In order to be an effective Social Worker, I have to understand my past and use my experiences to my advantage. This Critical Autobiography serves to not only help me understand my past but to also understand why I make certain decisions or have certain emotions. Obtaining my Master of Social Work has been an emotional, revealing journey but I am starting to appreciate the process because I can not help others if I can not help myself.
Childhood
In my culture, children are to be seen and not heard, and they should only be seen if someone calls for them. Children are not allowed to have an opinion and if one has one, they should definitely keep it to themselves. If one was lucky enough to have parents who were mildly interested in what they …show more content…
When I was younger, I remember reading certain books that toyed with racism and prejudice but I do not have an exact story. I do know that I did not notice covert racism until I attended Howard University and those things were exposed to me. I remember when my family and I went to a jewelry store in the Caribbean and a white manager was following us around the store. We were walking around the store and I kept noticing him everywhere we went. What made it worse was that I kept making eye contact with him and he would make faces at me, as if he was trying to say that he was watching us. I was so shocked because at the time, my mother was carrying a Louie Vinton purse and I had on a Citizen Watch, all very expensive items. But I realized that it did not matter. People do not see those things. They only see my skin color and that is the saddest thing in the …show more content…
It was astonishing to me that the majority of the people of color were illegal immigrants selling illegal goods on the street. I was the only black person in my group and I received weird looks almost everywhere I went because of it. I was myself but I also thought twice about a lot of the interactions I had. I knew that for some people this was their first time interacting with a person of color and I did not want to appear ignorant or aggressive. There were plenty of incidents where I would usually fight back but I did not because I did not want to confirm that stereotype. One of my friends casually commented that she was surprised I did not hit someone after they said the n-word and I was not sure if she said that because I am supposed to be the “angry black women” or if she thought they genuinely deserved
Childhood
In my culture, children are to be seen and not heard, and they should only be seen if someone calls for them. Children are not allowed to have an opinion and if one has one, they should definitely keep it to themselves. If one was lucky enough to have parents who were mildly interested in what they …show more content…
When I was younger, I remember reading certain books that toyed with racism and prejudice but I do not have an exact story. I do know that I did not notice covert racism until I attended Howard University and those things were exposed to me. I remember when my family and I went to a jewelry store in the Caribbean and a white manager was following us around the store. We were walking around the store and I kept noticing him everywhere we went. What made it worse was that I kept making eye contact with him and he would make faces at me, as if he was trying to say that he was watching us. I was so shocked because at the time, my mother was carrying a Louie Vinton purse and I had on a Citizen Watch, all very expensive items. But I realized that it did not matter. People do not see those things. They only see my skin color and that is the saddest thing in the …show more content…
It was astonishing to me that the majority of the people of color were illegal immigrants selling illegal goods on the street. I was the only black person in my group and I received weird looks almost everywhere I went because of it. I was myself but I also thought twice about a lot of the interactions I had. I knew that for some people this was their first time interacting with a person of color and I did not want to appear ignorant or aggressive. There were plenty of incidents where I would usually fight back but I did not because I did not want to confirm that stereotype. One of my friends casually commented that she was surprised I did not hit someone after they said the n-word and I was not sure if she said that because I am supposed to be the “angry black women” or if she thought they genuinely deserved