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In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.
It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong.
My great-grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it.
And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window.
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
Hi, my name is Lenora Bass. I am a freshman and an early elementary education major. I am taking this class because I want to learn more about African American history and cultures. I am really excited for this class. I feel like learning about African American cultures will help me relate better to my African American students, so I am better prepared to handle them.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Zachariah Rubin and I'm a junior with a major in accounting. I'm taking this course because I want to learn more about the history.
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Tatiana Williams. I'm a sophomore with a Sociology major and a minor of African American studies. I am taking this class to get a full understanding of the African American cultures. I feel this class will help me learn more about the African American history.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Rakesh Iyer. I am a Senior here at the University of Kentucky. I am from Lexington and originally from Auburn, Alabama. I took this course because I am very interested in learning the history of major african american peoples and culture. I feel I haven't explored this part of american history and it would be a good opportunity to do so. I have always been interested in learning about other cultures.
ReplyDeleteEMAIL: RiyerAU@yahoo.com ---> If you would like to contact me
Looking forward to the semester.
My extended family is from India if you all would like to know.
DeleteHello there, my name is Travis Allen Keel. I am a transfer and Architecture major. I am excited to learn more about America's history from the perspective of a strong minority. I believe that this class will broaden the way that I view our history as Americans.
ReplyDeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jack Moran and I am from the great city of Chicago. I am majoring in marketing but am also interested in sports and politics. I am taking this course because I am excited to learn about the course topic and this is a big part of American history (I'm a total history buff). I am excited to learn a lot throughout the semester. If anyone would like to know anything else; you may email me at JHMO224@g.uky.edu
Hello. My name is Autumn Pitt. I'm a senior currently majoring in Politcal science on the pre-law track with a minor in Chinese language. I'm interested in studying African American culture because I want to know more than just what's taught in basic American history class. There's more to African American history than just slavery and the civil rights movement. I hope I can use this knowledge later on in life to further arguments in my career fie
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Vanecia Gordon, I am a junior majoring in Nursing. I am originally from Mississippi, but currently live in Chicago. My name is Latin derived and means light, my family and close friends call me LaShay (middle name) because it's easier to pronounce. I am interested in African American history in hair, because we often overlook that aspect. In other words, so many African American females don't appreciate our natural beauty especially with our hair.
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Dawnshaee Reid. I am a sophomore at the University of Kentucky and a Mathematical Economics major with a minor in African American Studies. I want to learn more about African American history for my own personal knowledge in order to enlighten myself with history that I do not know.
ReplyDeleteCont.... field and help continue the movement of equality for all in all aspects.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Jaquail Fowler and I am a Senior majoring in Hospitality Management with a Business Administration minor. I'm looking forward to learning more about my people who didn't make the history books who deserve acknowledgement for their contributions to society.
ReplyDeleteHello!, My name is Hope I. Smith. I am a Sophomore Integrated Strategic Communications major with a focus in Account Management. My first name is self explanatory but my middle name, Imani, means faith in Swahili. Together my initials spell HIS. This was my parents way of symbolically giving my life over to God therefore setting me up for greatness from the start! I'm taking this class because I want to learn more about African American History beyond what is taught in High School. I hope to take the knowledge developed in this class and apply it to both my life and future career.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Samuel Cardine Jr and I'm a Junior. The reason why I am taking this course is because I believe it is important for myself, as an African American, to educate myself about my history.
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ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Aliyah Granger and I am a sophomore, the meaning of my name means a gift from God. Before my mother found out she was pregnant with me she was going through a rough patch in her life, so I think my name has a personal meaning for her. My major is currently Management in the B&E College with a minor of Psychology. I decided to take this course because I have always thought of myself as an afro-centric individual. I was raised in a household where I was taught as a young child that you cannot know where you are going if you don't know where you have been.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Holmes Hampton and I'm from Dallas, Texas. I'm a political science major and I'm taking this class to learn about critical race theory.
