My Grandmother: An African American Woman

Alice Malsenior Walker, an African American born into poverty, came into this world on February 9, 1944 in Eatonon, Georgia. She was the youngest child of eight children born to Willie Lee and Minnie Tallulah Walkers. Both of her parents were sharecroppers as well as expert story tellers. Things were not easy for the Walkers and Alice often witnessed her mother’s frustration of having the burden to take care of eight children with little means. Even though children of share croppers were usually made to work the fields, Alice’s mother made sure that her kids received an education. Alice was brilliant at writing poetry.

As a diverse student, in a very low income community I have always been known to standing up for others, as well as for myself. Having this natural drive i found myself taking a huge role in our high school Beta Club. As a natural leader, I was challenged with the opportunity to represent our high school’s Beta Club Chapter while running for North Carolina Beta Secretary. Although I felt experienced as a leader, I was really nervous to get up in front of all of North Carolina and give a speech at the Beta Club convention. Although I was nervous, I opened my mouth, and the words just began to come out. My fears went away, and I addressed everyone on topics of educational improvements and opportunities for all students to succeed. I used this

It was near the end of winter 2005, when my grand-aunt suddenly fell ill. In a short period of time her illness worsened and the doctors informed my family, my grand-aunt only had a couple of months to live. The news was devastating to my family as we watched a vivacious, independent, and outspoken woman, who enjoyed shopping, reading mystery novels and spending time with family become very weak and confined to her bed. Instead of placing my grand-aunt in a hospice facility, my family and I, with the assistance of a hospice nurse cared for my grand-aunt in her home until her passing.

In this study, the authors Francine Conway, Carolyn Springer, Carol Magai and Samuel C. Jones analyze the results of optimism and pessimism in grandmothers who are the initial caregivers of their grandchildren. Researchers are trying to find if character traits such as optimism and pessimism have an outcome on the psychological and physical health of grandmothers who take care of their grandchildren. It seems that the intended audience is of an older crowd particularly those interested in studying cases similar to this article or having to do with psychological studies about personality traits. 67 Latino and African American grandmothers who are the essential caretakers for their grandchildren were the participants in this study. These grandmothers

Dorothy Dandridge may seem to be like a beautiful and strong African American woman on the outside, but on the inside she held in a lot of pain. Dorothy Dandridge is an actress, singer, and entertainer, who no longer walk this green Earth, but when she did, she made history. Dorothy was the first African American actress to achieve a leading-role status. Dorothy also had a deeply troubled life and racism didn’t make her life any easier especially when it came to achieving her dreams, but she got through it and during her time, the early 1930’s through the 1960’s, that was saying something. Racism was a lot worse then what it is now, but it made it harder for African Americans to achieve their goals, especially African American women. Dorothy was very worth looking up to now and when she was alive. Dorothy Dandridge is a contribution to African American history because she was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, how she fought all odds against her, mainly racism, and she made it possible to for other African American women to follow in her footsteps and look up to her as a role model.

Primarily in this semester , we will talked about what we learned so far on African American leaders that used their voices and education to talk to their crowds, like Frederick Douglass who believed that we should act not as if were not a part of the world and ignore what may be happening to others but to stand up and take ownership by acting and making a nation a whole of happiness rather than a tragedy for others , Douglass uses pathos with his imagery and figurative language that provokes an emotional response, by connecting his audience on how it may feel to be without a family and how it feels not to be welcomed in a community by the color of your skin , he also implies how using the Fourth of July as a state of being free is an understatement because freedom is still not for all . he also used ethos such as being a credible source of his own life experience that he has been through being a slave himself and striving for freedom. And lastly, he used logos meaning his reason for why he was giving a speech on why slavery is wrong and how peace will not be as a community if it can’t be for a whole nation.

In her speech “Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s through the Age of Obama,” Angela Davis argues that Black history involves a constant struggle for freedom. This struggle is meant to expand the liberties of not only Black people, but of all marginalized people, and it has occurred throughout history in all parts of the world. As a result, Davis asserts that Black history and activism are universally relatable. She continues to discuss activism in her speech, at one point declaring, “we have to learn how to imagine the future in terms that are not restricted to our own lifetimes” (Davis 117). Her declaration means that social change does not come about if people passively accept the world’s current state. Instead, social change occurs when people “imagine the future” (117) that they wish to live in and work at shaping all aspects of society so that it will progress towards the future they envisioned.

