Journal Entry 1

For this first journal entry on cultural awareness, I chose to go to a restaurant that I had

never been to. The name of the restaurant is Abugida Ethiopian Cafe and Restaurant located in

Charlotte. It was in a part of town I am familiar with, but it served authentic Ethiopian dishes and

I got to experience some amazing food and traditions. I am not a picky eater, so I did try a meal

that I was unfamiliar with, and since I am a big coffee drinker, I enjoyed some Ethiopian coffee.

I had the opportunity to witness a traditional coffee brewing ceremony along with it. I chose this

restaurant because the owners are originally from Ethiopia and that is a culture I know very little

about. I am always curious to try new foods, and I have heard great things about the restaurant’s

atmosphere and owners. I would say that I was out of my comfort zone because it was a place I

had never been to, and I was unsure of what to expect.

The staff were all very friendly and helped me understand my food options. I felt

welcomed and enjoyed my visit. I did not speak to anyone other than when I was ordering, but I

was able to experience a portion of a culture that differs from mine. To start with, I ordered a

sambusa, which is a popular Ethiopian pastry filled with spiced lentils. I also had a cup of

Ethiopian coffee, and while I did not opt for the coffee ceremony, which is where the coffee is

made at your table in the traditional Ethiopian manner, I did get to witness one at another table.

Taking time to visit Abugida Cafe was a place that reaffirmed to me how important it is

to understand an individual’s background and what their culture means to them. Culture truly

shapes who we are as a person and the decisions we make every day. As a counselor, I will need

to ensure I am culturally aware and open-minded about other's traditions and what matters most

to them. Not only will I need to work diligently to understand the traditional culture that

someone comes from, I should also explore how their culture, meshed with American culture,
has affected their well-being and way of life. As always, I should also make sure that none of my

personal beliefs or assumptions get in the way of effectively working with my client’s.
Journal Entry 2

The Coates (2014) article was informative and eye opening, but difficult to read. The first

feelings that came to mind when reading it was that I felt disgusted, angry, heartbroken, and

ashamed that white privilege led our nation down a path of racism and slavery. I truly cannot

fathom what goes through an individual's mind that allows them to think that enslaving and

killing innocent people based on their race is the right thing to do. Even though we have moved

past enslavement, minorities such as African Americans are still currently fighting for their rights

and equality. Clyde Ross is just one of the many individuals who have been wronged by our

system and treated less than just based on the color of his skin.

Individuals like Clyde Ross and Ethel Weatherspoon should never have had to work as

hard as they did to own a home and keep it. The only way for them to have a home was to get it

through a contract, while their white counterparts were getting loans easily, which is just absurd

to me. Power and wealth were and still are more important than an individual's life, and that is

the problem with America. Slavery and racism were alive with our first president, and still, over

200 years later, minorities are fighting for rights, and their lives within our society. Coates

brought up the heavy point of, if America even got to the point of reparations, “we may find that

the country can never fully repay African Americans'' (2014). I believe that as a nation, we can

move forward and be better than our history. However, I am not sure that we could offer

anything as reparations for our history.

As a counselor in training, it is imperative I begin my education on cultures that are

different from mine because I will come across individuals from all cultures as clients, and I

must be as prepared as possible. This article serves as another outlet for education, as a way to

learn more about racism, discrimination, and the blatant disrespect that African Americans have
faced for hundreds of years. I believe that this article was assigned to us as a reading because it

shows the truth of the hardships and unfair treatment that many people have to live through and

endure. It may be difficult for me to read, but this history is a very real nightmare to so many and

it is something that all of us should be aware of. I cannot expect to grasp the background of an

African American client, or any other minority, without knowing about their history. Reading

stories like Clyde Ross’ does serve as a reminder to be mindful of my thoughts and assumptions

of others. I truly do not know what some have gone through, and I should allow my clients to

teach me when appropriate.

 References

Coates, T. (2014).The case for reparations: Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of

Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five of racist housing policy. Until we

reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole. The Atlantic.

Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-

reparations/361631/
Journal Entry 3

For my third journal entry, I went a bit farther out of my comfort zone in several ways. I

chose to go to a church in a portion of town that I normally would not go to, and it is a

predominately African American church. I am not a very religious individual, and even though I

regularly attended church when I was younger, I do not attend now. Besides a quick hello to

some members, I kept to myself and took in my surroundings for my time there. This particular

church’s name is The Park, off of Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte.

I must say that this experience did make me uncomfortable, for the religious portion of

my visit. I chose going to a church because I know it is an area that I need to work on. It is where

I feel my personal biases are most likely to affect my work as a counselor, and that is not what I

want. I catch myself quite frequently having a negative attitude when people bring religion up. I

also felt a visit to this particular church would go well with our discussions on racism and

discrimination, and I was correct.

The Reverend did in fact bring up slavery, and spoke on the Tulsa Massacre, all forms of

what he referred to as “basement testimonies' '. His words made me reflect on the article, The

Case for Reparations, used for our second journal entry. With the same theme as Clyde Ross’s

story, as with so many other African Americans, many business owners in Tulsa were left with

no reparations after their businesses were destroyed by rioters, while none of the white rioters

met any charges for their role in the mob attack. He spoke on the resiliency and strength that is

needed to continue to stand and fight over discrimination and racial terroism.

Overall, my experience at the church was a positive one. In some ways, it was very

similar to my previous experiences at church; the enthusiasm and singing, the importance and

focus on god. The mentions of the Tulsa Massacre were fairly brief and much of the remainder
of the sermon felt like what I was used to being exposed to. However, one important way it also

differed from my previous experiences are the messages that went along with the sermon. Had I

gone to a church I was more familiar with, which would be predominantly white, racism and

inequality would never have been a topic brought up.

Journal Entry 4

I was able to have the opportunity to speak with a local business owner of Charlotte for

this fourth journal entry. On the surface, Charlotte seems like the perfect place to own a business,

as it is a busy city, and there are plenty of ways to network and advertise a business. However, as

we have been learning, not everyone is treated equally. James Mack, an African American man

who owns a jewelry store in uptown Charlotte, is just one of many who have had to face that

difficult truth. James Mack initially caught my attention when I found news articles of his

struggle with moving his business to a different location in Charlotte in order to make more of a

profit. He is claiming that the areas of town that would allow him to make more money are

giving him the runaround when he tries to lease a building. Unfortunately, since covid, business

has gone down in his current location, and he needs to move to keep his business afloat.

The first thing that came to mind when learning more about James Mack’s story, is the

visit to the local church I made several weeks ago. Just like with the story told by the Reverend

of the church on the Tulsa Massacre, African Americans tend to find more struggle than help

from our society. Despite what many seem to think, their claims hold truth, and people should

not be held at a disadvantage based on the color of their skin. James Mack is doing his best to get

others to understand his struggle as an African American business owner. James Mack truly just

wants others to understand what he and many other African Americans are faced with when

attempting to live an honest life. As of now, Mack is still searching for a new location for his

store. He has been unsuccessful at leasing a new building in the parts of town he would prefer to

move to. After five years of owning a successful business, Mack is at a loss as to why he is not

treated as a respected professional.

 I chose to interview James Mack because he is another prime example of how minorities

are treated as if they are inferior to others and should not have the same rights and opportunities.

James Mack is not the first individual to find it difficult to relocate to a better part of town in an

attempt to make a better profit for his business. According to WFAE (2019), there were over

14,000 black-owned businesses in the Charlotte area, which is great to read. I believe that strides

have been made and therefore there has been improvement over the years of African Americans

earning more rights. There are many black owned businesses in Charlotte, with many doing well.

However, they still have to face hurdles that many white business owners do not. Statistics still

show that it is difficult for African Americans to get adequate loans from the bank, as well as

finding better location options for their businesses. These struggles can have a major impact on

the livelihood of individuals, and that impact should not be taken lightly.

