbols that were outside of the museum. He, too was very passionate.

Jahna Carolina 

Dr. Dana Williams - Jahna Carolina

Dr. Dana Williams is a great speaker. Something about her presence makes you want to listen to what she has to say. By her demeanor, it is obvious that she is intelligent and knows exactly what she is talking about. She is definitely a professor that I feel that I can trust. Although her topic wasn’t necessarily interesting she made us want to listen to what she had to say. We learned the six basic components of research. Component number one is to identify the problem or challenge. State what the main goal is for the research and what you wish to accomplish. Component number two to identify your current state of research. How much do you really know about the topic that you wish to learn more about? You have to know where you are to know where you’re going. Component number three refers to the methodology of the research. This relates to the analysis of the paper and how you choose to conduct your research topic. Component number four refers to the framework of the research you wish to conduct. How are you going to present your research in a way that you will be able to fully understand topic and get your message across clearly and effectively. Component number five is the development of the thesis. During this stage you must gather your research together to come up with a well-constructed thesis that you are able to write research paper on. Component number six is the conclusion of the research. What have you learned from the research that you have conducted?

Jahna Carolina

Dr. Williams

This week we had the beautiful Ms. Dana Williams speak to our class. I was kind of surprised when she stood up after Dr. Doku gave her introduction because I never knew her name but she was always in our class and I just wondered what she did. After hearing the introduction I was just thinking “wow” this is a very accomplished person, and then the familiar face stood up. I was glad to see her stand up because I was expecting this boring looking person in the corner to be the speaker. I enjoyed Dr. Williams lecture. Unlike some of the other speakers that came in and spoke to the class I noticed that she made a point to not stand in one place the entire lecture. Dr. Williams was on her feet the whole entire time it made it very easy to pay attention to what was being said. The fact the she had a visual aid (PowerPoint) also made the lecture much better. Dr. Williams basically gave us information that would help us do our paper for our group project. She basically talked about stuff that we learn in English, thesis statements and body paragraphs and stuff. She also went over some of the blogs that some of the other students had completed some of them were funny and it was interesting to see what other people beside the people in my group were thinking about the lecture and what they were taking in from the lectures.

Dr. G

This week speaker was Dr. G. Dr G was a very interesting person. Some of the things that he spoke about I didn’t understand but I think it is a good thing that the things I did take in was something that I feel was very good and something that I never knew before. I like the lectures that we have been sitting through each week because each week I’m not learning about anything that I’ve learn in the past. Each week, especially this week with Dr. G I was able to learn something new and something that I will never forget. The main point to me with this lecture was the lady name Iwa. I feel like I Iwa was the main topic of the discussion. He talked about living a life like Iwa. Iwa was the daughter of patience and the granddaughter of pain. That right there was something that just caught my attention and it seemed very interesting. After the lecture I feel like I don’t take things for granted any more. I really appreciate all that I’m fortunate to have and will work for the things that I don’t have that I want. Dr. G also mentioned the Ten Commandments and how it was copied from another form of something from the Africans. I never knew that and it was something that made me think. All in all I was truly enlightened by Dr.G’s lecture and would go to hear him speak again any time.

Dr Felder

Dr. Felder lecture was yet again another lecture that I really enjoyed. He is a very influential man and after the lecture I was very inspired. I wasn’t really in a good mood coming into class in the beginning and he really opened my eyes to some new things that I have never been exposed to. During the lecture he pointed out a couple people while they were talking while he was speaking. I respect him a lot for that because that shows that he is really into what he was teaching to us. He was personable person and made it easy to pay attention and listen to what he was saying. What I took out the most from the lecture was the freedom and justice that he spoke about and the Black Diaspora. I think that freedom was what the main point of the whole lecture was. During the lecture he made several different references to biblical characters. Through the lecture he explained that we basically have no freedom. What we consider freedom is not freedom at all. The people that brought us over here from Africa determine what we considered to be freedom and it is technically limited to what they say it is. During the lecture Dr. Felder kind of got personal and spoke about the history of his name and told how his mother was raped by his father’s brother. He talked about how he and his brother was Cain and Abram and he always wondered why.

