African Burial Ground Trip

The African Burial wasn’t what I expected but was more impactful because of that. I was expecting something like a cemetery that had military guards and a somber environment. That was nothing of the case. It was a relatively small ode and section of the City in comparison to the giant skyscrapers. The fact that I didn’t have a good night’s sleep accompanied by the cold weather made me feel like the trip was in lack of a better word “the L”. However, when Dr. Carr took off his hoodie proclaiming its not cold ad began his libation series it immediately gained my attention. I too no longer felt cold. Moving my body I attempted to gain a better view of Dr. Carr performance. His voice was powerful and sorrowful at the same time. It compelled my soul and connected me to my African ancestors. Last year I saw the video of Dr. Carr giving libations at the burial ground but it wasn’t anything in comparison to being there in person.

As the day went on a man began to speak to us about how the Burial ground was established. This man was white and I was turned off at first by his usage of the terms we, us, and our. Then I heard it in his voice. His skin might have been white but his mind was black. He understood our struggle and as I listened to his voice I heard our paradigms. One of the most interesting elements of the burial ground was the African symbols. I was exposed to a different Sankofa symbol. I was always familiar with the one of the bird but never seen the heart shaped one before. All of the other symbols present were also informative and impacting. Some of them I knew and some I didn’t. I realized the advance nature of our symbols and technology. Overall, the burial ground trip was an amazing experience that was even worth waking up at 5:30 am.

By Stanford Fraser

The Genome System

This honestly has had to be the most boring presntation in my entire life. The hardest part about it was staying awake. She is a very intelligent lady and knows what shes talking about. The only problem is that shes talking too much. It took all period for her to do her introduction. Once she started I already knew that this was going to be the longest hour in my entire life.

However she did have some great facts about the genome system and DNA. DNA is the universal code of life. A genome is the total inhertaince for both your parents. Meaning that whatever words you use to describe is only 1/10 of what you really are made up of. I think that is so cool because people often ask "which words decribes you" and the true answer is more than what you can possibly think of. Africa is the orgin of life and had it not been for our ancestors there would be no life on earth.

She also dicussed how we are the future and that her life is on our hands. That we are soon going to be the doctors, lawyers and future politician. That made me think that we can change the world. Whether it be discovering the cure to AIDS or inventing flying cars. Its up to use to decide what were going to do with it and to me thats the best part of it all.

The Lanuage we all speak

It is very common that young African American adults use slang in almost every occasion that they talk in. Whether there engaging in a conversation with their friends or texting. Slang is often not used in the right way, spelled correctly or pronounced in the correct form. Where do we get this "broken English" from and how come we use it?

The reason why we make up our own slang and words is to be able to communicate with others. What interest make it up is because its in our blood. It has been proven that language was first started in Africa. We figured out a way to communicate with others in a way that we could all understand. Whether it was written in symbols such as , Khemet, which means knowledge and wisdom. Or talking with each other. The sankofa bird and mahat were also very vital forms of communication.

I honestly believe that this presentation was not that interesting. It was very hard for me to stay awake and take notes. It was way too long and I feel as though he was rambling on to find things to talk about. I don't think anyone was very much interested in this weeks presentation. However Dr. Carr is an excellent speaker and speaks very loudly so that no one can fall asleep in his class.

The Importance of Ancient Scribes

Today in freshman seminar we learned about the importance of scribes. It wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. I learned a lot of cool information and facts. It makes me feel good that my ancestors not only were kings and queens but they also invented different forms of writing. The Ancient Egyptian civilization impacted the world and makes me proud of my African culture.

This lesson was based off of the scribes in ancient Egypt and its importance to today society. The scribes in ancient Egypt were important because back then most people could not read nor write. The scribes were often found at places like temples, cities and right beside the king. The wrote down the daily routines from every part of modern life. Scribes did not have to do the hard work that most of the Egyptians did and were exempted from slavery and other sorts of jobs.

Scribes were found in most areas of Egypt and even in Europe. The Cuneiform was one of the first forms of writing. It was founded in the city of Mesopotamia and is a vital place in the history of writing. The French Pose style was transformed from ancient cuneiform writings by the famous scribe Jean Mielot.

Overall, I believe that today lessons was very influential to me and my peers as well. It feels good to know that the ancestors before has had a huge impact on the world and the present. If it was not for them then society as we know it would not be the same.

The Bond Between Hip Hop and the Civil Rights Movement

Whenever anyone mentions hip hop it automatically starts a debate. Its a very controversial topic and interesting topic and it amuses me. As soon as he started and mentioned the word "hip hop" the class suddenly arose as we were all waiting on the tip of our seat to see what the speaker had to say.

With past generations the youth were bold and ready to fight for civil rights. They marched and protested and participated in rallies. They sparked many colleges and universities to look into the civil rights and taking it seriously by showing that they were tired of being pushed around and were no longer going to stand for it.

With this launched a bunch of civil right groups like the Black Panther, who fought hard to get justice for blacks by any means necessary. Groups like this opened up the door for many more to come and furthermore lead to artist that begun expressing their feelings through their music. Artist like James Brown and the Last Poets. And their music lead to the birth of hip hop. A place where people could come and express their creativity and their emotions and have an influence on the world. Just like the civil rights movement

October 6,2010

This weeks lecture was taught by Dr. Dana Williams. I honestly thought that it wasn't as entertaining as the previous but it was very important for my group assignment. She went over the different ways to find topics, research it and then many ways to present it. When I first heard of how we have to complete a final group project and then present it I wasn't sure how it would go or where to start. With the help of her I was able to understand what the project is about and how to complete it with a passing grade.

