I live in Oakland, California. I grew up in a neighborhood in sacramento, it was very peaceful and safe. I would describe myself as a very social and outgoing person that LOVES to laugh and meet new people. I would describe myself as a very loving, caring, and annoying daughter/ sibling/ friend. Some aspects of my identity are that I am a female, I am hetrosexual, I was born in Richmond California,  and I am  African American. 

First of all I should mention that whole heartedly support “Black Power and “Black Lives Matter” protests. With that being said a lot of my picture chosen for my dominant narrative have to do with my race and/or my nationality. For example, on the outside of my shadowbox project I put a quote from Donald Trump saying “ I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes everyday.” Trump can lead one to infer that black are no good and can’t be trusted with other people’s money. This is an excellent example of how stereotypes are started and lots of prejudice remarks are made about my race (africans americans).

For the counter narratives on the outside of my box, i put picture that stand up for mostly my race. One picture was of a young black man graduating from college. I put this picture up there to show that ALL blacks aren’t just trying to steal or rob someone and that some of us actually have goals in life and that we CAN accomplish things. These images make me feel proud to know that there is still hope in some african americans and that there are still some of us out there that do positive things with their life.

On the inside of my box I put many things that represent me. For example, the is a picture of a microphone that represents song because I love to sing. Another picture I put is a black lives matter poster because i love those type of protests. Those are some things that represent me.

This Auto-Ethnography Shadowbox project is all about identity and who you really are. On the outside of the box we were supposed to put how the world stereotypes us and shapes us to make others think a certain way about a specific race or kind. On the inside of the box we are to put as many things that represent us as we could so that if a stranger was to take a look at it, they’d have an idea of they type of person you are.Doing this project I learned that nobody has a say so over who you are and who you are going to be, it’s up to you to live up to who and what you want to be.