The Beauty of Cohesion by Tijah

The Beauty of Cohesion by Tijah - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

I’ve always been accustomed to having a watchful eye treading my steps wherever I went. It’s normal for me to look behind me only to see those who feel they are superior to me staring strangely at me when I lift a heavy box or talk out of turn. Simply, those around me see the physical: a black woman, but their perception is only so far, as they are not able to see the complexity of what it’s like to not only be stereotyped as a inferior gender, but also stereotyped as an inferior race.
There are great African-American leaders in the world, and being apart of the black community, I am aware that all of the glory goes to only men, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but what all fail to realize is that the path was actually paved by a black woman. Without our bodies being used as temporary homes and our hands gathering nutrients for our loved ones, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X would fail to exist. African American women put their lives on the line to care for our next generation, but still, we have to worry about the harshness of the outside world, such as police brutality, and so if I had a popular education podcast, it would be on the topic of the lives of African American people from all around the world: the differing cultures, values, beliefs, and fears. I do understand that this is not a typical educational topic, such as Science, Math, Language Arts, or Technology, but this is an educational topic that has the ability to change our perception of each other and others around us. It has the ability to add knowledge onto those who don’t want to understand African Americans or those who are just simply to afraid to.
The first topic would suggest what’s in the news today regarding the black community, and it’s a topic that people want to ignore and go away, but it’s knocking on every one’s front door: police brutality. Not even one hundred years ago, African Americans were hindered by the brutality of white supremacists. Today, we see little change from what our ancestors went through due to police brutality; blacks are still being discriminated against. Sometimes, it is our own fault that we don’t use our common sense to know that we are always being targeted, but what about the other times when we don’t provoke them? Are we just suppose to forget about the other times? Or do we fight the injustices brought against us? However, a fight should never be physical, but peaceful. Violence doesn’t do anything but confirm a stereotype already awarded to us. Not only would these being general topics regarding police brutality, but it would also have helpful tips as to how we can minimize it. Other topics would include Affirmative Action in subtopics, such as Education, Music, Women, and Jobs, Black Power Movement, and Civil Rights Movement.
In short, this unusual educational topic would attract an audience who want to make the world a better place. I believe that it’s not too late for us to all just get along, or at least act cordial towards one another. As ironic as it sounds, we all live in fear of one another, and it should be ceased because there are bigger problems in the world. There are families being separated from one another. This is a hard world to live in as it is, and whatever we can do to make it easier needs to be done. The podcast would provide educational insight from both perspectives to focus on our similarities, instead of us constantly focusing on our differences.