Freshman Seminar Lecture 6 (10/7/10)

Dr. Dana William’s speech on October 7^th was the last speech that will be given in my Freshman Seminar class. This speech was very different from the other speeches that haven been given, probably due in large part to Dr. Williams being one of the professors conducting the seminar. I am sad for the speeches to end but I knew this day was coming. Dr. William’s speech was more of a presentation that would enable the class to get back on track for the group projects we have to do. This is the part of Freshman Seminar I was dreading. I absolutely hate group projects, but I am glad that Dr. Williams spent the time to go over the project again. She also went over the grading rubric again. I’m glad that the project doesn’t count for the majority of the grade. I never like relying on other people for something that I need to get done. Although Dr. Williams said that they decided to break the class structure up to help us learn better, I think it would have been best to keep it as a lecture class. The main people who enjoy group projects are the slackers in the group because they know that someone else will pick up their slack so the group grade won’t drop. I like to be accountable for myself and nobody else. Something I didn’t like was that Dr. Williams read some of the blog posts out loud. It’s unlikely, due to the large size of the class, but I always get a little anxious about a professor potentially picking my work to read aloud. Thank god she didn’t.

Monique Smith

Freshman Seminar Lecture 5 (9/30/10)

On September 30^th, it was Segun Gbadegesin’s turn to give a speech in Freshman Seminar. His speech was more on religion that anything else but that is not what I focused on. In his slideshow, as well as in his speech, he gave evidence on how many things attributed to Europeans or the people of the Middle East should really be attributed to Africa. He showed that the 10 Commandments, as well as many other texts, have been copied form Ancient African documents, with the 10 Commandments plagiarizing the Principles of Ma’at. I knew this already, but many of the other students probably didn’t. Many people think that the Bible is a completely original document. If Mr. Gbadegesin would have clarified what he was talking about a little better, more of the class could have followed his speech a lot easier. What I found interesting was that Mr. Gbadegesin said that he didn’t learn about Ancient Africa until he came to America. That is just amazing to me and this could have been a separate speech altogether. How can one not learn the history of the place one is living in? I would think that Africa is where one could learn the most about Ancient Africa. It just seems strange that he started learning about Africa here when American school systems are always criticized for being Eurocentric. According to Mr. Gbadegesin, all he learned about in African schools was Europe and Christianity. This is sad and it needs to change.

Monique Smith

Freshman Seminar Lecture 4 (9/23/10)

On the 23^rd of September, Dr. Cain Hope Feldor gave a speech in my Thursday Freshman Seminar class. Before Dr. Feldor’s speech, I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew that he was a minister and I hoped that he didn’t spend the entire time talking about God. I can go to church for that. So, I wasn’t exactly excited for Dr. Feldor’s speech. To my surprise, Dr. Feldor spoke on a variety of topics from religion to race. On of my favorite things that Dr. Feldor said was “many people who go to church leave their brains at the door and bring only their emotions.” Something I appreciated about Dr. Feldor was that he found a way to criticize European civilizations without being hurtful and alienating the handful of white students in the classroom. Dr. Feldor demanded respect while he was speaking at the podium. During his speech, he would point out somebody in the audience who was talking or sleeping. Most people would say something about a student talking during a speech but would ignore a sleeping student. Silence was not enough for Dr. Feldor. Dr. Feldor also gave the origins of his name. Long story short, his mother was raped by his father’s brother. Even with the name Cain, Dr. Feldor has seen lot of success during his lifetime. He has an enlightening view of the world and has been one of my favorite guest speakers to date. I must remind myself to buy one of his books sometime.

Monique Smith

Freshman Seminar Lecture 3 (9/16/10)

On the 16^th of September, Dr. Eleanor Traylor gave a speech in my Freshman Seminar class. I really enjoyed the intro of her speech because I could really relate to it. It was exactly how I felt when I got to Howard. I was actually very disappointed when I first stepped foot on Howard’s campus. While that feeling hasn’t changed much, that’s a story for a different day. During the course of Dr.. Traylor’s speech, she added several new words to our vocabulary including “bisonage,” HUSAD, and “bisonish.” I learned several things during her speech including facts about Ernest Everett Just as well as the fact that Newsweek considers Howard to be the most diverse college in the DC area and perhaps in the entire nation. From here, Dr. Traylor starting giving the class “assignments” to do. While most of them seemed like they would be enlightening and fun, students have lives and work to do for other classes. I could see where she was going though. If I had more free time, I would have done most of her “assignments.” When Dr. Traylor started assigning her projects, she started losing most of the class. Instead of focusing on her speech and the information that she was giving us, most of us were worrying about how to get this extra work done. She should have explained that none of these events would actually count towards our grades. Because she didn’t, many of the students started talking due to their surprise. This was rude but it could have been avoided altogether.

