During the course of my academic studies at UCSB I've taken numerous Black Studies courses, a few of which have proven to be highly influential in the shaping of both my worldview and my own identity. These purveyors of knowledge, whom I hold in unparalleled high regard, and their courses include: Dr. Johnson for Education of the Black Child, Prof. Johnson for Comparative Rebellion, Prof. Lipsitz for the Civil Rights Movement, Prof. Banks for Black Feminist Thought, and Prof. Madison for Black Marxism. These instructors empowered me to construct a truly self-defined and autonomous identity, awakened within me a nascent consciousness, and instilled within me the altruistic desire to contribute to the well-being and aspirations of my community. My only regret from many of these courses is that I was unable to give a more thorough reading to the course literature and thus glean every available modicum of knowledge from these educators. The time spent in their classrooms significantly contributed to the person that I am today, and person I aspire to be in the future.
As much as my academic experience influenced the ways in which I perceive both my community and myself, I have been fortunate enough to have gained a global comprehension from a year spent studying and living in Barcelona, Spain (2009-2010). The neighborhood in which I lived was called El Raval, and was (in)famous for being the neighborhood of immigrants. In the streets of El Raval, whose history dates hundreds of years, I became proficient in speaking Spanish while being exposed to colorful patchwork of immigrants from around the world. Daily I would play basketball with young men from Manila, buy groceries from a family from Islamabad, and eat with fellow travelers from Marrakesh, Dakar, and Dar es Salaam. I lived in a small apartment with three flatmates: two men from Senegal, one without the necessary immigration papers thus rendering him an illegal alien (how is it that human beings can be labeled illegal?), and a young woman from Galicia (a region in northwestern Spain). During the year I spent with these men from Senegal, they became like older brothers or uncles to me. They cared for me when I was ill, cooked for me when I homesick, introduced me to Islam, and treated me as if I was one of their own. During the holy month of Ramadan (my first experience with sustained fasting), they along with other members of the Senegalese community in Barcelona opened their homes and shared their food. This experience of living alongside Africans, the sense of camaraderie that permeated our relationship, and their sharing with me the story of their struggles, values, culture, and humanity awakened within me a greater love of my own community while firmly establishing a sense of Pan-Africanism. The solidarity that was forged that year is unshakable, and it continues to contribute to my both my identity and aspirations. In all probability I will never know factually from which part of Africa grew the roots of my existence, but I feel in my heart that it was the area now known as Senegal.
The year I spent abroad alerted me to the fact that I have brothers and sisters on the other side of the world, and 400 hundred years, the Atlantic Ocean, and all the cruelty and oppression associated with the institution of slavery could not destroy this bond. This new found grounding, source of identity, and global consciousness, actually stimulated within me a desire to ameliorate the situations of my people and community, both domestic and international. The academic knowledge gained from UCSB and the Black Studies Program empowers me to act. In summation, during my years at this university my perspective has evolved from that of a ignorant freshman who's worldview extended from the Bay Area to Santa Barbara, to that of a inquisitive young man and world citizen with a vested interest in the well-being of my community, however I choose to define it.