“It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are, if you don't use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem”(A Quote by Coretta Scott King) Coretta Scott King devoted her life to positive change and was never content to stay silent when she saw injustice. Coretta Scott King was an amazing African-American woman who persevered through many struggles to play a big role in the Civil Rights Movement and carry on her husband's legacy.

My freshman and sophomore year at Savanna I participated in colorguard which is something I thought I would never in a million years be a part of. The reason I thought this was because, first of all I had no interest or experience in anything that related to dancing and secondly I just couldn’t picture myself performing in front of so many people. Colorguard has thought me a lot and I don’t mean just how to toss and catch a flag, I mean life lessons but I think the most important thing that it has taught me is to have confidence in myself. One of the biggest differences between colorguard and most other sports is that you are not simply judged on if you can do something but also how well you can do something.

Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” This talks about don’t give up your dreams and make them happen. “ Now i’ve been free, i know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but i never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave.” this talks about she is willing to help all of the slaves and help all people.

Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter from a Birmingham Jail.  " We can never

After finishing this amazing, exciting, and eye-opening literary journey through the different authors’ perspectives on the African-American history, it is difficult to say what I am taking with me to my country. However, I can say that I am not the same person that I was when I started this course. I would like to star by saying that I already finished all my courses at my home university, so I had the opportunity to take any subject in this university, because I do not have to validate them, however, I will never regret taking this course. I have grown, and now I feel that I can be a better teacher. So far, I was proud of me, because I have achieved things that are not common for indigenous people. My parents are so proud of me, I am the first out of five brothers in going to the

If you're the mother of an African-American child then you'll appreciate my struggle. You know the one of washing and combing your African-American child's hair. Madison was born with a head full of hair and the older she got, the thicker it became. Our hair is characterized by numbers, with the higher number, the kinkier the hair is. Like most of my kids, Madison has different textures throughout as we're a mixture of heritage. My maternal great-grandmother was European from Portugal, while my paternal side of the family are Carib Indians who originate from the Caribbean, so while she does have kinky hair, it's also curly with looser curls. Nevertheless, it can be hard to manage especially after washing. You may remember me saying that I very

I grew up in a small village in Mexico where there were no health care professionals. My grandmother was one of the women in the village who would take care of the sick. The knowledge and wisdom she gained over the years was passed on to my mother. One day, I remember my mother asking me to accompany her. It was late at night, all of the dogs would bark at us as we walked by, and I did not know where we were going. We came to the house of a sick child. It was then, I realized that my mother had been asked to come and give the child medicine. The privilege of getting to help the child get well again gave me a sense of accomplishment. What we had done there guided me to strive for something that would give me that same sense of accomplishment. In 1996, my family and I got the opportunity to move to the United States. As a little girl, I did not understand how such a sad and difficult goodbye would bring me to a better future. A place that has brought me closer, than I had ever thought, to accomplishing my dream of becoming a pharmacist. I am grateful for of all of the opportunities that living and studying in the United States has brought.

Through my leadership experiences at SCSU, I have grown into a strong, independent, and courage woman. This past spring semester, I took the opportunity to apply and be accepted to present at M.E.Ch.A.’s national conference about my independent studies course that I developed. I never imagined to share my cultural experiences on that level and have professors comment afterward about how they enjoy my presentation. There have been opportunities where I was able to discuss with administrators among other students and our concerns on campus issues facing students of color directly to them. I have met strong, academic leaders and students at conferences that have exposed me to love and embrace my cultural identity, indigenous roots, femininity, strength, and personal struggles. The education program gave me the opportunity to continue learning in another location for student teaching, which again has exposed me to new experiences, people, environments, and academic challenges. I no longer view challenges as obstacles, rather I view them as tests to help me remember how worth it, the path I am on and pursing, is to me. When I first started my freshman year in fall 2012, I could have never imagined that I would do and come as far as I have. I remember when I began this journey, I said to myself that I would graduate