Monique Smith

Dr. Gbadegesih

This week in freshman seminar, we received a lecture from Dr. Segun Gbadegesin. He is a professor in the College of Art and Sciences, who came from Africa. He gave us a lecture in which the contemporary topic was paying homage. In the lecture, he introduced us to an African story named Iwa.Iwa means existence and the character we have become. The moral of the story was to treat others with respect and to appreciate what we have. In doing so, we are paying homage because we are not taking anything for granted. Dr.Gbadegesin also talked about his early education.. He said he has learned a lot about influential philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle however, he has not heard about the Ancient Egyptians. Although, influential philosophers got many of their ideas from the Ancient Egyptians but gave them little or no credit. Before these philosophers, there existed the Principles of Maat, The books of instructions, the pyramid texts, and the coffin text which laid the foundation for modern day morals and customs. Ancient Egypt was also influenced by other regions of Africa. Throughout many times of the year, there occurred many migrations in Africa. This caused cultural diffusion to occur, which is how Ancient Egypt was influenced by the rest of Africa. Dr. Gbadegesin’s lecture taught me to pay homage to those who laid the foundation for me.

Christian Nestor

Dr. Gbadegesih's Lecture - Jahna Carolina

Dr. Gbadegesih’s lecture was extremely influential. I enjoyed his lecture in Omuluabi, which means good character. Dr. Gbadegesish made self-actualization the main topic of his lectures. He made it a point to place strong emphasis on this topic. I really enjoyed listening to him speak and it was definitely a lecture that I will remember. The points that he made will forever stay in my memory. I now have a better understanding of the purpose of man and what we were set on Earth to do. He told a story about a woman named Iwa who was very beautiful. Along with Iwa, there was a man named Orunmila, who is the God of Wisdom. In this story Iwa was the daughter of patience and the granddaughter of pain. The point of this story was to warn us that if we indulge ourselves in fraudulent businesses, we will lose our character, which will in turn, cause us to lose everything. He also told us that there is an African thought that that believes everyone has his or her own destiny. We are all placed on this earth to achieve a goal, no matter how big or small that goal may be. Dr. Gbadegesin also talked about the writings before the 10 Commandments. The Principles of Ma’at are based upon truth, justice, order, balance, and harmony. Ma’at is the daughter of the Sun God. Although Ma’at is the Sun God she is still required to abide by Ma’at, along with the other Gods.

Jahna Carolina

Dr. Felder's Lecture - Jahna Carolina

This week’s lecture by Dr. Felder was very influential. He spoke mainly of freedom and justice. I liked that he was able to capture our attention without trying exceptionally hard to do so. His voice was very soothing yet empowering making it nearly impossible not to listen to what he had to say. He did a good job stating his opinions and not once did I forget how he felt about freedom and justice. He was also very passionate about his stance on freedom and justice and was not afraid to show that. Dr. Felder defined black Diaspora as the dispersal of people outside of the African Continent. He defined freedom as a person’s right to exercise choices. He also stated that freedom is solely a conditional state of being. According to Dr. Felder, “freedom has consequences.” He also said that Adam and Eve had choices and they chose the wrong one’s. Dr. Felder believes that the Bible, written by men, portrays women in a negative way. He believes that women are portrayed as lesser than equal. Jesus is the justice of God and if you want to be a practitioner of justice you must practice religion and God. He is a firm believer that we are not living in a free world although it is displayed that way. He says that if we were incarcerated her, how ironic is it that we’re called free. They made the choice to bring us here and therefore made our freedom. Therefore, we are not entirely free. 

Jahna Carolina

Dr. Taylor's Lecture

This week’s lecture was defiantly one of kind. Dr. Taylor is an extraordinary women, and story teller. Dr. Taylor managed to keep my attention throughout the entire class period just as all the rest of the speakers did. She was able to engage the whole audience and make us laugh. A lot of the terminology she used during the lecture like “dumbass-ification” was something that made everyone pay attention. Not to say that that’s the way we like to speak, but it’s a way in which our attention is grabbed. It a word that many of us never heard before and made us curious to find out what it meant. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Taylor from just being able to experience her presence one time. She is very intelligent and wise. Dr. Taylor started off her lecture with the significance of Diversity in Higher Education. She mentions that Howard University was one of the most diverse institutions of higher learning, if not the most. Dr. Taylor also spoke about a very important person, Ronald W. Walters who was actually a professor at Howard University. Before this lecture I had never really knew who Mr. Walters was but after hearing the significance of him, and about the sit-in I was glad to have learned about it. It made it even more significant to me because during the week I saw the funeral procession coming through the campus going to Crampton for his memorial service. He was great man.

