“Voices of our Foremothers"

“Voices of our Foremothers” is about an African American woman who was adopted at a young age by a Euro-American couple. Growing up she was lost in who she was and where she fit in, until she found her place in college. She was inspired by four of her African American women professors to become a teacher in the field of African American studies.

In this text, Birney talks about how her teachers cared for her not only academically, but emotionally as well. She goes on to talk about a study that I found interesting, in which it showed that Black teachers are more caring, “Jacqueline Jordan Irvine found that the African American teachers in her study understood the power of caring.” (Birney 50). I believe that the reason African Americans are more caring is because of all the hardships we have gone through, throughout history. We were once in slaved and had to fight for equal rights against people who treated us like property. Black people weren’t brought up in a society that really cared about them. During the Civil Rights Movements, in which African Americans fought to gain equality, many terrible things happened, such ass the assassination of Dr. King, the imprisonment of Rosa Parks for sitting in the “white” section of the bus, and the beatings of many for unjust reasons. Although African Americans have gained equal rights in today’s society, we are still facing hardships. Many African Americans are in prison and in poverty, and are being murdered due to “black on black” crime.

Black people know what its like to need someone there to cheer them on and pick them up in a time of downfall, so they can relate to struggling students or even students who aren’t struggling who need encouragement. School is very challenging and students need teachers who are sensitive to their academic needs along with their emotional needs, because learning consists of both.