I truly respect Dr. Carr’s enthusiasm. The passion he has for teaching us our precious African roots and the infatuation he displays when presenting is something I’ve personally never experienced in a teacher.
I attended a preparatory school, majority white, for the past 7 years of my life. Whenever we would talk about Black History it would always start at slavery. Sitting in class, being the only black, it was awkward. I could feel the pressure from my pale classmate’s stares whenever slavery was brought up. With all honesty, I felt ashamed and never spoke up during this section in class. Thinking back to these times and thinking about my experience in Freshman Seminar I feel really stupid.
I entered Freshman Seminar thinking that this was honestly going to be a blatant waste of my time but after the first class it became my favorite class. Dr. Carr screamed about ‘African Deep Thought’ and how we must learn the difference between Learning and Wisdom. He talked about how global traditions and how they are rooted in classical, medieval, and contemporary African traditions. This part of the lecture really hit hard for me.
All throughout grade school my knowledge of my African roots always steamed from slavery. Learning about African language and Egyptian hieroglyphics and how important they were for the start of civilization as a whole. The thought that my race, my blood, my people started the base and essentially shaped the world we know now made me feel extremely opposite. Not to say that I was ashamed of being black, but I never thought of it as something special. After the first class of Freshman Seminar and since coming to Howard I walked out feeling like a new person. I am so proud of being black, my culture, and I’m glad I now know the awesomeness of my roots :)
Natalie Nicole Hampton
Nursing Major/ Spanish Minor
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