The Big Truck That Went By

I enjoyed reading The Big Truck That Went By by Jonathan Katz. In the beginning Katz touches on the earthquake of 2010 that devastated Haiti. He continues to explain the devastation in Haiti by explaining the collapse of the school building a couple years before the tornado. It really blows my mind that 100 schoolchildren were killed in the collapse caused by poor construction in an effort to save money. I am truly shocked that 100 children were just simply casualties in a much bigger problem.
   It is really interesting reading the events of the earthquake from Katz's point of view. He mentions in the book that outside the earthquake, there was extreme chaos that was expected to be mutual in Haiti. However, Katz explains that there was no sign of panic during the earthquake and people were just trying to move on with their lives.
   The corruption in Haiti was and still is ridiculous. Katz says that shortly after the earthquake, he and Sanon traveled to a different town closer to the center of the earthquake. As they approached the city limits, there were men making weapons in order to defend themselves and property against the looters that decided to take advantage of the earthquake. It was difficult for outsiders to help with the relief effort in Haiti. Katz mentioned that language was a huge barrier that prevented progress in outside help effort. He also acknowledges that outsiders are operating with limited local, language, and cultural comprehension which makes it difficult to cope with such a drastic change. This is directly related back to the first book that we read, Silencing the Past. It is very important to Haiti's history that this story be told. Katz does a great job of detailing his unique experiences and providing his opinions and beliefs about certain sensitive topics.
   I was only 12 years old when this earthquake devastated Haiti. I was old enough to remember the earthquake and relief efforts. My school even had several fund raising events in order to raise money for the relief effort. However, I was too young to really understand the extent of the destruction and how the earthquake simply just added to the corruption and devastation that already existed in Haiti. 
   Katz has provided a completely new insight into Haiti. His personal account is compassionate and provokes many opinions and thoughts on topics that I have never even thought about or considered. (Most of the government stuff is over my head, but it doesn't take a genius to realize how corrupt Haiti is and the serious struggles they are facing). 

Days of Awe

   The protagonist in Days of Awe, Alejandra San Jose, struggles with her identity and her self-belonging. She grew up believing she and her family were Catholic. After revisiting Cuba as an interpreter, she discovered that her family was not Catholic but instead Jewish. Her family was known as "converses" which were Jews that converted to Christianity in order to survive. After learning this, Ale struggled with a bit of an identity crisis. Who was she? She was now faced with the truth of being Cuban and American and Catholic and Jewish.
   I can somewhat relate to this "identity of crisis" in a way because I am adopted. Luckily I was never faced with the "crisis" because I grew up always knowing that I was adopted. My parents read me books ever since I was a baby. There was never a day that went by that I did not know I was adopted and I grew up never thinking anything about it. I thought it was completely normal. I had a friend who did not find out she was adopted until she was 15. She had always known that I was adopted because I was always open about it. I remember one day when she called me and told me that her parents had just told her that she was adopted. I mean talk about identity crisis.
   In the beginning, Ale says that being Cuban was just an accident of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel like that could be true for some people, depending on the circumstance but I feel like you are whoever you want to be. No matter what the circumstance or where you are born. However, I do feel that it is important to at least acknowledge where you came from and appreciate the culture for what it is.
   Just like finding out you are adopted after believing that you came from your mom's stomach for your whole life, learning that you are a different faith can be just as rattling and cause you to question everything about yourself.
   I enjoyed this book, I did think it was a little too in detail for me though. I like how I could compare and contract this book with The Farming of Bones. They both had a lot of the same themes such as "self-belonging" and memories. I found it interesting how they both ended with water playing a significant, ironic role.

The End of The Farming of Bones

The ending of the book brings me mixed emotions. I was happy that Amabelle survived and that she found some form of pleasure in sewing and a sense of family with Yves and his mother. I was overjoyed that she wasn't as fragile as Yves. Yves had many hang-ups after the massicer, he hated parsley, couldn't swim, and hated the smell of sugar cane. He began using rum to help him cope. I admire her strength and will to keep on going. I also respect her for revisiting her former boss, Señora Valencia. She was able to reconnect with her past and gained comforting information while there.

