My name is Keith Glass, and I have the privilege of serving as one of your freshman class coordinators for the 2015-2016 academic year. I am a Atlanta native, I am a rising Junior who majors in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. During my time at Morehouse I have had the distinct privilege to represent The Otis Moss Suites Council. Upon graduating I plan to join Teach For America as Corps Member. Ultimately I plan to join the Atlanta Public School Broad of Education. In 2013, I went on to start an organization and empowerment tour entitled "The Rise from 46" with the mission to motivate and incentivize at risk youth in the Metro Atlanta school districts. I serve as an ambassador for Teach for America, an organization leading the movement of closing the achievement gap. I have addressed over 3,000 teachers and students and had the honor of being the opening act for John Legend at one of his concerts in Atlanta. I live to serve others and being an inspiration to those who doubt their own abilities. A quote that I live by is " I Didn't Wait for an Opportunity, I Created One" and I instill that idea into all those who I am fortunate enough to encounter.
Please look below for your second question:
Question #2: With the current killing and mass "celling" of black bodies, 1.) What does being black mean to you and 2.) How can you be of service to yourself, your home community and the Morehouse community?
Please respond to the question in the "comments" section.
Please look below for your second question:
Question #2: With the current killing and mass "celling" of black bodies, 1.) What does being black mean to you and 2.) How can you be of service to yourself, your home community and the Morehouse community?
Please respond to the question in the "comments" section.
Being black to me is just an indication of what part of the globe my ancestors are from. I feel as though being black is just a way to be classified now a days. Being black is not what I want to be identified, I want others to see my drive and ambition when they see me not my color. Now as far as what I can do for the community, I feel as if I can be a positive figure. I would want to focus on the youth and build them in to positive citizens. Showing them that there are other ways to become successful than being involved with criminal activities. If I'm able to plant a positive seed into the children America will have bright and powerful leaders for the future.
ReplyDeletePersonally, being black means that I am equipped with the skills of my ancestors: knowing how to get the most out of everything I do, how to strive for something I really want, and how to never settle for mediocrity. Unfortunately, being black to those who are not black means that I am impoverished, incarcerated, or infatuated with drugs and alcohol. It is this filter that is over the black community that makes it difficult for us to achieve great things.
ReplyDeleteI can be of service to myself by not being a bystander when I see negative things going on in my community. This does not only apply at home, but also at Morehouse. When I see inequality, I need to take the necessary steps to abolish it. We are the future, and by being bystanders we are allowing the unjust to continue through future generations.
Hello again everyone!
ReplyDeleteAs of now, I’m not exactly sure what being “black” means to me but I think it means advocating for the social advancement of oppressed peoples, since I myself am a apart of a group of oppressed people. I think of being “black” as doing away with the hindrances placed on African Americans as a whole.
When it comes to service, I believe that I can be of service to myself by doing everything 9in my power to become a better person by evaluating my flaws and shortcomings, anything that prevents me from being as peaceful and as loving as possible and then developing methods to eradicate said flaws and shortcomings. I can be of service to myself, by brining change to myself.
Moreover, I believe I can be of service to my home community and to the Morehouse community by studying each community. I would evaluate each community’s flaws and shortcomings, much like I would do onto myself, and develop methods to amend said community’s flaws and shortcomings. I could then propose the ideas for change and improvement to community members to determine their approval of them.
In general, I can also be of service by being as kind and as caring as possible, while exhibiting a keen sense of humility. I can offer advice to others who desire and need it. And most importantly, I can serve as a voice of encouragement to others, promoting to idea of inner service to oneself to best serve others.
I also have to agree with Mr. James and say that I am not exactly sure what it means to be black but I do know that with this color on my skin it brings a lot of negativity and positivity. The negative side to being black is all the stereotypes that comes with it. As we can see right now being black in America is very challenging with multiple incidents with blacks and police. The positive side to being black in my opinion is where we come from and learning how much power we actually have. And with this power that we find as being black we do service to ourselves by learning about our untapped potential. Then with this untapped potential we can better our home community's education and state of living and finally we can better the Morehouse community by using our own home community's flaws as an example to enhance the Morehouse community.
ReplyDeleteIn my own words being black means that you are part of a rich culture with a history of overcoming hardships. Black people have had the world against them since the beginning of history but we as a people always manage to overcome no matter what through working together. I feel as though I can service myself, my home community, and the Morehouse community by educating myself, protecting culture, and becoming a resource for my fellow brothers. By educating myself I can prepare myself for anything thrown my way, by protecting black culture we protect the people and generations to come from a mass cultural identity theft, as a resource for my fellow brothers I want to help as many people as I can help other people so that hopefully they can continue to do the same for others.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for me, majority of my education has been spent in predominantly white schools. So the concept of being black, is one that has been diluted when being presented to me. For those who aren't black, is it difficult to understand the power and complexity that comes from being black. We all know that being black is not a choose nor a selection. However it is something that you embrace. For many African American youth and I, we have been exposed to the idea that being black is " talking too white" or "mass incarceration" or like recently being black is "being unarmed arm and shot". However I know that going to Morehouse will teach me what it really means to be black. However in order to receive this knowledge I must fully commit myself to Morehouse and its community. Investing in Morehouse, what Morehouse invested in me. With this I will understand what it means to be black and in turn, I will be able give this knowledge to my community back home.
