There's something in the air, the passion for human change and dignity. Many in this world we live in are distracted by smoke and mirrors and believe that true equity has been achieved for all diverse people. The smoke obscures what we know: there is much work to do for true acceptance to be reached. Volume #8 of our critically acclaimed student publication Mirrors is ready to embrace this empowered mission.

Artwork by Phillip H.

If you look through the illusion, you will see the fire raging and the warning it poses. We have to do more to embrace one another. Our students have assembled a magical journey filled with self-reflection, thorough historical analysis, and messages of power. Decode the truth. Unearth the secrets. Look beyond Smoke and Mirrors. 

Artwork by Phillip H.

What happens in our childhood does not have to define us. A great example of this would be Tupac. He was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, New York City, New York as Lesane Parish Crooks to avoid being targeted by his Black Panther-affiliated family's enemies. Once his mother felt safe enough, his name was changed to Tupac Amaru Shakur. People also refer to him as 2Pac and Makaveli. 

Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur, was a former Black Panther and political activist. She was massively loved by her son. Shakur’s father, Billy Garland, also a Black Panther, was not an active member of his life. Garland had very little contact with his son and only began reaching out when Shakur became famous. Tupac believed that his father was dead, or had no desire to see him. 

As a child, Shakur often moved homes and sometimes stayed in shelters. In 1986, he and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Here, Shakur attended Baltimore School for the Arts. He said it was “the freest I ever felt.” Unfortunately, he had to leave this school before he was able to graduate because Baltimore was filled with crime. From Baltimore, he and his family relocated to Marin City, California when he was 17. In Marin City, he would take to the streets, start selling drugs and get involved in gang culture. Shakur’s love for hip-hop steered him away from a life of crime for a little while. He met Leila Steinberg in 1989 and convinced her to become his manager even though she had no previous experience.

Steinberg was able to get Shakur in front of music producer Atron Gregory. Gregory secured Shakur a gig in 1990 as a roadie and dancer for Digital Underground. A year later, he released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now. The album had a lack of a clear single which limited its radio appeal, but it sold well. Shakur claimed that he was misunderstood because people focused on the negative parts of his songs instead of the sensitive parts. The same year his album was released, he featured in Nothing but Trouble alongside Digital Underground. Shakur went on to star in a minimum of 17 movies with his most popular being Juice. His second album was his breakthrough as an artist, and it was recorded through Interscope. The album went platinum which gave him his throne as hip-hop royalty. He officially signed with Death Row Records, which Interscope owns, because they said they would bail him out of jail if he signed the contract. 

He went on to make a total of 11 albums and was nominated for 6 Grammys, though he never won any. Shakur had a very successful career until he died in 1996. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shakur was shot twice in the chest, once in the leg, and once in the arm, but he died at the hospital 6 days later from his injuries. Though there is much speculation about who killed him and why, it is undoubted that Tupac left a lasting legacy that the world still feels today.

 By: Kamryn S.

Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress, singer, author, and business owner. She was born September 11, 1970, in Washington, D.C. to Boris Lawrence Henson and Bernice Gordon. She grew up in Washington D.C. with her mother. After Taraji P. Henson graduated from Howard University, she moved to Los Angeles to start her acting career. Some of the very first shows and films she appeared in are The Division, Boston Legal, Hustle & Flow, Talk to Me, Not Easily Broken, and I Can Do Bad All by Myself.

Henson delivered the commencement speech at Howard University’s 2022 graduation. Her speech was about persevering and knowing your worth. Henson spoke about facing challenges as well as being undervalued in the industry. She mentioned her audition process for the role of Queenie in the 2008 film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Henson quickly learned of the pay inequality among the film’s stars. She said she received around $150,000 for working on the film. The film had a reported budget of $150 million. She was paid less than 2% of what Brad Pitt was paid. She was heated because she was number three on the call sheet. Henson ended up walking away with only $40,000 for her role in Queenie. 

Taraji P. Henson also refers to her lead role in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself. Tyler Perry was the very first to pay her fair wage. She states, “It’s because of him, not an Oscar, that I never had to take another movie project at rock bottom.” To this day, Taraji P. Henson continues to be a successful actress. She has landed many leading roles in television shows and movies such as Empire and Hidden Figures. She also has hosted the BET Awards and owns her hair care line. Taraji P. Henson truly embodies hard work and perseverance will pay off in the long run. 

By: Antoinette W.

Bill Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in West Monroe, Louisiana. When he was eight his father moved his family to Oakland, California. Bill was tall so he made his high school basketball team easily. When he first started playing basketball, he would play like everyone else. But while he was playing summer basketball, he realized that running and jumping could go well with the flashy way other people played. In his senior year of high school, he wasn't looked at by many colleges but a former player at the University of San Francisco saw him play and recommended him to the school. He was nearly seven feet tall in college and he became a defensive presence. He helped lead the team to the NCAA Championship in 1955 and 1956. 