There were many things in the ending that saddened me. In the last scene of the book Amabelle is in the River floating and I like the sense of calm and peace that the author gives us here. Up until that point the scenes were harsh at times and filled with sadness. I hated that Sebastian and his sister were killed. I hated even more that we don't know if she evere did find love again. After she didn't find love with Yves and left, we are left without anything further. The author leaves us with only our imigination to finish her fate with love and true happiness.

Over all I enjoyed the book and it's vivid scenes. The struggle and horror of the time was well conveyed. As I reflect on the ending a quote stands out to me from chapter 39, "Famous men never truly die. It is only those nameless and faceless who vanish like smoke into the early morning air." This quote sums up the book for me. Once the characters die they will be as of smoke, just like Sebastian was. Only the famous and world leaders at the time will be the names that we still reflect upon. The thousands of people who lost their lives at the hand of these leaders will forever be nameless.

   I really enjoyed reading the last half of Farming of the Bones. I got a lot more into detail and really tried to focus on some key points and themes of the book. Throughout the last chapters of the book we see themes like memory, death, silencing of voices.
   we talked about the pattern we saw throughout the book dealing with these silencing of voices. First, we see it when Amabelle describes her vivid dream of  the sugar woman. "dressed in a long, whit gown, wearing a shiny silver mussel around her face. collar with clasped black around her." I believe this theme is to give readers examples of how haitians were dehumanized to dominicans during this "anti haitian racism" movement. another example, is when the parsley is shoved down the throats of the travelers in order to depict who was haitian or dominican. This is such a harsh example and we see just how harsh it is once Joel dies from it... Another we see toward the end of the book when Amabelle's way of copping is to not speak. Because what she had gone through was so awful.
  Another big theme we see through the book was memory. Most of the book is told from memories and Amabelle going back and telling stories of her past. A wonderful example is how frequently she talks about her parents and childhood. These memories mean so much to her because her parents are now dead. One of my favorite memories Amabelle tells us is about the lantern and asking her dad to make one that looks like him so shell never forget what he looks like. this makes me so sad because, I bet after everything that happened she wishes she had one to hold onto.
  Death plays a huge role in this book as well. The whole background of the book is based on the massacre of 1937. It was says that almost 25,000 people were murder in only 3 days. Only because of the hatred and racism going on toward the Haitian during tis time. Also, the death of the baby, joel, and her parents plays a huge role. because all these deaths lead up to some memory or tragedy that happens in the book. I really enjoyed the book and just like Freedom papers, this story really makes me think how lucky i am to be free.

Ending of Farming of Bones

Towards the end of the novel, several important themes become evident. The theme if memory is an ongoing theme throughout the book. We also see the theme of masks in several of the chapters. In chapter 21, Amabelle reminisces on a moment she shard with her father. He said, "A fanal, a lantern, is like a kite. A kite that glows but does not fly." She asks her dad to make her a lantern of his face so that she can carry him with her but he declines, saying that it would be too vein. In chapter 25, Amabelle has a dream about her parents, and they are taken away by the storm. She wakes up reaching in front of her, trying to reach out for her parents. It is apparent in this chapter that she is dealing with an inner struggle with the loss of her parents.  I think the theme of memory and masks are very important in this chapter because it is trying to explain that sometimes memories are not always pleasant. Some of them are harsh, and some of them transform over time. My favorite chapter to read was chapter 23. We see the theme of masks play a big role in this chapter when Amabelle has a dream about the Sugar Woman. Amabelle describes the Sugar Woman as a woman dressed in a long, three-teired ruffled gown, with a collar around her neck. She wears a shiny silver muzzle around her face so that she would not eat the sugarcane. This chapter is very interesting to me because I could not seem to wrap my mind around this "Sugar Woman".  Although she is just a figment of Amabelle's imagination, she represents something that Amabelle is afraid of-herself. I believe that Amabelle sees the Sugar Woman as herself in the events she is faced with in her life, or she sees her as a representation of a past lover of Sebastian. Either way, they are both unsettling representations that Amabelle has conjured up in her dreams. I have enjoyed this book, I think it has been a lot easier and more enjoyable than the other books we have read so far.

farming of bones/birthright crisis

Farming of Bones and Birthright Crisis go hand in hand when talking about the Dominican Republic's deportation of the Haitians. The only difference is that in the Farming of Bones, the deportation took place in 1937, and Birthright took place in 2005.