I will never fully understand what minorities have had to go through, such as African

Americans. They have been subjected to violence and discrimination for far too long, and I must

be aware of white privilege and how I may come off to future clients. I stand to learn a great deal

from clients that will have a different cultural background from myself,, and I should be open to

listening and learning. One thing I am enjoying about these journal entries, is that a lot of the

findings from one entry tie in with the next one. People may have different struggles sof

experiences through life, but everyone has the right to be treated equal and not be subjected to

discrimination. I hope that James Mack is able to find a suitable place for his business, and that

cities such as Charlotte work towards making changes to where African Americans are seen as

capable professionals.
 References

Glenn, G. (2019, March 2). Black Entrepreneurs Thriving In Charlotte Despite Challenges.

WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source. https://www.wfae.org/local-news/2019-02-

28/black-entrepreneurs-thriving-in-charlotte-despite-challenges.
Journal Entry 5

For centuries, countless groups of individuals have had to fight for rights based on their

race, or cultural background. Women are one of the groups that have fought for basic rights and

freedoms for years, and similar to other groups, are still fighting for many of those rights.

Women are discriminated against by society while dealing with unruly individuals at times,

which can make life difficult. America is still seen as somewhat of a white male dominated

society, which is problematic for minorities that do not fit that description. For this last journal

entry, I chose to interview an acquaintance who is a Hispanic woman in her twenties. Amanda is

currently a project manager at NASCAR and works in Charlotte. NASCAR is a very popular

industry, and is one that is heavily male dominated.

I wanted to spend the interview getting to know Amanda better and have an

understanding of what her role is at NASCAR. Amanda went on to explain that she has loved

racing since she was a child, and her mom helped her whenever she could at achieving her goals.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to hear her perspective as a professional woman looking to be

treated equally among her male colleagues. Although Amanda loves her job, and the industry she

has chosen, she has had to overcome many hurdles to get where she is now.

When she initially started as a project manager, Amanda told me she felt her male boss

was disrespectful and condescending towards her. She spoke about the times where she attended

meetings and would be the only woman in the room. It made her feel she had to sit there and be

silent while the men spoke. Her boss would make no effort to include her in any decision making

processes, even though she is just as qualified as everyone else in the room. Amanda also

recalled times that she felt others were asked to do important projects over her, and when she

brought up this inquiry, her boss was quick to be passive on the situation. One of her bigger
complaints is her pay compared to her male counterparts at her job. She stated that she had been

in her position within the company for about three years with no increase in pay, while other

colleagues (males) would be making more than her, while with the same job title.

Amanda’s struggles she has had to face all while trying to do her job and enjoy what she

does, is unfortunately something that many women run into in their career, or just daily life

interactions. According to the National Women’s Law Center (2021), women who work in the

U.S., full-time, are typically paid 82 cents for every dollar that is paid to their male counterparts.

Although The Equal Pay Act has been in effect for over 50 years, no updates have been made

since, and it seems loopholes are always found. Amanda’s story highlights the changes that need

to be made in order to provide more support and empowerment to women.

Amanda’s story is important to me because I am a woman who is working towards a

professional career, and I want to be respected and paid in the same manner that men are.

Equality for women may absolutely be a topic that comes up when I am with women client’s and

hearing Amanda’s story reiterates that. One thing I have learned is that our society does not like

change and the older generations do not want to think they were wrong about anything. In recent

months, Amanda did share that her boss had been replaced with another male who seems to

respect women more. She is no longer the only woman in the office, and although she does not

make what she should, she has received a raise since the new boss was hired. I believe that

change will occur, but as with everything else, it will take time.
 References

NWLC. (2020, October 20). The Wage Gap: The Who, How, Why, and What To Do. National

Women's Law Center https://nwlc.org/resources/the-wage-gap-the-who-how-why-and-

what-to-do/.