Dr. Williams lecture was one of opinion rather one of instructions and guidance. She was giving instructions for our presentations that were about to come up. She gave all of the main components necessary for to conduct a successful case study. She was sure to inform the class that we must pick a topic that could be studied thoroughly within the time that we are given to complete the assignment. I felt like that was aimed directly toward me because I tend to go above and beyond when I have most of the control for picking what I researched. Just ask my creative writing teacher, a one page assignment was so difficult for me. ( I love having control because the possibilities are endless) Dr. Williams had an explicit slide with everything that we would need to present and have within our work. While she was talking it didn’t seem like that much work but it really was because when we attempted to sit down and come up with a topic prior to the lecture, deciding on a topic was a hour and a half session.

African Burial Grounds

This past weekend we as a class took a trip to New York to visit the African Burial ground. Which our teachers remind us is the key to our existence, the reason for freshmen seminar. My first impression are seeing the Burial Ground was that it was small. When i think of a burial ground i think of vast acres much like a cemetery. but then again that what mean that white masters respected African American slaves enough to a lot them that much land. The original burial ground was probably much bigger but to the grounds still represent the site of a mass grave. After the short film, indoor and outdoor tour were over i came with some conclusions: I was disappointed in the fact the some of the bones were not available for viewing. I thought the grounds would be similar to say the tombs of Tut in Egypt. The burial ground is more of a tribute of statues that represent the lives of the slaves that were / are buried beneath. It appeared that many New Yorkers had no clue what was right in the middle of their city. Because of the fact that they looked surprised to see so many students ( not mentioning the fact that we were a big group of young African Americans) on a tour. The most enjoyable was just hearing the history of the grounds. How it was found and the litigation that the African American community had to go through in order to preserve their history. In reminds me that our history is still considered sacred and worth remembering to others then just myself.

African Burial Ground: NYC!

The Dean of college of arts and Sciences spoke. He explained that we were standing on the grounds of a found a long lost cemetery. The bodies were once at Howard and our students were the head of research for these found remains. The dean finished up his speech with "If we forget our history, we are lost. “, that stuck out the most because although it’s a common phrase, standing there knowing that enslaved Africans were under my feet, it really made me think about how far we have come as people. Then Dr. Carr spoke after the Dean. Dr. Carr opened the ritual with asking the elder of the group for permission to continue to pay respect and pay homage to ancestors, the land, the rising and setting of the sun. The water used was taken from the Atlantic Ocean and the sand was from The Mine established by the Portuguese. We repeated “Ashay” meaning “Let it be.” Between saying, “Ashay” Dr. Carr explained the greatness of Africa its peoples and their contributions to the world we live so comfortably today. Not only blacks but the Africa is the setting of the first and greatest civilizations. To those that resisted slavery and those that made contributions after being enslaved. He also discussed the future of our people and the greatness to come. He encouraged us to develop spiritual connections with our ancestors and to remember the strength and how we came together and created what now call African Diaspora. After Dr. Carr’s moving speech, a tour guide came to speak and I remember feeling some type of way about the white man saying “Brother” although he is, I guess I have some maturing to do.
He talked about everything I think his heart desired because I remember being so cold that my ears went numb and I could no longer focused but once we moved I regain focus. The part of speech that stuck out the most to me is was the symbol and the fixture that symbolized us going back to our roots and reclaims what was stolen. I don’t know of anything on the trip that stuck out the most outside of that. Overall, I was more than impressed with the trip and everything I learned and more importantly it made me think. But I must say Harlem was interesting too, they wear Coogi and Rocawear, YUCKKKKK!

Dr. Segun's Lecture

Dr. Segun's Lecture was interesting, although I couldn't fully understand what he was saying because of his accent. During his lecture he told the story of Iwa. Iwa means "existence" and "character". There were a lot of lessons he was giving us in his lecture; such as treat others with respect and be grateful for what you have. He stated that our character is our most important possession. You have to have a good character. He also said that Education is to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom. Next he told us to READ to avoid miss-education. Towards the end he said " Be the dew Drop of the world", which I'm not really sure what he meant by that, other than for us to make a fresh impact on the world. Later on, that evening the class traveled over to Crampton Auditorium to listen to another speech about getting the maximum out of each day and staying on top of our school work. following that we were told about the African burial ground in New York city, which each class will be taking a trip to go visit. This class was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot from this experience. Plus the fed us at the end!

