Preview

How My Illiterate Grandmother Raised And Educated Black Man Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
792 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How My Illiterate Grandmother Raised And Educated Black Man Analysis
The essay “How My Illiterate Grandmother Raised and Educated Black man” was written by Terrell Jermaine Starr. Terrell is the Associate Editor for an online Journal called NewsOne. He has more than four years of journalism experience with public radio, television, magazines and online reporting. He has a bachelor’s degree in English and two masters’ in Editorial Journalism and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. He says that he owes his success to his grandmother, saying that without her he would never have achieved any of it without her encouragement. Terrell Jermaine Starr and his grandmother lived in a rough neighborhood on the west side of Detroit. In the text Terrell explains how his grandmother always encouraged him to pursue …show more content…
He tells us about how his illiterate grandmother raised him as an educated man. I strongly agree with how frequently his grandmother encourages him to get the best education he can. Ever since he was three she was placing books in his hands even though neither one could read. I think that a good education is one of the most important things a man needs so that he can live a productive and have a successful career. One should try his hardest to get the education he needs so that he can do what he loves with the highest standards. Terrell goes on to tell how even when he got in trouble his grandmother encouraged him by saying “The best way to stay out of trouble is to avoid it at all costs.” In my experience being bad never pays, it’ll only give you a bad reputation. One of the hardest things to do is erase a bad reputation and replace it with a good one. As I was reading the text I noticed how Terrell held a high respect and gratitude towards his grandma. For example he states “We need more parents like my grandmother. Parents who love their children so much, they are willing to make them uncomfortable in order to make them successful.” I agree with this statement. Parents should make their children uncomfortable; it is part of the job. My favorite quote is “There is always a way to do what you want to do.” This statement is so true, everything is possible. Paul states in Philippians “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” so even is a parent is not there to encourage and help us along the way God will always be there. I am in agreement with all that Terrell stated and shared in his memory to his grandma, and I think that everyone deserves a grandmother and/or parents that will push you when and were you need to be pushed. We all need encouragement whether we acknowledge it or not, we all fall down every so often, and the people that love us

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 1933, during a time in history where many African American minds were focused mainly with the economic turmoil of the country, Dr. Carter G. Woodson published a book entitled “The Miseducation of the Negro.” Dr. Woodson’s main objective of writing the book was to empower Blacks and enlighten them on the untapped potential our race has had throughout history, but hasn't yet discovered. Rather than attacking who he often refers to as the “oppressor” for blindfolding us, Dr. Woodson hold us accountable and calls us “miseducated.” In Chapter 18 of “The Miseducation of the Negro”, he stresses the important of being educated on our history as it shapes the future of our race. It goes without saying that Blacks have been so well controlled by their…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Education has always been a part of our way of life since the beginning of time. Not every person is the same; hence the reason everyone learns differently. It all begins at childhood of course; from that parent, parent-like figure or school teacher. However, at a point in one’s life that sense of independence takes over and one finds his or her will to learn more and in their own way. Frederick Douglass and Richard Rodriguez are two great examples of people whose process of learning impacted their lives from childhood to adulthood. Who dares to compare the two? Between these two great men are some similarities even though they grew up in different times and being minorities. From reading the two reading pieces one could focus on how Douglass and Rodriguez’s upbringing, learning methods and their lives were affected by education.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Secondly, I believe there are some connections between the rises in drug distribution in African-American communities in the U.S. in the late 80’s and that of Latin American countries. After, reading chapter two and learning about of the CIA “[turned] to the drug trade for an illicit source of fund… beginning the trend toward privatizing war”. For the need to change the world and dominate have lead us to limiting and label others as our enemies because they have or seem to have the potential challenge our western norms. Therefore, it might seem ideal to use money and blood to quell our fears and as a result we are willing to partake in “the pursuit of war by proxy [which] led to alliance between the CIA and drug dealers. Even though Nicaragua…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Can you imagine being denied the right to read and write all because of the color of your skin? Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was denied this right when a white child snached a book away from her because it was illegal for a black person to learn how to read (Hine, 2000). Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875 by Mayesville, South Carolina. She was an educator, civil rights leader, and government official who founded the National Council of Negro Women and Bethune-Cookman College (“National Council of Negro Women, Inc.” n.d.). Bethune’s impressive life inspired women to become anything they wanted to be by helping pave the way for black women education. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune died May 18, 1955 in Daytona Beach, Florida at the age of 79 and although she is gone her legacy lives on…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Through African-American history, one can see deterioration in the push for a strong family life and home values taught to young women. The lack of these essentials being taught in the African-American household could leave a lasting effect on our youth, who will in turn become adults and make up our Black population. The successful nature of our black families declined due to less…

