The community that I will be
focusing on for the sake of this project is being of the Black community at a
predominately-white institution such as Emory University. I have found it hard
to adapt to this “white space” without entirely changing my true identity. The
transition from predominately-black schools to this institution was a major
adjustment because it was all so unfamiliar. I found myself trying much harder
to make friends and configuring to others’ standards. The environment has
improved for me because I was able to find a group of friends who were inviting
and unbiased. I was also able to evaluate my purpose on this campus and have
become more content with my Emory experience. It has been a journey with coping
with my identity affirmation. I have gone through a lot of development
processes at Emory, in terms of my ambitions, physical appearance, and
personality. However, I can say that every change has made a better and
stronger me.
By
analyzing how this community has been an integral piece of my Emory experience,
I am able to show a new dynamic that will bring awareness to the pressures of
black students in “white spaces”. I believe that delving in to how minorities
view the institutions they are apart of helps university administration understand
how they should attract students to their universities and specifically what
improvements can be made to improve minorities’ campus adaptability. This
project not only reflects my experience, but an overarching experience that
minorities have at Emory.
The
video will consist of interviews of black students to understand the pressures
they face at this institution. The interviewees will be asked a series of
questions to encourage thought-provoking and sincere responses. White
interviewees will also be interviewed to observe the “white perspective” of the
Emory experience for Black students. By utilizing this approach, I will be able
to view the idea of “white privilege” and its effects on the students’ psyches
concerning the Black experience. Following the interviews, I will also be
giving a story of my first-year experience at Emory and how it has difficult
for me to adapt to this new community and environment. To add more depth to my
story, I will provide “a day in the life” segment to show more of the factors
that affect my experience.
My
overall goal for this project is to create an outlet for black students and
bring awareness to our experiences. We are pressured everyday to either be
someone we are not or be someone we dislike. The pressure sometimes becomes
unbearable and that affects how we perform as students of the university.
Hopefully, this video encourages others to be more understanding and be
conscious of how their actions can directly affect the lives or experiences of
others.
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