The African Burial Grounds

"You may bury me in the bottom of Manhattan, I will rise.

My people will get me. 

I will rise out of the huts of history's shame." 

- Maya Angelou

       I am writing this one directly from memory, because I took so long to write up about this trip. It was a mix of procrastination and the excitement from homecoming that I believe delayed this entry.

       I remember being extremely tired, in a rush and in a daze preparing to get on a bus to New York. I remember stepping outside of my dorm and turning right back inside to get another sweater. I thought to myself, "If it's that cold here in DC, it will be that much colder in New York." It wasn't my first time traveling to New York. I consider New York to be my home away from home- I have many friends who reside in the Bronx as well as Brooklyn and Manhattan. It wasn't too long of a ride, mostly because everyone slept through it. I remember waking up once and looking around: the whole bus was silent and sleeping. It was a precious sight, really it was. 

      When we arived at the site, it was as cold as I expected it to be. Dr. Carr began our adventure with a prayer and the removal of his sweater. He said that if we only knew how important this site was, we would not be cold. While some tried to understand, other's whispered if they could have his sweater. It was explained to us that in he process of building new buildings, construction workers came across bones, lots of bones. They discovered that this place, this part of New York was the burial grounds for African slaves only so long ago. 

"For all those who were lost

For all those who were stolen

For all those who were left behind

For all those who were not forgotten"

    When we were directed inside of the museum we learned that the slaves took burrying they're dead very seriously. We also learned many other customs that they'd shared.

    And then they let us free into Harlem where everyone shopped and ate. 

    Manhattan won't ever be the same for me. I've been to New York so many times, and it's a shame I'd never known that that was there. I wonder if my parents even know it's there. I wonder if my friends from New York even know it's there. I feel it's my unspoken duty to inform everyone I know, simply because I'm so frustrated with the fact I didn't know. Everyone should know: our ancestors died so that we could see a better day. They deserve more than many thanks. And they at least deserve the acknowledgement of where their bodies were laid to rest.

-Nicole McKinney

Learning, Wisdom and the African World Experience

   The speaker for this class was Dr. Carr. Now although I was originally supposed to be an Afro-American studies major- I had to change it for my minor- I was a huge fan of Dr. Carr. I had heard all about him from friends as well as random students in the Howard University facebook group. I had to hear a lecture from this guy!! And when he walked in and introduced himself as being the speaker for class, I was so excited. He spoke about the many things that originated in Africa, like how writing came from Africa. He also spoke about Egypt and the many discoveries the Egyptians had made, the Gods in which they had worshipped, and the kingdom they had created. Then he went on to show us examples of Egyptian symbols and signs until he ran out of time. There was one thing that stood out to me that Dr. Carr talked about in his speech and that’s the topic of diversity here at Howard. He said something about there being a few whites here and there, some scattered asians, and a few hispanics, but that anyone who stepped on this campus would easily be able to claim Howard as an HBCU. With me being white, I add diversity to the campus, and I feel like there’s a good number of white people here. Just last Friday I was at a party on campus, and there was another white girl there. I see around three or four in crossing each day, which may not seem like a lot, and there’s this one Indian guy that I see almost every day. I feel like as a whole, Howard is expanding its’ diversity and starting to add new races and people of different backgrounds to the campus, which makes the campus more appealing not to just parents with juniors in high school who are beginning their college search, but also to the students on Howard’s campus. With the diversity of the students, people are much more open to ideas and beliefs pertaining to each student, if that makes sense. But in conclusion, I loved hearing Dr. Carr’s intriguing lecture and hearing him talk.

-Rebecca Zoll

Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University

       Today, the speaker was Georgia M. Dunston and she was a very encouraging woman. She was so ecstatic about our arrival at Howard that she barely got to show us her power point slides! She called our generation the “problem solving generation.” She spoke on how the generation before us, which was her generation, messed everything up for us and left us with so many problems and unanswered questions. She said that we are part of the “knowledge revolution” and that knowledge by itself is definitely no guarantee of success, and that you also need wisdom. Her powerpoint began with, "Age of the Human Genome Knowledge." I learned that we have 23 chromosomes and trillions of cells. These cells contain very important information that concerns our appearance as well as some specific talents that we will inherit. She stated that a genome doesn't only tell us about our biology, but also about our history. She then went on to rhetorically ask us, "Who taught the DNA how to make the body?" She informed us that the genome study was the study of human kind. She told us that genomes are the language of God and that they’re also the language of life. I liked her lesson. It was somewhat inspiring and I definitely liked how excited she got about our first year here and how that almost completely distracted her from her presentation.

-Rebecca Zoll

The Eloquence of the Scribes: Initiation, Expectations and Mastery- Continuing the Legacy of Howard University

 I forgot the speakers’ name for this lecture, but she was a woman. She was very strict too because some of the students who were sitting in the front were talking, and the speaker stopped talking to ask the students if they were done with their conversation. She started off her lecture talking about scribes. A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand, or a representation of someone in writing. There were Scribes of Cattle and Scribes of the Field as well as scribes of Architecture, so there were many types of scribes. She then started talking about people like Geneeral Oliver Otis Howard, who Howard University was named after. She talked about Alaine Leroy Locke, Lulu Vere Childers, Frederick Douglass, Ira Aldride, Louis C. Cramton, George Washington Carver, Charles R. Drew, Harriet Tubman and more. She was naming all the people our buildings on campus are named after. She also gave us some background information about them.

