Sunflower County Freedom Project

The Triple Threat

THE TRIPLE THREAT
Helloooooooo!! Is anyone out there! Hello!! Hey you. Yeah, you! We got something to tell you. Yeah, don't you see us? Hi, we are Kenyon King, Dalvin Johnson, and Ashton Pernell. We're all second years here at the Sunflower County Freedom Project. As you look at the title above you say in your head, what is the triple threat? Well the triple came from us. Three Moorhead students starting our lives out right as leaders. , Anyway, guess what? We have some stories to tell you. First coming to the stage........DALVIN JOHNSON!!

Hi, as you know I am Dalvin Johnson. I am a 2nd year in the S.C.F.P. When i first joined I was really excited. People had been telling me a whole a lot about this so I decided to join one day.One thing I like about the Freedom Project is getting to meet new people (see my picture below with an FBI agent in Houston?) On trips you get to do really interesting things and meet very important people. I like traveling anyway. I think the S.C.F.P is the best thing that could happen to anyone. Okay, now Kenyon why don't you take over right about now.

Okay!! Mmmm, where to begin? Wow, the Freedom project has been an great inspiration to me. I have friends and family to help guide me on the right track! My friends and family have inspired me to go on through my years to be a freedom fellow. We have done so many things in the freedom project. I have been to so many places and had so many experiences. The best time was when we got to stay in Houston on the media tour with host families. I stayed with one of the original founders of the Freedom Project, Mr. Gregg Costa and his family. They treated me like their own family and I had a great time. We went to the Houston Rockets game, breakfast at a great restaurant, and got to play with the kids in the family, Elijah and Joshua. They loved sports  (especially Elijah) and we played basketball, hockey, foosball, and even a Mr. Potato Head game. On top of all that we had a joking contest.  I would really like to thank the Freedom Project for the adventures that I 've had. My friends Dalvin Johnson and Ashton Pernell have inspired me a whole lot because they are Freedom Fellows also. Wow, that's a lot of talking, my mouth is running over with words. Pernell, you ready?!!

Oh you know I'm ready. Okay, now how am i gonna start. Oh, I got it. One thing that I like about the SCFP is the trips that we go on. The trips are so adventurous! My favorite trip was going to Atlanta, Georgia last year for the drama tour. ATL was the bomb! We went an Aquarium and toured downtown and we had so much fun staying in Atlanta. My two years so far have been rocky and rough, but altogether is has been a tremendous experience for me. That's why I love the Freedom Project

So now you know about the Sweet Life of The of the triple threat of Moorhead. As we say on Delta street, HOLLA!!

Black History

When I hear the words Black History, I am stuck with a host of feeling that I will try to explain. Of course, I think of our long, rich and sometimes ostracized legacy in this country. I also think of our brave, powerful leaders who brought us this far. From Dr. Martin Luther King who organized the pivotal Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks whoinspired it all. To Malcolm X who helped chartered the fight against racial injustice. To the many many known and unknown foot soldiers of the Movement who fought to gain justice in their little towns and in retrospect the entire country. Something Sunflower County is famous for.

I also think of the movement of today! The Civil Rights Movement was and still is about Black people fighting racial obstacles placed in their way. Many people would say that the Movement is over and that Black people have new obstacles to face. Well I will agree that black people have new obstacles to over come. However, most of them are still racial and most of them occur with in our race. I hear self-demeaning language all the time at school and no one cares. I see Black students blowing off their education, the education people fought and died for to give them, daily. I hear students confuse Miles Davis with some astronaut or say that Malcolm X lived and died during slavery and are surprised when I retort angrily. That is the Movement of today, getting the Black student concerned about their education and motivated to do well. Its the only way to preserve our race and our History.

                                                                            Thank You,
                                                                                           Chris Perkins                            

 

 

Arguments Between the "N" Word

The "N" Word

In this modern day world
We seem to consume
The "N" word of hate
The slave word for doom

This word has been drenched
In red from our blood
It enslaved us like swine
Chain dragged through the mud

How fast we forget
Those lynch mobs and scars
The burnings and beatings
Those hot branding bars

Our freedom was taken
Our humanity stole
We were just that "N" word
No body no soul

Our women were raped
Some men were castrated
Black children were sold
Our race was degraded

With the crack of a whip
This word was yelled out
With each break in our necks
The rope showed know doubt

We were hunted like prey
Then put on the block
We were branded as slaves
With a chain brace and lock

This "N" word was use
To take guilt out of blame
Because it made us inhuman
To be killed with no shame

Yet after all of those years
Of that suffering pain
The use of this word
Has weaken our brain

We throw it around
Like a word with no past
But history lives on
From the shadow it cast

It's now part of our language
In every sentence we say
It shows off our ignorance
In a sorry sad way

There's no other culture
And no other race
That would embrace such a slur
Or welcome disgrace

Yet we as Black people
Have done so for years
Our dignity lost
Without feelings or tears

It's part of the reason
We will never excel
Or out-live our slums
And Ghetto-ish hell

Written by David Farrar

A response from Xavier Herring, third-year:

What's Wrong with the "N" Word?
By:Xavier Herring

What's wrong with the "N" word?
Is it what you'd heard
'cause it bound us in a cage
just like a captive black bird?

But it's all over now.
So stop all that hate
Just 'cause we use the "N" word now
Doesn't mean you can relate.

I know our freedom was taken,
Our humanity stolen.
But as the "N" word, we fought back
With more body and more soul.

Don't you remember Nat Turner?
He was bound as a slave
and sparkled the biggest revolt.
Look what that "N" word made

Now look, David Farrar,
Why take the "N" word serious?
'Cause us kids use it all the time
so why be so delirious?

I know you are pretty mad
'Cause we use this word.
But what's the harm in it now
since we got freedom; we are free as a bird.