Dr. Traylor's Lecture - Jahna Carolina

This weeks “lecture” could not even really be called a lecture, but instead a story. Dr. Traylor did a phenomenal job of capturing our attention throughout the entire presentation. She made it a point to engage us because she knew it was a big group and she wanted to keep us all entertained. She did not feel the need to yell at us, but instead talk with us. She kept telling us how smart and intelligent we were just by the aura we were giving off, which let me know that she is a very kind lady. I appreciated the fact that she wanted all of us close to her so that we could further engage in her lecture. She was also funny and silly which allowed us to further engage throughout the entire presentation. She spoke of life and how ours has just begun by us attending Howard University. Dr. Traylor showed us many power point articles about diversity in higher education. There will always be jobs in higher education because people will always want to learn more. There are many different types of learning and different branches of teaching that one can go into so there will always be a need for professors. Of course, you may have to work a little harder than most to earn a higher degree to teach in higher levels but the hard work will pay off in the long run. It is important that people are educated to their fullest potential.

Jahna Carolina

Freshman Seminar Lecture 2 (9/9/10)

Last week in Freshman Seminar, we had a guest speaker. We were told that she was going to talk to us about the Human Genome Project. I was really excited because I had read a lot about the project and am even considering getting my DNA tested to find out exactly where my ancestors came from. So, needless to say, I couldn't wait to hear from Dr. Dunston, our guest speaker. The lecture given was a bit of a let down. The entire time she was talking it seemed like she was doing an intro to a speech. I was waiting for her to talk about the project and to tell us if she got her roots traced back. Every once I awhile, it seemed like she was about to reach that point, but it never came. She also kept going off on these strange tangents. Before I wrote this, I kept trying to find something nice to say about this lecture, but I have to say how I really feel. Maybe I was just expecting too much. She did have a powerpoint presentation but she didn’t use it until the last thirty seconds of class. Something I did find interesting is that Howard has a National Genome Center. This is news to me. Maybe Howard should make this more widely known because not every college has one. Even though I didn’t like this lecture much this week, I still appreciate Dr. Dunston taking time out of her schedule to come talk to us, because she really didn’t have to do that. Who knows, maybe somebody else in the class really enjoyed it.

Freshman Seminar Lecture 1 (9/2/10)

Two weeks ago, Dr. Carr led the lecture in my Thursday Freshman Seminar class. So far, due mainly to Dr. Carr, Freshman Seminar seems like it’s not going to be the class I expected, although that might be a good thing. I thought, in this class, I was going to learn a little about the history of Howard, some information about how to help out in the community, and some information on the ins and outs of Howard. It looks like I’ll have to learn much of that on my own, but I don’t really mind, at least if class keeps going the was this lecture went. In this lecture, Dr. Carr talked about African history in a way I’ve never heard it told before. He was very passionate and he didn’t sugarcoat anything, which I appreciated. He had a powerpoint ready but he skipped around all over the place. Usually, I would have found this to be distracting, but it really meshed well with his speaking style. The only thing that could have made the class better is if it could have went on longer than the hour it was scheduled for. At the end of the class, Dr. Carr played a piece of music by an artist whose name currently escapes me. He narrated the music by telling the story of the history of black people. It highlighted our struggles and our determination to make our lives better. I have to say, out of all of my classes, Freshman Seminar is by far my favorite. I’m glad Howard requires transfer students like me to take it, but I wish they would name it something different.

Dr. Dunston's Lecture on the Human Genome project

Dr. Dunston's lecture last thursday was very informative. I had no Interest in the human Genome project but through her very uplifting lecture I am now very interested in where my ancestor come from in Africa. My roots have never been any interest to me but now through the Human genome project I want to take an active interest in finding where my ancestor came from in Africa. There are endless possibilities in which my ancestor could have come from for all I know they could be from Egypt, Nigeria , or even Ghana. I have Dr Dunston to thank for my renewed interest in the roots of my ancestors.

