Unpacking Black In America Summary

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Unpacking: Black in America

For the cultural event I attended a seminar at the African American resource center at Cal State Fullerton. The seminar focused on “Unpacking: Black in America” gathered African American students from CSUF to speak upon how they felt as a minority in this country. They also shared out their personal stories and experiences on being African American. Gwendolyn Alexis is a faculty liaison for the African American Resource Center who facilitated the event. Professor Alexis is an advocate for African American and minorities she brings knowledge and support for these communities. This event helped me see the African American students point of view and how they feel because they are black. As soon as I sat down professor Alexis had each individual go around the room and say their name, major, and how it felt to be a minority in this country. One of the male students said that being minority in this country feels like “ you are an outsider much of the time” and are aware most of the time that they are different. One of the female students felt that culture around them did not often reflect their life or experiences for example, magazines usually features women other than black women as epitome of beauty. It correlates to the “doll test” study where children were asked which doll was the pretty doll between the white and black doll. In which all the children chose the white doll as the pretty doll over the black doll, which was referred to as the ugly doll. Professor Alexis related it to how African Americans are portrayed on TV as the druggies, slaves, maids, thuggish etc which is not a n accurate representation of all African Americans/ communities. Professor Alexis she is aware that there are such characters within the community but we cant cluster, associate, or categorize all African American under such stereotype. One story that stood out was of a male student who said, “ Because I’m black, I have never felt safe” this student was racially profiled against by law enforcements multiple times. He said that police
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Most of the students did not feel like a member of mainstream or were not sure where they fit in. It is important to understand and learn about the African American community and their history. We need to learn how to change our attitudes towards different cultures and become open minded about other cultures. Professor Alexis asked, “ How can we as a society change on how we treat and view African Americans/ minorities?” because African Americans have a long history of not being treated equally and fair how can we make it right? I left with great knowledge on the African American community and left empowered by the words, stories, and knowledge shared by professor Alexis and the students. I want to be a part of this association who advocates for minority groups and who also empowers minorities in becoming a success story and breaking away form stereotypes changing views and attitudes towards cultures through personal stories/experiences. Unpacking Black in America developed greater appreciation for the culture and respect for who they are as individuals and as a community. It allowed me to really look into a culture that I lacked knowledge in. In which I gained a greater respect, admiration, and knowledge towards the African American community and their

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