Reflection on Oral History Interview Conducted as Part of Black History at SMU Project. The Black History Project at SMU is a pilot project that explores the history of black students at SMU. The project was designed to preserve the stories of black students at SMU for the younger generation and research purposes. The interviews range from the first black students to integrate the university in the 1960s until the 2000s. Ms. Pleasant, who graduated from SMU in 2008 from the Meadows school of Art with a double major in Art History and Dance is interviewed. In this audiotaped interview, Ms. Pleasant shares her experience as a black female in the Meadows school. She discusses her background, factors that influenced her decision to come to SMU, …show more content…
Pleasant, graduated from SMU in 2008, so she was not part of the students that integrated SMU. However, she still provides insight into the struggles that she had, and other black students may have experienced as early as 10 years ago. She does this through the clear and coherent way she narrates her story, and the distinct emotions that can be read from her voice as she talks. From the tone of her voice, which ranged from serious to joking and sometimes quiet and reflective, the listener can connect with the emotions she felt at the time. In Oral History, the way the person feels is just as important as the story they tell and conveys the significance of the experience and its impact. Ms. Pleasant talks about the student evaluations she had to do every semester as a dance major. She sat in a room full of professors and listened as they criticized and made negative comments about her character and appearance and not so much her academic performance which is what evaluations might be expected to be about. When she describes this, the listener can read the hurt and anger from her voice, which reflects her emotions both in the present and at the time she was being evaluated. Emotions are important to the interpretation of oral history, because the historian can read between the lines and discover something that was not explicitly discussed. This experience tells, in a subtle way, how being black may have to an extent affected the academic performance of black students. We could infer that for Ms. Pleasant and other black students with similar experiences, they were not discriminated against in their academic work directly, that is they were graded fairly. Though their grades may have been said to reflect their true performance with no bias, their work may have been affected indirectly through emotional and psychological effects. The clarity of her narration and the emotions expressed through her tone are important tools for interpretation of oral history, and
In Wright’s case, he was continually discriminated and kept segregated for the majority of his life. To signify his naive childhood, he sold newspapers that incriminated and discriminated African Americans without his knowing. His father left him at a young age, and he was teased and harassed for being even remotely intelligent and yearning for higher education, yearning for a better life. He even describes that “Every word and gesture [Wright] made seemed to provoke hostility. […]. “ One detrimental individual told him “Who on Earth put such ideas into your n***** head?”(Wright pg. 147) For being valedictorian, his principal attempted to manipulate him to appeal to the Caucasian audience. His rebellious nature led to him reading his own speech; this serves in itself a precursor of Wright’s future impact on society. His isolation from society(“I had already begun to sense that my feelings varied too far from those of the people around me for me to blab about what I felt.” (pg. 306)), his well-written speech, his excellent grades despite the constant harassment
Stewart’s essay “The Field and Function of Black Studies”, he implies that black history is dominated by continuing challenges by its critics and the weak attachment of many scholars to the black studies movement and to black studies units even when the research of such scholars examines the black experience (pg. 45). Statistics show that 70.2 percent indicated that the number of full-time faculty members who have appointments outside black studies and another academic units is stable, proving the fact that black studies has established a beachhead in higher education. This statistic demonstrates how things have been stable in terms of growing the teachings of black studies, which causes challenges. A challenge that can be seen from this issue, is the lack of financial support available to faculty and students. Small budgets are provided to Black Study departments at many universities, therefore, making it difficult to purchase materials and hire more educated, experienced staff
America have a long history of black’s relationship with their fellow white citizens, there’s two authors that dedicated their whole life, fighting for equality for blacks in America. – Audre Lorde and Brent Staples. They both devoted their professional careers outlying their opinions, on how to reduce the hatred towards blacks and other colored. From their contributions they left a huge impression on many academic studies and Americans about the lack of awareness, on race issues that are towards African-American. There’s been countless, of critical evidence that these two prolific writers will always be synonymous to writing great academic papers, after reading and learning about their life experience, from their memoirs.
