I Fell Off The Roof One Day Summary

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DeAndreah Hollowell WGS 343 R/R/R #2 I Fell Off the Roof One Day (A View of the Black University) Throughout the majority of my life, I’ve known of Nikki Giovanni primarily as a poet. However, her finesse in delivering words in a playful yet though provoking manner isn’t solely contained in stanzas. The essay, I Fell Off the Roof One Day was a refreshing read, especially in this moment. Many of America’s college populations are finding themselves in discussions about race, especially in regards to anti-Blackness, whether they like it or not. In these discussions, which are usually very heated exchanges, White students often shift uncomfortably, play questionable devil’s advocates and there’s a least one variation of “Well, there’s BET. Where’s the WET channel?” Soon after, someone will take issue with the existence of HBCUs, and this exactly where Giovanni view of Black universities comes in. Giovanni begins by asserting that Black people have a deeper understanding of community ties. Immediately, I thought of the tendency for us to call each other family, regardless of blood relation. Sisterhood and brotherhood are built on …show more content…

What stuck out as relating to Giovanni’s remarks, is my own experiences throughout my education. The publishers of the grand majority of the textbooks at the primary, secondary, post-secondary levels are powerful, wealth privileged White men. The grand majority of my instructors have been White people. Thus, the inclusion of Afro-diasporic history in these curriculums often centers on subjugation and marginalization, rather than accomplishments and resistance. That is, if Black people are even included at all. Our class analysis of events, regardless if Black people were key players, is often through a White historian’s lens. Black voices, though plentiful, are

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