Brandon Dean Freshmen Seminar Session 3 Opinion

The Chrystal Palace

Dr. Elanor Traylor’s presentation was valuable with respect to informing students of the contribution Howard University students have made to the arts and sciences. She created a crystal palace in her presentation to students aided with newspaper clippings, pictures of the Gullah People, and insight on upcoming events. Phylicia Rashd, Toni Morison, and Zora Neal Hurston were among the diversity of African American women discussed because of their achievements and their relationship to Howard University.  Dr. Ronald Walters was acknowledged as a pioneer of one of the most powerful forces in United States political culture: the Congressional Black Caucus. Phylicia Rashad is revered in the world of entertainment as a transformative figure. Rashad has proven herself in many portrayals to a an extremely talented women. Washington will welcome Rashad in November when she opens “Every Tongue Confess” in South West D.C.  The works of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston which depict he black experience so well were inspired by the stories of slaves and blacks in a racially divided country. In the time that their art forms were coming to life blacks were subjected to horrific conditions. Hurston and Morris’s stories were fostered by the richness of their own experience.  Dr. Traylor spoke firmly and with compassion about the significant of all their individual contributions. A failure to find some meaning in this work leaves Howard students far removed from the legacy. It also leaves one very distant from the crystal palace. Howard is and entity that supports and provides the resources for achievement but it is up to each individual to make the appropriate steps to arrive at that place