ReplyDeleteHello, My name is Cameron Owens and I am a Broadcast/Journalism Major. The reason for my choosing this course AAS200 is pretty simple as in that I just wanted to learn a little more about my history & possibly piece things together that I have been told over the years from some of my family members and through stories of those before my time who have had to face struggles & hardships to allow for me and others to have the opportunities that we have today. Also seeing that I am from St. Louis, MO and grew up in Ferguson which is literally 10 minutes from where the Mike Brown shooting took place, it just really fueled a fire in me to figure out what are the problems that many African- Americans face in this country still and hopefully one day I can use my career as a voice for those who feel that they are not heard.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Brandon Wilson and I am a freshman from Louisville, Kentucky. I am a business management major and I am taking this class to get a better understanding of my african american heritage.
ReplyDeleteHi My name is Benjamin! Really Benjamin Steinmetz but I like to go by Ben. I really like learning about spirituality in all of its different forms. I love life, most of the time O.o . I'm a math major. Personally I am at an intersection in my life when I am finding out I am a fake person. I wanna say I'm all about love and Jesus, but there are certain situations that make me very nervous and cause me to hide in my shell. I have many prejudice thoughts in regards to race, gender, sexuality, you name it. But I believe in myself. I want to listen, I want to be able to call myself a citizen of the cosmos. So I wanted to take African American studies to help my ego out of putting the spotlight on myself. I want to be able to appreciate the African American culture and history, without jealousy and ignorance. I have a lot of unlearning to do!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Jason Hatcher & I am from Louisville Ky. I'm a sophomore here at UK & I also play football. I'm really excited about this class for several different reasons. I really like to learn the history of Afro Americans & I find myself constantly wanting to learn more. I took this class hoping to not only learn about the history of Afro Americans but also to find ways to maximize myself as an Afro American. I wish everyone the best of luck this year academically, see you next class.
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Melody Foree. I am from Louisville, KY. I am a Junior, my major is Broadcast Journalism with a minor in French and soon possibly AAS as well. My first name means music and my last name is my dad's family name. My mom and dad once were married. I am not sure of my families ancestors however, I know my dads father is from Hopkinsville. When people hear my last name they tend to pronounce it with a french accent. Within our AAS class I hope to learn more about African Americans and how they are connected to people of French decent. I would like to learn about music, food, culture, education.. etc. from then until now. As a journalist I hope to learn more about other influential African American journalists..
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Jorie Carr and I am from Frankfort, Ky. I am a freshman here at the University. I have not declared a major yet but I am looking into communication disorders. I have enrolled in this class to learn more about the history of African Americans since I was not given that much information about my culture in high school. I would like to share the information I gain from this class with others.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Dorian Hendrix. I am a freshmen and im majoring in political science. I hope to use my major to practice real estate law one day. Im from Dayton Ohio born and raised. I have 4 brothers and one sister.
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Jordan Yates. I am currently a senior and will actually be graduating in December. My major is Communication but I plan to further my education by getting my master's in Business. I enrolled in this class for more personal knowledge about the African American (my) culture. I'm interested in learning about all aspects of African American studies because I feel like there may be a lot that I don't know.
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Alexus Morrison and I am a freshman here at the University of Kentucky. My name does not mean anything in particular except when you take off the "A", my name becomes a car brand. I am interested in AAS because I think it is appropriate for our peers to learn more about black culture. We are constantly being pushed back in history as if it never happened. Black history is American history. I am excited to learn more and get a better understanding of what African American Studies has to offer.
ReplyDeleteHi I am Ariel Clark I am a freshman . I am majoring in Family Science and minoring in Psy and Spanish . I am originally from Seoul South Korea . I've grown up all over the world since my parents were in the military . I am taking this class to learn more about African American history. I want learn the things that teachers never taught in school
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, ,y name is Ramsey Meyers. I am a sophomore and I plan on majoring in psychology. I was born in japan, but moved to Jacksonville Florida and lived there my entire life. I decided to take this class because I have always been interested in the study and history of African Americans. I always felt like in school the history of African American was always skimmed over and never really taught so I would like to further my knowledge.
ReplyDeleteHello, My name is Nicole Rawlings. I'm a sophomore majoring in ISC with a concentration in Public Relations, minoring in Spanish. I decided to take this course mainly because as an African American woman knowing my roots and how my people came to be is very important to me. I relate it to the quote " to know where you're going you must know where you come from " I'm very excited to take this course.
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