Now I wrote this poem
About the "N" word at hand
Just because I use this word
It doesn't make me less of a man!

Perseverance

This year has been a rough one for me. I have been up and down. Let’s take it back to this summer. I was a 2^nd year in the Freedom Project and there was nothing on my mind but being the coolest, cutest, and a biggest flirt this summer in the program. Then I realized that those were the main reasons that held me back in school for another year. But anyway this summer I mostly got in trouble a lot and I always was ready to go home. But somehow I made it and completed the summer with the help of one of my best friends, Chris Perkins.  He always tried to help from when I wanted to give up and he always encouraged me to go on. We all know Chris Perkins he has written about me in his blogs and has posted many of them. “Perseverance” was the word he liked to use, the one word that kept me going. It took hard work and lots of discipline, but I made it. Now, during the school year I am doing better in school and still come to the program everyday. A lot has changed me this summer.

I still act the same and act silly and have fun but when its time to work I get serious. That’s why I also to love the word “Perseverance”. Also while in the program this summer I was in one of my favorite classes which is Media Production. I really like it and some people classify me as “The Expert .” Right now, I’m creating an invitation for special event titled “The Black Experience Program”. So it will be posted up on the blog sooner or later. So altogether I am doing great and there is always time for improvement. Thanks for reading my blog. 

                                                                            Juwan Wilson

Last Semester

Last Semester

The school term is almost over with. Just a couple of months away, exams are rolling in fast. I took Algebra 1 and Biology 1 last semester and it was no joke. In our school, the majority of students are unaware the seriousness of the classes and the minority are trying to get serious. We have numerous people at our school that are failing one class or more -- not only freshmen but sophomores, juniors, and seniors, too. My mind has a set goal to pass all my classes with all A’s. Some think it can’t be done but I believe so because I try to think and stay positive. A lot of students at our school have the “I can’t do it” or “the class is too hard” attitude and when they try to achieve something with that attitude then they won’t achieve anything.

It’s a new year and it’s the last semester and some students have to worry about classes that they have failed last semester and then the classes this semester. That’s a load of work, especially when you are a senior because the pressure of not graduating is heavy. For us freshmen, it’s a clean start. Though bugs may try to dirty up the windshield, you have to keep washing it off and keeping it clean, meaning if you start off to a fresh start and then things get in the way until you can’t see and soon crash. But when things do get in the way, it’s always important to get over it and focus on what is important.

 Since it’s the last semester, students will try and get serious and rush through assignments and projects. The teachers will notice this and will give them the grade they deserve. When it’s not the grade they were hoping for, the students always will blame the teacher and say that they needed more time when they could have asked for more time before the project is due. This type of scenario happens all the time. As a freshman, I’ve learned a lot from observing people who play around and are nonchalant and it’s really interesting to see.

3rd year fellow
Shaquille Leflore

Meet Tambranikia

Hi my name is Tambranikia Gordon, a 4^th year in the Freedom Project. Being a sophomore can get pretty hectic. I can take myself for example. This isn’t the best school experience that I have had so far. I have seen better nine weeks. Let me take Biology II for example, this is my most challenging class. First of all science isn’t my best subject, and then in this class I there are a lot of distractions. In this class there are several students who don’t care if they learn or not, but they are expecting others to fall with them and will do just about anything in there power to make sure others fail as well. This class is very stressful for me. My grade in this class could have been better, but I know that it will get better, just as long as I continue to apply myself. Well bloggers I have to go now, but I will continue to write. Also for younger students that haven’t taken Biology II yet, be aware, that these classes major focus.

                                                                          Tambranikia Gordon                                                                        
                                                                                      4th year fellow

Fresh PB & J!!!!

Being a first year at the Freedom Project is very educational. It is educational because you are able to learn new things about many people. You can learn how to get along with people and learn how you can work with them in the real world. Also, being a first year at the Freedom Project helps you when it comes to your school work. No matter how good or bad you are doing in school the Freedom Project definitely helps you improve. As a first year, I expect that the Freedom Project prepare me for my future. For example, I should be ready to go to law school and be ready for all of the obstacles that might come toward me. Plus, it offers a lot of fun activities for kids around the Sunflower County area. Some of those activities are going camping and experiencing the great outdoors. I had never been camping before I joined the freedom project. My favorite activity to do that the SCFP offer is drama. I plan to try out for the spring play and hope to get a part in the play and be part of the troupe. The list is endless and I'm glad I join because now I have endless possibilities!

First Year Fellow
Shamira Weeks

"The" Labor Day

         Hello my name is Jessica Herring and I am going to tell you about my new job. I am a 4^th year in the Freedom Project. My new job is cleaning up the Lead Center. I have one day to work and it is on Wednesdays. On Wednesdays I do a lot of things like vacuum the lobby, blue room, green room, and red room. I clean the toilets, mop floors, sweep floors, clean boards, and anything else that needs cleaning. The Lead Center is like a second home to me because I stay here in Sunflower at the Lead center more than I stay at home. When I am here at the Lead center cleaning up I have to listen to something because it takes my mind off of my work. When I listen to the music I will get finished with my work faster than without the music. I get paid for the work I do. I get paid $20.00 each Wednesday. I needed this money because I want to go to Paris, France this summer. I want to go because this will be my first time going out of the United States and also so that when I have children I can tell them that I went to Paris,France. I took the job because the Lead center really needed a good cleaning. The Lead center looked and smelled dirty so my teacher put up a sign that said WE NEED A CUSTODIAN. So I just talked it over and the next thing I knew, I was here cleaning up the Lead center. After all my hard work, the Lead center looks and smells better and I think… well I’m sure everyone would agree.

4th year fellow

Jessica Herring