Integration and the University of Mississippi. Cartoon. New York Times [New York] 30 Sept. 1962: 1.
In the 1960s black student unions were created as a stepping stone for African Americans everywhere to voice their social concern and culture on college campuses everywhere. The black student union created in September of 2015 on Post University’s Campus was created to address pressing social issues in the black community while bridging the gap between all races through education. Through the use of planning and strategic management, the possibilities of success of the black student union becomes endless.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Sue both demonstrate from their research that Whites do not comprehend the impact of their unconscious biases. These biases towards students of colour in a white-based post-secondary school environment can result in stress and weak interracial relationships. This is an issue since the significance of these everyday actions is not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and faculty.
Anne Moody had thought about joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), but she never did until she found out one of her roommates at Tougaloo college was the secretary. Her roommate asked, “why don’t you become a member” (248), so Anne did. Once she went to a meeting, she became actively involved. She was always participating in various freedom marches, would go out into the community to get black people to register to vote. She always seemed to be working on getting support from the black community, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Son after she joined the NAACP, she met a girl that was the secretary to the ...
The American society, more so, the victims and the government have assumed that racism in education is an obvious issue and no lasting solution that can curb the habit. On the contrary, this is a matter of concern in the modern era that attracts the concern of the government and the victims of African-Americans. Considering that all humans deserve the right to equal education. Again, the point here that there is racial discrimination in education in Baltimore, and it should interest those affected such as the African Americans as well as the interested bodies responsible for the delivery of equitable education, as well as the government. Beyond this limited audience, on the other hand, the argument should address any individual in the society concerned about racism in education in Baltimore and the American Society in
...to understand their experiences through their exposure and interactions with such incidents to foster their persistence and success in college. This research will not only help uncover the navigational strategies these women have employed to overcome oppressive barriers such as racism and sexism but also to identify the impact of these experiences on the development of their academic aspirations. The overall impact of this research is two-fold: at the macro level findings can benefit those in program and resource development to create effective programming and strategies to support women of color success in college. Along the same lines, the benefits of this research at the micro-level include promoting awareness among young women of color about the strategies that other women of color have adopted to overcome these challenges and reach their educational goals.
As an African American male, I experienced inequality, and judgment from individuals that have no idea what kind of person I truly am. As a youth, I received a lackluster education, which has resulted in me underachieving in a number of my college classes. It has come to my attention that other colored students are currently experiencing and receiving the same inadequate learning environment and educatio...
“Nationally, more than one-quarter of the students in the 1930s were black. Yet they received only about one-tenth of the total education revenues. Many Americans believed that African Americans were simply not capable of excelling in school” (“The 1930’s education…”). For colored women, it was more difficult to prove their abilities than any other race. For example, Asian women were not affected as much simply because their skin color was closer to that of a white’s than a black person. As black women were treated unequally in the education department, white women have also struggled in getting a higher education. “They gave young women a chance to gain the same kinds of education as their brothers without having to spend much of their time and energy fighting the prejudice they would have faced at male-dominated institutions. At the same time, they provided a proving-ground in which college administrators, professors, and students could demonstrate that women could flourish intellectually while remaining healthy and ladylike.” (“The Value
In an expressive voice, Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five years ago. She describes the children as trembling "visibly with anticipation" and the teachers being "respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors." Although it is autobiographical, an omniscient voice in the first six paragraphs describes how "they" - the black children in Stamps - felt and acted before the omniscient voice changes to a limited omniscient narration in the seventh paragraph. Her eloquent voice skillfully builds the tension as she demonstrates bigotry destroying innocence.
Green, Makiah. “I’m a Scholar, Not a Criminal: The Plight of Black Students at USC.”
The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society. However, many of us only know brief histories regarding these excellent black men and women, because many of our teachers have posters with brief synopses describing the achievements of such men and women. The Black students at this University need to realize that the accomplishments of African Americans cannot be limited to one month per year, but should be recognized everyday of every year both in our schools and in our homes.
In order to fully understand the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as the importance of their preservation and need for continuation, one...