african american studies
it's only been what? three weeks since school started and i feel like i've learned a lot from being in ap african american studies.
of course, i knew of how bad africans were treated before coming to americas, to the middle passage, and in the americas. from the start and even today we are considered less than.
i also knew of how race was inherently a social construct but i never really thought much about it until now... and oh boy was the shit people made up back then to justify the unethical slavery of africans crazy...
you can't assume that people with similar facial characteristics are 'black' because that just isn't true. the generalization and belief that africans (and other minorities) have no culture at all is what opened my eye the most after being in that class today.
this is why i personally prefer bottom-up history more than top-down. it focuses on the lives and experiences of ordinary and/or people that often do not receive recognition like the rich white men did. it focuses on the most touchy subjects and makes me realize just how much history books gloss over the worst of the worst.
i've never been as interested in hearing about all these rich white men and, in the process, ruining the lives of minorities (i wonder why).
my african american studies teacher tells us to not take the events of the past personally. i do understand that but racism is still such a big part in society to this day. so while i'm not offended at the past, i'm offended at the present and how things haven't changed (or HAVE changed but as lost progress instead of gained).