Final ROP Essay

This year I have learned a lot of things from Rites of Passage. It has benefited me in several ways. One way Rites of Passage has benefited me was I learned that you can't always believe what you hear the media. The second thing I learned was that my ancestors stood up and fought for their freedom. The last thing I learned from was that music began in Africa and other cultures tried to duplicate our music by imitating it but never really.

The first thing I learned was that you always can't trust the media because the media doesn't always tell the truth. The media tells a story in a way that makes them look like a perfect nation but in all actuality they are not. Americans and other countries are taking advantage of the Somalian country by killing them by way of starvation. Even though that's the truth you don't hear that from the over exaggerating media. They killed teenagers, not men but boys and they don't feel remorse for it but you don't hear that in the media either.

The second thing I learned was that my ancestors were fighters. This includes my ancestor John Garang. He was at first fighting against his country but then he was given a wake up call to what the government was doing to his people. Then he became enraged and retaliated. He was not alone people like Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and many others contributed to this free land we now live on.

The last thing I learned from Rites of Passage was that music originated in Africa. It originated in Africa before Africans had field music. African People sung songs in their native language with the drums as instruments. The drums of Africa gave us our rhythm and the step we have now. Our dance moves are made to mimic their African dances.

In conclusion, I learned a lot this year.I have learned more about .This class has given me my place in history. It has opened me to things in life that I have never questioned. It made me think twice about what I am listening to because music plays a role in how I think as a young female and a young African-American.

To Be African

To me being African means being respectful of your self and respecting others. It also means that you embody Africa because being Africa is not have to mean that you are born in Africa but it means that Africa is born in you; culture, rhythm and ancestry stories. To Marimba Ani being African means that you understand African culture as an African, it means being responsible for our faults and it means recognizing that we are great as African people.

To understand being African you have to have knowledge about where you come from. You have to be socially aware of what is going on in Africa because what ever happens to Africans, happens to you because it is destroying your homelands greatness. It is taking the power away from your African ancestors. Marimba Ani states " The members of a culture are bonded together by their shared culture, which gives them a sense of collective identity. Without a culture to be bonded to you are not bonded.

We are not taking responsibility for we we are doing wrong. We are letting our families get torn apart by drug and alcohol abuse. We do not take responsibility for that because the addiction takes over the love for our family, the love that helps us have a loving home. We don't take responsibility for the faults that we do to our young Americans. We put them in foster care to abandon them and some of them get leaded down to the road of nowhere because that's all they know. That's how they grew up to nothing to some of them can only achieved nothing.

To Ms. Ani being African means recognizing that you come from greatness so you can achieve greatness."We are awakening to the need to claim our cultural legacy". She is says we need to step up and claim our heritage because it makes us who we are. Our culture makes every culture who they are because it all originated in Africa.

To be African means recognizing that you are good because your skin is black, but to be excellent you have to achieve more. You have to look deep within yourself and find the answer to how you can achieve greatness. You have to be your own person and not be what you think people want you to be.

Understanding Stress

Stress is a pain, anxiety, or frustration one may have with him self or his surroundings. I think in youth stress is different from adults. I say this because parents stress about this like bills, kids and work but kids may stress out about overwhelming school projects, friends, and certain home situations. Some children's stress is worst then parents only because they may not be the best student in school them to come home to constant yelling and screaming. Some people deal with stress differently. A bad way to deal with stress is smoking, drinking and any types of violence. Sleep is also a bad way to deal with stress only because, if you sleep when your stressed out that is your way of escaping the real world, but when you wake up you still have reality to face.Young people deal with peer pressure which for kids is the worst kind of stress. Peer Pressure is pressure from your peers making you do something or encouraging you to do something you don't want to. Even though stress may be bad there is good types of stress. A good type of stress would be the stress you get right before your about to give a report in front of the whole class. Some good types of stress are relaxing, reading and doing constructive creative arts with your time.

Talking Equality

I believe that this article is very offensive to Blacks and Latinos. This is offensive because it's saying that Blacks and Latinos are inferior to Whites and Asians. One of the general ideas of the the newspaper that Asian and Whites are accepted in to special admission schools over Blacks and Latinos. That statement is untrue because more and more people of color are getting into schools like central, girls high, CAPA , and others. Another general idea that caught my attention was the idea of 11% of Blacks and 10% Latinos were in AP classes while 24% of Whites and 34% Asians are in AP classes in high school.

Eventhough I don't agree with these numbers they are true. It shows that in time we've lost our strength and power. Our people made perfect buildings using math, some of these buildings still stand today over thousands of years later. This article shows us that we really need to make a change in what we are doing or we could end up being illiterate.

Black Caucus

The Back Caucus is a group of Afrikan-Americans who represent the black congress of the United States of America. The history of the group goes as far back as 1970 when E.J Josey was president. Their current chairman is Barbara Lee of California. The chairman is the person that speaks for the whole group, every idea is given to the chairman to present.The nature of this particular meeting was to establish support and discuss major issues that are going on in urban areas. The Black Caucus would like to see him focus on hiring more minorities to federal jobs and helping small and minority-owned businesses get government contracts. They also would like to see him discuss a health-care safety net. I believe that the Black Caucus and President Obama will have a good relationship. They already respect him as a man because he was the first Biracial man to ever become president in the history of America. I don't think they would have a perfect relationship with him. Everything Obama does most of us won't agree with but they are for the good of the country.

Anti-Colonial Leader:Nelson Mandela

On July 18, 1918 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa. He was born to the Chief Henry Mandela; leader of the Tembu tribe. Mandela became educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand. He qualified as a lawyer in 1942. In 1963 Nelson was sentenced to 5 years in prison with hard labour. On June 12, 1964 Mandela was sentenced to life in prison due to his statement toward the federal government.

From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off of the shore of cape town,he was also incarcerated at Pollsmoor Prison. Being imprisoned Mandela received a lot of publicity. He was becoming a black powerful leader of South Afrika. On February 11, 1990 Nelson Mandela was released and was already a political leader for his fellow South Africans. A famous speech said by Nelson Mandela was his speech when he was released form prison.

I believe that Nelson Mandela was a great leader. He was a great leader not only to his people but to his family. Here is a man who saw the condition of his country and didn't like what he saw. Even though the government didn't agree with how he felt about it he stood for what he believed in. His people stood by him though it all they stood by him because they wanted freedom as much as Mandela did. This is a man who should be truly celebrated for his contribution to this planet we call home.

Oratorical Finals Overview

 I thought that the oratorical contest was interesting this year. It was so interesting because I was a finalist this year. I won third place in the poem competition, Richan won first and Anjee won second. I thought the little children did wonderful they were cute, had emotion and moved the crowd. Since this will be my last oratorical contest in middle school I enjoyed myself and took a lot of long lasting memories.