Letter (cover)

Tyeasha Williams
1234 SW 82nd Way
Ft.Lauderdale, FL 33068 (954) 325-1849
November 29, 2009

Howard University
Residence Life
Washington, DC 20059

To Whom It May Concern:

I, Tyeasha Williams have recently been accepted to study at your higher of learning institution; and in a previous letter, I disclosed the fact that at that moment I could not submit the housing application fee by the intended deadline. I did however include the necessary, completed, housing documents.
Since then, I was fortunate enough to accumulate the funds and disclosed is a copy of the original application form that I originally sent, in additional to the fifty dollar money order.
I would like to thank you for your understanding, and I am most appreciative for the opportunity to learn and grow with an institution of such high esteem. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call me at (954) 325-1849.


Sincerely,

Tyeasha Williams

my response to "Excuse Me, Your Race is Showing"

Being Black is indeed a Black's master status, and no, we will never be able to escape the "price" that comes along with it, as long as we acknowledge the paradigm of race as legitimate. I understand where the author is coming from when she speaks of white people not being able to overlook the color line, but what about us? If we just stopped trying to justify our "rightful" place in society as a "worthy race", maybe we could diminish the the very thought of race, and focus only on an individuals characteristics as their definition. Bates speaks a lot about racial profiling: getting stopped by police because your black, black elites being ignorantly reduced to bell hops and shoe sales persons just because of the color of their skin. But she also follows up with the Black trying to qualify that not only are they people of prestige and power, but EVEN THOUGH they are BLACK, its commendable they even have such positions, and FOR THAT, they deserve respect. What happened to us just wanting respect off of general principle? Being a hard working human being that will not tolerate being categorized, bump the white man's letter of approval, and pat on the back, give me the same respect you'd give your mother, and not just because she's white, but because as a human being you identify with her with respect and innate recognition. The essay is successful in explaining the misfortunes Blacks undergo on a day to day basis, but that has already been done, for decades; when will we ourselves look over the concept of race and just exist as people and not the stigmatized "black people." What's also a shocker to me, the author writes a book, and in it is a component of how to deal with such situations...are you freaking serious?! I dont need a handbook on how to effectively be a good nigga in a situation where a racist makes me uncomfortable, I need the will to put them in their place and keep trucking! Now I'm not saying forget the black community and its dynamics, I'm saying lets be recognized as an elite culture, not a "good race"

my response to "Black and Latino"

Wow, this essay is funny. Sadly, what Santiago is going through in life are the solid remnants of a structured social system of inequality. At one point if an individual had a drop of African blood, guess what, they were African. But it was more resourceful to turn us against one another and construct separation and lines of petty differences so that we could also be at odds with one another. The cycle is sick, but the deed is already done and changing the mind set of the masses is nearly impossible. Spanish, Latino, whatever, I say they are Black. I'm with the theory that Africans were dropped off at different parts of the world during the slave trade (and of course before the slave trade, they did migrate over the world according to their own will) and in this process, as generations were passed and babies were born, pigmentation acclimated to changes in region and so on and so forth. Either way you see, the Caribbean is full of blacks, Spanish speaking countries and islands have devout African ancestry and that's just that. Despite the color differences, and slight differences in cultures, we are all cut from the same cloth, and as Santiago's Aunt outlined to him; even if the American won't accept you as black, you can always count on the white to treat you as such.

my response to "Black Music in Our Hands"

The title itself is soooo powerful, Black Music in OUR Hands: meaning we control the audiences we want to reach, the message we want to send, the feelings we're trying to convey, the bridges we want to be connected between the meanings of the lyrics, and the unspoken spirit of life that music is supposed to talk to. Black music, the rhythm itself has a life of its own, and the symbols and lyrics only qualify its importance to the soul. In reference to the essay, the author Bernice Reagon recalls being exposed to four types of Black Music, in which she sang and familiarized herself with three. Spirituals, R&B, and Black church gospel were the three types of music that she speaks about, and she mentions jazz at the end, briefly telling her relationship to it. But beyond Mrs. Reagon and her experiences with Black Music, it takes on a whole other context when it comes to the black community at large. For me, Black Music is a healer, its entertainment, its a friend, and sometimes I feel like it was made just for me. It's so easy for me to get lost in the ballads and not want to come back; Black church hymns for example has the absolute power to take you to the gates of heaven and back. It is so refreshing, especially because the black community is a spiritual one, we believe in welcoming the presence of our Savior during worship to give Him praise, and with that objective you can experience everything from self revelation to the baptism of the Holy Ghost, it is truly a beautiful thing. And to think, if Our gospel can do that, one can only imagine what our Soul ballads can do for you. In closing, Black Music has had a negative connotation lately, I feel like the critics that come up with that judgemental crap are just ignorant to the meaning of Our music. Simply put, they know not, what they do, because if they took the time out to EXPERIENCE what Black Music could do for them, they'd be making songs about random stuff too, its a celebration of Our Gift, not a decline in Our talent.

"Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean?" Analysis

The word nigger and its meaning is and will always be controversial. Personally, i have no problem with the word being used in certain context, just like Naylor's mother hinted towards. I mean, yes I will feel a twinge of resentment towards a non colored person using the word freely, but at the end of the day, a word has no real effect until you impose meaning upon it. That being said, I love the way black folk can take a word that originated to oppress and condemn, to a word that makes us remember a dark time for us, not in bitter contempt, but appreciation for our will and fight. The word nigger to me, in a black folks vocabulary is a heartfelt expression. It has so much meaning that it has outgrown its negative connotation and taken on a mind of its own. I don't use the word often, but i don't mind using it either, in fact, when I use it, I don't even think about it being demeaning to the person I'm talking too, and neither do they. "Nigga please, wateva nigga, that nigga crazy", are all expressions that help emphasize the connectedness of our people while in dialogue, it can make you laugh, mad, cry, whatever, but it still effectively gets your point across and I think that's what Naylor's mother was trying to get across to her in the essay. The context is the aggressor, if anyone feels disrespected by any word, it is definitely the context that the word is used in. For me, "nigga" will always be apart of my vocabulary without any traces of guilt or shame, because i know the power behind the word that i present.