Chris Nestor

Dr. Dunston's Lecture - Jahna Carolina

Dr. Dunston’s lecture was also one that was enlightening. I was not aware exactly what the Human Genome Project was until Dr. Dunston spoke of it. Because of this lecture I am know more interested in doing more research on the Human Genome Project. I had no idea how big this project really is. I had no idea that our genes actually listen to us and respond to us based on experiences- the more that we experience, the more that we can learn. There are even ways that you can get personalized medicine that can match our genome type. Thinking is a biological process. We must think about everything and anything we possibly can. We must think about what we think about. As Einstein mentioned, “thinking is a reality that resides in you.” She also mentioned that knowledge is power and in order to truly be successful, we must have power. If you want to be successful you have to be willing to take the time to learn all the knowledge you possibly can to avoid becoming ignorant. She mentioned that your battleground is your mind.  I personally enjoyed this quote because your mind is everything, which goes back to the statement that knowledge is power. Dr. Dunston was very passionate in her talk about the Human Genome Project and her feelings about knowledge. She really believes and wants us to believe that knowledge really is everything. She was able to keep my attention because of her emotion throughout the lecture.

Jahna Carolina

Dr. Dunstons Lecture

The lecture presented by Dr. Georgia Dunston was very inspiring. I think she did a very good job in the way that she delivered the message. Dr. Dunston was able to touch on a lot of different topics and facts that I never knew about. She was able to present the information in a way that I was able to actually take in and interpret. She was a very good speaker and she was able to keep my attention throughout the whole lecture. I was impressed by all of Dr. Dunston accomplishments. Dr. Dunston has accomplished a lot in here life time. Dr. Dunston was the founder of the national human genome research center and also a professor and former chair of the department of microbiology and graduate adjunct professor the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Howard University. That’s a lot to jungle for one person, and the fact that she did is very impressive. The one thing that she talked about that I really took in the most, was when she was talking about the genomes. I had never really understood the makeup of genomes. She was able to break it down and explain it in a very cool way. She explained that genomes were exactly like record books. Record books went way back into our time as people, and African Americans especially. The main concept in the lecture to me was that knowledge is very important. Knowledge and wisdom are one of the same. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Dr. Carr's Lecture - Jahna Carolina

Dr. Carr’s lecture was extremely enlightening and inspirational to me. I was able to better understand my culture and heritage after listening to his lecture. His passion and feelings definitely came out during his lecture and I enjoyed watching him become so passionate about his speech. He spoke of subjects that I feel we, as an audience, were all able to relate to.  I appreciated the fact that he was able to keep my attention throughout the entire lecture. I never knew how much of a role that African American’s played in the creation of reading and writing in the world. It was great to hear that many of the creations throughout the world originated because of the African people. It was encouraging to hear this because you don’t hear of the great accomplishments that African American’s have achieved.  Instead, we are taught what the European’s were able to create and discover. I fully understand that African American’s did not create everything but now I know that we did in fact have a big part in many of the things that were started in this world. Dr Carr’s lecture left me with a sense of pride and I am overly confident and honored to call myself an African American. The way that Dr. Carr was able to summarize the entire lecture with Louis Armstrong was impressive. It was intriguing to watch him dance and create our entire in a three-minute song. I will never forget what I learned that day because he was able to make his lecture entertaining and unforgettable.

Jahna Carolina

Dr. Carr's lecture

Dr. Carr’s Lecture was very educational, and one of a kind to me. I took a lot from the lecture, and learned a lot of things that I was never introduced to throughout my life. The things he brought up and talked about where things that I feel every black and non-black person in the public school systems in American, and around the world should know before reaching a collegiate level of education. The way in which the speech was delivered also made it very easy to take in and understand everything being said. Dr. Carr did a real good job and kept my attention the entire time. One part of the speech that stood out to me the most was finding out that so many of the things that we depend on the most in America, and the things that helped build the country we are today, were because of black people. A lot of times we are made to believe that black people had very little contribution to the makes and works of society today. I never knew that the whole alphabet and calendar system was something brought on by blacks, and changed around by other people. I feel it’s all something that was just “mistakenly” left out of the history classes that we all took, and the classes that our children in the future will be taking. I’m glad I was able to take in all that was being said through the lecture, and really understand it all.

Research Question

What are the major problems that affect the African American community and what can be done to prevent them?