Through My Eyes

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Through My Eyes

Part One:

I decided to adopt the voice of an African American male to gain a different perspective of my society. Every day I live my life as a white female and perform everyday activities without a second thought. Never do I stop to think what it would be like to be black or disabled in my surroundings. Ever since I was young, I was taught not to discriminate against minorities and not to judge the handicapped. But, never was I taught what it was actually like to be a minority, be homosexual, or be disabled. I can honestly say I am not a racist and that I’m sensitive to the needs of others.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that I know what it is like to be a minority or struggle with a disability everyday of my life. This assignment opened my eyes to the wide variety of people within my society and helped me try to understand another person’s perspective in life.

To better understand the voice of an African American male, I searched the web for information, interviewed someone with my voice, and pretended to think and act like that voice for one day.

The first web site that impacted my previous white female notions was a site entitled BlackFamilies.com. The site contained information pertaining to African American families like current news, family issues, and other happenings. One item that I found particularly interesting was the baby name page. Here, one could view the list of black baby names and even submit their own favorites. As a white female, I have only browsed through “white” baby name books. I’m aware that many black Americans have names unique to their culture, but I never saw a name book designed specifically for them. Once again, I was only viewing the world through my own eyes and experiences. I’ve always wondered how Blacks “find” the names of their children since they are usually so unique and different from what I am used to. I also enjoyed reading the names and trying to pronounce them on my own. There were many other links to sights similar to this one, including more black baby names!

Secondly, I talked to an African American male who is a student at La Salle University. We discussed what it was like to be a black male on our campus and within the city.

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