In the Birthright Crisis, it didn't matter if you had papers that allowed you to live in the Dominican Republic or even if you were born in the Dominican Republic and had never even been to Haiti. It was easy for the Dominican military to do this because he Haitians had darker skin. The Dominican Republic's press also lied to everyone, saying the Haitians were armed with guns, when they actually had nothing.

This 18 year old Haitian student that was born in the Dominican Republic and had never even been to Haiti was deported because she was Haitian. She was very worried about missing her exams and schoolwork. She had no idea what she was going to do next. There were many other people in the same situation.

The Jean and Bosico Dominican Republic supreme court case ruled that children of migrants aren't eligible for citizenship in 2005. One has to prove their bloodline connects to the Dominican Republic now. In Farming of Bones, the government is forcing the Haitians to leave in order to "cleanse the country." That was in 1937. It is so shocking that the Dominican Republic is still so adamant of keeping the Haitians out just because they are of different nationalities/race.

The Farming of Bones

The first portion of the book is indeed intriguing. I am in love with the way Amabelle describes her love story with Sebastien. The love they share seems as if it is a pure one, one that natural and unforced. I was also intrigued by how Señora Valencia was so quick to judge the color of her child's skin. She just finished such a beautiful moment of giving birth and the shock of having twins; for her to so quickly comment on the child's color disgusts me. The comment she made, "They might mistake her for one of your people" also disgusted me. The farther even "shuts up" the doctor from commenting on the child's color. Children change drastically from their time of birth to even the age if one. I think that color should not have been a factor so early on. They were babies and I think that parents and everyone else should just enjoy them being babies.

Radical Moves

While reading, Radical Moves, I came across a beautiful quote by "Jamaican-born, New York-based journalist W. A. Domingo." He described the Carribbean migrants to Harlem in 1925 as:

"Dusky tribe of destiny seekers...eyes filled with visions or their heritage-palm fringed sea shores, murmuring streams, luxuriant hills and vales who bring with them vestiges of their folk life-their lean, sunburnt faces, their quiet, halting speech...their light, loose-fitting clothes of ancient cut telling the story of a dogged, romantic pilgrimage to the El Dorado of their dreams."

I feel that this quote perfectly and beautifully captures the essence of the people at the time. Harlem had a great influx of migrants, many of Haitian decent, and they carried a heavy past with them on their journey. Harlem was no fairytale, living conditions weren't as grat as they could be, and inequality was still ever so present. Despite this, the people were able to stay true to their roots as well as create a new sense of culture. I feel that the Harlem Renaissance and the birth of jazz amplifies this meshing of chulture and "destiny seekers."

Radical Moves

   Laura Putnam's Radical Moves, examines the British Caribbean migrants through a fictional account of the experiences during the war period. She focuses specifically on how the issues of gender, race, class, and identity affected the migrants during this time. On page 7, Putnam argues that 'the black internationalist and anti-colonial movements that would shake the twentieth century were rooted in the experiences of ordinary men and women – not only in the cosmopolitan streets of Harlem and Paris but also in the banana ports and dance halls of the tropical circum-Caribbean'. Putnam takes the general idea of 'black internationalism' and brings it to life by telling it through the lives and experiences of these Caribbean migrants. By doing this, it is easier for people to relate and become more involved and interested. Simply reading the facts about an event in history does not allow a person to really see it as something that really happened. It is almost like you are reading about it because you have to or because it's just "something to know in history". However, when a real person or "like-real" person is linked to the historical facts, it makes it easier to comprehend and imagine/believe that the events actually took place. On page 49, Putnam says "This was a world in which common people took seriously the responsibility to listen for messages from God and to preach themselves if that was what dreams, visions, or intellect guided them to do." She further explains this concept as a 'world marked by 'constant religious creation'. 
    Putnam's book illustrates the lives of Caribbean migrants from different angles by studying several different countries. This variety makes it easy for the reader to make connections and pull out distinct traits that are unique to each specific country during this time. I had a little bit more difficulty reading this book because it was not written as smooth and intriguing as The Farming of Bones. It was more informative and included more hard facts and controversial ideas and themes. However, I feel like it was a good source to tie the course's theme together. 

