The musicality of August Wilson

On November, 13 2008, I forced myself into going to The Musicality of August Wilson, knowing that I would receive extra credit for attendance in both my English and Psychology classes. However, oblivious to the Fantastic works of August Wilson and the talent that would soon fill the shallow walls of the Blackburn reading lounge, I was in for a shocking surprise. The August Wilson presentation kept my attention the whole way through, I absolutely enjoyed piano lesson and Joe Turners’ Come and Gone. In piano lesson, I felt as if the actor was speaking directly to me, which increased my focus on every word that sipped through his lips. The woman, who aggressively spoke about not having any more babies in Joe Turners’ Come and Gone, astonished me with her words as they were electrifying and made the act come to life. With only two days of rehearsal the actors and musicians put on an excellent viewing of scenes from August Wilson’s plays. All of the people who were involved, especially those who are current Howard University students are commendable performers. I believe it to be inspiring when those Howard alumni who have achieved a great deal revisit the University, and share their experience with others. Their success gives hope to current students who are striving towards their goals.
I left the reading lounge that day with newfound knowledge about a man named August Wilson. In the two short hours I sat through this forum I learned that: August Wilson was a native of Pittsburgh and used the rhythms from the streets of Pittsburg in all of his plays. Also August Wilson wrote a play for each decade in the twentieth century, a first and only among the various playwrights.

November 4th 2008 Election Night

On November 4th 2008 around six o' clock, my friend and I were one of the first to arrive at the Ballroom for the viewing of the 2008 election results. The room seemed ready for an audience, there was a big screen displaying a local news channel and chairs organized in a multiple of rows. Soon people began to arrive and the atmosphere was friendly, even Ben and Jerrys ice cream came to support the event by passing out free samples. More and More people arrived, soon there were not enough seats for everyone. Time had past and it was nearing ten 0' clock and I still had work to complete, but something just would not let me leave. Especially when I heard that NBC was going to put us on television, everyone began to call their family members, including me.
During the viewing not only was the crowd eating delicious ice cream, and listening to the television but other things was going on as well. For instance there was a panel discussing the importance of the 2008 election, current Howard students informing the crowd on improvements in the polls in different states, a trivia question game about the 2008 election, and of course Howard had WHBC radio station playing hit songs, which the crowd would remix to make a reference to Obama. However, no matter what was going on all stopped when a poll closed and some results were revealed, all eyes and ears were then focused on the screen. I can't exactly remember what time it was, but I do remember the exact moment of when the screen flashed in BIG letters that Barack Obama was the United States new president. Chaos filled the ballroom, people shouted,cried, prayed, jumped, danced, sang,the moment was unforgettable. Dr. Carr spoke a few inspirational words along with our current president and the Mr. Howard University. At the end everyone in the ballroom silenced for prayer and then we sung the Black national anthem together. Afterwards my friends and I ran outside, we hugged everyone we knew and telephoned our family/friends. We even screamed Obama at random people and surprisingly they responded in the same manner. Eventually we gathered around the flag pole in the rain to join hands and sing. No one cared that it was raining because our president was now black.

The Bluest Eye

For my Introduction to psychology course I attended a briefing about the infamous play The Bluest Eye. My professor, Dr. Harrell was apart of the discussion panel along the sides of Dr. Carr, and other significant Howard University professors. As apart of the presentation different students of each professor read the underlying meanings of specific parts of the play, which they had previously written in class. In the play The Bluest Eye the main character is Pecola, an African American girl who believes she would receive better treatment from society and look attractive if she had blue eyes. The discussion developed around Pecola's belief and generated other topics, such as black poverty, colorism, and the idea black is beautiful.

Dr. Gregory Carr's Lecture

Dr. Gregory Carr's lecture on November 6, 2008 was enticing and far from being monotonuous, for his emotions could be felt through each word he spoke. Dr. Carr enlightened his audiance about the importance of African studies, and how the major can be used in a variety of fields. Dr. Carr also disscussed Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presendtial election, refering to the celebration that followed as "Obama-mania".Dr. Carr shared with us previous African Americans who attempted to run for president or other higher political offices, and their unique campaign strategies. For instance one man, I cannot recall his name, created a Blues song as his campaign slogan. In addition, I gained knowledge about Howard University's African studies department sponsering educational trips to diffrent places of African decent.Dr. Carr stated that they are currently planning a trip to Brazil. Overall, the fact that African studies can help better a person in any occupational field, and assit in a person's self-discovery was the prominent concept in Dr. Gregory Carr's excellent lecture.