My capstone project “Building Bridges Through Illustrated Stories” was created with the intention of exploring and sharing my Sudanese culture with an audience, specifically children. For my project, I wrote a children’s book titled “The Lost Heirloom: A Sudanese Story” and worked with a small group of students at Penn Alexander School to help create the illustrations. The children’s book follows a young girl named Miriam embarking on a journey with her grandmother to explore Sudan. The book is written in a way to engage and educate a younger audience about Sudan and allow children to learn about celebrating culture and heritage. I was able to learn more about my culture through my family and learned about the power of storytelling and how important it is to share these cultural experiences with others.

In this episode of “Dear God”, our hosts Caleb, Gabi, Miracole, Fatima, and Grace sat down to discuss “The Color Purple”. The main protagonist Celie and her tumultuous life and relationships are at the center of the conversation. The hosts conversed about literary elements, dynamic characters, and complex relationships.

“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy is a haunting and dystopian novel that depicts a post-apocalyptic world in which a father and son navigate a desolate, gray landscape struggling to survive. The novel’s color palette is seemingly dull and barren because of the ash covered environment. However, there are a few significant instances in which vibrant colors make an appearance in memories, dreams and storytelling. To interpret these colors, we created a color wheel of scenes in color to illustrate the unique color palette of the story and how these scenes are significant to the overall meaning and conveyal of the story. The most significant color on the wheel is the muted gray that pervades the novel. This gray reflects the ash covered world symbolizing the aftermath of the catastrophic event leaving earth lifeless and dry. The absence of color underscores the bleakness of the characters’ surroundings and the harsh nature of their journey. In the wheel there is orange which represents the sun and description of the snow. “Everything was alright. As if the last sun were returning at last. The snow orange and quivering”(31). The red represents the blood on the snow from the man’s illness, “On the gray snow a fine mist of blood”(30). The pink signifies “A thin rose gown that clung to her breasts” (131) that was depicting the woman in one of the man’s memories. The green speaks bride coming out of a “green and leafy canopy”(18). The white represents “combs of ivory and combs of shells” (18). The black signifies “where lay a black and ancient lake” (1). Blue being used to describe “He pulled the blue plastic tarp off of him”(5). Finally, gray represents the “still grey serpentine of a river” (6). The color wheel interpretation highlights the occasional appearance of color throughout the novel. The novels palette becomes a nuanced representation of the character’s journeys, emotions and fragile beauty that coexist with the barren world.

The artwork I have chosen to create is inspired by Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale”. The artwork captures the essence of the protagonist in the novel Offred, in a manner that encompasses her true internal conflicts and character development. The central theme of the artwork revolves around the impact of the theocratic, authoritarian society, Gilead, on Offred’s identity and the transformation of her life. In this image, Offred wearing a handmaid’s attire gazes into a shattered mirror that symbolizes the contrast between her life before and after Gilead’s rise as a society. The right half of the broken mirror represents Offred’s life before Gilead. This side has warm, vibrant colors, a significant contrast to the bleak, muted tones of the left half of the mirror. This half depicts her as a free woman, surrounded by her own reflection in various roles as a mother and an individual with a sense of self worth. The reflection of her daughter is very significant as it represents a major connection to her maternal identity and that contrasts the physical, enforced separation Gilead has bought. The left half of the mirror shows Offred as a handmaid staring emotionless into a faded photograph of her daughter. This side of the mirror reflects the profound impact of Gilead on Offred’s life. Her identity has been reduced to a role of a fertility vessel for the ruling class. She has been stripped of all individuality and personal agency. The choice to wear the red robe and white bonnet further illustrates the systematic suppression of identity and character. I chose to include a shattered mirror as it serves as a metaphor for the brokenness of Offred’s life and her fractured sense of identity. Gilead’s authoritarian rule has shattered the essence of her existence and has left her feeling trapped between two alternate worlds. The readers often witness her emotional journey and internal conflict when reflecting upon her past and present. The broken mirror also hints at a possible reconciliation between her past life and her present situation. The crack is noticeable and suggests that despite the harsh reality of Gilead, fragments of Offred’s past life will always linger. The faint image of her daughter in the photograph is a beacon of resilience and hope. It ultimately represents the determination and desire to reunite with her child. I tried to capture the essence of Offred’s character and the detrimental transformation she experienced in Gilead. This artwork has the potential to convey the physical and emotional trauma inflicted upon Offred but also highlights the theme of resilience and determination in individuals in the face of adversity and oppression.

