The Importance of Unity Within a Group

"I am because we are." This is an ancient Zulu quote that Dr. Carr mentioned in his Monday lecture. This particular quote really stuck with me because I feel that it embodies not only African culture but also our own culture at Howard University. Dr. Carr started off by saying that Egyptians were the creators of mathematics, science, astronomy, writing, and many other important educational advances. In addition to this, they also built the pyramids, which took a great deal of teamwork and unity. I think that this quote is saying that one individual is nothing without the support of the group that they were brought up in. This group could be a tribe, a neighborhood, a family, or a school. I feel that Dr. Carr shared this quote with the class because he wants us to know that unity is important in our group at Howard University. Our university accomplishes so much: each year we educate thousands of promising black scholars. However, without teachers, these scholars would be nothing. In addition, without students, the teachers would have no purpose. The importance of group collaboration is shown in this quote and is an inspiration to us as a class because most of us are just beginning our transition into Howard University. We came here as individuals, leaving our parents, siblings and friends back at home. But we will not be leaving the same way that we came. We will leave with valuable educations and priceless connections to help us build our futures. We will leave as members of the Howard family, and wherever we go, whatever we accomplish, we will be leaving the Howard University name along with it. Dr. Carr introduced several African words and phrases into his lecture, one of them being the word "sankofa". This means "go and get it". The theme that I interpreted from this lecture was that we as Howard University students can accomplish anything we set our minds to, as long as we remember that we ourselves are only humble individuals, and we must use the help and wisdom of others to improve ourselves and achieve our goals.



Erika Meijer