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This picture was taken with the intentions of him just doing a pose in his sleep. As time went on, I realized that we was doing it intentionally. From reading to him while in the womb, to talking to him, and showing him pictures he has picked up a fraction of who he is! I will teach him that he is a young black boy and the sky is the limit. There is nothing that he cannot do and do not let anyone say he cannot. I will also teach him that he should never say he cannot do something becasue that is a state of mind! I have to teach him before he is colonized by the K-12 education system and let him know that he is the FUTURE of his generation!

When I found out that I was pregnant, I realized that I was not just living for me anymore. The decisions that I made and make affect me and my child. I decided to finish my graduate degree because I knew that in order to break generational curses I needed to further my education so I can obtain upward mobility. I am a first generation college student and my child will not be a victim of hyper-criminalization!

This cap represents all of the graduations that I have achieved from high school, to community college, undergraduate, and will represent my gradute graduation. I choose this symbol of a cap because I was not a product of the school-to-prison-pipeline, push-out, or drop-out statistic. I knew that I wanted my life to be better than what my parents were. I want to break generational poverty and I am!

This was approximately two years ago that I graduated with a Bachelor's in sociology. However, four years before that I was a product of hyper-criminalization. I thought to myself is this what I want my future to be, do I want to go to college? I met a Black counslor that guided me and helped me so that I could be a high school graduate and a college graduate.

This represents the Combahee River Collective socialist organization. This collective conveyed that their needs as Black lesbian women were not being met by the white feminist or the Civil Rights movement. They evenutally made a document pointing out their needs and differences from the two groups called the Combahee River Collective Statement, coining idenitity politics.

With progressive thinking, feminism became associated with queer theory, specifically the queer color critique. This framework seeks to understand an intersectional approach to identify heteronormativity and heteropatriarchy. This is sought out to be more representative and revoluntionary toward the queer community. This can be seen in the work done by thw Combahee River Collective's Statement that addresses the intersectional marginalizations of Black queers.

School climate and the status of school life are in relation to one another. Black students having Black teachers has a positive influence on them. Black teachers have a vital impact on their teaching curriculum and their student's future.

This Infographic was composed for another class that focuses on social and educational inequalities. This was brought about because as Black peers we felt that if there were more Black teachers in the K-12 education system Black students would not be subjected to hyper-criminalization as much as they are without Black teachers.

In the United States, Black students in the K-12 education system has been "behind" their white counterparts, more like an achievement gap. In 2014, 87% of white students graduated, meanwhile only 73% of Black students graduated. (Information given by the U.S Department of Education)

This chart represents the percentages of Black and white students enrolled in schools and their suspension rates. It is clear from the chart that Black students are enrolled less but suspended more. This is because of racial bias and racial disparities in the education school system. Racial differences influence how teachers teach and who gets harsher punishments.  (Data is provided by the U.S Department of Education).

Erica Hines is a writer who is an advocate for Black students. She was fortunate enough to grow up with an educator who was Black for a mother. She believes that problems that are rooted in teaching and social issues can be potentially solved with Black students having Black teachers. She also believes that it is significant that public school systems recognize Black lives so that they can recruit more Black teachers. Teaching can be used as a tool to liberate and empower Black students and their community.

Eliza Shapiro is a writer who does not view school as the “normal” public school education system. She wrote about an alternative strategy to K-12 education which are Afrocentric schools. These kinds of schools embrace Black people, power, and what they stand for. These schools have been occupied by Black educators that had traumatic experiences with integration after the Brown v Board of Education.

Black is King was dedicated to Black men around the world to dismantle and disconnect from colonization. This slavery that America has put on our ancestors has had an intergenerational effect. In lament terms Black is King is calling out to Black men to liberate their mind of the colonized shackles placed on them so they can heal themselves and ultimately heal as a community.

This song is another cultural phenomenon for our community. While this song directly raises awareness to issues of race, colorism, African/Black culture, and intersectional feminism it was done with such ease and class. From the time the song starts until the time it ends it empowers the Black community letting them know that they are not alone. For instance, these couple of lines, “Why would you try me? Why would you bother? I am Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter…I know my enemy prey on me, so pray for me, to I be like soul food, I am a whole mood.” These lyrics are the epitome of Black lived experiences from slavery, racism, segregation, and mass incarceration.

This song is cultural phenomenon for the Black community. It is unapologetically Black that focuses on a topic that society is color blind too. Colorism is a deeply embedded social issue in the Black community that goes as far back as slavery where light skin Black people were house slaves and dark skin Black people were field slaves. There is a line in the song that says, “brown skin girl, the best thing in the world…” This line sparked a challenge on Instagram and Twitter that we as Black people should embrace our skin color even though we criticized for it ever since our ancestors were brought to America.

The 21st century is a stepping stone of moving toward more progressive thinking. There is more of an online activism component during the 21st century. Queer Theory, Black Lives Matter, and Black Girl Magic can be seen online to get the movements started and talked about. 

This quote is leading up to the progressive thinking of today. Womanist was a term that was used to describe close-minded Black feminists, but they no longer call themselves that. Their progressive ways has altered what they want to stand for and what they want to fight for!