I came to UCSB with the intent to major in Political Science with emphasis on International Relations. At this time, I had plans on returning to Africa as a U.N. diplomat or ambassador to be the voice of the African people. The reason for discussing my initial goal is that my passion and curiosity to return to Africa led me to take a course in Black Studies.

My first course in black studies was African history with professor Daniels. As I read the texts and sat in lecture, I felt a sense of pride and emotional connection to the material. Even though some of my peers didn't appreciate his style of lecture, I felt a personal connection to the subject matter, which covered the history of Christianity in Ethiopia; my birth place. I was delighted to learn new information about my own culture and history; thus, this course became my gateway to the Black Studies discipline.

In lecture, Professor Stewart discussed the birth of the New Negro as 20th century identity, but there are three major events which help shaped the notion of the New Negro: migration from Africa to slavery, civil war to freedom, and migration from the south to the north. I am now able to connect this idea to the majority of the topics under the Black Studies courses I had in the past. In some abstract way, I see my gradual transition from political science to black studies more than substituting of a discipline but as a system of constructing a New Negro Identity. Deciding to double major in political science and black studies enabled me to gain a diverse view of the world around me.

As I continued to take additional black studies courses, I realized a new passion has taken over me; I wanted to teach underserved communities in the inner city. Realizing my new passion, I decided to drop political science as a major and major in black studies. My decision to major in black studies alone was seen by many of peers and family as worthless and miscalculated. However, I never been happier with my decision to solely major in black studies and minor in education. Taking array of courses such as black feminist thought, negritude african literature and caribbean studies has broadened my understanding and perspective of the world. The lens in which I view everyday events both domestically and internationally has been widened through my exposer in black Studies. Therefore, I am proud to say I am a “Black Studies Major.”