By Giulia Fiore
Table of Contents 1. 2. Sierra Hausthor 3. Sharnice Jones 4. Tara Abdullah-Nri 5. Josh Anderson 6. Vallon Rochester 7. Ilona Hamlin 8. Jonathan Rasmussen 9. Avalon Mann 10. Ian Elkind 11. Mikaela Bichler 12. Emily Ross 13. Ruth Cassidy 14. Meghan Winter 15. Rafi Lubeck 16. Ellie Seguin 17. Megan Paglione 18. Giulia Fiore 19. Charles Sloan 20. Keren Webb 21. Alejandro Fernández y Mora 22. Helix Binns 23. Destiny Robinson
We want to thank the tireless Dr. Grayman-Simpson for all the work she put in to our class. She is passionate about what she teaches and inspiring in how she speaks. You can see the care she puts into each of her students and it shows in the conversations we have and the laughter that leaves the classroom. Thank you, Professor Grayman-Simpson for the work that you do. We appreciate you.
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Why You Should Take Black Psychology
If you are a person of any race, class, or gender, you will benefit from taking a course on Black Psychology. There are so few courses that delve into the complex world of racial identity and racial development. Psychology skips over the discoveries of Black psychologists and overgeneralizes data to remove the importance of racial diversity. Psychology can not be the study of the mind and how it affects behavior in society when part of society is cut out. This branch of science isn’t complete when you don’t take into account the full picture. Science can’t be colorblind, and neither can you. The road out of ignorance is education. Educate yourself on those outside of your bubble so you can have a full understanding of people. Black psychology is a bridge to understanding and acceptance of all people. It is important, significant, and powerful. You should take Black psychology because we are built on diversity and diversity requires understanding. Educate yourself. Take Black Psychology.
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One shot? More like four, all for one man and now he’s on the floor. Someone’s father...someone’s son, Dead at the hands of a mean gun. A man crying as he falls to his knees, The slick bullet piercing his dark skin easily. A father gasping as he grasps the fact that his child will never come back. A mother clutching her heart and turning away, She hoped she’d never see this day. They hold each other realizing their son wasn’t allowed to grow up Just because his skin was ravished by the sun. It was a classic case of wrong place wrong time. He fit the bill so he had to die for his crimes. Another kid dead, but nobody gonna do time. It’s a white man’s world and a white man’s game, Soon enough we’ll all be dead if we keep playing. One shot? More like four, Four more dead and sent to the morgue.
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The crazy girl they called me Too ignorant to get to know me beneath the surface A black girl with depression No way that is impossible The crazy girl they called me Not knowing my mental illnesses are hereditary, not chosen Already instilled in me Oh that black girl, she’s weak The crazy girl they called me Degrading my existence and making me feel as less than Because only society gets to judge as to whether or not you matter The crazy girl they called me for being passionate and in tune with my feelings The crazy girl they called me for not fitting into the box society placed the rest of you in The crazy girl they called me, for it is not what they call you but what you answer to So yes, im the crazy girl. And who the hell are you
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“All-American Good Time Fun!” Ilona Hamlin
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Soul Let’s go soul-winning Win the souls of the lost The ones who are damned Their culture is different Their ways are diverse Their language is distant Their clothing is odd, not… white Let’s attend to their souls With listening ears Their voices from the past cry out For the innocent blood of their mothers Spilled on the cotton, in the dirt Forced to mix with the white man For the innocent blood of their fathers The ones who escaped The women and children who follow For the innocent blood now prevailing On the sidewalks and the pavement The seat belts and the steering wheels Let’s imagine a home A home where trauma Intergenerational trauma is understood Where Soul is welcome Where Black and Brown Are Black and Brown In these united spaces Where journeys diverge Diversity and inclusion co-exist May we open our eyes and revive our souls May we comprehend our color-blindness May we see the complexity, the heritage, the tradition May we acknowledge our privilege, suspend judgement May we ask for forgiveness, seek restitution May we learn from our past mistakes
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One Drop
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We paint our own stories Mine were written in blood and diluted with tears, A red ellipsis at the end...
This poem comes from the words of Mark Baker, the son of Charlotte Pierce-Baker who wrote the book “This Fragile Life”. This poem in particular stuck out to me because in just a few words, Mark describes the pain of being a Black man struggling with bipolar disorder. Black men are expected to be strong, resilient and never wavering. However, Mark so vulnerably shares his pain when dealing with his disorder, a contrast to the expectations society puts on him. Mark’s words are important because his story is being shared to give a voice to those underrepresented. Studies show that African Americans are more likely to suffer with a mental illness but much less likely to get help. Mark is one of the lucky few to be able to receive proper treatment that he needs. Mark shares his painful story, exposing his weaknesses. However, he leaves a sense of hope with an ellipsis, implying that it is not yet over.
