Dr. Evelynn Hammonds' "W.E.B. Du Bois and the Challenge to Scientific Racism" (Extra Credit)

            Dr. Evelynn Hammonds' "W.E.B. Du Bois and the Challenge to Scientific Racism"  discusses the correlation between race and biology in America. For centuries, American scientists and physicians have attempted to biologically justify racial inequality and the oppression of African Americans. For instance, physicians in past have used craniometry to prove that African Americans were intellectually inferior to Caucasians. Craniometry is the measurement of the cranial features of different human races to determine personality, intelligence, and criminology. However, modern science has proved the conclusions of past physicians to be inaccurate. The size and shape of one's brain has no affect on their intelligence or their ability to exist in American society. W.E. B. Du Bois, who is arguably the most prominent black intellectual of his time, conducted the Atlanta University Study in an effort to dismantle the work of physicians who have tried to biologically justify racism. While Du Bois received little recognition for this groundbreaking study in his lifetime, today we credit him for being one of the first black leaders to challenge biological racism.

            Dr. Hammonds' lecture was quite informative. I was unaware of the lengths that individuals would go to in order to justify racism and oppression. After studying the history of America, students learn of the shameful and often disgusting practices of America's past. Some of these practices were so demoralizing that the effects of them are still evident in American culture today. Even today, every now and then, a magazine or newspaper will attempt to attribute an ethnicity's problems to their biological makeup. While it is evident that we all look different, it is important that we view race as a social construction. It is the social construction of race that still plagues our society, not our biological differences.

WC: 294

Helen Zia's "Civil Rights, Asian Americans, and Marriage" -Outside Cultural Event #2

            As a young Asian-American in New Jersey, Helen Zia states that she "felt like a second class citizen." Hurtful and derogatory names haunted her throughout her childhood. This lack of belonging prompted her to become a civil rights, women's rights, and LGBT rights activist. In her lecture, she concludes that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extended civil rights to all Americans. These Americans include Vincent Chin, who was brutally murdered in Detroit after being mistaken for a Japanese-American, and Zia herself whose marriage to her wife has been invalidated numerous times. She quickly learned that, despite her efforts to confront injustice, division in humanity has made it challenging to create change that everyone can benefit from. She was confronted and threatened in college by fellow activists for displaying "lesbian tendencies." However, despite this division in humanity, she claims that anyone can bring about change by addressing the injustices of world. She concludes the lecture by making a plea for young Americans to never allow stories of injustice to go "missing in history."

            I thoroughly enjoyed Helen Zia's lecture. I am proud of our diverse student body at UMBC for attending this lecture and empathizing for those who have experienced injustice. When I heard that the lecture was going to be focusing on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, I immediately thought Zia would be discussing inequality within the African American community. However, she enlightened me on the impact of the act on all United States citizens. I was ignorant to the fact that Civil Rights leaders throughout our country's history were fighting to make America a just and opportunity-rich environment for all people. While it is evident that inequalities still exist in our society, Zia states that we can be the individuals to change this. 

(WC: 296)

Lynchburg (Blog 5)

Alexis Couser

Lynchburg

Word Count: 297

            My tired eyes widened as my father's truck stopped abruptly at the end of the dirt road.  I saw, for the first time, the sun-glazed Southern landscape of Lynchburg, South Carolina. Lynchburg, despite its eerie name, is the origin of the Couser family and the home of my oldest ancestors. I entered an old house and was quickly greeted by ringing gospel hymns and the aroma of fresh biscuits. My ninety six year old aunt, Aunt Flossie, and her younger brother, Uncle Vernal, welcomed my parents and me with warm hugs.  

            I spent the entire day with Uncle Vernal and most of the night with Aunt Flossie. Uncle Vernal was a farmer. His muscles stretched his thick flannel shirt and overalls. He took me out to the field and I quickly learned that he had to time for taking water breaks or stopping to explain his farming techniques. However, he taught by example and it did not take long for me to catch on. Aunt Flossie had a frail build but was compassionate and wise. During her extensive life, she had witnessed the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements, world wars, poverty, and a host of other significant events throughout history. That night, we discussed many topics ranging from Southern recipes to living in poverty to the importance of education. She gave great advice and I valued her wisdom as well as her humility.

