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APRILS, 1993 • BENNETT BANNER • 5
Ferreira looks, finds roots at Bennett College
Continued from page 1
lovingly adopted Sabra and her twin sister, Shireen.
Sabra was taught to respect herself, black culture
and all races of people. Having white parents didn’t
hinder Sabra from learning about black people.
Going to libraries and attending cultural enrich
ment programs encouraged Sabra to find out
more things about herself.
On June 6,1992, Sabra Ferreira foimd the
missing piece to her life, her natural mother. They
met over the phone. The bond is not complete but
the relationship is worth the try, says Ferreira.
‘T felt so overjoyed my heart pounded as she
spoke I could not believe it was her. “ Ferreira, a
junior social work major, is now looking forward to
meeting her mother at her graduation in 1994.
While growing up in a white community,
Ferreira experienced casual racism. She recalls
several incidents that made her feel like a lost
puppy in the woods defending a land that she has
never been to.
Being an hj^jeractive child, many teachers
labeled her as disfunctional. However, Ferreira’s
adoptive mother knew that wasn’t so. There were
many times where students would tease and make
fun of her hair, calUngit short and nappy. "Ferreira
recalls harsh incidents that caused her to think
about herself and the future.
“A little white boy who lived down the
street asked my sister and I to pull down our pants...
and we did, the boy laughed and called us niggers.”
Ferreira reahzed that she was not like the
kids on the block. “ I was just someone living in a
white community, washing my hair eveiy day like
myblondhairedfriends. “Black history discussions
in school were not easy; students would ask me
things about my black leaders that I did not know,”
Ferreira explains with a funny grin. “Here I am
sitting in a class learning about black things that
people expected me to know about.”
Ferreira does not regret her experiences but
learns from them. “It was important for me to be
around black people — teachers, men and women.”
Before coming to a black school, Ferreira
saw people for who they were and thought she would
find Utopia. Instead she experienced acceptance
and denial.
by Deanne McLeod
FERREIRA: "As I grew and became more knowledgable, I
became a butterfly with the same color, but with wings that
now direct me in the right direction."
‘T didn’t understand why black women did not
wash their hair every day, and most kids hated the
way I talked — without slang words.” She was
confused. Black teachers and elders helped ease the
transition. Ferreira changed her thinking aind be
came more open minded.
The most important thing is to survive no
matter what your background is, says Ferreira, “ I
‘m still learning about myself and my heritage.”
It may take time,but Ferreira is still beat
ing the odds. She is looking forward to working with
the government and making some changes that will
help minority women. She hopes that the past will
mold positive energies for the future.
“I feel like uplifting myself and my people in
order to make better sense ouv; of the destruction
that all races have created for one another,” she
says.
Ferreira is a tutor for the Black Child Devel
opment Institute in Greensboro. While tutoring
black children, Ferreira is reminded of her school
days in Minnesota. If you were black “everyone
expects you to be good in sports, There weren’t many
times when they paid attention to your academics.”
Ferriera recalls one track meet that broke the myth.
“The opposing team took one look at me and said,
‘we lost this race!!’ Something came over me; I don’t
know what it was, but I came in last place.”
Ferreira sees the potential in the students
she tutors and stresses knowlege over ignorance.
The people in Sabra Ferreira’s life care
deeply for her. Co-worker Tina Holt, the campus
post office mistress, says, “Sabra is unique she-
wants to leam all she can about black people ie:
traditions, foods, and churches. Sabra is blessed to
have parents who encourage her quest for making
herself whole.”
Yumaranai Kurewa, a social work major
from Zimbabwe, says Sabra is very different from
most people. “Sabra accepts me for me;
her open-minded personality has help her cope with
reality.”
Sabra’s background sometimes shocks
people. If we all took the time out to involve
ourselves in our culture the negative problems would
not exsist.
LaVem Belle, Sabra’s roomate, says, “Liv
ing in Washington, D.C., has given me plenty of
opportunities to find my roots but I have never met
a person so excited as Sabra. She feels as if she
missed something while growing up, but no matter
what her background is, it has been a benefit. Sabra
can now deal with the things she claims she missed.”
“A few years ago I hated the idea of white
people adoptingblack children,” says Genesta Perry,
a student from Ronceverte W.Va “My views have
changed; if there aren't any black couples
available,then it's OK.”
Sabra loves her parents and thanks them
for the opportunty to branch out. Hopefuly, Sabra
will one day have the same bond with her birth
mother.
Sabra compares herself to a caterpillar: “I
started out new and unknowing about being a part
of the African-American community. As I grew and
became more knowledgeable, I became a butterfly
with the same color, but with wings that now direct
me in the right direction.”
Friendships will las
Continued from page 4
Some people found Bennett College to be a
struggle for independence. “When you first get
here the administration immediately puts re
striction on the students. I couldn’t believe it. I
don’t know how I made it through them treating
me Uke a child,” said senior mass communica
tions major who asked to remain anon3maous.
Many senior students at Bennett say that
the most memorable Bennett experience was
the lasting fiiendships that have been built.
People at Bennett College have come together
from all walks of life from all over the world. “It
is amazing the people that you meet and the
things that you leam from them. The finends
that I have made at Bennett are the most
beautiful people in the wold to me,” commented
senior English major Kim Harper. “The fact
that at this particular time in our lives we have
all come together to show the world that ‘there
ain’t no stoppin’ us now!’”
ALUMNAE WEEKEND Schedule of Activities - May 6-9, 1993
Thursday, May 6
1:00 Board Room
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Friday, May 7
8:00 am -9:00 am
8:30 am - 9:00 am
10:00 am -12:30 pm
12:30 pm -1:30 pm
1:30 pm -3:30 pm
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
7:00 pm
9:00 pm - until
9:00 pm - 12:00 midnight
Saturday, May 8
8:00 am -9:00 am
10:30 am - 11:30 am
12:30 pm
Honoring Classes of:
Classes In Reunion:
7:00 pm
8:15 pm
10:00 pm -12:00 midnight
Sunday, May 9
11:00 am
Executive Committee Meeting ,, Headquarters
Alumnae Board Room Headquarters Board Room
Registration Headquarters
Breakfast for 55th and 60th Year Classes President's Home
Registration Headquarters
Seminar: 'Everything You Want to Headquarters
Know About Bennett College and Didn't Know How to Ask'
Lunch (on your own)
Annual Meeting Bennett College Alumnae Assoc Headquarters
Dinner for 50th Year Class President's Home
Choir Concert Campus Chapel
Class Reunions Place of Your Choice
Hospitality Suite Open Headquarters
White Breakfast (White dresses or suits) Campus Dining Room
Class Reunion Picture Taking Sheraton Downtown
■All Bennett Luncheon' Sheraton Downtown
1933, 1938. 1943, 1968
1933,1938, 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958,1963,1968,1973,1978, 1983, 1988. 1993
Baccalaureate Ceremonies Campus Chapel
Cfcss of '53 Dinner & Testimonial Headquarters
Dance Headquarters
COMMENCEMENT CHAPEL