Reflection Paper

My family has an interesting history, with the fact being that we did not just appear, my great parents were likely slaves; I know that my great-great grandparents were. Since slavery did not end very long ago it is a pain that still lingers though I had never experienced the fullness of slavery myself. The historical monstrosity that took place then translates itself into the subtle monstrosity between blacks and whites today. I am aware of my place in America as not only a woman, but as a black woman. I am aware of the racial profiling I will receive based on the color of my skin, and I am aware that I have had family members to thrive despite the barriers of race and ethnicity. Therefore, I have taken the initiative - even before this paper - to understand my family background and why the color of my skin is an immense determination of my trajectory in life. Regardless, I have had the chance to learn as much as I can from a people whose identity were stolen from them long ago.

My father was born on January 27, 1955, in New Orleans, Louisiana; my mother, July 17,1960 in Los Angeles, California. My father’s name is George Ramon Reed, he is the second child to my deceased grandmother, Nancy Reed. This is of the siblings he is aware of. Nancy was born on January 17, 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana–according to my father. My father’s sister, Elizabeth Reed-Paul was born on June 23, 1941 in New Orleans. My father’s father, George Robert Reed was born in Alabama, we are unsure of which city or his date of birth. My grandmother Nancy moved her family, my father and my aunt, to California after her mother-Cecilia Gussett, died when my father was around age two. Her father’s name was David Gussett, both assumed to be born in New Orleans...

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... understand. It has been a weakness of mind because of the way blacks and whites are portrayed on media; however that has turned into a strength by me fighting to see the world despite the truth of white privilege like in Mark 8:35-37. It has made me dig deeper despite racism being a taboo on Biola’s campus and in American culture. “Why don’t you forget the past,” they say or even worst, they claim colorblindness. It feels forgotten that all races are made in the image of God - imago Dei - and we are all his offspring according to Acts 17: 26-28. We all can’t “just get along,” if we don’t accept the differences for what they are and move past senses of entitlement. Biola has taught me many things on top of taking a Social Inequality class and being involved in Multi-Ethnic Programs and Development, but there’s still a long way to go-for myself and the University.