The convocation with the author of His Name Is George Floyd, which features a “Talk-Back” with the author—an opportunity for the audience to ask the author questions—offers students the means to further step into your intellectual identity in a public context. Asking questions from a place of genuine intellectual curiosity is an excellent way to grow as an emerging scholar and a service to the university community at large whose own understanding will be further developed by hearing the answers to complex, open-ended questions that were thoughtfully prepared in advance.
This assignment is comprised of three parts:
Ask open-ended How not What questions that reflect on:
Weaker question:
Stronger question:
Weaker question:
Stronger question:
Weaker question:
Stronger question:
In the Black tradition, intellectual autobiographies and biographies are often a key component of the larger work that detail how home, school, and community forces shaped the subject's intellectual development. So, for this writing assignment, each student will reflect on the central forces that have impacted their education—positively or negatively--so far and write a 2–3-page, double-spaced autobiography. While the narrative might examine traditional school experiences, such as the classroom, the narrative is expansive enough to allow the student to consider non-traditional spaces such as the sport's field, clubs, family, neighborhoods and other important sites of learning.
Example excerpts of intellectual biographies by Douglass, X, and Sanchez are provided below.
He is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation while sin is a reproach to any people.
Quotes:
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
Malcolm X (Born Malcolm Little, later el-Haji) Malik el-Shabazz May 19, 1925- February 21, 1965) was an African- American revolutionary Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil right movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam (NOI) until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the Africa-American Community.
Sonia Sanchez (Born Wilsonia Benita Driver- Aeptember 9, 1934). She is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over 12 books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays and children books.
Please see the video above for a representation of Sanchez's Intellectual Autobiography
This paper allows the student to identify those organizations working for change. Especially in the context of the over-policing of Black communities and the wave of rage and despair that followed George Floyd's death, it would be easy to lose hope. However, in communities worldwide there are dedicated volunteers, activists, and change agents dedicated to raising awareness and providing concrete solutions to a wide variety of social challenges. For this assignment, the student should identify a social issue that sincerely concerns them and then research a campus organization, a community organization, and a regional or national organization invested in change in this area. The final assignment is a reflection paper on the effective way these organizations are working towards change.