African American Legacy

In America, we are told that it is the land where everything and anything is possible. For many years, it wasn’t like that for African American. With many hard work, strength, and courage African American manage to earn the right to an education. To the African American community education became more of a need than a want. We’ve learn that education is such a powerful asset that with it you are unstoppable. You can do so much if you put your time and energy to it. Having an education to African American is the one hope for a brighter and better

Growing up on the Westside of Chicago taught me that zeal, tenacity and drive were invaluable skills needed to prosper as an African American woman. As a Bill Gates Millennium scholar I have continue to push and become more successful and I have always been dedicated to every community involvement and academic endeavor I embark upon. I am no stranger to hard work. Living in a single family home being the only girl it was not easy to find that sister love and support to help me transition into college

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

Over the course of this semester, I was introduced to many people, ideas, writings, and discussions that sparked my interest and enlightened me on African American history. However, I feel like this was just the beginning of my journey of learning the history of my people, as there is still so much out there to be brought to the surface. Prior to taking this course, I was always ignorant on the topic of African American history and simply made the connection to slavery. Additionally, I was unaware of other black activist, movements, and struggles that I had the chance to witness for the first time in this class. I came to a realization of how deprived of this information I was, because other historic events have been deemed more important. A quote that stuck with me throughout the course that was made by Arthur Schomburg was, “... African history and negro history, are the missing pages of world history”.

I think it is important to understand that African people have been present on this Earth for a very long time, long before white people decided to rip them from their homes. Many people of America don’t know the true history of Africa and that Africans are the true creators of civilization. Because of this lack of knowledge about our history, I think many people don’t know the greatness that black people are capable of. We come from a long legacy of kings and queens, but many people think of us as thugs and felons and unfortunately some of our people perpetuate this myth. The study of the African experience is important because it is necessary to know where we come from in order to understand where we can go. Reading is the best way to learn more about our history. This semester one of the books that we are reading is Something Torn and New by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong 'o and he talks about the disembodiment of the African people.

Historically black colleges and universities, otherwise known as HBCUs, have played an integral role in advancing the education of underprivileged black teenagers since their inception after the American Civil War. They have had students extremely well known in their fields today, such as billionaire entertainer Oprah Winfrey, the first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. Though their graduation rates tend to be around 1 in 3, they have produced a majority of successful African American professionals. For the continued advancement of African Americans, HBCUs are necessary for offering educational opportunities that their students had been historically denied and presently out of financial reach, while promoting strong family values and equality that may be lacking at traditional schools and displaying positive African American role models in their alumni and staff.

I am the first to go to graduate college in my family. As such, I faced many struggles in my undergraduate career in that I did not have family or peers to turn to for support and resources that would help me in college. Yet, that adversity taught me about perseverance—moving forward when all seemed lost—and my schooling at CSU East Bay taught me that my struggles form part of a larger history of struggle by the poor, disenfranchised, and marginalized, many of who are today, unfortunately, African Americans. These experiences, in turn, play a significant role in my decision to pursue a graduate education and they now form a critical component in my ability to find ways to overcome barriers to higher education.

The African Student Association is collaborating with the Women's Union, World Around U, and Diversity Office to bring in Mary Olushoga, a Union alumni for a speaker series. Mary is a well-known female entrepreneur, who’s work (AWP Network) has focused on empowering female entrepreneurs from developing nations. Bringing Mary to Union fosters community and diversity at Union College by giving students a first-hand experience of a Union alumni making a difference in the world. Mary has a lot of amazing stories to share with the students here on campus. I believe exposing the students to a success story such as Mary will not only inspire them in their dreams, but it will also motivate students to make a difference, and perhaps to be leading examples

Community involvement and education are important to me, and as I make my way in the world, I never forget about where I came from. I realized early in life that attending college would be my greatest opportunity to beat the odds for a young man coming up in this era of crime, drugs and violence. It’s a well-known fact; the African-American male incarceration rate is much higher than our college graduation rate, so the odds are against young men who look like me. This reality is what inspires me to do more to help African-Americans and specifically young people in my community.

When I made the decision to achieve a higher education in pursue my passion for social change. I was met with disdain. I’m a nontraditional college student, thirty-one, African American female, and a mother of a six year old son. Being told by society that because of my age, race and the labeling of being a single parent I’m expected to not achieve much conversely I did not allow this frame to keep me confined to this idea that was placed on others like myself. Coming from a family that has little means, the thought of attempting to attend college was far-fetched, something that was merely impossible to achieve. I am the second person in my family that achieved a high school diploma the first to attend college. I grew up in Oakland, in a

Correspondingly, living in the Southside and getting into college or even completing all four years of high school can be challenging because teenagers in my community join gangs or drop out, knowing that they cannot afford to pay for college. However, I want to be an exception and want to complete college. By making organizations that enlighten minorities about college and career options, we would defy set stereotypes and establish new expectations for

I fervently believe in the profound way in which higher education opens doors of opportunity and serves as a catalyst for change, as my upbringing was a product of it. Unlike my father, born in 1942 in Mississippi, I was shielded from the struggles many families experience in seeking a better life. And though I am not a first generation college student, listening to snippets of the experience he selectively shares, and imagining all that he overcame as a black male at a time of great strife in our country, reminds me that the struggle is not so distant in history. It is reflected, more than half a century later, in today’s less privileged and disenfranchised students who seek higher education. I find it is my belief in access to education that drives my own pursuit, as I re-enter the classroom on my journey towards a doctorate degree.

For many years' African American experience in the United States have been very rough. Many African Americans were brought to America in 1619 involuntary, until the end of slavery in 1808. The first group of African immigrates was in August of 1619, and only consisted of 20 voluntary immigrants. This group was placed in Jamestown where they worked off their debts. Once these voluntary immigrants were finished working off their debts they became masters. However, Millions of African Americans were forced into slavery and moved to the United States. Many of the immigrants from other groups recreated the society they left behind, but sadly Africans were not allowed to. These other groups of immigrants were allowed to use education to better themselves and their children but Africans weren't allowed to. In the south, the State law made it a criminal offense to educate slaves.

As a student from an inner-city school, my experiences have bred a type of yearning and appreciation for the potential of a good, college education. I held the values of a family and community who taught me that whatever I sought after, I could achieve. These values that were instilled in me, have gone on to render me an active community member, as well as a strong, influential African American female who made selfless acts.

At her commencement Speech in at Bowie State University in 2014, Michelle Obama questioned the decline in the will of African-Americans toward getting a higher education since 1800s till today. Michelle Obama stated that back in the days “Education meant nothing less than freedom. It meant economic independence, a chance to provide for their families”(1) Rather than pursuing a college degree, many of these students are either dropping out, staying home and playing video games are becoming footballers and rappers. They lost their understanding of the true value of education. We usually don’t just lose an understanding of something; there must be reasons that cause us to move away from something that valuable.