In my previous post, I discussed how Tik Tok is one of the biggest social media platforms at the moment. Users and content creators are attracted to the platform for its easy outlet of creativity allowing for people to express themselves in various ways. However, not all that glitter is gold when users begin to feel silenced or limited when speaking about important issues like police brutality and much more. Furthermore, when the algorithm and for your page begins to feel like yet another thing ostracizing Black people and their advocacy for different issues.
After conducting research and looking deeper into the issue. I wanted to find a way to make my agent change something that reaches a larger audience so I thought that the best way for that to happen would be through a social media style ad campaign. So, on April 29, 2021, I launched black creators on tiktok an Instagram page targeted to share Black voices, stories, have deeper conversations and shed light on small black creators on Tik Tok. I was so excited to launch this page so I immediately got to work on the design and followed a weekly schedule. For the design of the website, I wanted something simple but aesthetically pleasing so I chose a periwinkle and white theme. This ended up turning out to be really great and I created all of my own original posts on Canva. For my posting schedule, I chose to post on Tuesday and Thursday because then I could upload the post during English class. So, I decided to get creative with the posting schedule making Tuesdays “Tune in Tuesdays” and Thursdays “Threaded Thursdays” where I would post my threads. “Tune in Tuesdays” would revolve around conversation and people sharing things they have learned from the week. My goal for the page was to make a positive change whether that be on a small or large scale to the Black creator’s experience on Tik Tok. I wanted to share my research with others and realized having this page was the best way. For me, this project was different because rather than just talking about these issues we were given the opportunity to take action to change them. I learned a lot about myself through this project like the fact that I really enjoy designing things and working on things over a long period of time rather than rushing something in a tight time frame. I am hoping to continue this project on my own time outside of class because I envision it going so far so I really want to continue my work with it. Although, I haven’t received the publicity that I wanted when I started this project I will keep working to get it to the platform it needs to be at. However, if I could pull one thing I wish I would’ve done it would have been following through with the choice to advertise the page on the advisory memo because I know many people have social media so maybe that would have helped with the issue of growing the platform.

annotated bibliography

This image displays the first post on @black_creatorsontiktok which is just a welcome message

This image displays the first Tune in Tuesday post on @black_creatorsontiktok which is about sharing something you learned

This image displays the page as a whole and how it looks.

Tik Tok is one of the biggest social media platforms at the moment. Users and content creators are attracted to the platform for its easy outlet of creativity allowing for people to express themselves in various ways. However, not all that glitter is gold when users begin to feel silenced or limited when speaking about important issues like police brutality and much more. Furthermore, when the algorithm and for you page begins to feel like yet another thing ostracizing Black people and their advocacy for different issues.
The Tik Tok algorithm is a significant factor in determining which videos get the most attention and likes. However, the algorithm has not been equitable and fair for all on the platform. Black creators have been very reliant on TikTok out of all social media platforms because news travels like wildfire and it would allow the Black Lives Matter movement to grow and gain publicity and support. Additionally, I learned that black creators had no one to blame but TikTok’s “Community Guidelines”. The Community Guidelines were very strict in the summer as everything with the Black Lives Matter movement was progressing more than ever. The Community Guidelines were so strict that they filtered through creators’ videos judging the nature of the video. Things like hateful ideology and behavior, slurs, weapons, drugs, dangers to children, frauds, and scams were all sifted through and analyzed through videos. While these things are very important to sift though they are not the center of discussion. It is frustrating to creators, specifically Black creators when their videos are taken down even though they are not violating guidelines. Many people made it a point to point out that there are major and visible inconsistencies in the Tik Tok algorithm. Being heavily user reliant doesn’t help even out the playing field of which videos ultimately make it to the for you page. Additionally, Black Lives Matter is a very social media-based campaign and movement so when you limit the potential of important videos about these topics on people’s pages you are also limiting the potential of how much attention these important topics get. After being called out, Tik Tok quickly issued an apology for making the Black community feel invalidated or silenced. They explained that it seems to be caused by a technical glitch in the software however, people were still not buying it because why we’re the only hashtags targeted about the Black Lives Matter movement?.

*Photo #1; This is a picture pulled from the Tik Tok website of the Community Guidelines and all of the categories that determine if a video is allowed to stay up or not.

*Photo #2; This is a picture pulled from the Tik Tok website displaying an apology issued by Tik Tok to the Black community.

Photo 3; This is a photo of a statement uploaded by Tik Tok to their account from CEO Kevin Mayer

Overall, although Tik Tok issued an apology and statement to the Black community people are asking Tik Tok to take steps and measures in ensuring an equal playing field for all videos on the For You Page.

