Alfre Woodard

I believe that hard work pays off, almost every time. Last winter, I joined my local select basketball team, Ballard select. I didn’t have to try out, the coach just saw me play and asked me to join the team. After a few months of playing with Ballard, I became very committed and grew very close to my teammates. Finally spring came, and so did try outs. My coach Taylor, and the founder of Ballard Select, Sara, had told us only eight of the twelve girls on the team were going to make the team this spring. Everyone on the team had to try out again, but I wasn’t worried, I was sure I was going to make the team. So, day one of tryouts began and I played really well and grew even more confident I would make the team as the next few days of tryouts approached. I won when we played one on one, and I scored more than half my team's points when we scrimmaged. I worked harder than I had worked in practices for a long time, to show the coaches my skills. It was the last day of tryouts and I continued hustle and played my game. When tryouts were over I went up to Sara, and said thank you and asked her if she knew if I was going to make the team. She said probably, but they weren’t sure because I apparently had a bad attitude and messed around at practice. When I heard this I was confused, if not shocked. I’m a loud and energetic person and I like to talk to my friends at practice, but I focus better than half the team. Also, I generally have a good attitude and am a good teammate. I told…

The Underground Railroad documentary, directed by Jeff Lengyel for the History Channel, uncovered many factoids about an important period of United States history from the 17th Century thru to the Emancipation Proclamation which has been misinterpreted for decades. This misinterpretation has been fostered by history text books, teachers, lecturers and the modern day cinema. It is ironic that the same medium used to produce these misconceptions will be same medium by which to correct them.…

“golden “age of Brooklyn before things like guns, crack, and gangs took over the inner city streets. The Bedford sty residents come from all backgrounds. There is no dominant race or ethnicity. During the movie white, black, Hispanic, Puerto Rican , and Italian are shown to give better detail about what it was truly like to live in that neighborhood. The main characters are those of the Carmichael family. The Carmichael family consist of four boys, one daughter, a mother, and a father. Troy is…

Miss Ever’s Boys is a flashback, or reminiscent style movie that deals with the issue of racial inequality, race and gender intersectionality, and the African-American’s “double consciousness”. The movie begins with Eunice Evers, played by Alfre Woodard, as a testifying nurse in a Senate hearing who worked as a nurse during the Tuskegee Study, testifying and recalling the happenings of the past. The disaster starts as a simple plan to provide care and treatment for the population suffering from…

themselves and are eventually left alone. “Women’s work” was something that was installed into our minds as we played with our baby dolls and toy kitchens as children; we start to believe that is our purpose in a marriage. We get older and have the strength to go to work, cook three meals a day, be intimate with our spouse, and still make sure the children are doing as they are told. Marriage is about having a partnership, but most men do not see it that way which leaves women feeling…

The central subject in the Piano Lesson is present throughout the stage-play and the novel. In the film adaptation, there are three major parts that give the viewer a better understanding of the central subject. Those three parts include the presence of Sutter’s ghost, the flashback of their African American history, and Sutter’s way of counteracting Boy Willies plan of buying his land. Although, these three major parts help enhance the conflict between Bernice and Boy Willie. They also lead us…

Composed for the occasion, "On the Pulse of Morning" movingly celebrates and challenges America's nation of multicultural immigrants. The poet's melodious, proud voice never faltered as she read the 665-word ode to redemption, which was later published in book form. When asked why he selected Angelou, the president replied that she "embodies a spirit of hope and dignity that is quintessentially American." Angelou appeared in several movies and her work has been adapted for the screen, including…