Arnelle&Downing&

Date&submitted:&9/14/17&
ENGW3307&
Project&1&Draft&1&
2
CSE&
Word&Count:&1004&
Lil&Miss&Philly&
&
What&does&it&really&mean&to&be&a&black&woman&in&this&society&at&this&day&and&age?&This&
was&not&a&question&I&thought&I&would&have&to&contemplate&before&entering&college.&Before&
coming&to&Northeastern&University&being&a&black&woman&did&not&mean&too&much&to&me.&Nothing&
really&stuck&out&about&it.&Only&thing&I&knew&was&that&I&should&not&walk&around&by&myself&and&to&
be&careful&of&the&company&that&I&kept.&Of&course,&these&are&standard&safety&concerns&that&girls&of&
all&backgrounds&are&made&privy&to&from&a&young&age,&but&I&also&knew&that&these&rules&were&just&
as&important&to&the&entire&black&community.&Honestly,&I&had&always&created&some&kind&of&
separation&between&these&two&parts&of&my&identity,&so&imagine&my&confusion&when&I&entered&
college&and&people&seemed&to&have&some&kind&of&preconceived&notion&of&who&I&was,&how&I&
would&act,&what&my&major&might&be,&what&I&wanted&to&do&in&life,&etc.&all&because&I&am&a&black&
woman.&&
I&was&born&and&raised&in&Philadelphia,&PA.&That&stood&for&a&lot&in&itself.&As&a&Philly&native,&I&
was&not&aware&that&we&had&a&distinctive&type&of&personality.&But&after&some&reflective&thinking,&
it&did&dawn&on&me&that&I&have&an&attitude&that&is&unlike&any&other.&Im&loud.&Im&aggressive.&I&
have&a&mean&bitch&face.&I&can&easily&hurt&ones&feelings.&My&temperament&can&go&from&one&
extreme&to&the&next&at&any&instant,&especially&if&get&the&slightest&sense&of&disrespect.&But&all&that&
aside,&deep&down&Im&the&sweetest&girl&just&trying&to&make&it&on&this&campus&with&as&little&
conflict&as&possible.&However,&dodging&conflict&hasnt&been&so&easy.&As&I&mentioned&before,&I&
dont&take&kindly&to&disrespect&so,&understand&my&discontent&when&I&felt&students&and&
professors&were&trying&to&downplay&my&intelligence.&&
Now,&when&I&applied&to&Northeastern,&I&knew&it&lacked&a&black&community&but&that&
wasnt&really&a&problem&for&me.&The&schools&I&had&attended&all&my&life&were&predominantly&
white.&However,&I&had&clearly&neglected&to&take&into&consideration&that&my&white&classmates&
may&not&be&as&cultured&as&the&ones&I&was&used&to&back&home;&that&I&could&be&living&and&learning&
with&individuals&from&the&portion&of&white&America&who&are&uncultured,&unversed,&and&whose&
mindsets&continue&to&be&shaped&and&plagued&by&19th&century&ideologies.&Ideologies&I&would&
soon&find&out&were&the&foundation&of&my&biology&and&criminal&justice&curricula.&&
&
The&Father&
&
Lets&begin&with&Darwin,&the&father&of&evolution.&Theres&absolutely&no&way&to&make&it&in&
a&biology&major&without&understanding&who&he&is,&what&his&principles&are,&and&how&those&
principles&provide&the&basis&for&almost&that&we&know&about&the&field&of&biology.&&&
I&am&pretty&sure&the&first&time&I&learned&about&evolution&was&during&my&9th&grade&year,&
and&it&sparked&such&intrigue&in&me.&After&having&just&gone&through&a&year&of&American&history&in&
which&all&you&heard&about&black&people&was&that&they&were&slaves,&I&was&amazed&by&a&concept&
that&everyone&originated&in&Africa.&However,&after&diving&into&Darwins&actual&literature,&I&found&
a&door&leading&to&a&realm&of&scientific&based&racial&hierarchy.&&
In&his&1871&work,&the&Descent&of&Man,&Darwin&stated&that&the%American%aborigines,%
Negroes%and%Europeans%are%as%different%from%each%other%in%mind%as%any%three%races%that%can%be%
