Browse Exhibits (49 total)
Motivating Collective action
Kobena Amoah
At noon on Friday, January 20, 2017, it was official that America had a new president. Donald J. Trump had been inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. In hindsight, it was obvious President Trump’s tenure was marked with a background of contentious divide within the nation. Yet, the development of growing discontent could not be limited to developments immediate to the election. Discontent had always been a general theme of American politics. However, the fact is there was a change in American politics that year. It was not that more people suddenly became aggrieved. It was that more aggrieved people started to express their grievances. And so a question naturally arises, why did social movements become commonplace?
On the Determinants of Passion
Kobena Amoah
“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” T.D. Jakes
The above quote from popular preacher, T.D Jakes underscores one major point: to be successful in life, you must be passionate. In some ordinary sense, there is an element of truth to the statement that passion is a precursor to success.
Structures of Modern Society: Identity, Difference, and Toleration
Kelechi Taye
“ …. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and
immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share…” Barack Obama - Acceptance Speech 2008
An Unfortunate Occurrence
Denzel Marufu
Is it not the most depressing thing imaginable that the truest sentiments can never be shared? Let us simply admire their tragic beauty in silence. The silence in question was deafening as it filled the room surrounded by four aged walls, smeared by cracks stemming from the rotting ceiling that gave off a putrid smell, often deterring visitors - but these are the kind of details that make a home special.
Freedom as Political Representation
Kelechi Taye
“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”
Toni Morrison, Beloved
On April 22, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States in the Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action upheld Michigan’s Proposal 2, an amendment prohibiting the state’s public colleges and universities use of “preferential treatment” on the basis of race in its admissions process.
Sensitive Souls
Denzel Marufu
I know not what is wrong, I know not what is right, therefore, I know not who I am. In my bouts of arrogance, I can barely look another being in the eye - such is my disgust at mankind. In my bouts of despair, I long for solace in that which disgusts me more than anything.
Formative Experiences: Reflections from Students: Are the New Activist Movements Political or Cultural?
Kelechi Taye
At about 3:15pm local time on April 29, 1992, the jury deliberating the Rodney King Incident released its verdict. It had acquitted the four accused Los Angeles Police Department officers involved in the violent beating. Within a half hour of the announced verdict, a small crowd of a little over 300 people had gathered at the LA County Courthouse to protest it.
Formative Experiences: Reflections From Alumni: In Conversation with Rosalin Walcott
Kobena Amoah
As a young girl growing up in the projects of the South Bronx, Rosalin Walcott embraced lessons from her grandfather and older sister about the importance of knowledge and community. Little did she know, she was being
prepared for what would be her life’s journey: one dedicated to improving the lives of others and learning.