I was confused as to why she started off talking about scribes and then she started naming people who our buildings are named after. They have nothing to do with each other. 

-Rebecca Zoll

      Dr. Benjamin S. Carson made a speech for Howard University’s 143rd Convocation. He spoke on these topics: the purpose of a university, the potential that is within each Howard University student, and how to measure success. He made different points about thinking outside of the box and how, individually, we control our own destiny. Along with that, he spoke about success.  He made me think when he asked the students that if we do everything that’s already been done, how do we progress? He advised us to take the talent that God has given us and to use it to help inspire and encourage others. When he stated this, I started thinking about how I could do that. My talent would be dancing and stepping, and my career goal is to run an after-school program in secondary schools teaching step and dance, so I understood what he was saying. He cleverly turned his speech into a story that all the students were able to relate to. He told us how his nickname used to be “dummy” and how he had a talent for getting other students kicked out of class, which was amusing. He spoke about how he was never really the smart one or the brainiac in class and how he didn’t like to listen to his teachers. When he said this, everyone in the audience was smiling and laughing. His speech was personal, but it was incredibly inspiring and encouraging. There was definitely a certain structure to his speech. It was as if he had written an outline for himself and tried to follow it. Nothing seemed very prepared or rehearsed but he still managed to deliver a fantastic speech. The delivery was great and he seemed happy wiht it. He had good eye contact and a clear voice. He even dropped a few papers in the middle of his speech and paused quickly to pick them up. He started talking about like nothing had happened. At the beginning of the speech he stated, “It’s so hard to talk to a large group of people now-a-days without offending someone.” To me, this quote meant that he was somewhat comfortable performing his speech. He told us that his speech wasn’t meant to offend anyone and that if any one happened to be offended in the while he was delivering his speech, it was just too bad. He then talked about the people who worked to have our generation be in the position it’s in. How we have so many more opportunities that our ancestors didn’t get, and how we need to take advantage of this fact. In conclusion, I loved his speech and his delivery. He made people in the audience think, laugh, smile, and maybe even cry. He was very inspiring and definitely made me feel like I’m in a great generation with multiple opportunities. 

-Rebecca Zoll

Omoluabi: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility

  This speaker's name was Segun Gbdegesin. And he had a very VERY thick accent. As soon as he started to speak, everyone in class looked around at each other asking, “Can you understand him? Do you get what he’s saying?” I know I didn’t but it was good to know that I wasn’t the only one. He explained the term "Iwa,” which is basically like a personal identity or a character. If you lose Iwa, or your character, you lose everything. He continued to talk about Iwa as well as some other African terms and concepts that were hard to understand. That made me think about the African language and how different and interesting it is. Then out of nowhere he stood up and started chanting “Iwa, Iwa” while some other guy dressed in what looked like traditionally African tribal clothes started to beat on this drum he was holding. It was totally the wrong rhythm but it woke me up a little bit. It was kind of amusing seeing them up there. After the show was over, he began to talk about Socrates and Plato. As well as a Goddess named Ma'at and Vizier Ptahhotep and Pharaoh Amenemope, along with the Principles of Ma'at which are how the ancient Egyptians learned and practiced Truth, Justice, Order, Balance and Harmony. Living life following Ma'at made the Gods strong and powerful. After that I stopped paying attention because it wasn’t worth trying to understand his accent. I didn’t get much out of that lecture, just a fun show that lasted less than five minutes as well as what “Iwa” means. 

-Rebecca Zoll

Research and Methodology: Inscription as a Liberating Practice

    Today's speaker was Dr. Dana Williams.  For the majority of the class, she talked about the basic components of research. She most likely chose this topic because the groups in class are starting to work on their research questions and she was giving us options and pointers on how to get started. There were six different types of research that she addressed: statement of the problem/challenge, review, methodology, framework, development of thesis and conclusions. Methodology helps us with how we decide to approach the topic and Framework is how we decide to put the project together and how we show the data. Development of Thesis is the stage where we give a thesis. It's also the stage where we must start to provide clean details and structure our research. And as for the conclusion, it’s the step in which all questions that were asked at the beginning of the project have to be answered. The conclusion also has to answer, "What new insights has your research revealed?" and "What future study should this research undertake?" After discussing the methods of research, Dr. Williams then gave examples of each that were very helpful. She presented a case study of the Freshman Seminar class. How they made up the idea to teach the class the way they  do now. She used the word institutionalize a lot, which made me think deeper about what my project would be. As of now, I honestly have no idea, but I know that once my group and I come up with our project, Dr. Williams’ lecture which help us a great deal. I’m still not completely sure about what the actual Freshman Seminar class is, because we do something different every Monday and there’s a new guest speaker every Monday. I missed the first class on the first Monday of the first semester (my bad), so that’s probably why I’m still confused about the class, but either way, I just want to make it through the semester and pass the class so that I don’t have to take it again. 

-Rebecca Zoll