Placing the Humanities

1. The neighborhood I grew up in.  It is significant because it is notoriously dangerous.  At one point it was the murder capital of the world with more homicides per capita than any other place. Despite those statistics, I made it.

2. The second place I chose was the intersection of Florence and Normandie in the neighborhood known as South Central Los Angeles.  This is where the frustrations of a city rose to demonstrate their dislike of police brutality.  These tragedies continue to happen today.

3.  The Dunbar Hotel was the 3rd pin dropped.  The Dunbar was one of the most important landmarks of the Harlem Renaissance, and it was a popular gathering place for African American artists, writers, and musicians. The hotel was also a center for political activism, and it was a key location in the Civil Rights Movement.

I am a product of South Central Los Angeles and am proud to say that despite all the disadvantages that my family and I faced when I was growing up, I made it.  I saw many of my childhood friends die or get incarcerated and I was able to avoid all that negativity.  I feel accomplished but now I want more students to be like me and be better than their circumstances.

The 3 words are Significant, Local, and Beautiful. I chose significant because it has to be a place that was or is still important.  Local is chosen because no matter where you live, something local is significant and you must support the cause.  Beautiful was chosen because you must find beauty in everything that is around you.