The Sea is Haunted. The Sea is Home. The Sea is Healing.

 Ta’Natia Walter  Ms.Harris  Blog post  November 15, 2022  How racial trauma is overlooked  During this class, I have learned a lot of new things that I did not have knowledge of. Before coming to this class, I had not heard of the black gothic and I knew nothing about it. As this class comes to a close, we must explain what black gothic means to us. To me, the black gothic is about the racial trauma that is overlooked in today’s society. Racial trauma is ongoing event of racial discrimination that builds up over time. Our ancestors were one of the victims of racial trauma. African Americans who lived during the time of segregation and slavery had to deal with being mistreated because of the complexion of their skin. Even after slavery ended, black people as a community still had to fight to be given the same opportunities as white people. For example, the Jim Crow laws. According to history.com, Jim Crow laws were meant to marginalize African Americans by ...

 Bailee Galloway Engl-44378 Ms. Harris November 15,2022 Is “Liberty and Justice for all” really for “All”             As a black person in America when I lay down at night and all I can hear is, “Say their names”, “No justice no peace”, and finally, “Mama I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe”.  The land of the “free” and the home of the “brave”, “liberty and justice for all”; These slogans were created by Francis Scott Keys and facade by the United States of America.  Since August of 1619, the formerly “free” have been enslaved and brutalized by a system of unprovoked violence and racism. In 2022 we as black people should not still be scared of leaving our homes and never returning, but this is real life reality we face in the so-called, “Land of the free”.             On December 6, 1865, slavery was written to be abolished, but that truly never happened....

  Wright James  Harris, Jaleesa  ENG 2016  17 November 2022  Playlist  1985 (Intro to “The Fall Off”) - J Cole  ● Gazzy Garcia known as Lil Pump, is a rapper who comes from a Latin American heritage. In 2018, Lil Pump presumably had beef with J Cole and proceeded to write a diss track on him. J Cole took to such actions, in dissing Lil Pump in a fatherly manner, giving advice on what’s best for his image. J Cole addresses that though coming from a Latin American heritage, Lil Pump passes as a black man, who provides a false image toward his widely caucasian audience, in order to provide the feeling of what it’s like to be black. Thus escalating Lil Pump’s social and financial status, which is a representation of Black Bourgeois in the Black Gothic.  Deep River  ● Deep River comes in many arrangements by many African American composers like Hall Johnson and H. T. Burleigh. Nevertheless, this negro spiritual tells the story of going home by way...

  Treasure Garner  ENGL 2016 Ms. Harris 17 November 2022 Reality Beneath The Surface The Black culture. Culture consists of elements that makes up a nation; it is the foundation of a united group of people. In reference to Black culture, I am referring to Africans, African Americans, and all Black communities. The Black culture has taken on elements since the period of enslavement. These elements stem from the ideology of the Black Gothic. The Black Gothic is a genre within academic literature and visuals. It is the process of experiencing spiritual, traumatic, and horror circumstances as well as healing and overcoming breakthroughs. To bring acknowledgment to the elements that have been brought on stemmed through the Black Gothic from the years of the enslavement of our ancestors by looking through the lens of spirituality and mental health.  Spirituality is widely permeated within the Black culture and community. Dr. Carter in his work he explained the importance of spi...

  Harlee Harris  Professor Harris  ENGL 2016  15 November 2022  Dragon Ball Z and Black Empowerment  Ever since my childhood as some kid who watched anime Saturday nights on Toonami,  almost every fan of Dragon Ball Z I’ve met has also happened to be Black. They’ve also been the biggest, most enthusiastic fans of the show. This coincidence has been something to pique my curiosity. I wondered whether it went any further than chance, and it was here in African  American Literature where I determined the truth to be something far greater. Since its original airing in America in the late nineties, Dragon Ball Z has risen to become one of the most well known pinnacles of pop culture and motivational masculinity for men growing up watching cable TV cartoons and anime. Something apparent though is that the show has grown to a level  of distinguishment that goes much further beyond specifically in Black communities and facets  of culture. It has...

