For my immersion events, I visited the Leonardo Drew’s artwork at the Snite Museum, listen to Dr. Richard Rolle’s speech about his personal experiences at Notre Dame, and heard Field Jackson speak about the top diversity initiatives in business. Whereas I visited the Snite Museum during a break in my schedule on November 28th, Rolle and Jackson’s speeches were part of a lecture series in Jordan HAll that occurred on November 3rd. I quickly became fascinated with all the events because because they directly related to my Introduction to Africana Studies course. Due to Leonardo Drew’s personal background, I recognized that his sculpture Number 29S 2013 was symbolic of the African-American struggles that we have discussed in class. Additionally, Dr. Rolle’s speech related to class because he emphasized certain difficulties about being an African-American student-athlete some of my classmates have also expressed. Finally, Fields Jackson’s speech concerning the importance of diversity in business relates to class because he emphasized the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
Leonardo Drew’s personal background is significant for the context of his artwork because it signifies that he is trying to describe political struggles in his artwork. As an African-American born in 1961, Drew’s perspective on racial injustices in America is much different than someone of a different race. As a result, Drew is able to convey his personal racial perspectives through his artwork. Although Drew had been an artist his entire life, he became particularly racially conscious when he visited the slave trading post Gorreé Island in Senegal.
At this site, millions of Africans are sold into slavery living in horrific and catastrophic conditions. Drew’s experience completely reshaped his viewpoints on African lives, particularly those who were forced to travel to America. He understood that at one point in time, enslaved African-Americans were forced to suffer in slavery, with the only escape being death. Drew’s experiences influenced him to create artwork describing these racial injustices to his viewers. The Texas-based Patron Magazine described Drew’s sculptures as, “artwork that draws from the African-American experience and cynical nature of existence.” The artwork pieces displayed in the Snite Museum evidently reflect the racial injustice messages that Drew attempts to convey.
The sculpture Number 29S 2013 signals racial injustice due to the shape and color of the masterpiece. When first viewing the sculpture, one of the immediate recognizable features is that is is the shape of a flag. The wavy features makes the sculpture appear as flag rippling in the wind. Moreover, the vertical and flat wood on the left side of the artwork resembles a flag pole. Although the shape of the sculpture closely resembles a flag, Drew does not use color besides the natural brown color of the wood. The lack of color was particularly shocking because most flags are typically vibrant with color, particular the American flag. However, I interpreted the the lack of color to represent the lack of color or racial awareness throughout American history.
Since Drew has committed himself to display the American racial struggles through his artwork, it would make sense that Number 29S 2013 is attempting to convey race has been overlooked. The shadows between the curves of the sculpture further represent the idea that race is often ignored in American culture. There are certain groups of people in the shadows where the light and attention has not reached them at all, especially those of Africana descent. Drew constructs this piece to allows viewers to reflect about their own position in American society. Whether a person considers themselves in the shadows or upfront in American culture, Drew’s audience understand that significant progress is still needed for equality after centuries of discrimination and oppression against minorities.
Leonardo Drew’s artwork is related to class because it is similar to our discussion about Kendrick Lamar’s album Damn. In Damn, Kendrick uses his personal background to bring Africana issues to the forefront including police brutality and injustices in his music video Humble. Additionally, in the song Fear, Kendrick Lamar speaks about the fear he had in his mother as a child about certain rules of the household. In the same song, Lamar raps about his fear of death due to violence from the police and from people in his neighborhood. Similar to Drew, Lamar uses his personal background through his critically acclaimed album Damn to bring attention to Africana issues.
In addition to the visiting Leonardo Drew’s exhibition at the Snite Museum, I also understood a new of Africana life through Dr. Richard Rolle’s speech. Dr. Rolle was a student-athlete at Notre Dame, playing football under Lou Holtz. Although he didn’t see the field much during the first few years of school, he had hopes playing more his senior year of school. However, his football career was cut short after he was diagnosed with cancer during the spring game of his senior year. Shortly after, Dr. Rolle underwent a 12 hour surgery because his left lung has collapsed. Dr. Rolle’s story was heartbreaking because he emphasized how much he worked as an athlete to hopefully see the field more often.
In addition to the struggle to recover physically, Dr. Rolle made it clear that it was difficult at times to fit into Notre Dame culture during the recovery process because he was forced to miss so much time recovering from cancer. However, he also stated that the discipline of football helped motivate him through the chemotherapy and the entire recovery process. Once Dr. Rolle made a full recovery from cancer and his lung collapse, he attended dental school and eventually opened his own dentistry in Charlotte. His own practice has been very successful, including the official sponsor of professional Charlotte sports teams including the Charlotte Hornets.