Farming of Bones

   In class on Tuesday, Ali and I led the class discussion on The Farming of Bones. We discussed the important themes of the book and the background and plot surrounding the narrative. As we mentioned, the most important theme of this narrative is the importance of memory. Throughout the story, Amabelle frequently remembers her parents and times they shared before they died. By recalling these memories, Amabelle is making sure that she does not lose them. Memories are one of the most important things that we possess. Memories allow us to maintain who we are and stay close to our roots. These memories are extremely sacred to Amabelle epecially during such drastic changes in her early life. She misses her parents, and misses her home in Haiti. 

   This theme of remembering one's past is a theme that is studied throughout this course and has been exemplified in each book we have read so far. It is interesting to be able to make connections between each book and tie them together, while still being able to separate them and distinguish their differences and unique stories. 

On page 224, Amabelle recalls a saying that her father always said, “Misery won't touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprints on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of.” I think that this is a very powerful quote that captures the book as a whole. Not only does it help the reader to get further into the mmd of Amabelle and understand her story, it also encourages the reader to apply this concept to his or her own life. Sometimes it is easy to forget that everyone is fighting a battle. No matter how big or small, it is extremely important to remember that you are not the only one going through a hard time, nor are you alone in it. I really appreciate the meaning of this book because it is extremely humbling. This is my favorite we have read so far. I actually might even go back and read it for pleasure when I have more time to really get into it and enjoy it.  

The Farming of Bones

     In our class Tuesday, we briefly talked about "anti-haitian racism" in the book The Farming of Bones. But throughout reading this book and watching that film Tuesday it has brought to my attention how much we have suppressed the importance of this "cleanse" or massacre of 1937. Many do not know that nearly 20,000 people were murdered during this massacre. Its so sad because growing up you hear of the horror of the holocaust, but not once have i ever heard of the 1937 Haitian immigration workers massacre. Both deal with the same thing, racism and dictatorship. This makes me think a lot of what Trouillot was taking about in Silencing the Past. The only History we know is what we are told, and if we are never told about it, then we will never know.  The silence of the 1937 massacre is a perfect example to me.

    Throughout this novel Edwidge Dandicat really uses this event as a background for the life and time period in which her main character Amabelle is living. By doing this I think it gives readers a more relatable story line to go off, coming from a personal story. Like our character from Freedom Papers Rosalie, Amabelle's story makes the events during this haitian racism time become more real by becoming more personal to readers. 

   We briefly talked about the importance of Senora Valencia's giving birth to twins. This event is important because it a perfect example of how strong the "anti-haitain racism" was during this time. Senor Pico had darker skin than Senora Valencia, and because most of the racism was based of skin tone, she was scared that her daughter might be mistaken as haitian. "My poor love, what if she is mistaken for one of your people?" ( Danicat 28) This is very significant to readers because it gives you a real perspective on just how harsh racism was in the Dominican Republic during this time. Learning about both Amabelle and Rosalies hard journey thru slavery, and racism makes me feel so lucky to be free from that. Reading these stories makes me feel like we take our freedom for granite.

          The Farming of Bones,  by Edwidge Danticat, has grown on me throughout my time reading it. I have come to understand why she chose to write about this time in history through a young girls perspective throughout the process of reading the book. The way she uses Amabelle's life to show how others might have felt during the massacre is a way people can get important ideas of the time period through story telling. There were some parts of the book that caught my attention.
          One main thing that came to my attention in the book is the use of the word parsley, or Perejil. The  Dominicans used this word to distinguish the Haitians from the Dominicans by the way they pronounced the word. "You can never hide as long as there is parsley nearby" (Danticat 304). We see where Amabelle is confronted by this action on page 193. She didn't get the chance to pronounce the word and was shoved onto her knees with parsley put in her mouth. The Dominicans would kill most of the Haitians who could not correctly do this action.
         They also had an idea of "cleansing the country." Parsley was considered a way of cleansing the Haitians from the Dominicans. Amabelle was beaten along with many other Haitians in her position. Her stories throughout the book give readers imagery into her personal struggle, along with those around her. I liked this because is was a story and not just facts. It made it easier to understand and realize the awful struggles many faced. Amabelle was stronger then I believe I could have been if I was in her situation.