named%(Darwin%1871).%He&goes&on&to&insinuate&that&Europeans&are&a&more&evolved/smarter&
race&of&man&because&they&had&to&adapt&to&changing&environments&and&circumstances&as&they&
migrated&from&their&birthplace.&In&that&same&piece&of&literature,&he&also&highlighted&his%brain%is%
absolutely%larger%[...]%the%formation%of%her%skull%is%said%to%be%intermediate%between%the%child%and%
the%man%(Darwin%1871).&&
As&a&black&woman&living&in&todays&times,&the&concept&that&I&am&a&childish,&
underdeveloped&being&moves&me&to&want&to&hate&Darwin.&But&on&the&other&hand,&where&would&
I&be&today&without&Darwin?&For&it&was&Darwins&utilization&of&comparative&anatomy&to&support&
his&hypothesis&on&evolution&and&natural&selection,&that&instilled&in&me&a&passion&to&pursue&
pathology,&the&science&of&disease.&&
&
From&Comparative&Anatomy&to&the&Medical&Examiners&Office&
&
& &Comparative&anatomy&is&the&comparative&study&of&anatomical&structures&of&different&
species&originating&from&a&common&ancestor&in&order&to&understand&the&effects&of&evolution.&
Pierre&Belon&pioneered&Modern&comparative&anatomy&in&1555&when&he&showed&that&there9&
were&similarities&in&the&structures&and&components&of&bird&and&human&skeletons.&Darwin&then&
revolutionized&this&field&when&he&added&natural&selection&and&evolution&into&the&equation&
(Encyclopdia&Britannica&2017).&&
& To&explore&this&concept,&every&foundational&biology&course&has&incorporated&
comparative&anatomy&into&its&curriculum.&I&remember&having&to&dissect&a&frog,&a&worm,&a&mouse&
and&a&cat&to&compare&internal&structures.&Now&for&some,&this&is&where&their&journey&with&biology&
ended.&But&for&me,&I&absolutely&basked&in&the&idea&of&cutting&into&a&body&to&explore&what&was&
indeed&out&of&sight&and&out&of&mind.&&
& Last&summer&I&had&the&opportunity&to&shadow&at&the&Philadelphia&Medical&Examiners&
Office.&A&Medical&Examiner&is&a&physician&specifically&trained&in&death&investigation&and&autopsy&
pathology&(Melinek&and&Mitchell&2015).&During&my&8&hours&at&the&office,&I&witnessed&3&autopsies&
and&several&laboratory&analyses&of&everything&ranging&from&brains&to&aborted&babies.&It&was&
honestly&in&the&moment&that&I&saw&the&examiner&remove&and&hold&the&brain,&that&I&knew&I&
wanted&to&be&in&her&shoes.&&
&
My&Clarity&&
&
When&I&think&back&to&all&my&fondest&moments&as&an&aspiring&scientist/&doctor,&they&are&
all&rooted&in&the&findings&of&man&who&probably&wouldve&never&considered&me,&a&black&woman,&
capable&of&understanding&those&findings.&But&that&aside,&I&must&thank&Darwin,&because&without&
him,&I&would&not&be&where&I&am&today.&&
&
&
&
 Acknowledgements&
Id&like&to&thank&my&chapter&members&for&allowing&me&to&voice&my&concerns&about&my&inability&
to&actually&figure&out&what&to&write&about.&Id&also&like&to&thank&my&FirstcYear&Writing&teacher&
for&helping&me&learn&to&be&comfortable&with&writing&about&my&personal&experiences.&&
&
&
&
Reference&List&
&
Darwin&C.&The&descent&of&man&and&selection&in&relation&to&sex.&New&York:&Burt;&1874.&
&
Freud&Sigmund.&New&Introductory&Lecture&on&Psychoanalysis.&New&York:&Norton;&1933&
&
Melinek&J,&Mitchell&TJ.&Working&stiff:&two&years,&262&bodies,&and&the&making&of&a&medical&&
& examiner.&New&York:&Scribner;&2015.&
&
The&Editors&of&Encyclopdia&Britannica.&Comparative&anatomy.&2016&Sep&7&[accessed&
2017&Sep&24].&https://www.britannica.com/science/comparativecanatomy&