Some of the tips she gave us was to identify the principle components of the assignment. Then relate the components to the group project. Find a problem or challenge and methods to solve it. It was also vital that you make your audience have a complete understanding of whats going on.

I learned how to present a presentation from the past guest speakers of our freshman seminar classes. I also am going to use certain tips like making the project neat and interesting. I will provide facts and information so that my fellow peers and professors will understand what point my group is trying to get across.

In conclusion, the presentation that Dr. Williams gave me was very helpful and useful. I plan to use most of the tips she gave me. I plan on getting a 100 and great project.

Seminar last lecture

The last lecture focused on different research and methodologies. It encompassed the past lessons in the lecture series such as ma'at and the ideals of Khemet society. As previously discussed the Africans viewed knowledge as useless unless it is applied to fix the problems of the world. This lecture focused on the proper process of fixing worldly problems. In order to fix these problems you must first be able to conduct research. Research is simply more than a Google search and the step by step process was explained during this class period. What I found most interesting about this lecture is the statement that without the proper research methodology that your research cannot truly be valid. As a budding intellectual that made me realize that I need to improve my own research method. That in order to truly inquire a vast amount of knowledge I must have a great research methodology.

Another significant aspect of the lecture was the “breakdown” of the purpose of freshmen seminar. The speaker demonstrated how Howard COAS identified a problem within the black community that also affected students at Howard. After identifying the problem they began to brain storm way to fix this problem. The solution was a freshmen seminar class in which a curriculum is developed to solve these problems. This explanation was not only an example of the research methodology process but informed the students of why the class is necessary. By informing the students what the intentions of the class is it allows them to change their opinion and approach toward the class.

By: Stanford Fraser

Omoluabi: Self Actualization

Dr. Segun Gbadegesin was a very effective speaker. For me to be able to receive whatever information a speaker or teacher is giving me, there has to be an element of excitement whether it is from me or the instructor. He started off by bringing the group to life even if it was just a few lines said with a smile or excited tone of voice.

The stoy of Iwa was very thought provoking. Shortly put, Iwa was the wife of Orunmila and all she desired was kindness and respect from Orunmila. Unfortunately, Orunmila was not able to keep up with his end of the bargain. Iwa eventually left Orunmila causing him to lose everything that he had. Out of desperation, Orunmila searched endlessly for Iwa but he could not find her. This is the statement I came up with for the summaization for this story. "You cannot lose Iwa. If you lose Iwa you will lose everything(character) and you will cease to exist.

I saw a quotation during the power point. "A man of character is a man of weath." A person with bad character can acquire money but they will soon lose it. A person with good character will be able to hold onto their money. I say this because they are ready to give to a person with needs. As the saying goes, "What goes around comes around." If you are only worried about yourself when it is your turn to receive from someone they will be selfish towards you.

The speaker said, "In itself existence is good because the creator is good." If we exist then obviously we have a purpose. We don't need to abuse our talents and gifts. If we do then there is someone else who can do the job we were assigned.

By Christiana Flood

September 28, 2010

We learned about the story of Iwa and Orunmila. Orunmila represented Yoruba, the God of wisdom. How Iwa left Orunmila and he had lost everything he had so he searched for her. Omo Olu Iwa Bi the child of Iwa. Iwa was responsible for serving her community with education and to remake her self through education. Immorality is a crown of existence in the memory of the community. She was a good character that held beauty. A good character makes a great tails man. Swru was the father of Iwa and he represented patience. She was good as existence. Intrinsically and extrinsically.

We also learned about the instructions of Ptahhotep, the humanistic maxims for living. The ancient Egyptian and African world. How physical, spiritual, philosophical, and ethical values were the main points and things worshiped. There was balance and harmony which was very important and how truth and justice maintained order. The sharia and pyramid texts. Kant's groundwork and the text on the coffins each held an important meaning. Mills utilitarianism from Ma'at.

ONOLUABI: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility

The speaker begins to make a charge to its audience about the importance of our generation. He stated as youth at Howard we are the best of the best so our success must be measured by more than just material processions and money. This statement is of significance because our generation concerns itself with the monetary side of success. Our music and culture is demonstrative of this. However, in order for our people to advance and for America to advance you must give back. This correlates to the concept of social commitment. Not only must you be successful but you must help enable the success of others. In the next phase of the speech our speaker related this to the story of Iwa.

Iwa, or the story of Iwa, is an ancient African story passed on generation to generation. It describes the concept of paying homage and its importance in the African society. Paying homage relates to the previous concept giving back to the next generation. However, homage also pertains to giving back to those who have paved the path for you. Furthermore, the story of Iwa symbolically displays the important virtues in African society. In the story it is stated the Iwa is your being and if you lose Iwa you lose everything. This statement was followed by a quote which states “A man of character is a man of wealth” and “if a man has no character then everything he owns belongs to someone else”. In actuality, Iwa is your character. Thus, these points lament the importance of character in traditional African societies.

By: Stanford Fraser