I am enjoying reading The Farming of Bones. Although it is a sad story so far, I feel like it will be uplifting and have a good message to take away. I can't even imagine Amabelle's life. I was adopted so I can kiiiiinda relate, but not really because I was not an orphan. I can't even begin to imagine how life must have been for her growing up without a family of her own. Then, to love someone so much and then be separated from them not knowing whether or not you will see them again must be devastating. I am still reading the book and I am actually getting into it. This is by far the best book we have had to read so far. Ali and I have been working to put together a class discussion for next week to discuss the book with the class.
I apologize for missing class this week. It makes it difficult to do the blog post because I was not in class to participate in the class discussion so I decided to just write a little about what I have read so far and how I am able to relate to it.
I hope you have a good weekend, see ya next week!

POI: Freedom Papers and Documentation

Our discussion in class Tuesday really made me think on the importance of documentation. Documentation has unspeakable power and use.

One use of documentation is to identify someone. As US citizens we all are required to have documentation at both birth and death. We even have social security cards with specific numbers assigned to us. Throughout an American life we are required to obtain a substantial amount of documentation for a variety of things.

 The use of documentation to identify someone ties in heavily with our reading of the Freedom Papers. The narrator is looking at documentation to form stories. It was the documents that fueled the stories to form correlations to the time period. I am amazed at how these stories were formed.

The author uses the documents to form stories but what if there weren't any documents? In a world without documentation family histories and events would have to be both remembered and told orally. This opens the door for stories to be told incorrectly, forgotten, or in our narrator's case, draw conclusions and make them up.

      Different stories of history have been silenced for decades. Freedom Papers took a different approach and filled in the silences. Gender, race, and movement all played a major role in Freedom Papers. All the characters told their personal experiences which made everything come to life while reading.
     Officers of color would lose their commissions and would have to defer to commanders who might send them into battle against those they did not necessarily see as their enemies (pg.33). African Americans were forced to fight wars they had nothing to do with.  They died at the hands of the white man's advantage.  Some slaves had to fight unarmed because white colonists soldiers basically didn't trust them with weapons.  As we saw in the movie, black men were not seen as humans and they had no rights.
     Slaves were often stripped of their identity if they were documented properly. Even if they were originally freed they would have to prove themselves free. Marriage could free women only if their husband was already free. Gender and movement playes a major role in marriage.

   In Troillots Silencing the Past, he expresses how the production of a historical narrative cannot be studied through a mere chronology because of its silences. Freedom Papers is used to fill these silences. The book gives an alternate perspective to that silencing effect that Trouillot talks about. The book gives you a more personal perspective of history during the Haitian, French, and American revolution. I really enjoyed how the book brings together 5 generations and stories. It really shows you the agency of the families and the ways they acted. The book makes history become a little more personal and relatable.
   In Freedom papers we can see the filling of the silences thru the focus of gender and lineage. The book gives you a real perspective on just how dangerous living was for slaves. Mobility is intrenched   starting in the colonial era because people were constantly moving from the old world to the new world. The problem with mobility during this time was the lack of documentation.
   Throughout the book we see the importance of documents and or the lack there of. Even if slaves had been freed previously, they were not always gaurenteed freedom wherever they traveled. For example upon arriving in New Orleans if they did not have proper documentation to prove that they had been freed, they would once again be put back in slavery. During this time everything dealing with gender, race, and "name" mattered when arriving in America and claiming to be "free." She gives us an example of this when Rosalie manages to achieve the freedom with the freedom paper that was valid but it lacked one signature from the governor of Saint-Domingue. The books really give us a realistic perspective of the fragility of freedom.
  Freedom Papers use of archives makes the silencing of history harder to imagine since its told from real documents. Since you know the contexts from which the time Rosali was in, you can relate her papers and presume her positions on the history and make them seem like a full story instead of a partial story.

