Trails of smoke
Cal in Color
The privilege of patriotism is a luxury that Black Americans cannot afford. America prides itself on democracy and freedom, and yet treats its BIPOC as second class.
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Dreaming while Black
In freshman year, I had an ethnic studies teacher who posed an interesting question to the class: “When did you realize you were Black?”
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Our basic humanity
Cal in Color
I’ve often had STEM friends not understand why they have to pay our exorbitant tuition even for classes not clearly related to their major.
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Phantasms of inclusion
Cal in Color
Just because UC Berkeley isn’t majority white doesn’t mean that it truly includes its Black undergraduates — and labelling our campus as POC-majority further erases Black students.
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You catch more flies with honey
Cal in Color
I wanted to write “Cal in Color” to create real dialogue on what it actually means to be a Black woman at Berkeley, and doing so requires the invocation of uncomfortable radical topics.
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Real allies don’t just perform
Cal in Color
Being an ally means showing up when it counts. It means uplifting Black voices rather than trying to drown them out for the sake of appearing “woke.”
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Seeking what was meant for me
Cal in Color
Every time someone stopped me on campus to thank me for voicing issues facing first-generation students, I felt like I was doing something right.
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Finding strength to uplift those in my community
Cal in Color
I often wished I knew how to help my family and those in my community so that law enforcement wouldn’t take advantage of them.
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You got to speak it into existence!
Cal in Color
Like I always said and still say to this day to myself and those around me, “You got to speak it into existence!”
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My final and only option
Cal in Color
When the time came to start applying, I poured out my heart in essays and prayed I would get into UC Berkeley, as it had always been my dream school.
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