How do you identify yourself? People identify themselves as all types of different races but they don’t know anything about them. Do they actually get involved with the culture and traditions? I think people think its cool to just identify themselves as all these different races because they think being what they are is too plain. Maybe if they focus on what they are they could actually learn something about themselves. I think if someone actually do say that they are a particular race they should associate with customs and background. I mean what's the point of claiming something if you don’t know anything about. So okay, you are 12% Japanese…do you at least know how to cook something related from the Japanese culture? I just think it would be a lot more fun to actually get involved with the culture instead of just claiming it. Read more...

By: Dequan Carter

What is family to you? For me family is a group of loved ones that care about and help guide me toward the right path for my future.  My family is so important to me because they're always there to support me.  We even have our traditional summer reunion every year where we play games like play football, Twister, Bones, egg toss etc. 

The typical food we always have is barbeque and potato salad.  For dessert there's always sweet potato pie.  I must say that after so much barbeque I have no taste for it anymore.  At these reunions we all get together and talk about our family tree and the stories of our ancestors.   My age group usually reads or writes poems or we sing if they ask us to.  As we start to close the reunion the oldest adult in the family, which this year was cousin Buck, takes a long rope type string and as we sit and watch he ties it together to symbolically show we our unity. 

These reunions are special because I get to meet family members I've never met before, since we have family from all over the country that comes over. This year I met cousins from Georgia.  I plan on always attending the reunions even when I have my own kids since I want them to grow up with the same family tradition that I did. 

by Kalina Harrison, Grady High School

(aired on WABE FM April 25, 2009)