Category: Angelos Page 2 of 3

Unfortunately, I was not able to find the book that I wanted to read called Colour of their skin and therefore I found a different source that was an online article. It was still covering the same topic and I wanted to research more to ask my question regarding the extent to which the segregation of races in Virginia affects the educational system, the session that we had with the librarian was extremely helpful. I had previous experience in research but not to that Deb, especially for an annotated bibliography. Therefore I used the information provided and found other two resources that would help me answer my exploring question. The first one is a peer-reviewed journal, while the other man is not using all the information I had, and the article or under the instructions for the assignment, I tried to make a summary and a reflection of the first resource from the book and I applied the same methodology to the other two sources. Overall, through the steps until now I didn’t just explore more in-depth my questions, but it was also a really useful process really significant in the academic world.

Through reading chapters 7 and 8, I gained a better understanding of how segregation started and how it is still dominant in the US specifically in Virginia. Even after the revolution of the black population of Richmond, many of the policies that were taken were based on discrimination to support the economic system of exploitation. Even if the policies that were taken were considered to liberate people context is really important to be given and reality is really different than theory. Examples of this are how black kids would have access to education, theoretically, but funding that was given to an average white kid was four times more in comparison to the funding for a black kid. Moreover, black people would have access to work and to land, but since white people were always more privileged, they would be the ones that would be the owners of the land and of the companies, and therefore they would always favor, other white people. When their land, their home, their family, their education, their freedom, and their identities in general are challenged, and almost taken, there is no sense of speaking about decolonization and resegregation. Even connecting it to the current status of the US and specifically Virginia, history affects majorly the path society takes and even though constitutionally black people may have the same rights it can be even measured or just seen by any citizen that forms of segregation are still dominant in Richmond.

A great historian is supposed to be objective and not include personal elements in their writing. That is why a lot of people argue that Herodotus should not be considered the first historian. However to what extent can a person produce any type of written work without including personal elements? In fact, even the act of being able to “write about history” and be considered a historian comes from a place of privilege and therefore contains personal characteristics. This idea can also be applied to Richmond’s Unhealed History. Before starting to read the book, I read about the author’s background and not surprisingly he is a white, heterosexual, Christian, American man. Up to an extent that information stayed with me and changed the way I received knowledge while reading the book taking into account that the book could be written basically from an oppressor’s point of view. However, as I started reading I was leading more and more close to the conclusion that personal characteristics do not entirely define a person’s intention and their ability to separate themselves from the truth. By that I mean, that the author until chapter 6 is doing a great job of rediscovering the history of Richmond, using multiple trust-worth resources, and offering insightful perspectives that sometimes are intervented with facts by themselves and sometimes I do not entirely align with some of the way his thoughts are expressed, but overall I can say with confidence that he is using narrative in an effective way to communicate historical knowledge and share his interpretation separately. The combination of micro-elements like the 03use of the third person, the inclusion of different trustable resources, diagrams, figures, charts, direct and indirect quotations, the separation of comments, and the rest of the text, all contribute to the creation of a macro-narration that I consider successful of generating and communicating historical knowledge.

I made a lot of realizations after finishing the first two chapters of Richmond’s unhealed history. It still is prominently, white, Christian, and patriarchic, and that originates from the history of the town. The colonial history cannot be erased and determines to a big extent, the nature of the area. The fact that this land was taken from the indigenous communities and the current white-dominant civilization is built on that land is shocking. Our university, the houses, and the whole town have as foundations the blood of native communities that were genocide and still are not even heard in the modern world. I found it almost offensive in the book how it was mentioned that both colonial powers and indigenous peoples harmed each other and how they were responsible for the death of both sides. That equates the forceful and violent takeover of their home to the only defending mechanism that indigenous peoples had and that is at the minimum disrespectful. Overall painful and uncomfortable continuing to read the book but rewarding!

Questions for Tuesday’s lunch:

(Kelvin and Terrence) Obviously, being in prison has shaped your life paths and personality. But to what extent do you think that your incarceration has defined your life?

(Kelvin and Terrence) One of the takeaways of the book is the injustice within our justice system. What are some things that you think could be applied to get closer to a just and meritocratic society?

(Kelvin and Terrence) What are the main takeaways of having contributed to the publication of a book?

(Kelvin and Terrence) What are some things you have regret in life and why?

(David Coogan) How does it feel to have been engaged to that extent with people in prison but have not been one of them? Did you start seeing specific patterns, understanding them better, and empathizing with them?

For Thursday’s lesson, I prepared by focusing on a specific character that was particularly interesting and motivated me to delve more into his story. Nanji had one of the most significant personal changes during his lifetime with his ideology and approach in life being shifted during his time in prison.

Throughout Nanji’s story, some common themes were highlighted that convey bigger ideas about life. Firstly, the common theme of identity was challenged through his struggles of questioning himself. Under the umbrella of identity, many other aspects come into play including religion and race. Nanji communicates the broader concept of religion as an incentive for change and as a supporting mechanism. Race is perceived as a characteristic that goes beyond skin color being a shaping element of his character development. Finally, a driving force for positive change in his lifestyle and personality is the connection with family through the characters of his wife, daughter even her grandma, empowering the concept of transmissive love.

Writing our way out truly was a transformative book.

We are used to consuming happy-ending books with a start, middle, and end while this book does not follow that structure. I found really interesting the placement of the stories throughout the book and even though in the beginning it may have been confusing, after a few chapters it made total sense. This structure allows the reader to find common themes across the main characters and dive deep into their stories. Even though there is a flow followed in the book, it basically does not have an ending. It is based on real people continuing their lives outside the book and therefore continuing their own version of the book and their families are going to be the next generations to continue and so on.

Moreover, this book changed to a significant extent the way I view certain things. I was always trying to be aware of my privileges but after reading the stories of people living around me, I truly understood how privileged I am and how significant that can be in someone’s life. This book taught me that the easiest thing we can do is to judge someone based on their outcomes but most of the time that comes from a place of privilege and ignorance. We truly can not understand someone’s path in life until we start listening to their stories; they truly are a transmission power that unites and shapes people for the better.

Therefore, Writing Our Way Out sheds light on the potential for writing as a tool for rehabilitation and personal growth, offering a poignant exploration of how storytelling and self-expression can provide a pathway to redemption and transformation for those who have been entangled in the criminal justice system.