1st Blog Entry - Self Assessment

            For my college experience in relation to the Black Studies Major, the first class that opened my eyes was BL ST 1-INTRO African-American Studies. I took this class with professor Lipsitz and read his book The possessive Investment in Whiteness. This book took the racism theories of the past and related them to the present day conditions that still exist in housing and the work place. After taking this class, I knew I wanted to major in BLST because I wanted to find out more about who I was as an educated black man in today’s society. The next class that I took was Critical Intro Race with Professor Johnson. This class was challenging in the fact that it opened my perceptions about face and ethnicity. The Psychology of Blacks was interesting because it offered insight to the thought process behind why blacks act in certain situations. Intro to Caribbean Studies opened my eyes to the global position of Blacks around the world. We started in Haiti and showed the numerous cultures involved around that area. We also learned about the struggle the underdeveloped countries still go through to this very day. The Politics of Black Liberations introduced me to the different ways in which blacks resisted slavery and racial oppression. This class chronicled the beginning of slavery and the punishments of blacks vs. whites and moved all the way to the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. I was able to see racism at its roots, the origins of where it all began. One class that challenged my ideas of my position as a black man in society was Black Feminist Thought. I learned from various feminist thinkers male and female the different points of view in the struggle for complete equality among the genders. The equality that I am talking about is all mental in the fact that men and women should not be held to double standards and should enjoy their sexualities for it is their choice. This choice is what gives people agency and self respect.