- May 7, 2013
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I remember going to Bowie State University, a HBCU in Bowie Md, for a year. I was taking a Contemporary American History course taught by a brother we called Professor Condo. He said he was a first cousin to James Meredith, however I didn't believe him. On intermediate breaks, he would sometimes come back saying he just got finished talking to his cousin James on the phone. I would say to myself, "Yeah, tell us another one". I recently looked at a younger picture of James Meritith, and I must admit, I did see a striking resemblance. Maybe they were kin, however I'm still not sure he was actually calling him on the phone. But he may have. It wasn't like Meredith was still in the spot-light or anything.
Anyway, I liked the way he laid out his syllabus. He had us read about 5 books in order that covered the period from 1945 to 1992 (Truman - Clinton). In these books he included books that covered black history through these times, like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X", "Agent of Repression"-were I first heard of CoinTelpro, and one other book about what blacks were doing during this time period in America. You don't get taught in this style in a white school. That's why I say it's always good to spend at least some time in a black college.
I had a few bad experience there, however I'm very glad I went. However one of the worst experiences I had there involved Professor Condo, which put me off the Deans List. Here's how it went: He was lecturing one evening about Japanese being detained in Concentration Camps during WW2. He began to go on this thing about Americans deep racial hated for the Koreans because of their slanted eyes, and their other non-European features. He used this as the reason Americans put them in Concentration Camps during WW2. Then he began to use this as a similar reason for the hatred of black people by Americans, because of our African features, and non-European features, etc... But he never said anything about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So being a little older than most of the students, I felt he was spreading unnecessary racism without telling the truth about Pearl Harbor. So I changed into superman, and said, "Hey Condo, I thought they put the Japanese in Concentration Camps because they bombed Harbor?". Not only was I trying to stop the younger students from being mislead, but I really wanted to hear an explanation, like "yes, that was one reason". First, one of the students giggled. Then Professor Condo replied, "That's a good theory", or something like that. But from that day on, he had it in for me. He would ask me difficult questions that I couldn't answer, and try to embarrass me. Then I wounded up with a "C" in his class, which was one of the classes I learned the most in. I had all high grades going into the final. But I didn't sweat it, because I knew I was about to transfer up on out of there anyway.
It's kind of strange, because for years I thought I was right for not letting those young students get maneuvered like that. But if anything, they should have known the attack on Pearl Harbor was the reason why they sent Japanese citizens to concentration camps here in America...anyway, I hope they knew. But today I feel like I was wrong for interrupting his class and making that statement, even though the statement may have been correct. If I cared that much, than perhaps I should have questioned him privately.
Anyway, I liked the way he laid out his syllabus. He had us read about 5 books in order that covered the period from 1945 to 1992 (Truman - Clinton). In these books he included books that covered black history through these times, like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X", "Agent of Repression"-were I first heard of CoinTelpro, and one other book about what blacks were doing during this time period in America. You don't get taught in this style in a white school. That's why I say it's always good to spend at least some time in a black college.
I had a few bad experience there, however I'm very glad I went. However one of the worst experiences I had there involved Professor Condo, which put me off the Deans List. Here's how it went: He was lecturing one evening about Japanese being detained in Concentration Camps during WW2. He began to go on this thing about Americans deep racial hated for the Koreans because of their slanted eyes, and their other non-European features. He used this as the reason Americans put them in Concentration Camps during WW2. Then he began to use this as a similar reason for the hatred of black people by Americans, because of our African features, and non-European features, etc... But he never said anything about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So being a little older than most of the students, I felt he was spreading unnecessary racism without telling the truth about Pearl Harbor. So I changed into superman, and said, "Hey Condo, I thought they put the Japanese in Concentration Camps because they bombed Harbor?". Not only was I trying to stop the younger students from being mislead, but I really wanted to hear an explanation, like "yes, that was one reason". First, one of the students giggled. Then Professor Condo replied, "That's a good theory", or something like that. But from that day on, he had it in for me. He would ask me difficult questions that I couldn't answer, and try to embarrass me. Then I wounded up with a "C" in his class, which was one of the classes I learned the most in. I had all high grades going into the final. But I didn't sweat it, because I knew I was about to transfer up on out of there anyway.
It's kind of strange, because for years I thought I was right for not letting those young students get maneuvered like that. But if anything, they should have known the attack on Pearl Harbor was the reason why they sent Japanese citizens to concentration camps here in America...anyway, I hope they knew. But today I feel like I was wrong for interrupting his class and making that statement, even though the statement may have been correct. If I cared that much, than perhaps I should have questioned him privately.
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