CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY

Cultural Biography Catrina Ravenel Georgia State University

CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY

To see me is to see the product of both my parents. From my father, I received wisdom and my mom, humility. And, the sense to understand that one is no good without the other. But, together they will create adventures and experiences that I have yet to explore. I hope that I will do as well of a job of raising my children as my parents did for me. I realize that each and every experience, the good and the bad, helped shaped me into the person that I am today. Positionality/Multiple Identities My mom was single, eighteen, pregnant, and about to graduate high school. During the graduation ceremony, my mom walked across the stage with her high school diploma in hand, and a baby in her womb. In those times, my mom was looked upon with shame for her position as an unwed mother. For the next several months, my mom lived at a home for girls. The other girls were also expecting mothers and lived at the home until their baby was born. My mom gave birth to a baby girl. I was born in Detroit, Michigan in January, 1964. My dad was 19 and already in the Army, stationed somewhere overseas. I met my father for the first time the following January of 1965. My father, an honorably discharged veteran, returned home to Detroit and married my mom. One year later, my sister was born. Two years after that, I had a brother. Four years later my parents had their last child, another baby girl. From that point on, my father worked hard to provide for his family of six people. During the early 70s the economy was doing well in Detroit. My father always had a job. There were times when my mother worked too, but my father was the main bread winner. New subdivisions were being developed about 40 miles west of Detroit advertising new homes for low income families. We packed our belongings, at least what we had left after experiencing several robberies, and left behind the city of Detroit. We moved to the suburbs of Inkster, Michigan. Americanization In Inkster, during that time, everything was new to include our neighbors who were still moving in too. I lived in a homogenous Black neighborhood in the suburbs. Most of the homeowners in the neighborhood were married, however, there were a few women homeowners who were single parents. All of the children in the neighborhood walked to the elementary, middle or high school. All of the students were Black. All of my teachers were Black, although a few White teachers worked at the school. Moreover, the administrators at each school were Black also. I later learned that Black people represented various social economic classes too. My best girlfriend, Michelle lived in a more established subdivision two miles from where I lived. Michelles mom was a nurse. Michelle attended Catholic school and wore a uniform every day to school. One day, Michelle asked me if I could enroll at her school. So, I politely asked my mom if I could go, although I knew she would probably say no. Needless to say, I didnt transfer to a Catholic school because my parents could not afford it. Family Culture My mom was the keeper of cultural practices in my family. When I was younger, we went to church quite often with my great-great grandmother. I was baptized in the same church my mother and great-great grandmother were baptized in. Moreover, my mom and dad made sure that each holiday was special. We celebrated Christmas, Easter and birthdays. My family and I celebrated each Christmas with the same menu as we did in previous years. I was