By: Morgan Nicholas

Dr Segun's Lecture

This week, Dr. Segun Gbadegesin gave a intersesting lecture on Omoluabi: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility. He spoke about the need to bea productive member of the community. He educated us on the fact that being a productive member of the community was a necessity in some ancient cultures. For example, the Egyptians were required by Ma’at, the goddes of truth and balance, to abide by strict principles such as: don’t commit sin, don’t commit robbery with violence, do not steal, don’t seduce anyone’s wife, don’t close your ears to the truth, etc. These principles were meant to promote order and harmony amongst other things. Dr. Segun defined ”Omoluabi”, who was “a child begotten of the chief of Iwa”. He also explained, in depth that Omoluabi describes “a person of character, disciplined, self-improving, thus earning the respect of peers and community on account of practical wisdom in putting knowledge acquired through education to the service of the community, and not shying away from personal sacrifices when needed”. This lecture was enlightening and informational, as are most of the lectures in freshman seminar.

Dr.Segun's Lecture

Dr. Segun’s Lecture focal point was character. This was interesting because being at Howard, you come across so many. He emphasized the importance of having good character and how far it can take you. He related this message to Ma’at, an Egyptian goddess. I don’t remember any special feelings or thoughts but I did take his words into consideration. I never thought of myself as a person with bad character but it made me think of how other people perceive me. Although my perception of me is not based on others perceptions, I wanted to know how the world sees Ashley D. Lewis. He then went on to discuss the importance of education. He described how education reaches many. When you’re educated, you’re then able to educate your family. This is amazing to think about because enlightened peoples can produce and provide enlightened people into the world. And the black community is in dire need of more educated blacks. Sure, we’re all here in college but when the numbers are compared, there are more pregnant black teens than black college girls. He went on to explain how we can use our education to uplift our community. He left us with, “Be the dew drops of the world", which means leave a mark and benefit it in some way. I can’t fully say that I enjoyed it but it did make me think about me and what I’ll do with my degree. The main thing I love about my major is the money and Dr.Segun’s lecture helped me think of what else I could get out of my degree besides a six figure salary.


Later that evening, we were told to go to Cramton. I must say, I was less than happy to Cramton for another lecture after hearing one. Seeing that I'm undecided I automatically assumed that this lecture would have nothing to do with me. But to my surprise it was the exact thing I needed to hear. Although I was less than fond of his delivery of his message, it was a good lecture. When I sat down, I was joking and socializing but it wasn't until he started calling people out in the audience I began to straighten up. He told COAS that we should strive in college and that mediocrity is sad. I must say that I agree. Although I have a 4.0 I knew that I could have worked harder over the past 4 weeks. I knew that I could do better. He then questioned us and asked that we took out a sheet of paper and pen. Honestly, I didn't have it but I did have Microsoft Word on my phone. Although, I might have looked like I was just texting, I was really typing the questions he asked. By him question my study habits it finally dawned on me that I'm in college and I should study more and make it a habit before the heavy course load kicks in. We then learned about the African Burial Ground. I was really intrigued because as many times as I have taken trips to New York my primary focus was shopping not a history lesson. So I'm really excited for my trip to New York!

Dr. Seguns lecture/ African burial ground lecture

Dr. Segun's Lecture

I found Dr.Segun's lecture to be quite interesting. The main topic of his lecture was Ma'at. This was an ancient Egyptian concept as well as a goddess. It was the embodiment of balance, truth, law and morality. Ma'at was found in the coffin texts and tomb texts. There are over fifty principles of Ma'at. The general idea is: "I have not.." done something immoral. Ma'at was basically the foundation of ancient Egyptian social life. Some historians even believe that Moses and the ten commandments is a similar situation and is a reflection of what was already popular during that time period.

Afterwards we learned the story of Kankan (force) and Iriwowo (dew drop). Kankan brought sworn enemies together to work for him. For example, "the snake and man", "the hen and the grasshopper" etc. When he finished bringing all of them together he left. Unsurprisingly, not long after he was gone they began to fight. They all fought until they died. Later, Iriwowo the representation of gentleness woke each of them up.

Lastly, we learnt about a yoruba concept: "iwa." Iwa means good character. Dr. Segun advised us all to be "Omoluabi", i.e a child begotten of the chief of iwa. Lastly, we were taught a Yoruba proverb: "Immortality is the crown of existence." We can gain immortality by gaining an education and using it to serve our communities.

I really enjoyed this lecture. I loved to hear about the ancient Egyptians and their ties to Africa. I also enjoyed having Dr. Segun as a speaker.

*************************************************************************************

After the regular weekly session of my freshman seminar class, we went to Cramton auditorium. At cramton, we were first encouraged to take school more seriously. I must say the speech was vvery motivational. I literally felt like i have picked up my life and organized it. Since then i have made a multitude of schedules and i have managed my time more efficiently.

Afterwards, we learnt about the African burial ground. I though this was so interesting. Mostly because I live in NYC and my mother's office is about a block away and i have never heard about it. Hearing most of the things I heard was very sad. I always believed that the slaves in the north were treated way better than those in the south and the conditions were less harsh. I though that it was mostly the southerners that had treated their slaves so poorly. this was an illuminating experience.