In 1956, the coach of the Boston Celtics wanted to draft Bill so he moved a couple of people around so he could secure his career. This turned out to be a great decision, as in the first year of his career, the team won the NBA Championship and Bill quickly became the league's first black superstar. It seems likely he would have won the Rookie of the Year award, but that summer he was helping the Men’s United States team win a gold medal. His teammate Tom Heinsohn was also a more likely pick at that time, and Bill wasn't scared to say what he wanted when it came to race playing a role in these decisions. As he continued to dominate the NBA, he also became an activist, as he did not like racism in sports. He was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1964, the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to start an all-black lineup, after that year the coach at the time retired and Bill became the first black coach in NBA history. That same year the team won the championship, and by the end of his career as a coach and a player, he had the most championships in NBA history - 11. Bill Russell sadly died on July 31, 2022.  

By: Victor K.

Career: Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican musician. He was born on March 10, 1994, and he is currently 28 years old.  Bad Bunny is known for his writing and singing in native Spanish and his primary music genres are hip-hop, trap, and reggaeton. He was part of 2021’s WrestleMania 37 and he started to take acting roles after that. 

Early life: Bad Bunny came from a lower middle class in Vega Baja which is 30 miles west of San Juan in Puerto Rico. His mother taught English, and his father was a truck driver, he also has two younger brothers named, Bernie and Bysael. Puerto Rico's music genre is mainly reggaeton which is a blend of hip-hop and reggae and since a young age, Bad bunny has liked reggaeton and liked famous performers like Daddy Yankee. Bad Bunny sang in the choir of his local Catholic Church until he was 13. He later enrolled in the audiovisual communications program at the University of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Campus. 

Building his Career: When Bad Bunny first started doing music, he shared his music on SoundCloud while he was still a college student. His first hit was “Diles“ and while he was working at a grocery store, he would get calls from producers and he would answer them throughout his shift. Once he got a hold of a manager, Noah Assad, they planned to get attention all over the world by releasing singles and music videos on YouTube instead of trying to sign with major record labels.

By: Carmen A.

Mary Jackson is a woman that is not talked about enough. She’s the first black woman to ever work with NASA as an aerospace engineer, a career that isn’t easy for black people. 

Mary Winston Jackson came into this world on April 9, 1921, in Hampton Virginia. Growing up she loved science, and she worked hard to encourage other black children to enjoy it as well. She wanted them to be successful and be more aware of career opportunities that were in store for them. Jackson graduated from Hampton University in 1941 (formerly known as the Hampton Institute) and had a dual degree in Mathematics and Physical Science. After graduating she moved to Maryland and became a teacher in Calvert County, which was an all-black school. She returned to Virginia and became a receptionist and clerk. She got married to Levi Jackson Sr in 1944 and had two children named Levi Jackson Jr. and Carolyn Marie Lewis. Jackson also worked as a bookkeeper at the Hampton Institute’s Health Department. 

Eventually, Mary Jackson ended up working as a research mathematician in a segregated area in Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory which was known as one of the human computers. She spent her time there until she was noticed by Kazimierz Czarnecki and was offered to help work on a 4x4ft supersonic pressure tunnel that had 60,000 horsepower. Because Czamecki recognized her talent, he encouraged her to study at the University of Virginia, but she had to get permission to go there because it wasn’t integrated yet. In 1951 she graduated from the University of Virginia and became NASA’s first black female engineer. She worked on multiple projects such as the Compressibility Research Division, Full-Scale Research Division, and the High-Speed Aerodynamics division. But it wasn’t easy. Because she was a black woman, she often wasn’t taken seriously and had to fight twice as hard to get where she was.  Sometime in the 1970s, she helped build a wind tunnel for a science club in her community. She worked at NASA for 34 years and retired in 1985. Mary Jackson lived up to 83 years old and died on February 11, 2005, in her hometown.

Throughout the years her story hasn’t been known. Mary Jackson is not taught in schools and because she isn’t seen as a “hero” no one feels the need to talk about her. Although she didn’t cause a movement, she is still remembered as someone who changed history. Her courage and drive allowed her to push to become the first black woman that NASA has worked with. She paved the way for other black women who want to be involved in science and technology. In the movie, Hidden Figures, her story is told alongside Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughn and she is portrayed by Janelle Monáe. Mary Jackson is someone who needs to be talked about more to encourage other smart and intelligent black people to follow their dreams.

By: Aaliyah B.