"Self - Exploration"

When I was a graduate student I took a dissertation seminar course. We had to read each others research proposals and give feedback during a classroom session. My proposal dealt with my research on enslaved black women. After my session was over, a fellow classmate thanked me for introducing him to "a group of women that he knew nothing about". At first I was a bit surprised; I didn't think that I discussed any unknown women or unfamiliar information. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my own way of knowing was unique. I had to ask myself how could he, how would he, WHEN would he have learned about black women? My fellow classmate was a white male who had been educated within America's educational institutions and under America's white, patriarchal-centered curriculum, and so had I. We had all come through the same system and learned through the same lens. Once I was honest with myself, the truth was, I had not known about these women either until I attended an HBU. So, as I think about the importance of my work, I remember  this conversation, I look in the mirror at myself and I understand...I am important, I am visible, I am real, I am here...