Musings (A Student Blog)
Musings is a new blog featuring Medgar Evers College students from the English department. On a monthly basis, they contribute essays that address a variety of topics ranging from pop culture to Black literature. Please read and enjoy...a leave a comment, too!
Anyone Can Be Spider-Man
By D’Avian Johnson | I love Peter Parker. Not only is he the perfect hero, but he is also the most relatable one. He's the “everyday” man who goes through the same struggles every regular person goes through. He just...
Two Distant Strangers: A Movie Review
By Shamya Hill | In an industry that produces movies about vampires, werewolves, wizards, aliens riding bikes over the moon, and monsters, I think it is safe to say that art doesn’t imitate life except when it does. When movies...
Lori Madison Was a Human Being
By Adeola Adeniyi | Young and cocky Lori, played by the fantastic and underrated actress Emily Meade, rides down the escalator at the Port Authority bus terminal in season one of The Deuce. She is ready for big-league New York...
Ups and Downs
By Sashagale Moore | Which is more challenging, walking away from a dysfunctional relationship or staying? In my opinion, I believe that both options are equally difficult. Many women find it harder to leave a failed relationship because, as women,...
The Black Voice and its Place in Literature
By Sashagale Moore | From the 18th century to the present day, Black literature has changed the world. The earlier Black writers were fearless, and we must remember them and honor their fearlessness because, before the 18th century, the idea...
Living the Spoken Word
By Shamya Hill | When I think of Black Voices in literature, I think of my favorite spoken word artists such as Javon Johnson, Steven Willis, and Danez Smith performing pieces regarding being Black men in America. I remember stumbling...
Black Voices Remaining Afloat
By D’Avian Johnson | I believe Black voices have always been drowned out, however literature is a powerful tool for allowing them to remain afloat in one way or another. This may be through the characters writers create, or the...
Long Division
By Adeola Adeniyi | One of my rules regarding books is if I’m at a library or bookstore and I see a black author on the back of a book cover, I automatically pick up the book and read the...
The Genius of Frida Kahlo
By Sashagale Moore I am a big fan of Frida Kahlo's works. I became exposed to her artistry in 2015 on Instagram. I didn’t know who she was at the time; however, I admired her flower crown. I began to...
The Greatness of Manga
By D’Avian Johnson When I was younger, I didn’t have any interest or possess the patience to sit down and read books, especially nonfiction. I didn’t even like comic book series such as Marvel or DC, Spider-Man or Super-Man. I...
Hidden Gem
By Adeola Adeniyi HBO’s The Wire, which aired from 2002-2008, is my favorite drama of all time. In my opinion, almost no other series, except The Sopranos and Atlanta, measures up to the complexity and fantastic storytelling of the show’s...
Black Women and Cervical Cancer
By Shamya Hill I learned two things in Sexual Education Class: practice abstinence and HIV was a death sentence. In my experience, in sex-ed class, there was a sense of shame and judgment that prevented most students from asking questions...
A Tribute to John Oliver Killens
By Adeola Adeniyi | Classic black writers like Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Alice Walker and more contemporary authors such as Paul Beatty, Marlon James, and Kiese Laymon are very popular black writers, and are artists...
My Discovery of John Oliver Killens
By Shamya Hill | Before the Center for Black Literature’s September 16 event, I did not know anything about John Oliver Killens. I had never even heard his name. A quick google search showed me he was an African American...
Learning about John Oliver Killens
By Sashagale Moore | If you missed the Center for Black Literature's virtual event, The Minister Primarily: A Testament to the Legacy of John Oliver Killens last week, you missed a highly informative and engaging event. The event was a...
A Little Money Aside (Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic)
Before COVID-19, I was a full-time student and worked part-time in retail to provide for myself and assist with household bills. When the pandemic hit, I wasn't prepared financially in terms of saving for a 'rainy day.' I had some...
Groundhog Day (Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic)
The hilarious Bill Murray film Groundhog Day, where he played a weatherman who becomes stuck in a time loop and must repeat the same day over, has been a favorite film of mine for the last twenty years, and is...
Being An Introvert: A Blessing and a Curse (Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic)
The Coronavirus has dealt a terrible and scarily impactful blow to humanity and society. What was once considered normal is now mostly considered taboo. Granted, currently, with the vaccine making its way worldwide and reaching more and more people, life...
Take Nothing for Granted (Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic)
In a world where physical touch happens daily, from a long hug to a simple handshake to a kiss shared between one and their partner, Covid 19 turned the world we know upside down. Suddenly, we were stripped of touching...
Rosa Parks: Bus Boycott, Civil Rights & Facts
Rosa Parks (1913-2005) helped start the civil rights movement in the United States in 1995 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Rosa Parks’s actions inspired leaders of the Black...
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