Karmen Collins
Ms. Darby
English 101
December 3, 2002
Corbly Hall
8:00-9:15am
#306

Preface
In my portfolio I chose six genres of my choice. I chose a recipe, a two-voice poem, an obituary, an epitaph, a photo gallery, and a collage. I feel as though the genres that I have chosen fit nicely into my portfolio and they all relate to it very well.
In my first genre I wrote a recipe for African-American females for never giving up and keeping focused in life. In this recipe I thought of all the necessities that are mixed in with never giving up, like your feelings, actions, and emotions that you go through. I want the readers to leave with the impression of knowing even though you go through hardships its o.k. just keep striving to reach the top.
In my second genre I wrote a two-voice poem between Sojourner and her child. In this poem Sojourner and her child are talking at the same time of how they are thinking of each other and what they each are feeling at the moment. I want the readers to leave with the impression of what Sojourner and her child had to go through during that time period in their lives.
In my third genre I wrote an obituary of Sojourner Truth at her funeral. In this genre I imagined myself at her funeral and trying to remember all the positive things she did in her life and all the love ones she left behind. I want the readers to try and picture themselves actually at the funeral sitting in the chair remembering it just like it was yesterday.
In my fourth genre I drew an epitaph of Sojourner Truth’s gravestone. I did her gravestone of how I thought it would look at a real gravesite. I also wrote down what everyone thought of her when she was alive in their own words, I tried to sum everything up. I would like the readers to try and picture themselves in the cemetery where Sojourner Truth’s grave was and how it looked.
In my fifth genre I put together a photo gallery of all the strong black women in my life and of strong black women that I know of. I decided to put some excerpts under the pictures so it can tell a little bit about the picture and who it is. I would like the readers to see the important African-American females in my life and in other people’s lives. I would like the readers to see who they are and for them to know a little bit more about the females.
In my last genre I put together a collage of all African-American females that I know of and how they are related to my portfolio. I put their picture down and next to it I put a picture of how it is related to them and what they do I in life. I would like the readers to take a glimpse of all the African-American females that are known through out the world and how they represent themselves in their workforce.
I feel as though in choosing these genres it has helped me to explore my subject more thoroughly and in depth. By me choosing a subject that I am more interested in has made it very exciting and fun for me.

Karmen Collins
Mrs. Darby
English 101
December 3, 2002
Corbly Hall
8:00-9:15am
#306

Dear Reader,

Hi, I’m an eighteen-year-old African-American female from New Jersey born and raised. I can remember when I was in elementary school I used hear about how much African-American women were stereotyped and talked about negatively in the work force. Back then I thought it was just like anything else you hear about on television: they would talk about it and then it would go away. Not until I began to grow I realized that this was one topic that would not go away so quickly. I became curious to find out more on why African-American women were being put into this social and political imbalance. I didn’t realize that this had been going on since the beginning of time. That is what made me chose “Aren’t I a Woman” by, Sojourner Truth for my multi-genre paper subject.
This essay by Sojourner Truth made me interested in my subject by talking about how men would put down black women negatively saying they were inferior. She talked about how they were treated differently because they were black women. Sojourner Truth asked the question WHY many times saying I can do just as much as a man can maybe even more but yet I’m not looked upon as an equal. You say I’m a woman, but do I get treated like one? Do I get special treatment like all the other Caucasian women, do I get nice clothes, and do I get lifted into carriages? All these questions Sojourner Truth asked day in and day out. Reading this made me want to look more into the African-American female society. I began to read and discover things about other women who made it to where no other African-American woman has made it in society today and society in the past.
This topic is important to me because I’m reading about African-American women who struggled to get where they are and want to be. I feel as though this has a great influence on me being that I’m a young African-American female in the 21st century. By reading and researching on this topic I have learned so many things as a black female and as a young individual by keeping my head up and keeping focused in what I’m here to do in this world for me and for others.
In my portfolio I included a recipe, a two-voice poem, a collage on African-American women, a photo gallery of different African-American women with excerpts, an epitaph, and an obituary. My hopes for the readers to gain from my portfolio are to understand and see how far African-American women have come today and how hard it was for them to get where they wanted in today’s society.
Happy Reading
Sincerely,
Karmen Collins