He really helped make me conscious about all of the subtle and not so subtle images of people of color on the tv.This morning, after watching the College Ball highlights, I turned to CNN. After a while, I stopped watching CNN because it would make me either laugh or angry. But, I turned to it again today, just to see. Immediately, I was struck by images of Haitians “looting,” and the words, “Security forces say they don’t have enough manpower to control the looting…” The next image was of “Haitians celebrating and unifying in the street.”
So, all they do is loot or dance. No highlights of Haitians who are actually coming up with solutions, Haitians who HAVE been working in their OWN community and meeting their people’s needs…NOPE. Just brown people violent or dancing and singing. How typical. (Side note: If anyone is interested in Haitian folk doing the work for themselves, check out: The Lambi Fund and the Haitian Emergency Relief Fund).
After shaking my head in disgust, I turned the channel to Mtv. I was hoping for a music video to jam to. Instead, I got The Buried Life. What do I see but four white boys crossing off items on their "Things to do before I die list" –cool. Then, I see one image where they raised money for an IMac for a class of Black kids. It’s all well and good to contribute to donate…that’s ILL. But, the IMAGE itself was bananas!! As two of the white boys thanked the class for all their help, the other two white boys walked in holding the Imac like a Holy Grail, Mac raised high over their heads. Then, all the kids start clapping in utter joy. Innocent to the naked eye, maybe even awesome, trendy, or cool, but damn, it was deep.
Right now, I’m writing this on the bus to New York. Some white folks are watching Blind Side with Sandra Bullock saving a black boy. I can’t believe some of the shit that I’m seeing in this movie. This blond ass woman is helping this him make it in society. When she goes to visit him in his neighborhood, she encounters some of the neighborhood troublemakers who of course, have to utter some type of sexual innuendo, and of course, she has to put them in her place. Then there is a scene with people from his neighborhood in the newspaper next to headlines of disaster and mayhem while he’s walking safely in a white world, safe and happy because of this white lady who showed him the world. Nothing good comes of the community except for him with her help. I’m so disgusted. I can figure all of this out, without HEARING the DIALOGUE. Seriously?! And even if I’m wrong about the scenes, that’s what it LOOKS LIKE!! Somebody who watched the movie, please tell me I’m wrong, I might feel a little less frustrated if that’s the case. Just for those of you at home watching, do check out one of 345 Washington's favorite YouTube Videos: Nice White Lady.
There was more media than I'm used to today, but through all of today's media frenzy, there was one shining moment
I have noticed some unhealthy patterns that really concern me. They spend too much time together, they are extremely jealous, their fighting makes them depressed to the point of distraction, they are very sexually active, or they have multiple partners. I worry about them and find myself telling them to be careful or to focus on themselves and remove the drama from their lives. I tell them, "If they don't focus on themselves now and on their own growth, they won't be prepared for the man or woman who really knocks them out. Personally, I don't think that young people should be dating so exclusively, even in college. I do understand, though, that it's much more complex than DON'T DATE or DO DATE. If they are dating, though, they really need some serious knowledge about how healthy relationships should work. 
"Obesity is also a growing problem among Boston youth. Of the respondents to the 2004 Boston Youth Risk Behavior Survey—the most recent survey—nearly half, 48%, of 9th-12th graders were either overweight or at-risk-for overweight. 52% of boys were overweight or at-risk compared to 45% of girls; younger students werealso more likely to be overweight or at-risk with 50% of 9th and 10th graders
compared to 43% of 11th and 12th graders. Asian youth, at 30%, were least-likely to be overweight while black youth, at 53%, were most likely.
