Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Seventy-Fourth Edition, August 8, 2016
Featured Alumna: Julia Larimar '10
I remember standing up on
the last night of HOBY in a semi-darkened room, eyes squeezed shut and mouth
open wide, “I want people to take me seriously.” While I did not realize it at
the time, I was voicing a request that grew out of continually being silenced
and undervalued as a black woman, a symptom of institutional racism in America.
In my rural community, I never saw many black people in “leadership positions”.
Most of my educators were white women or white men. Most of the cafeteria and
custodial workers at school were black women or black men. I grew up feeling
that black people were still second-class citizens meant to serve and not
capable of being leaders. With this understanding came unconscious self-hate
and a desire to take on as many characteristics of white-middle class dominant
culture as possible to erase the blackness. To help me feel more like the
leader that almost every part of mainstream American society demanded I be. But then at HOBY I met
Adetinpo Thomas. She had shoulder length black hair, skin dark as mine with
sapphire undertones. She was one of the coolest parts of every sweltering day
at HOBY. Having her as an example of leadership alongside the workshops and
readings that we did made black female leadership a reality to me. She was
confident. She was bold. She showed me that I too could be unapologetically
black woman and leader.
My Junior Staff leaders, John Murphy and Katie Moore, also encouraged me to be the best me that I could be. Their belief in me helped begin my thinking about what it meant to have allies outside of one’s racial in-group. I could never have had the courage to sing in the talent show without their support and that of my group at HOBY. It’s been six years since those formative days I spent as an ambassador on Georgia Southwestern University’s campus. I am now working in Tulsa, Oklahoma as an early childhood educator through Teach for America. In a country where cultural competency and high academic performance are markers of success, and schools are the mediums through which American children are socialized into their role as citizens, unequal education through racial segregation still maintains a racial and social hierarchy. Thus, teachers, as the facilitators of that socialization, have a huge responsibility to society. The school I am working in is over 90% black. As a black female educator, I consider my very presence as a leader in the classroom, and the high expectations I have for my students and myself, an act of resistance against systems of oppression working against my community.
I remember standing up on
the last night of HOBY in a semi-darkened room, eyes squeezed shut and mouth
open wide, “I want people to take me seriously.” While I did not realize it at
the time, I was voicing a request that grew out of continually being silenced
and undervalued as a black woman, a symptom of institutional racism in America.
In my rural community, I never saw many black people in “leadership positions”.
Most of my educators were white women or white men. Most of the cafeteria and
custodial workers at school were black women or black men. I grew up feeling
that black people were still second-class citizens meant to serve and not
capable of being leaders. With this understanding came unconscious self-hate
and a desire to take on as many characteristics of white-middle class dominant
culture as possible to erase the blackness. To help me feel more like the
leader that almost every part of mainstream American society demanded I be. But then at HOBY I met
Adetinpo Thomas. She had shoulder length black hair, skin dark as mine with
sapphire undertones. She was one of the coolest parts of every sweltering day
at HOBY. Having her as an example of leadership alongside the workshops and
readings that we did made black female leadership a reality to me. She was
confident. She was bold. She showed me that I too could be unapologetically
black woman and leader.My Junior Staff leaders, John Murphy and Katie Moore, also encouraged me to be the best me that I could be. Their belief in me helped begin my thinking about what it meant to have allies outside of one’s racial in-group. I could never have had the courage to sing in the talent show without their support and that of my group at HOBY. It’s been six years since those formative days I spent as an ambassador on Georgia Southwestern University’s campus. I am now working in Tulsa, Oklahoma as an early childhood educator through Teach for America. In a country where cultural competency and high academic performance are markers of success, and schools are the mediums through which American children are socialized into their role as citizens, unequal education through racial segregation still maintains a racial and social hierarchy. Thus, teachers, as the facilitators of that socialization, have a huge responsibility to society. The school I am working in is over 90% black. As a black female educator, I consider my very presence as a leader in the classroom, and the high expectations I have for my students and myself, an act of resistance against systems of oppression working against my community.
I am thankful to HOBY for
challenging me summer of 2010—in earnest—to be more service-oriented,
outspoken, and to use my voice not just for myself but my whole community. I am
happy that I got to come back the next year and be a junior staff member to
help create a positive experience for all ambassadors to grow more into
themselves. I am thankful for the places of leadership I’ve been able to
inhabit since. I hope to continue being a leader in my community, using skills
HOBY cultivated in me, in order to help others use their voice to make this
country a better place—similarly to the way Adetinpo’s very presence influenced
me. I am humbled to be doing the work of being a teacher to young people of
color. I gladly “pay it forward”! #HOBY4LIFE
HOBY Info:
Georgia HOBY Store
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- Choose HOBY Georgia (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership) as your charity!
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Hours
- Keep logging them! Can you accomplish the 100 Hour Challenge? Georgia HOBY knows that you can. Here is the place to do so: https://reg.hoby.org/HOBYL4S/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHOBYL4S%2f
- Need ideas for Volunteering projects? Email gahobyalumniadvisor@gmail.com, check the HOBY website: http://hoby.org, and/or research into what your community needs!
- How far has your Chain Reaction of Kindness reached?
This Blog
- If you would like post a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" in the future on this blog, then email gahobyfundraising@gmail.com also with your response!
- Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post
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