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responsible for my dish, my sister was responsible for her dish, and my mother and father took care of the rest of the meal. We did not necessarily get together with other family members on these special holidays. However, I did make it around to visit my friends in the neighborhood. I enjoyed spending time with friends in the neighborhood. Because I lived in a homogenous Black neighborhood, my friends were Black too. As I began dating, I only dated young Black men. I was adamant about dating young men of my own race. The idea of dating young men outside of my race never came up in conversation with my friends or parents. I always knew that whenever I got married, my husband would be Black too. The Cultural Other Awareness Inventory By the time I was 22 years old, I married a young Black man who was a soldier in the Army. We were both stationed in Texas at the time. We dated for about a year before we got married. My husbands best man was a young White male soldier who was in our unit. My first roommate in the military was a young white girl. She was in my wedding too. I lived in the barracks that had at least four floors. In the barracks were men and women from various ethnicities. We were all in the same unit. At first, it took some getting accustomed to a White roommate. I did not have any prejudices about White people as far as I can remember. But, I had to get use to my White roommate who walked around with her bare feet. Then, when it was time to go to bed, I could not help but notice the bottom of her feet were dirty most times. She had her own twin bed, so it did not matter to me, but I noticed it. My roommates name was Laura and she was one of my bridesmaids. I met many people from various ethnicities in the military. My platoon sergeant was Hispanic, and most of the officers in my unit were White. For the first few years in the military I struggled with male authority figures. The military is a male dominant organization. I guess I was not use to men telling me what to do if they were not my father. After spending two years in Texas, I headed for Honolulu, Hawaii. I lived in Wahiawa, Hawaii for two years. Before I relocated to Hawaii, I was under the impression that all Hawaiian women had long hair and was very pretty. During the time I lived in Hawaii, I toured a few cultural festivals, and a Hawaiian Luau. I never saw the pretty Hawaiian women with long black hair. Placing all stereotypes aside, I began to enjoy the intrinsic culture of the Pacific Island people. I met new friends while in Hawaii. But, they were all Black soldiers who I met through the military. I departed Hawaii and the military and moved to the South. My husband, baby, and I moved to Anniston, Alabama and eventually moved on the Army base. It was in Alabama that I encountered racism. I was working in a convenience store with two White women cashiers this particular day. A White female customer came into the store to buy merchandise using her personal check. I asked for identification to verify the information on the check which was store policy. Before I knew it, the White female customer called me a nigger while throwing the ink pen that shed used to write the check. The ink pen sharply stabbed me directly in my chest. Needless to say, I was in shock. I had heard of White folks calling Black people niggers, but it was only in textbooks. At the time, hearing a White person call me a nigger did more damage to me emotionally than the ink pen did physically. After living in Alabama for a few years, we relocated to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My in-laws lived there too. I probably experienced more of a cultural shock in Harrisburg than

CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY anywhere else I lived. I worked for social services and Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. The White members of the legislature far outweighed those who were Black. The Black legislators had Black secretaries and the White legislators had White secretaries. Furthermore, my daughters daycare staff were mostly all White women and her elementary school had a predominantly White staff too. As a result, my impression of White people changed more favorably because I was impressed with the teachers ability to provide my daughter with an excellent foundation in her education.

Intersectionality I have one adult child and two younger children. My only son is challenged with severe developmental delay. I never realized the challenges I would endure in advocating for resources and services for my son. At nine months old, my son received intervention services from the Babies Cant Wait program. By the time he was 3, my son began public school. Once in public school, I was on my own to find support services. Speech therapy services are not difficult to attain because the schools provide in house services to support students who need services. Occupational services can also be set up with the help of the school. After that, I was on my own. I searched relentlessly for six years before I found additional resources and services that would augment my sons education and add to his quality of life. Presently, my son receives tutoring in reading at $40.00 an hour. Cobb County has funds to pay for this service for one year. The monthly tutoring bills are approximately $300 plus dollars a month. Furthermore, according to the guidelines, funds were not allocated for tutoring. However, Cobb County makes his tutoring payment every month. This is just one example of how I advocate for my son. Currently, we live in Douglasville, Georgia. I enjoy living here. My three children and my six month old grandson and I all live together. The neighborhood where I live now is mixed with both Blacks and Whites. My son attends a predominantly White middle school. My daughters elementary school is mixed with Black, White, and Hispanic students. The elementary school staff is predominantly White with a couple of Hispanic teachers, and several Blacks teachers. Over the past several years, I attended Atlanta Metropolitan State College. The president of the college is Black, the professors are predominantly Black and the student body is predominantly Black. This is my first semester at Georgia State University. Its just the opposite here. So far in my classes, I see more White students than Black. I have also met students from various countries and with various ethnic backgrounds. I decided to study social work at GSU. With a degree in social work, I will learn how to professionally advocate for those who become discouraged to advocate for themselves. In becoming a social worker, I will be able to utilize all of my natural and professional abilities to empower and uplift others. In closing, as I critically examined my life, and the choices that I have made so far, I would not change any of it. I wish my father was still here with me though. Hes been gone now for about 13 years. But, the lessons he taught me still resonates strong within me. My mother and father believed in helping others and they taught me to do the same. It is because of both my parents that I love and believe in myself. I want to advocate and champion for others to do the same. I have had wonderful childhood and adulthood experiences and I am thankful.