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Online-March 2007

Breaking Barriers

by Jasmin Vann

Coming from Dillard University in New Orleans, an HBCU with the population of about 2, 200 students, my arrival at University of Houston was certainly a rude awakening. In comparison to my undergraduate experience, my initial graduate experience left more to be desired. In addition to coursework, I taught English Composition, which left me wondering if I had made the best decision for myself.

I don’t know how many times I heard, “You speak so well,” or “You really are a sweet person.” After hearing such comments, I realized that my new peers were generally used to the stereotypical depictions of black women, so to meet someone who did not adhere to such seemed to be abnormal, which is really sad. In the classroom, I had students who thought it was acceptable to “joke” around with me by snapping their fingers or rolling their necks and even questioned my ability to teach because I was African American.

There were plenty of days where my comments were overlooked and several occasions when I received the recommendation of reconsidering my enrollment to graduate school. To be honest, I did not expect graduate school to be this way. At Dillard, I was used to sincere camaraderie with peers and professors alike.

Despite this experience, I have been fortunate to meet two professors, and had it not been for their words of encouragement, I would have withdrawn from the program long ago. It is because of such that I even feel compelled to continue in graduate studies to ultimately serve university students as a professor in upcoming years.

My current research focuses on dramas by women of color who discuss and write about black beauty, a subject matter that has yet to make an entrance into the academy. I am passionate about the subject matter because it shows the importance of constructive and positive images of black women in mainstream society. With consideration to my experience as a graduate student, I am grateful and embrace whatever hardships if it means that the path will be easier for future African American women to come.

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Where does Barack Obama Stand?

by LaShic Mondrell, Managaing Editor

On February 10^th, 2007, Barack Obama announced his Democratic candidacy for the 2008 presidential elections. He spoke of reworking the economic system for the digital era, putting more dollars into education, and providing sufficient health care. According to Henry Wiley of the Tri-State Defender, there is a current “love affair” with Obama, and critics have dubbed this phase as the In the midst of this, many citizens question the country’s readiness for a black president and where does Obama stand.

In November 2004, statistics from the U.S. Senate Historical Office state Barack Obama as the fifth African American Senator in US history with a landslide victory of obtaining 70% of the votes. Currently, he serves as the only black in the Senate, which is hardly reflective of the many black people in America.A Gallup Survey has shown that 58% of its respondents believe that this country is ready to elect a black president.

However, March H. Morial mentioned a recent study by the Quarterly Journal of Economics in his article for the Precinct Reporter that found white voters of both the Democratic and Republican party as “less likely to vote for their parties’ candidates when they are black” with Republicans being 25% and Democrats being 38% less likely to vote for black candidates in their own party affiliation.

With his current supporters, work would have to be done to rectify this situation of whites switching their votes in order for Obama to see victory. Barack Obama’s political track record dates back to his being elected to the state senate as a Democrat in 1996.

The year 2002 would see him run unopposed in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives seat. His ability to work constructively with Democrats and Republicans would be seen as the Illinois Senator two years later. He would later defend Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal social welfare policies and compared Republican proposals to create private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism’s survival of the fittest in April 2005.

In June 2006, Barack Obama had enough tenacity to speak out against turning temporary estate tax cuts into permanent fixtures and called the cuts “Paris Hilton” tax breaks for “billionaire heirs and heiresses.” Obama is also for the withdrawal of troops in the War on Iraq and plans to open a diplomatic dialogue with Iraq’s neighbors, Syria and Iran in order to rebuild global ties that have been shattered by the Bush administration, which is much needed to establish peace. In a January ‘07 Message from Obama speech, he stated, “politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions.” Barack Obama is coming from a place of providing a collective avenue for people to join and tackle social, political and economic injustices in America. His stance is to bring integrity back into the realm of politics.

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The God in Me

by Tosin Adeyinka

Religion can be defined as a personal set or an institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs and practices that govern the daily and spiritual life of a person. Religion has long been used to heal and address the questions, ailments and concerns of society. Religion is a curator of societies’ culture, and it often expresses the philosophies of certain people at the time of their existence.

Religious or spiritual systems have never been just a means for people to talk to their creator; they consist of practical manuals to follow. However, African spiritual systems have long been demonized as animalistic, fetishistic and paganish worship by those unacquainted with the culture to give legitimate assessment of the highly intricate spiritual systems of Africa.

Many foreigners have usurped the African religious environment and come proselytizing and conquering in the name of Jesus Christ or Allah only to drain the natural resources of Africa for benefit of European and Arabic interest.

The Europeans and Arabians have never come to Africa with the intentions of promoting African initiatives but rather to exploit and humiliate African people, culture, and spirituality as a means of oppression and profit. Only an African system that incorporates African interest can legitimately proclaim to be a spiritual system for and of African people.

For any people to be self-sustaining, it is necessary for them to maintain a culture that socializes and promotes the needs of that people. It is imperative that African people recognize a point in their global existence by which we must develop and define our reality as a people and discontinue the practice of looking at ourselves through the eyes of others.

There are many African spiritual systems such as Ifa of Yoruba people, Vodun, and the Akan spiritual beliefs are such systems that can be viewed as viable means of resistance and uplifting the spirit, will, economics, politics and societies of African people through African values.

The number one struggle for African people is envisioning a world where Europeans are not at the head of the helm. My question for people of African descent is, “Can you see God looking like you?”

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