Freedom Papers

          Freedom Papers displays many different ideas concerning topics like gender, race/ color categories, importance of documentation to identity and citizenship, and both geographical and social movement. All four of these topics link together in some way or another. I have personally been focusing on the topic of movement throughout the book.  I believe it ties into the topics of gender and importance to documentation to identity and citizenship very well.                                                          
          The questioning of if Elisabeth Dieudonne's status could be reversed from free to slave when arriving in New Orleans was one example I found. Her status in Saint- Domingue was free, but could her movement to New Orleans change that status? Many free slaves that moved to New Orleans had this problem. "Once designated explicitly or implicitly as a slave, a person who had previously lived as free would require substantial resources and powerful allies in order to contest that label" (67). This was not only  problem of movement and documentation, but a problem with gender. Many men of color were banned, but free women of color and children were exempted, on the grounds that they "shall be supposed to have left the island above named, to fly from the horrors committed during its insurrection."
         Widow Aubert is another example of this. Her previous labels reemerged in the written record and was to be designated a free women of color. Individuals had to prove their freedom and those who couldn't would most likely be put back into slavery. Some could even be deemed a "fugitive slave" in the absents of their putative master. Sometime individuals freedom was allowed with no questions asked. This process seemed unfair to many slaves that had previously had their status changed before arriving in Louisiana. Movement had a direct effect on these individuals of certain race and genders, and their identities were definitely challenged.

Freedom Papers Blog

Gender, Race and documentation played a huge role in Freedom Papers. Women and children of color were exempted from posting bond and leaving the Louisiana Territory, but men were not. Newly arrived black men, women and children were put to slavery in New Orleans. Also, the governor of Madrid thought it was necessary to humiliate the women in from on their owners.
The white men would use the slaves to fight wars the white men had started, that the slaves had nothing to do with. When Couba acquired, and 3 years later, married his slave, she was automatically freed in Saint Dominique Code.
Lastly, documentation was a bid deal then. Even if slaves were freed, they would still have to constantly prove their freedom with documentation pretty much everywhere.

Freedom Papers-Importance of Documentation to Identity and Citizenship

As we discussed in class, there are many factors that played significant roles in migration. We said that gender played an important role because it was almost a law to treat women as inferior. They were publicly humiliated and constantly belittled. They did not have any say and were not viewed as equals. It was unthinkable for the women to come together and take a stand against the unfair treatment. (Just as it was unthinkable for the slaves to come together in the Haitian Revolution.)

Race and color was also extremely important for obvious reasons. People were defined by their color/race. If you were black, you were most likely a slave or came from a background of slaves. The rights were limited for people of different a race.

The importance of documentation to identity and citizenship was crucial to moving from place to place. On page 67, Scott says “And once designated explicitly or implicitly as a slave, a person who had previously lived as free would require substantial resources and powerful allies in order to contest that label.” Scott puts a face to the name by telling Elisabeth Dieudonne. She was free because of her mother, Rosalie under the acts of the French National Convention and their enforcement by Toussaint Louveture and Andre Rigaud. By telling the stories of actual people that lived to experience society during this time helps to “un-silence the past”. Not only does it document a person’s history, it gives the events more credibility and we are able to feel more compassion.

Freedom Papers really brings together the ideas outlined in Silencing the Past. It is important that we recognize and consider the roles that each of these factors played and continue to play in history.  

African American Heritage Tour

I loved going on the African American Heritage Tour of UA last class.  I actually had no idea it even existed. When we visited the President's Mansion it was interesting to actually see the 2 slave cabins in the back of the President's Mansion.  I guess just by looking at it no one would really ever consider it being the home for many slaves, so I do feel it is really important to have historical markers outside of them so no one will ever forget why they were actually built.

Trouillot definitely makes you think about the way history is portrayed. It makes your question whether or not we are being told the exaggerated story or the real story. So of course as I was going through the tour I kept thinking to myself, is this tour told how the white people want this tour to be portrayed?

Any how, I really enjoyed the tour and thought it to be very informative. People always remember the scene of Governor Wallace keeping the African Americans out of the University of Alabama on Forest Gump, but I think a lot of people forget that we walk where all this history happened every day.