Gabby, Sebina, Jazz and Fatima In this episode, we hosted an award show where we presented characters from Girl In Translation with awards like most wholesome and genuine, most likely to not follow directions, most hardworking, most caring, most jealous, biggest loser, and most indecisive.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XkVn1ZHO7BkWHhGNIvfJIQjEu524H1XS/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zskt4Bs18ej-yjCuPOFoOqghX3PFMlSS/view?usp=sharing

Sebina, Jazz, Gabby and Fatima

In my vignette, I wanted to capture the main ideas and values of my religion and how those values have shaped my identity and who I am today. I have realized from my experience with the salad that some people are willing to learn new things about the world around them, but the resources to do so haven’t always been available to them. Additionally, if the salad taught me one thing, it would have to be to appreciate the little blessings and pockets of peace that make up our everyday lives. Being Muslim is something that I never realized the weight of on my identity and who I am. I have realized though that this little small moment from my busy everyday life has taught me values that I can’t help but share with others. It is always important to look at the bigger picture and not take small things for granted, especially opportunities for more growth and knowledge. I decided to pick a few things from Noah’s memoir and I decided to write about an encounter that I didn’t realize the worth of until after it like he has with his experience with the camera. Noah used a lot of humor in his memoir which I didn’t think was the way I wanted it to go however I did include a lot of my thoughts and reactions at different points as he did when he wrote about his experiences.

I created a soundtrack for the events in Far from the Tree.

Many can say that quarantine has been hard, and we have all been forced out from the busy nature of our daily lives. However, I can say that quarantine has humbled me, grounded me and allowed me to realize that there are many pockets of peace in our daily lives, but it is up to us to appreciate them and hold onto them for as long as possible. Furthermore, quarantine has allowed me to learn a lot about life that I wouldn’t know if this pandemic didn’t happen. For instance, I have learned that sometimes you have to put others before yourself and this speaks true to me because I understand that some people have higher risks and that I shouldn’t be irresponsible and selfish. Sometimes, when I think about my experience before the pandemic I realize that sometimes good things and blessing come in disguise and that although the pandemic is a horrific thing it has changed me for the better. Making me more open minded, selfless and hard working in order to navigate the new world that has been presented to us.

Many can say that quarantine has been hard, and we have all been forced out from the busy nature of our daily lives. However, I can say that quarantine has humbled me, grounded me and allowed me to realize that there are many pockets of peace in our daily lives, but it is up to us to appreciate them and hold onto them for as long as possible. Furthermore, quarantine has allowed me to learn a lot about life that I wouldn’t know if this pandemic didn’t happen. For instance, I have learned that sometimes you have to put others before yourself and this speaks true to me because I understand that some people have higher risks and that I shouldn’t be irresponsible and selfish. Sometimes, when I think about my experience before the pandemic I realize that sometimes good things and blessing come in disguise and that although the pandemic is a horrific thing it has changed me for the better. Making me more open minded, selfless and hard working in order to navigate the new world that has been presented to us.

Many can say that quarantine has been hard, and we have all been forced out from the busy nature of our daily lives. However, I can say that quarantine has humbled me, grounded me and allowed me to realize that there are many pockets of peace in our daily lives, but it is up to us to appreciate them and hold onto them for as long as possible. Furthermore, quarantine has allowed me to learn a lot about life that I wouldn’t know if this pandemic didn’t happen. For instance, I have learned that sometimes you have to put others before yourself and this speaks true to me because I understand that some people have higher risks and that I shouldn’t be irresponsible and selfish. Sometimes, when I think about my experience before the pandemic I realize that sometimes good things and blessing come in disguise and that although the pandemic is a horrific thing it has changed me for the better. Making me more open minded, selfless and hard working in order to navigate the new world that has been presented to us.

Many can say that quarantine has been hard, and we have all been forced out from the busy nature of our daily lives. However, I can say that quarantine has humbled me, grounded me and allowed me to realize that there are many pockets of peace in our daily lives, but it is up to us to appreciate them and hold onto them for as long as possible. Furthermore, quarantine has allowed me to learn a lot about life that I wouldn’t know if this pandemic didn’t happen. For instance, I have learned that sometimes you have to put others before yourself and this speaks true to me because I understand that some people have higher risks and that I shouldn’t be irresponsible and selfish. Sometimes, when I think about my experience before the pandemic I realize that sometimes good things and blessing come in disguise and that although the pandemic is a horrific thing it has changed me for the better. Making me more open minded, selfless and hard working in order to navigate the new world that has been presented to us.

Many can say that quarantine has been hard, and we have all been forced out from the busy nature of our daily lives. However, I can say that quarantine has humbled me, grounded me and allowed me to realize that there are many pockets of peace in our daily lives, but it is up to us to appreciate them and hold onto them for as long as possible. Furthermore, quarantine has allowed me to learn a lot about life that I wouldn’t know if this pandemic didn’t happen. For instance, I have learned that sometimes you have to put others before yourself and this speaks true to me because I understand that some people have higher risks and that I shouldn’t be irresponsible and selfish. Sometimes, when I think about my experience before the pandemic I realize that sometimes good things and blessing come in disguise and that although the pandemic is a horrific thing it has changed me for the better. Making me more open minded, selfless and hard working in order to navigate the new world that has been presented to us.