From This Fragile Life By Charlotte Pierce-Baker
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Invisible Jim Crow (or; clinging to any plausible deniability of racism) by Ruth Cassidy The rules used to be written clear on the wall People were loud and proud about their anti-Blackness No need to hide it “That’s just how it was back then” The floorboards were rotten with the hatred And instead of tearing them up and replacing them They simply painted over Fresh, shiny new wood “All better,” “All fixed,” But the floorboards were still rotten And people still fell through Jim Crow was still there, but they pretended it wasn’t All the obstacles to black progression were still there But invisible, and harder to fight Decades later, and more and more floors built over the rotten one But the very foundation is still unstable Find the core Destroy that invisible ghost of Jim Crow Build a real foundation
Connecting to my Roots
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How much does where one comes from define who they are? This is different for every person, but for some who feel entirely disconnected from their roots, it feels like a question that is not relevant to their life. Often, it may feel difficult for people to feel connected to their roots if their morals conflict. Many young people find it difficult to identify with their family’s religious beliefs because they include ideas that directly violate the young person’s morals. For example, the bible is often interpreted as categorizing homosexuality as a sin and for a Queer ally or a person who is gay, this can be deeply alienating. It is normal in a situation like that, where one may feel as though their people, culture, religion, or family reject them to want to reject one’s roots in response. However, being connected to one’s roots is a beautiful and profound thing. There is an unshakeable connection between two children of Egyptian immigrants, an undeniable connection. Often, being closer to one’s roots deepens a person’s feeling of belonging. Additionally, there is a lot one can learn from their people’s history. One can form a deeper connection with themselves through their ancestors and better understand who they are as a result. It is important to understand when seeking to connect or reconnect with one’s roots that not everything will resonate and sometimes the beliefs and traditions may feel antiquated because they are. Some traditions will no longer feel like they apply because they made sense at the time they began, but no longer do and that is ok. One does not need to embrace every aspect of the traditions older generations want to pass on because what is special and powerful for them may not resonate for you. What is powerful about a holy book like the bible or the Quran is that the stories and lessons within are largely up for interpretation. Fundamentalists may disagree with this, but it is not one’s responsibility to appease them. Another big sticking point a lot of younger people experience is around the existence of God. Increasingly, young people are becoming atheist and agnostic and feel that religion cannot be for them because they do not believe in God’s existence. However, traditional portrayals often do religion more harm than good when it comes to relating to younger generations. The truth is, God does not have to be an old man in the sky. God can be one’s way of characterizing anything they see as extraordinary. Maybe free will is important to someone, so one can instead see God as a being who created the universe but does not actively interfere. There are many interpretations of God and what is holy, but people are often put off by religion all together because of common portrayals and the feelings of being pressured to convert. Reach out to your family, and see what you may discover about yourself.
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This collage of pictures includes mirrored images of my identity as biracial. The first row is a series of pictures to show me dancing and acting how people would expect me to look for the part of my ‘white’ identity. The second row is a series of pictures to show me dancing and acting how people would expect me to look within my black identity. The last row is both sets of pictures doing the same movement to show the mirrored images of my biracial identity.
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Race Box I always questioned why do they need to know my race? It wasn’t anything personal, not like they are seeing my face I never understood those boxes at a young age Then I realized Society was forcing me in a boxed cage
Race is a social construct You realize how society is so fucked But, the one thing I realized is racism Is as prevalent as the beliefs of Catholicism
As a child, I was always told, never judge a book by its cover But Society wants you to stay in these boxes and never discover, The uniqueness of you beyond this square Let me ask you Society, is this really fair?
The multiple-choice question please indicate how you identify? You give everyone categories to fit in?! What does this justify? American Indian, Black, White, and Asian Bullshit Society! You use this for your gain!
The individual identities you have torn with these boxes If this wasn’t a problem, there wouldn’t be faux taxes, On applications, we get brainwashed To fit into these secluded, categorical boxes; At what cost?
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One of the most famous models of human development and wellbeing in psychology is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The idea of the hierarchy is that people are in the most ideal state when they have fulfilled all their needs. Some people interpret the top need (which can be self-actualization or transcendence depending on the version of the model) as being the most important to achieve. Regardless of whether this is true, no one can reach the peak of the hierarchy without first fulfilling all the preceding needs. This demonstrates that all the levels, even the bottom one, are vital to the model. There is another hierarchy that emphasizes the top but could not exist without any of the lower levels. This is the racial hierarchy of the United States of America. When the white European pilgrims came to this land, they wished to make a city on a hill that others could look up to as an example of the ideal society. But their city on the hill, this country, stands where it does today because it was built on the labor of others. It was built by the slaves who were forcefully brought from Africa. It was built on the stolen land of the enslaved indigenous people. It is maintained by the descendants of those slaves. It is maintained by those who have immigrated here, looking for a better life, who do the jobs the top don’t want to yet are treated poorly for where they come from. It is maintained by those expected to be “model minorities”. These are the people who built the “city on the hill”. This is the U.S. racial hierarchy.
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Helix Binns Title: Reborn
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Henry Louis Gates from Many Rivers to Cross
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