Removed. Forum
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bluepenguin
- Posts: 285
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:33 pm
Re: Diversity Statement - Help Please!
Don't cheat the margins.
All cuttable:
The assignment was simple: color a picture of yourself and provide a list of your ‘favorites’ below. But, I refused to complete the assignment with the crayons provided to us in the basket in the middle of the table. None of them were the Burnt Sienna I was looking for, or resembled the color I needed to accurately portray my tan colored skin that had a tinge of red. I petitioned to my first grade teacher, Ms. Bussear, stating that the Peach nor Black crayon would suffice. Surprised, yet delighted that I asked for a “tan” crayon, she immediately went to the next room to retrieve the Burnt Sienna I needed to complete the assignment.
I have always been proud of who I am and the people I come from, mostly in part because my mother and father raised me to embrace my cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and also because they provided me with the confidence to welcome my differences. Already in the first grade, I was aware and secure enough to acknowledge that I was not all black, not all white and not all native – that the blood of all three were pumping through my veins and therefore, equally important to me. This confidence would prove to be essential in overcoming the difficult moments I endured growing up as a minority in a predominantly Caucasian environment.
However, they hardly compared to the stories my father would tell of his experiences living in the Deep South as a young African American and Native American man – the humiliation of the Jim Crow laws, the disproportionate education systems, working in the fields as a child to provide for a family, and the racially motivated attacks. I heard of the high alcoholism percentages, high unemployment rates and low education levels that plagued the poverty stricken Native American reservations. And I listened to the stories about the race riots of my mother’s native city, Detroit, a city still segregated along 8-mile.
These family stories, along with my own experiences, instilled in me a deep appreciation for my cultural background. Their sacrifices constantly remind me to appreciate the freedoms and capitalize on the opportunities that were denied to so many of my ancestors, particularly education. While circumstances for my generation are tremendously better in this country, in regards to tolerance, freedom and opportunity, than what they were for my parent’s generation and on, I believe there is still much work that is needed to be done. It is for this reason that I desire to be an attorney that serves disadvantaged groups. I have benefitted from the sacrifices of others and believe that as an attorney I can combine my passion for the study of law with my desire to give back to others in the several ways the legal field can.
All cuttable:
The assignment was simple: color a picture of yourself and provide a list of your ‘favorites’ below. But, I refused to complete the assignment with the crayons provided to us in the basket in the middle of the table. None of them were the Burnt Sienna I was looking for, or resembled the color I needed to accurately portray my tan colored skin that had a tinge of red. I petitioned to my first grade teacher, Ms. Bussear, stating that the Peach nor Black crayon would suffice. Surprised, yet delighted that I asked for a “tan” crayon, she immediately went to the next room to retrieve the Burnt Sienna I needed to complete the assignment.
I have always been proud of who I am and the people I come from, mostly in part because my mother and father raised me to embrace my cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and also because they provided me with the confidence to welcome my differences. Already in the first grade, I was aware and secure enough to acknowledge that I was not all black, not all white and not all native – that the blood of all three were pumping through my veins and therefore, equally important to me. This confidence would prove to be essential in overcoming the difficult moments I endured growing up as a minority in a predominantly Caucasian environment.
However, they hardly compared to the stories my father would tell of his experiences living in the Deep South as a young African American and Native American man – the humiliation of the Jim Crow laws, the disproportionate education systems, working in the fields as a child to provide for a family, and the racially motivated attacks. I heard of the high alcoholism percentages, high unemployment rates and low education levels that plagued the poverty stricken Native American reservations. And I listened to the stories about the race riots of my mother’s native city, Detroit, a city still segregated along 8-mile.
These family stories, along with my own experiences, instilled in me a deep appreciation for my cultural background. Their sacrifices constantly remind me to appreciate the freedoms and capitalize on the opportunities that were denied to so many of my ancestors, particularly education. While circumstances for my generation are tremendously better in this country, in regards to tolerance, freedom and opportunity, than what they were for my parent’s generation and on, I believe there is still much work that is needed to be done. It is for this reason that I desire to be an attorney that serves disadvantaged groups. I have benefitted from the sacrifices of others and believe that as an attorney I can combine my passion for the study of law with my desire to give back to others in the several ways the legal field can.
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bne
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:45 am
Re: Diversity Statement - Help Please!
Wow quick response. Thanks so much!
