Reflection Paper Throughout my role as a student and volunteer I learned that community uplift is the most important goal of African American studies. Civic engagement in a community is necessary for the growth of the inhabitants and their well-being. Foremost, my experience in volunteering for my community encouraged me to view specific social issues differently. These social issues include, the importance of positive role models, an abundance of academic/ personal resources, and the effects of structural racism. My community service experience, includes mentoring/ tutoring school aged youth (ages 6-18) in the Boys and Girls Club program and organizing/ shelving books in the biographies section of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library. For
…show more content…
The Boys and Girls Club, founded in 1861 was exclusively for boys until 1990 when girls were recognized (Boys and Girls Clubs of America n.d.). Although the organization strives for good and positive results in the community among the youth, it does not receive much funding from the government and mainly relies on donations and club memberships to continue running. It also predominantly serves Caucasian children (31 percent) first and secondly African American children (28 percent), and although these numbers are still somewhat close this proves that more African Americans must utilize this organization as an educational and social resource for development (Boys and Girls Clubs of America n.d.). On the other hand, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, established in 1902 with 34 branches, is an important source for Atlanta residents to search for scholarly research and recreational activities. However, in the initial establishment of the library system, blacks were excluded from the all branches including the Central Branch. It took the efforts of sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, black librarians and later former Atlanta mayor, Maynard Jackson to raise public awareness of this problem, until blacks were allowed full access into the library in 1959 (Digital Public Library of America n.d.). Therefore, both institutions/ organizations have dealt with socio-economic issues which include race, gender, and funding. Additionally, based on my community service efforts and what I have learned in class discussions on these topics, I recommend that the administration of President Barack Obama should implement more funding for these programs. A higher increase in funding for these organizations would increase their full potential and would better
The Boys and Girls Club, founded in 1861 was exclusively for boys until 1990 when girls were recognized (Boys and Girls Clubs of America n.d.). Although the organization strives for good and positive results in the community among the youth, it does not receive much funding from the government and mainly relies on donations and club memberships to continue running. It also predominantly serves Caucasian children (31 percent) first and secondly African American children (28 percent), and although these numbers are still somewhat close this proves that more African Americans must utilize this organization as an educational and social resource for development (Boys and Girls Clubs of America n.d.). On the other hand, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, established in 1902 with 34 branches, is an important source for Atlanta residents to search for scholarly research and recreational activities. However, in the initial establishment of the library system, blacks were excluded from the all branches including the Central Branch. It took the efforts of sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, black librarians and later former Atlanta mayor, Maynard Jackson to raise public awareness of this problem, until blacks were allowed full access into the library in 1959 (Digital Public Library of America n.d.). Therefore, both institutions/ organizations have dealt with socio-economic issues which include race, gender, and funding. Additionally, based on my community service efforts and what I have learned in class discussions on these topics, I recommend that the administration of President Barack Obama should implement more funding for these programs. A higher increase in funding for these organizations would increase their full potential and would better