ReplyDeleteBeing black to me means accepting who you are and knowing that we are the superior race. That the white man fears us and will try everything in their power to keep us down. To my home community,I could go back and share my experiences as a college student. Sharing my story to the elementary, middle and high school students. Showing them that there is more to life . than just hangout in the streets, doing drugs and chasing females. For the Morehouse community, it would bring in future leaders, who has plans to better the world. Help change the percentage rate of black males in jail verses black males in college.
ReplyDelete1.) To me, being a minority, especially black, means that I have to work harder in everything I do to surpass the dominant race and break the stereotypical African American that others perceive us as.
ReplyDelete2.) I can be of service to myself by first seeking God, getting educated, getting money, staying humble, and overall bettering myself so that I can be a better service to others. I can be a service to my home and community by giving a positive name to where I was raised up. Giving back when I can and aiding in the community, any little thing that I can do positively to serve my community and home. Most important, I can serve my Morehouse community by getting involved to be a part of important decision making and service events that will ultimately make Morehouse College the number 1 HBCU.
1. Being black means being in constant danger of being killed, arrested, or just blatantly harassed. It also means that we're seen as a huge threat. The world is scared of our true power, which is why we continue to be constrained.
Delete2. I can be a service to the community by first continuing my education and matriculating through Morehouse College, and then spreading that information to other black peers. I feel that "police etiquette" is something that should be stressed upon in our black community. It's sad that we really have to show each other how to act in the presence of law enforcement, but these tips and rules could seriously be the deciding factor between life and death.
1. Being black means being born with preconceived notions about me. Notions that take a whole lifetime to fight against and prove wrong. I am seen as a threat to society. The White media often portrays me, a black individual, as "ghetto", uncultured, uncivilized, and uneducated. They do this because they are afraid of us. They are afraid of our potential, of what we can become.
ReplyDelete2. I will service myself, my home community, and the Morehouse community by not perpetuating the stereotypes associated with being a black man. I will rise against them and work to help others rise against them.
Brother Glass,
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank you for presenting these profound inquiries before those of us in the Bonner program.
As the US continues to become an increasingly carceral state that mainly targets and permanently ensnares minorities(especially African American males) within its cruel, oppressive penal systems and facilities, the question of what does it mean to you to be black today, arises from this particular crisis.
To start off, I would like to state that I am of mixed decent. My mother's family is Indian, hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, while my father comes from a black family in Jacksonville, Florida. I take pride in identifying as being both, neglecting neither heritage. But as we all know, in America, if one has any form of blood stemming from African descent, regardless the origins of the other blood that runs through their veins, they are automatically label as "black" with no complete acknowledgement to one's multifaceted background. I oppose this practice conceived by the concept of de facto segregation. Its a method of partial denying our existence and fundamental rights as human beings.
With addressing being of mixed origin, I would like to explain what it means to me to live as black male in light of recent happenings. Some perceive life as black person as living in world where your existence is seen as less important or second to that of white person; a disgusting, undesirable life where one must forever struggle and toil to secure a position of relevance in the eyes of the world, or be doomed to irrelevancy and a diminished existence as a 'sub-human.' This perception is true to an extent and is accepted as such--a perception that I do not entertain. I view my blackness as a symbol of pride, a symbol of strength, a symbol of endurance. Being black is being granted and entrusted with the honorable charge of advancing and commanding our people's presence in a society that deems us as base, savage sub-humans, where its seem we cursed with grim, negligible odds in our favor. This sacred charge, this sacred duty, this sacred honor, has been entrusted to no other. As a black male living in Carceral America, I will service myself, the community that raised me, and the Morehouse community that will groom and mold me into a man, by demonstrating the determination and dedication that rivals/mirrors that of history's zealots, to empower members of these respective communities. Not to divide and conquer, but to bond and unify, as a unit that is engine striving for peaceful reconciliation and compassionate coexistence of all lives, regardless of their ethnic differences.
Well said.
Delete1.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that being black just meant me having a darker skin tone, but now I know it is much more than that. Being black in America is great thing to me, cause we are free....but being a black male in America means that I am a constant threat to society mainly because of the color of my skin and knowledge in my brain. As a black male in America I have to wake up every morning thinking of a way to look non-threatening to society. It means working 10 times as harder than the white man, just because of the color of my skin. Being a smart black man in America, is a dangerous thing.
2.
I believe I can be a service to Morehouse, by giving my best each and everyday. Helping my fellow brothers achieve the destined greatness, and allow Morehouse to get in me and to change me. I can be a service to myself by never cheating myself and underestimating myself, no matter how tall the hurdle may be. I will be a service to my home community, because I will use Morehouse to acquire the tools and resources needed to help my community become better than ever.