in the beginning of time...

Entering UCSB I had aspirations to be a biology major and pursue my desire to become a dentist. As a freshman I was a member of the UCSB track and field team. This is where that life long dream changed. My coach “strongly encouraged” me to forget biology because he assumed I would fail. He told me I should do something like Black Studies or sociology which would easier so I can make sure I am eligible to compete. With my aspirations and self confidence crushed I set aside goals. I began to take my GE’s and other preparatory sociology courses with a few black studies courses sprinkled here and there. When I began my black studies courses I took them with much disdain, with thoughts of biology still heavy on my mind. I took the courses frivolously not really caring about what I learned . I mean I knew things about black history and the misconceptions we learned in high school but I wasn’t until I took Black studies 7 with Professor McAuley that I really got engaged in the discipline. This course, which was an exploration of Caribbean studies, hit home for me because that is where my family originated with me being first generation US born. While studying this course I learned why it is the particular facets of my life are the way they are and how they directly corresponded with the histories of the Caribbean. After this course I no longer saw black studies as just some random discipline I was just going through the motions of learning. After taking this course I began to think of the various black peoples around the world and throughout the African diaspora and their interconnectedness .it made me want to learn more so I took courses in blacks in the media , the black radical tradition, black writes and literature. I wanted to know as much as possible about where I came from which in my eyes determined where I would go next.

At this point I had taken so many black studies courses I wasn’t sure there was anything left to learn that would alter or create any new idea about black studies and black peoples that was until I took A seminar on racism in the constitution. This was the first time I took a course were I was not allowed to think with emotion but had to focus specifically on the fundamental and intentional racism that was written into the constitution as well as lawmaking. In this course you could just simply say “that’s not right” or “that is inhumane” you had to look at things from the viewpoint of lawmakers an politicians and do all you could to simply find the right words or wording to beat them at their own game.

The last course I took that had an impact on my way of thinking was seminar with Dr. Robinson in which we discussed the various facets of the black intelligentsia and the immense power of this black middle class and black secret societies. This class in its completion completely altered my perceptions of the role of blacks at crucial points in history and in politics.

The black studies courses I took while at UCSB have influenced the way I think, speak and even my day to day interactions. Even though I was deterred from my initial goals (which I am perusing again after graduation) black studies has created a vast array of knowledge that is pertinent to my life and the lives of all.