Alejandra Mejia blog post #2

 This time around, the presentations were infinitely more interesting, mostly to do with the fact that it was about celebrities/people of note. Colliding with the aspect that I love a good, fun fact and learning about history, the topics grabbed my attention easily. The impact of “changemaker” individuals will always fascinate me, the fact that one person can/does have such a hold on culture. Starting with group 1, I learned that Benjamin Franklin had helped establish an Ivy League university (University of Pennsylvania). Another very notable American Changemaker following was James Madison, who also has a connection with an Ivy League school. He attended Princeton. I was also shocked to learn how petite he was, standing at only 5'4" and weighing 100 pounds. Daniel Valladares's coverage of Alexander Hamilton was a lot of information I already knew, since I am very familiar with the musical, but it was nice how enthusiastic he was while presenting.

A highlight of my group's (1) presentation was when Carlos Martinez went in-depth with Susan B. Anthony. I learned a lot I had not known about her, and for him to feature her diary pages was a nice touch. I was only aware of her contributions to the suffragette movement, and through his presentation and my own research, I had become aware of her relevance in other causes. Like, for instance, I never knew Harriet Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed military assault. She managed to achieve so much in her lifetime, even if you only include her relevance to the Underground Railroad. Cristian’s presentation on Abraham Lincoln and his incorporation of the video of the Gettysburg Address was well done. Out of all the Group 1 presentations, the one Angelique did on Florence Nightingale got my attention since she was someone I truly knew nothing about, and also because her name is very charming. Lastly, Anisley's presentation on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her choice of images really set a vibe/aesthetic that went along with the time period we covered.

Moving on to group 2’s presentation, which partly consisted of changemakers who normally don’t get the spotlight. Aside from Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, and Ruby Bridges. Speaking of Reinaldo's presentation and how he expanded on how much of an impact she had after he had completed all his slides, it really grounded the whole purpose of this assignment. Connecting it to modern day and MDC. The way he went on seemingly without any script was very impressive to me because I certainly could not do that. Jeremiah Munoz's delivery, which he gave for his presentation about Wesley Augustus, who broke down walls for African American/Black firefighters, was captivating because of how he was clearly personally interested, speaking about how he himself is actively in a firefighter program. It makes me wonder if he sought out a changemaker who was related to his career path for the presentation rather than picking a more well-known figure. He was into the changemaker.

Apart from that, I had no idea Billy Joel was so committed to environmental causes concerning fish like offshore drilling. Just another reason to find him likeable. Another thing I will applaud group 2 for is their brochure slides. It was all very cohesive and aesthetically appealing, as were a large number of their own individual presentations, like the one on Malcolm X and Jane Adams. Especially the slide featuring Wesley Augustus Williams, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., since they were all in black and white. A highlight of all the presentations came from this group, which was the Michael Jackson portion covered by Destinee Jonassaint. The videos she had incorporated revived the energy of the class, and because of the videos she chose, it was cool to find out Professor Sinkoff's kids were a part of the song We Are the World. Taking a break from group presentations, Samuels' timeline slides were formatted neatly. Additionally, how they accidentally tied into the following presentations, like the NAACP being founded and the following presentation on Ida B. Wells (by Ashly Osorto), who actually helped found the organization. Finally, onto group 3, I loved the slides on Serena Williams. Even though I was aware of a lot of her achievements and life story, it was very educational. The same goes for Takiya Mckellar's presentation on Barack Obama. All in all, I really enjoyed the presentations more this time around.