     I really enjoyed the African Heritage tour around campus. Ive had three generations here at the University and have never seen nor heard of the events the impacted the university. I was amazed to find out the events that took place during the protest with Authrine Lacy, like Morgan Reese Phifer is my home school too. Ive been walking up those stairs for four years now and have never once known about this event that changed the university. Its amazing and yet scary to think of how the university used to be and how far we have come now. The University is now almost 15% african american.

   When we went to the clock tower, we read the quotes from only 3 people. That leaves me questioning if that version of what happened could have been skewed. In Silencing The Past, Trouillot explains that history can be silenced in the making of the sources.. meaning they could have every well picked who's quotes went on those plaques in order to change the vision of the event that took place. I would have expected a lot background information to such a big event. I question the universities intentions by only making three statements. 

  Trouillots Book left me questioning everything, at one point had me wondering was what I have been taught all bogus? Are teachers only teaching what they have been taught, or what they thought happened? Throughout the book I found myself frustrated pondering on those questions. I really liked the fact that Trouillot explains history is "both what happened and what is said to have happened." I really liked your explanation of this thru your explain regarding the news. Its so TRUE! CNN will report and say this based on their political views (most of the time) and Fox does the same!  

African American Heritage Tour

   Other than the brutal heat, I really enjoyed taking the African American Heritage Tour. At our first stops at Reese Phifer and Bibb Graves, we read about the story of Autherine Lucy. Even though the court granted her the right to attend the university, the students and white society did not accept her and staged riots to express their rage. Trouillout mentions the idea of scientific racism; the practice of classifying individuals of different phenotypes into discrete races that are either superior of inferior. Even though some groups grew to accept colored people, the majority still clung to the beliefs derived from scientific racism. He also suggests that people had trouble with the idea that by acknowledging the slaves as "humanity" is acknowledging them as human beings that deserve better treatment. Most of the protests against Autherine Lucy took place on the steps of Reese Phifer. It is strange to think about this because I do not think twice as I walk up those very steps every day to attend my class. It gives me a new perspective and appreciation for how far we have come as not only a university but as a society.
   We then walked over to the President's mansion. It was strange to see the separate sets of stairs that were used for the slaves. Trouillout stresses the idea of history being "silenced". History is both what happened and what is said to happen. History is also influenced by the personal beliefs and opinions  of the individual learning about history. Many factors such as gender, race, and religion can influence how you believe events in history actually occurred. Many times, it is just how you imagine the event when you are told about it or read about it. For example, when you read a book and then see the movie, it may not be how you thought. The characters may be completely different then how you imagined them to be.
   I thought that the tour was interesting and it gave me a better, more visual idea of the concepts that are outlined in Trouillout's book. I was able to connect his ideas better and relate them to actual people in history. Learning about a person's real life story helped me better understand the ideas Triuoillot tries to communicate. I was able to put a face and a name to the issues rather than simply learning concepts and hard facts.

Heritage Tour - Courtney Araszkiewicz

          I found the African American Heritage Tour of The University of Alabama to be very informative. I have been on the tour before, but I noticed some things the second time that I hadn't noticed before. Personally I believe the school doesn't inform students very well on its African American heritage. I found that the Foster Auditorium stop was interesting. The clock tower is to pay tribute to Autherine Lucy Foster, James Hood and the late Vivian Malone Jones. These three students were the first three African American students whose enrollment started the universities desegregation. Throughout the tour you can learn about other places on campus that were involved with the universities African American heritage, including places like the Presidents mansion, Nott hall, and Reese Phifer.
          Even though the tour was informative, I have to question the facts. As I was going through the tour, I thought about what Trouillot said about history in his book. He talks about history as "what happened" and "that which is said to have happened." We have the right to wonder if we are being told the truth about what happened and if it is the whole story. The tour around campus proved to be informative, but the school still doesn't put a great emphasis on its African American heritage. The clock tower, for example, had quotes by the three students and a short informative sign. If we want to know the deeper information, we have to go look it up for ourselves.
         The tower is located right by Foster hall where Governor George C. Wallace blocked the entrance to the building so African American students could not enter. He delivered a speech, but eventually stepped aside for students to register for classes. Foster auditorium also has a memorative sign on the building by the front door. We are told about these occurrences, but we wonder if we are receiving the whole story. Trouillot has good points about the meaning of history.