            During the car ride back home to Maryland, I thought about my time in Lynchburg. I could now see the reason for my parents bringing me to Lynchburg and meeting my distant relatives. They wanted me to see where I came from. I was inspired by my Aunt and Uncle's lifestyles and I developed a deeper sense of self after travelling to Lynchburg.

Travelling to Lynchburg has allowed me to develop a deeper sense of self. 

Read Between the Lines

Source: http://www.rubeling.com/

The Carroll County Public Library-Westminster Branch is a Carroll County staple. Hundreds of Carroll County residents, adults and children alike, pour into this library every day. The quiet and comfortable library provides free internet access, thousands of books, and a spacious play area for children. Its amenities attract many parents and their children. Parents often surf the web and sort through enchanting novels while their children become fascinated with colorful children's books and interact with other children their age. The library is also the perfect space for high school students to bury their heads into books in preparation for their next exams. I would recommend this space for all residents of Carroll County because it is both enlightening and amusing for all of its visitors. 

Word Count: 125

Varsity

Varsity
Alexis Couser

Word Count: 298

 

 

 

            My participation in organized sports not only introduced me to fitness concepts and guides for healthy living, but it also taught me some valuable life lessons. Behavior and attitudes that I adapted from my participation in sports have translated into my education, employment, friendships, and family life. For instance, during the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I was invited to participate in two-a-day practices with the varsity girls basketball team. The members of the varsity team were stronger, faster, and much more developed than myself. However, despite the adversities of the sweltering heat or the embarrassment that I felt as I lagged behind the varsity athletes, I continued to practice with varsity team that entire summer. I was rewarded for my perseverance with a spot on the varsity girls basketball team my sophomore year of high school. Furthermore, participating in organized sports teaches individuals teamwork and cooperation. While playing basketball as a young child, I always played on teams in which most of my teammates were older than myself. At first, it seemed as if my teammates did not approve of a younger girl joining their team. They felt as though I could not relate to them and their more mature lives. However, as time progressed, they began to appreciate my contribution to the team. I learned that with so many different personalities and interests combining to form one collective group, misunderstandings are inevitable. Although we weren't close friends, my teammates and I learned to respect each other's contributions to our collective effort. Being a member of a team prepared me for life situations that require interpersonal, communication, and cooperative skills.

BELIEF: Sports are a metaphor for life because they require individuals to persevere through adversities, cooperate with others, and work hard to achieve success. 

Outside Cultural Event- Victoria Sambunaris's Taxonomy of a Landscape

            For the past ten years, Victoria Sambunaris has been traveling our country and capturing the various landscapes of America. Her exhibit, Taxonomy of a Landscape, located in the Albin O. Kuhn Library, showcases many of the photographs that she captures while traveling our vast country. These photographs, often of mountains, hillsides, and lakes, illustrate the natural beauty of American landscape as well as human modifications to American landscape. Sambunaris's exhibit is unique because it displays, through images, the way in which geology and anthropology combine to form our environment. Both our environment and the humans that inhabit it create life as we know it today.

             The exhibit was truly enlightening. For instance, the exhibit allowed me to view areas of our country that I have never experienced in-person. I have never traveled to the Northwestern region of the United States so viewing photographs of Yellowstone National Park and snow-covered railroads in Alaska allowed me to indirectly experience life in this region. From Sambunaris's photographs, I can create vivid mental images of the lifestyles of  individuals who live in a certain area of our country. I would imagine that individuals who live in the areas that surround Yellowstone National Park make a conscious effect to preserve their environment because they have been so successful at maintaining the park's natural beauty. Furthermore, after viewing Sambunaris's exhibit, I gained a greater appreciation for Maryland's natural environment. Maryland may not have Colorado's mountains or  the Mexican border's natural division terrains, but we do have the Chesapeake Bay, woodlands and other terrains that are common in the Northeast. Marylanders must preserve the environment that we have. The environment not only provides beautiful sights, but it also provides Marylanders with valuable resources.  

(WC: 286)

One for One

Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we really are. We forget that some children do not have items as basic as shoes. TOMS®, founded by Blake Mycoskie, produces footwear and eyewear. While the designs of its actual products are simple yet unique, the company's philanthropic efforts are quite impressive. I adore the company's concept of "one for one." TOMS® promises to donate one pair of shoes to a child living in poverty for every pair of shoes sold. Because I enjoy being charitable, I will gladly patronize a company that gives me the satisfaction of helping a child in need. 

 (WC: 99)

Picture Source: theberry.com