    • 3126 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary Mcleod Bethune Essay

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages

    July 10th, 1875 was the day that miss Mary Mcleod Bethune was born in Mayesville South Carolina to her mother and father, who previously themselves were slaves. Mary, later in life, would come to be recognized as “one of the most prominent African American women of the first half of the twentieth century-- and one of the most powerful.”. After serving as an educator,an activist, and an advisor for a line of presidents Mary can be credited as a major figure in the road to equal opportunity in the field of education. As a child in a family of nineteen, seventeen children and their two parents, it wasn't likely that she would have known anything else because there were no opportunities for any of her siblings to go to school, all they knew was…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Popular phrases such as, “the Blacker the Berry, the Sweeter the juice,” and “If it’s White, it’s gotta be right,” have held opposing views in the African American community on the concept of skin complexion. This idea of a “Color Complex” has psychologically altered the way many African Americans perceive beauty, success, and their personal identity. Although some would disagree, there seems to be a strong connection between skin color and social status in the African American community. It may appear that African Americans are dispelling this theory of “light-skinned and dark skinned” to become a more cohesive group, but the politics of skin color and features still remain. Skin color variations among African Americans play a major role in how they perceive beauty standards, social status and themselves.…

    • 3571 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy is a fundamental skill that all people, regardless of race or social class, need to develop in order to convey ideas and communicate them intellectually. But two hundred years ago, learning to read and write was not a privilege. During this time, and even today, many factors play a role to determine the difficulty of reaching literacy, such as the time period a person lives in and where he is raised, the color of his skin, and even what determines or denies his basic rights as a human being can restrict his education. Both Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X—African American men who are raised in societies where white men are predominant and where it is challenging for them to find a pathway to education if it is allowed in the first…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2. Occasion: The author wrote this piece in 1965 to inform the readers of his imminent desire to learn how to read and write because he was embarrassed by his lack of knowledge and of the things he had learned about the white man's actions to nonwhites.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When reflecting on history, it is evident that there has been much struggle for Black people, especially woman. The poem, “I am A Black Woman,” by Mari Evans, portrays a relationship between Black women of our history and today’s society. By the usage of vivid and inspiring words, Evans is able to capture the reader’s attention. It is clear that the speaker is a very strong black woman. She portrays this in a way that she describes moments where she has struggled and when other black women of history have struggled as well. She implies that those hard times have made her the person she is today, which is the main point of this poem.…

    • 877 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    DuBois, W.E.B. “ The Education of Black People: Ten Critiques.” New York: Monthly Review Press,…

    • 4674 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Talented Tenth

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Talented Tenth by W.E.B. Dubois is a prime illustration of the twentieth century’s evolving opinions and problems. Dubois aids in demonstrating the developing propositions that helped inspire new advancement in the area of revitalizing the black race. The Talented Tenth was a speech intended to identify and explain the role of the ‘talented ten percentile’ of the black race in relation to its evolvement. It helps confirm the situation and its dire need for improvement.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    African-American Studies

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Karenga, Malauna. Introduction to Black Studies. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press –Third Edition, 2002.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Several facets of life display unequal treatment and perception of African- Americans. The economic divisions between white and black Americans are vast and shocking. The unemployment rate for Black men, 15 percent, is more than twice that of their white counterparts at 7 percent. African-Americans age 20-24 are even worse off with an unemployment rate of 23 percent (Norris 94-95). Even the children are affected by racial injustice; black children are much more likely to live in areas of concentrated poverty. Forty-five percent of black children are in poverty compared to 12 percent of white children (Plumer). These statistics show MLK’s dream has not yet been realized.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the essay “On the Evolution of Scholarship in Afro- American History” the eminent historian John Hope Franklin declared “Every generation has the opportunity to write its own history, and indeed it is obliged to do so.”1 The social and political revolutions of 1960s have made fulfilling such a responsibility less daunting than ever. Invaluable references, including Darlene Clark Hine, ed. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); Evelyn Brooks Higgingbotham, ed., Harvard Guide to African American History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001); Arvarh E. Strickland and Robert E. Weems, Jr., eds., The African American Experience: An Historiographical and Bibliographical Guide (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2001); and Randall M. Miller and John David Smith, eds., Dictionary of Afro- American Slavery (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1988), provide informative narratives along with expansive bibliographies.…

    • 6213 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Powerful Essays