African American Service Experience Paper

I decided to start volunteering at the local humane society because I’ve always been really passionate about animals and wanted to start benefiting them in the community. Prior to my service I was delighted because I’ve wanted to start volunteering for years and was glad the opportunity had presented itself. Throughout my experience I learned a great deal and met a lot of new people. Even though I’ve only just started serving my time at the Fox Valley Humane Association I can truly see the difference it has made in the community.

Service. Challenge. Ethics. The motivation I have for attending a service academy can be summed up in these three words. Growing up in a military family, my life has always revolved around service, challenge and ethics. It is what is imbedded in me and it is what I strive to continue living by.

I think the service was a very good eye opener because I'm the type of person to try new things and like to experience other cultures and as well as religion. I think it's a big deal knowing that I went to this service with shyness but also facing my fears because at the end of the day I know I tried something new even when I hesitated to go in the church by myself. Not only did I feel like I was getting looks I thought I was actually gonna get told to leave just because he color of my skin and I don't know why I thought that but it was just a feeling I had since I had never been to a African American church before especially a baptist church. During the service I was actually feeling the energy that was going on in the room and it made me just want to shout like everybody else but I felt like it was my primary church in a strange way but I really enjoyed every minute of it regardless of what I thought at first when I walked in. After the service was done we had a prayer and he went to people who wanted to be prayed for and it was very at

“Cooning” was a TV show or Film usually they act like idiot behavior that misrepresents African American culture. I think idiot because that shows a deliberate act. Many people called “coons.” Yes, I saw some examples today’s culture some white people still discriminate black people. Some white people were enjoying it, and that seems to some people they insulted African- American behaves. African-American got angry. It was not fair at all that behavior. All are good examples.

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

It is a very well known church that is in Indiana that I’ve never been to before. When I first walked in everyone was so welcoming and friendly. It is a Baptist church with a lot of people in it. During the service the pastor asked if there were any visitors and he asked us to stand. All the members clapped and smiled and the people around me shook my hand and were very kind. The church was very nice before going into the sanctuary there were paintings all over and going in you could tell they were technically savvy. Because it’s a big church, they have big screens so people way in the back can see. They even have a tech station where they do mic checks and they project stuff on to the screens. It was a very nice church and service and I would like to

1 . What issues most concerned black political leaders during Reconstruction? Reconstruction brought important social changes to former slaves. Families that had been separated before and during the Civil War were reunited, and slave marriages were formalized through legally recognized ceremonies. Families also took advantage of the schools established by the Freedmen's Bureau and the expansion of public education, albeit segregated, under the Reconstruction legislatures. New opportunities for higher education also became available with the founding soon after the Civil War of black colleges, such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Fisk University in Nashville,

The black soldiers in war were the African-Americans in the rebel states, who were slaves in the south. They were allowed into the army when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Act of 1962.The black soldiers provided relief and support roles such as cooking and built roads bridges but did not participate in full combat until late towards the end of the war (Smith 2002, pp 47-66).

While I was on the boat, my mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her that I didn't know yet, but I would tell her when I did. I tried looking for my older sister and my father, but they were gone. I profusely demanded my mother to tell me where they went and why they left us here. She replied by saying, "They went on ahead, to make sure the area we stayed at was safe and clean for our arrival." I was so proud of what I thought they were doing that I said, "I want to be like father." After I said that, tears ran down her face as she smiled. There truth was, that my sister died of tuberculosis and father died of smallpox and were both thrown into the sea.

Growing up black history month seemed to be something that was rehearsed, I remember in 4th grade my fellow classmates would choose someone they wanted to be, learn a short dialogue about that person’s life and that was it. Then it got creative, pieces of papers handed out to everyone in the class to color Martian Luther King and Rosa Parks when in all actuality there was more to our history. Over the course of time the perception of African Americans has continued to be the same and even with a legacy of people who have paved the way for us many people don’t seem to appreciate it. Black history month has lost its value over time especially in my generation.

For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.

African Americans served valiantly and with unique excellence in each theater of World War II, while all the while battling for their own social liberties from the world's most prominent majority rules system. Although the United States Armed Forces were formally isolated until 1948, WWII established the framework for post-war reconciliation of the military. In 1941 less than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military and just twelve African Americans had gotten to be officers. By 1945, more than 1.2 million African Americans would serve in uniform on the Home Front, in Europe, and the Pacific.

The government funds healthcare for many demographics in the U.S . . the access to healthcare ranges in care from racial background and ethnics. Hispanics are less likely to receive healthcare coverage because of the demographics. Hispanics may not be able to afford healthcare as to why they do not receive it. Language barriers between Caucasian’s and physicians may hinder diagnosis of conditions. Caucasians are less likely to get checked for colon cancer or high blood pressure from a healthcare provider. African American is usually checked for this disease. African Americans are more likely to have one of these diseases so being checked by a phycians is common. Individuals that live in neighborhoods that are less fortunate do not know information

Throughout history, many different minority groups have been treated unfairly. Although African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans are all minorities, they are similar in the ways of getting treated negatively, but they differ significantly. While some experience different situations in their early histories, stereotypes, discrimination, and other important issues. Some of these minority groups have these issues similar or worse than others.

The African American experience is one that is quite different from other racial/ ethnic groups. The majority of the first African American came over, unwillingly, on ships from various African countries. They were brought to America by white, European settlers to be used as slaves in an order to plant and harvest their crops and make money for the white man. This racial group was treated as if they were property and not people. However, with the ending of the American Civil War, African Americans gained freedom, freedom that not all white American were quite ready to handle. After gaining their freedom came the need for education, jobs and suffrage rights. Now in America this racial group has come a long way, having elected its first African American present for two terms, yet still there are many issues that are very prevalent. This racial group has been fighting their way to equality since the birth of this nation. African Americans have experienced an array of conflict, violence, stereotypes, prejudice acts, and discrimination against them throughout their history in America.