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Leah Bullock

URWT 1104

Professor Raymond

20 March 2017

Writing Prompt #7

In my semester long project the African American cultures is what encourages me and

what will hopefully do to others by letting them know that the community has developed in

many ways throughout its history and in the presence of today. As time goes along I want to see

if my groupmates and I grow with the project at hand and learn something new as well.

During my research of the Afrocentric movement Ive learned that its an ideology that

was originally created within the united states to uphold and defend the oppressed African or

Black American community. This movement defined the political uproars of equal rights, such

as in the 1960s, Black is Beautiful, Black Lives Matter (BLM), and creating a face for the

black culture, such as natural hair, soul food, and music; Rap, Hip-Hop or R&B. I found out

through some of my daily writing I talked a lot about how poetry has shaped me as a good writer

and how it was a good way to share what you feel. This made me think about the Harlem

Renaissance where artist used their words and language to explain the African American culture.

It also shared emotionally the good and tough nature while living in the streets of Harlem.

Some elements that challenged our investigation or critical thinking are the personal

thoughts and opinions on this movement, but I think it would helped to consider other peoples

point of views on this movement as well. It will give our audience a broad perspective on how it
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effects different groups. Another thing I noticed that might play a role through this project is

controversy. Even when the subject covers the majority of political battles, some being violent

and other being peaceful opinions, this subject can be offensive.

Where do I see myself or position in this project? I see myself being as informative as

possible as well as touching the uncomfortable topics. Theres still a lot that needs to be added

but format wise I think weve figured out a path, and whos doing what.
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Leah Bullock

UWRT 1104

Professor Raymond

3 April 2017

Writing Prompt #9

When starting this discussion to figure out other peoples perspective on my topic Afrocentric

movement, I clearly thought to pick people who are non-black because in most cases other races

dont know much about the one another. It seems like the obvious choice since some the

exercises in class showed me that the majority are white or Hispanic and dont know much about

this topic; only know bits and pieces.

I decided to ask my roommates first because all three them are white. I asked questions

like, Whats the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term Afrocentric

movement? What do you know about black culture? Since my RA, is a history major I told her

to answer last because this subject is very easy for her to have an opinion on, but other roommate

mention modern subjects like Black Lives Matter, and the fact that they learned about civil rights

all throughout elementary and high school. My RA on the other hand focused more on the

history of black culture evolving over time. So, I wasnt suspired when she gave a whole speech

on what she knew.

I then asked what kind of music do they prefer to listen too? If R&B or Hip-Hop was one of

them. My roommate AnnaGail said yes, and loves 90s R&B. I hear her listen to it every day so

we really share something in common when it comes to music style. She has an appreciation for
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90s R&B and says she rather listen to this genre of music more than any other kind. From the

rest of our conversation I picked up on key themes, like what they would prefer me to talk about

in my project such as, history, picking five main components of this topic, and putting in some of

my own opinions. Its better to show my audience what Im passionate about than a bunch of

facts.

In conclusion think its important to pick what we know and stick with it but make sure to find

something new to involve our audience in our findings. Learning to evaluate what we find and

how we interpret it will be important for those who want to learn more about our topic and as we

explore ourselves.
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Leah Bullock

UWRT 1104

Professor Raymond

10 April 2017

Writing Prompt # 10

My original ideas for my semester long project were about taking the time to help my

peer understand what Afrocentric means and where the movement began. When I first started the

project with my group mates we were so determined to talk about black lives matter, natural hair

and Africa American culture such as clothes and our basic history. Although we dont have a set

argument for this project it not something we really wanted to argue, but help understand how

black have been oppressed over the years and still are today. As we continued into our research I

learned were moving toward a different approach, Black achievement.

Throughout history African Americans like all other Americans have been finding ways

to improve their way of life by broadening their education, creating better opportunities for

themselves, advancing into the business world and making a name for themselves. Yes, in many

cases theyve learned that oppression is no longer an option and creating ways to advance in our

community can make a big a big difference in America. I have noticed that black history in some

ways have helped encourage young African Americans strive to do better.

I also learned that since weve gone the library to learn how to use the UNCC library

database, I know how to search my topic better. For example, I learned that since most of our

project is based on modern time reflecting black history and how theyve created a new style for
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themselves were focused on the article and history database. This is where I learned that my

group mates and I had gone from teaching the Afrocentric movement to achieving the movement

instead.

Finally based off the Student Learning Outcomes, I think critical reading is the one I

focused on the most because without I feel like it wouldve been hard to narrow down our topic.

The Afrocentric movement is very board in terms of African American history and its rich

culture. There are so many things we could talk about, but with critical reading it helps you think

about what youre really trying to tell your audience and whats so important about your topic,

which is this how the Afrocentric movement sets the tone for black achievement. And with the

databases that we continue to use well get a diverse look on different kinds of black

achievements.