Assignment #1

When I first applied for the MAPS internship, I realized there was a really big priority to serve disadvantaged communities. As I start to attend more sites, I realize the importance of knowing the history of the communities we serve. It is even more important to understand how that history still holds influence today, or how the “shadow lingers” (Hansen, 2025). Knowing the history of our communities allows us to put our work into context and use that context to inform our methods. 

Los Angeles, although known as a cultural melting pot, holds more racist history than can be swept under a rug over time. As mentioned in Hansen’s article, LA county had multiple sundown towns, towns where Black citizens could not safely be outside after dark. Seeing as Glendale is the only town to have actually apologized for its racist history and citizens of San Leandro still face racial discrimination, it’s clear that sundown policies have left their mark. As a volunteer and mentor for students who face the consequences of the unjust world they were born into, it is my responsibility to know their history so I can understand where each and every student comes from. For example, I’ve noticed that the Islah Academy, where I volunteer, is not necessarily in the best neighborhood, with its fences boarded up and fully blocked from the community. Having this background knowledge now contextualizes my observations and lets me know why students may be having a rougher time. 

Something from the readings that challenged me is how recent all of this racial violence and discrimination really is. I think sometimes we are so desensitized and caught up in the now we forget it wasn’t even 35 years ago that there were riots in LA. For this reason, we should expect students to be caught up in generational trauma and do our best to support them and provide resources so they can break the cycle and have equitable opportunities in their futures.