This year has been hard, and I can tell you exactly where I was or who told me when I heard about Kobe. I wasn’t expecting that, and I wasn’t expecting this either; those are only two examples of far too many losses that people have gone through this year. We aren’t exactly promised a whole lot in our lives and unfortunately, 2020 hasn’t been the kindest to many of you. I can’t tell you what the future brings, and I am hopeful that something good is coming for us, but I am also hopeful that we can realize sometimes the good has to be whatever we make happen for ourselves.
Black excellence
Poetry Place– Black Body And Free Tianna
My poem today exemplifies that there is a different kind of weight that comes with how we each live our lives and as a Black woman who fights for those around me, I understand that there are burdens to the way I care for others. People of color so commonly have to build the spaces we want to be a part of because they almost never exist the way we need them to until we put in the work to create them; right now, Tianna is being penalized before those spaces in SLO and beyond can truly begin to exist.
5 Lessons Learned as the College Class of 2020
This week, I received confirmation that my diploma has been awarded and I am, in fact, no longer a student. As I wait for that piece of paper in the mail, I figured what better way to recognize that than to share with you a few things that I take with me from both inside and outside the classroom as I move into my new role as part of the working world.
Poetry Place–Black Life
I’m back with some poetry for you today, courtesy of The Academy of American Poets. Now, I’m sure a lot of you have seen countless protest photos of everything going on around the world lately; I must say, some of those signs are worded a bit like poetry. After all, poetry itself is a form…Read more Poetry Place–Black Life
Redefining Excellence– Black Culture
The more I think about it, the more I question the reason I do all of these things, the reason I feel like I need to; I finally realized why the term “black excellence” isn’t just about pride or ability.
Beyond the Surface of Black Excellence
Black History Month Week 2— Are you ready? Because I want to talk about something that ties into an entire culture of people, a term that I use a lot; one that I never quite defined for you. I want to talk about what it means say black excellence. I’ve mentioned this term countless times,…Read more Beyond the Surface of Black Excellence
The Resilient and the Risen– Black History Month
Just like that, the first month of the year has flown by. Maybe it was the three day weekend Cal Poly students had or just a lot going on for the new year, but here we are folks. Welcome to February, or as I like to say… Welcome to Black History Month. Since this blog…Read more The Resilient and the Risen– Black History Month
How We Overcome– Times Up
Week 1 of the quarter is officially over and it has been exhausting... I forgot how hard it was to get back into a routine of work, studying, and getting up early after doing none of that for several weeks. Yet the week is done, it’s time for another blog post, and today I’ve got…Read more How We Overcome– Times Up
Black Excellence
In the spirit of Black History Month, I did some writing after the spoken word performance last Wednesday. Before I knew it, pen was running on paper and this is what I had left in my hands. It's funny how you find inspiration in all the places you never think to look. This year, I…Read more Black Excellence
Unapologetically Black
1/240 More than a student, a woman, and a freshman here at Cal Poly, this is the number that represents me. I am one out of 240 black students here. Welcome to Black History Month, one that I started off with something different here this week. On Wednesday night, I went to an open mic…Read more Unapologetically Black
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