Throughout Dr. Rolle’s remarkable life story, he had some negative and positive comments about being an African-American throughout his experiences. Dr. Rolle said that while he attending Notre Dame, he has some slight difficulties fitting into socially. Since Notre Dame consisted of mostly white students, Dr. Rolle considered himself somewhat of an outsider because the atmosphere was different from what he was used to growing up. A primary way Dr. Rolle felt included in the Notre Dame was through the football team. The team helped him blend into Notre Dame culture because there were other people of Africana descent that he could relate to.
However, after Dr. Rolle’s was diagnosed with cancer and was forced to quit the team, he had trouble feeling included on the Notre Dame campus. Dr. Rolle did not lose his friends on the football team, but because he couldn’t be at practice and travel with the team he felt more like an outsider. As an African-American who was no longer a student-athlete at Notre Dame, Dr. Rolle acknowledged that it was more difficult to fit in. However, despite Dr. Rolle’s struggles through his senior year at ND, he still speaks very highly of the school. He used his diverse background and previous struggles to propel himself throughout dental school and in the business world.
Dr. Rolle’s conversation was closely related to the situation that African-American students have expressed in our classroom. It was alarming to hear some of my classmates convey that they do not feel that they fully integrated with the Notre Dame community because of their color. Understandably, my classmates emphasized that it is more difficult to fit into a culture that is different from what one is accustomed to. The fact that Dr. Rolle and some of my classmates today do not feel comfortable at Notre Dame means that the school has room for improvement. Whether it is diversifying faculty or dorm life, Notre Dame needs to find new methods to allow students to feel included at their own school.
Whereas Dr. Rolle emphasized his struggles as a student due to his diverse background, Fields Jackson spoke about how diversity can economically propel American businesses. Jackson, the founder of Racing Towards Diversity magazine, showcases how diverse businesses can financially thrive. Jackson stated that businesses need more diversity in the workplace because they bring new perspectives that may have never been previously considered. He gave the example of a clothing company attempting to sell merchandise to teenage woman. If the company solely consisted of older white men, they would miss ideas on how to appeal to that audience. This is because the older white men would be unfamiliar with an aspect of life different from their their own.
However, if that company had hired people from diverse backgrounds including age, gender, and race, the company would have different perspectives on how to best appeal to those people. Additionally, Fields Jackson spoke about the importance of social media for businesses. Outlets including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are significant for companies because it allows them to promote brand awareness and connect with consumers. Therefore, diversity in the workplace and social media are essential aspects for the success of a company. Rather than having diversity in a business for political correctness, it was fascinating to hear how diversity can be so beneficial for businesses.
Although Jackson’s emphasis on the importance of diversity and social media is relevant to Introduction to Africana Studies, Jackson’s speech more directly relates to class because he spoke about the opportunities and challenges of HBCU. Jackson is the executive director of the HBCU Business Roundtable that allows HBCU Business Deans to address opportunities and difficulties in enhancing business programs and initiatives. The Roundtable also has a primary role in developing relationships with corporations, government agencies, and non-profits among others. These relationships are important because it enables HBCU students and faculty to have more opportunities for success in the business world.
The discussion on HBCU relates to class because HBCU have recently suffered financially from due to low endowments and attendance in recent years. Much of the recent struggles have been because students of Africana descent are attending other colleges and universities more frequently. However, both Fields Jackson and the Introduction to Africana Studies course understand the importance of keeping HBCU’s alive because they are critical to the identity and foundation of African-American life. For nearly 100 years, HBCU’s gave Africana Students an opportunity for higher education. HBCU remain important because they remain an outlet for people to discuss Africana struggles which unfortunately continue to exist today.
The immersion experiences I attended throughout the semester were particularly fascinating because they directly related to the Introduction to Africana Studies course. My observation of Leonardo Drew’s artwork in the Snite Museum relates to class because we have discussed other figures have used their personal background to express racial injustices in their artwork, including Kendrick Lamar. Additionally, Dr. Rolle’s speech connects to class because he demonstrates the positives and negatives of fitting into Notre Dame as an African-American. Finally, Fields Jackson’s talk related to class because he stressed the importance of keeping HBCU successful today. These events were critical in helping me understand our discussions of Africana Studies outside the classroom.