The survey also found a correlation between grades, time spent on homework and obesity with higher performing students less likely to be overweight or at-risk." -Boston Indicators.org
“...before doing this presentation I was really convinced that doing this project will get me no where. I was really stubborn about telling my story to my classmates but after telling my story and reflection, I realized a lot about myself. There’s a lesson in every situation and it took me this long to realize who I was as a person. I was finally relieved and I thought it was very interesting to see how many people felt the same way after presentating their stories.” –JH
“What I learned from doing my autoethnography is that it’s good to open up and that people really do listen when you speak. What I learned from listenting to the autoethnographies on my classmate was that a lot of us can relate to certain things and there’s more than meets the eye.” –TR (this student was CONVINCED our class was not going to be able to handle listening to each other's stories respectfully)
“For me I began to learn that being strong doesn’t mean that you don’t cry.” –LF
“I learned how to carry myself in front of my classmate after listen to their stories. This experience give me tools of using my voice among others, and I was surprised after being heard by my classmate that in the word while open your heart to others you will be remembered by them forever. No matter the struggle forgivesness can come just after let’s my soul out of the door.” –MN
“…we don’t really speak to others about our problems and situations that we go through. So we tend to act or believe that we have “terrible” lifestyles or that we’re “not loved.” Then when we communicate with each other and notice others have similar stories when we hold things in it can take a toll on us, when we tell someone you feel relieved and at least you know you’re not alone and you don’t have to go through it by yourself whether it’s good or bad.” -JF“We all need to learn how to be considerate of others and by doing this project we were able to empathize with our peers and learn from them.” -IS
“I learned to respect and feel empathy for all of my classmates. I learned we are all human in every sense and I learned to understand people as well as what has shped them to be who they are today.” –CH
“When we express our feelings and sorrows we are relieving the guilt and stress of having it on your brain and heart. Nobody is perfect and I feel that when you open yourself up to others and hear others voice out, you can connect to them and not feel alone. There are other people in similar situations like you who can provide comfort and connect.” –UM
“…everyone has a story and that as different as everyone is and their stories, we are all still connected. I was surprised that everyone who presented, mentioned something that related to me and/or my life.” –DJ
“I learned that you could never judge a person because you don’t know what a person has been through in their lives. I learned that some problems people face at home affects their performance at school and could be the reason while they are not too passionate about their education. I learned that someone can be going through so much and you can’t even notice it because they learn to hide their problems with a smile, when in all reality they are hurting inside. L “ –RF
“I learned that I love these people. In my heart I wept for them tears, laughed at this jokes and hurt with their pain., I learned about tolerance and acceptance and perseverance and how strength and beauty are intertwined on levels I didn’t see before.” –MK
“I learned about the ways people are influenced by their life experiences and how there are so many connections between people’s experiences that they don’t realize. Also I knew that there were things I didn’t know about my classmates, but I wouldn’t have ever imagined some of the experiences having happened to them. It was a good reminder that you should never judge a book by its cover.” –ED
“I’ve learned that no one is perfect along with everyone has to go through something in order to grow. After listening to different autoethnography I learned how strong people became based on certain situations they go through. Also how certain situation people go through affect they way they act and function in school around other students. It’s shocking because you would never think someone went through such a thing based on how they behave in school.” –AG
“I learned how similar a lot of us are. And how much my past I’ve dealt with and how much I still need to deal with. And I can’t compare how hard my life was to other people because people are strong and weak at times and you shouldn’t compare your pain to other’s or envy other’s too.” –J Correia
“I learned that most people had a hard time growing up. Like they didn’t have their father around. They had to learn to be a man themselves, or had to learn from experiences that happen to them or somebody close to them.” –RM
“By doing my autoethnography I realized how much my family has affected me. I saw where the things that make me who I am came from. Listening to the autoethnography presentations of other classmates I learned of how people face similar problems and situations. I also liked seeing past the surface of my classmates.” –LR
“I learned that I had a lot of anger built up inside... Also, I learned that there are a lot of people who have been through what I’ve been through and that I’m not alone.” –DT
“I learned everything that people went through and how they deal with it. The most important part was how special everyone is and how strong and the love they get from everyone even thought they have people they lost they have to suffer so that they can get it back or become even more happy in the future.” –JP
“I learned more about myself and who I really am. I really understand my experiences and my life and why I act the way I do. I also learned the real inside of people because we only know the outside we never leawrnthe inside very much. Hearing the stories allowed me not to be afraid to tell my story and my life because I knew I wouldn’t feel alone.” -SL
“From doing my auoethnography, I learned how to be more open and comfortable with others, being able to communicate with them and discuss secretive things... I’ve learned to understand people more rather than judging them every minute. I have also learned to forgive but to never forget because everything that was said in our autethnographies were issues that affected us in some sorta way and we all will live with it for the rest of our lives but we will continue to move on in our lives.” –CS
“I learned that people around me have grown from their experience and still learning. This shows me that we should all stop fighting each other...talking badly about each other because what we go through everyday really affects people and how they view society. These are the main reasons why there is so much violence in our communities.”-ML
Again, super bigups to Cam for sharing this teaching/learning strategy with me!!!