  Tobias Nash Ms. Harris ENGL 2016-44378 17 November 2022 Black Heritage and Enslavement through Time When we think about heritage and traditions, we tend to associate them with races and ethnicities. Through time we have seen them be passed down from generation to generation, whether it’s certain dances, foods, or music. There is a particular heritage that I want to focus on and that is the black heritage. There are different aspects of black heritage that some people may not understand because that there are different ethnicities that celebrate or embrace their heritage in their own way. Some may come from a route from slavery which was a dark time for black throughout history. This essay will go through the time and lifestyles of enslavement and black heritage. Starting with enslavement, it’s when you have lost your freedom and are treated cruel for your disobedience and bad behavior. But some may just have been for reasons that have nothing to do with the person at all. Slavery...

   Caleb Pogue Professor Harris English 2016-44378 November 15,2022 Interracial Relationships and the Black Gothic This semester, when reading “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,” I found myself relating to a section of Equiano's story. Equiano, a slave, had formed a bond with the man who bought him, Pascal. Pascal treated Equiano with more kindness and respect than his previous enslavers, and Equiano considered Pascal, a friend. Pascal then betrays Equiano and sells him to another master (Equiano 76). As a resident of a small town in Louisiana, and a student of a K-12 school, I watched as the white people I socialized with adopted confederate flags, made insensitive jokes, and threw around racial slurs. I decided to base my project around this phenomenon, questioning the nature of interracial relationships. The first area I decided to focus on was romantic relationships. This was influenced by the “Willie” chapter in  Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, as even...

  Sheriah Williams  African American Literature   https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fplaylist%2 F4gebWlX4dGHzjpTUjezpzv%3Fsi%3D5X0_vdDoRv6TuYV4Y7H1cQ&data=05%7C01%7Cwilliamssi%40war hawks.ulm.edu%7Cea7b7a1eaf5f48c38f8908dac8f3160b%7C90963b0cb03044fba95a9e359af4f668%7C 1%7C0%7C638043243979407967%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2l uMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FtDQtnpiy4WyANDgcvIGJl4J KHhvKKkCpJXSWych1zQ%3D&reserved=0     The songs I chose all had different meanings, but all the songs contributed to the afterlife of slavery. The playlist starts off with Life of OJ by Jay-z, and this song stood out to me cause the song really points out the negative stereotypes of African Americans in the United States. The songs also try to put all African Americans in a certain box by saying, “House Nigga or Field  Nigga.” Afterlife of slavery the enslav...

  Allyrica Williams ENGL 2016-44378 Ms. Harris  Healing & Harming Effects of Water This visual serves to represent the harmful effects and the healing effects of water. Throughout the read of Homegoing , water represents its harming nature that causes pain and suffering to families, specifically when Esi is sent to the Americas during the slave trade. This became a generational curse throughout the reading when especially when Marcus is afraid to swim, and the firewoman in Akua’s dream uses water to distract her and she begins the fire. However, its healing nature is also used to bring families together, specifically when Marjorie & Marcus meet to swim, and the family is reconnected. This visual shows a beach with figures representing rejoicing and praying. This serves to show the healing effects of water and how it can be peaceful and used to bring peace. Some use water to reach a new level of spirituality within themselves or to the God, they pray to. The chain was a...

  Jessica Mitchell Professor Harris African American Literature 15 November 2022 Black Gothic/ Generational Curses  Black Gothic Literature is characterized by death, fear, and generational curses. The Black Gothic can also be characterized by supernatural manifestations. This semester, many of my readings always emphasize the elements of generational curses of African American culture. I truly believe that people can inherit misfortune. Generational curses have been troubling African American lives since the biblical days. African American men and women have been brainwashed for generations to look, act, speak, heal and not heal a certain way.   Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi sheds light on generational curses from a male and woman's point of view. In Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, in Marcus’s chapter, he doesn't care for water due to the stories his family put in his head about their ancestors. African Americans were transported across the Atlantic during slavery days, during which ...

  Kaitlin Armstrong  Jaleesa Harris ENGL 2016 November 16, 2022 The Real Reparations My original topic was about reparations and the different types but after researching different songs my opinion about it has changed. Music has been influential on society for generations and more modernly, music has been used to make political statements to people who aren’t as receptive to traditional ways. Many black people across the world agree with reparations and believe that they are deserved by affected families and have their own ideas of peo ple were only counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of taxes and representation. Historically, black people have always been considered anything but human which explains why many of the low-income communities are mainly populated by black people. Although, welfare and other government aid was offered to low-income families many were able to apply due to the crack epidemic that flooded many neighborhoods. 2pac proclaimed, “cuttin’ tax...