A Debt To Poorchoice

Abstract

A Debt to Poorchoice is a plethora of personal experiences I have encountered during my college career from school to work. It is meant to explore the idea of how Black students operate as actors and agents in academic and professional spaces that expect them to adhere to their limitations of "diversity" and actively surveil their character as a tactic of assimilation. It speaks on the ways Black students are not seen in their curriculum, are demeaned in their presence and dismissed in addressing their concerns. To convey this message, all of the Black students wear the same uniform as a means to emphasize how they are expected to be uniformed in their experiences. The tearing of Dae's uniform represents an actor gone rogue and is intended to heighten the fear and disapproval that is perpetuated onto her as she is being vocal about these experiences. The Black chorus holds their breath every time because we are exposed to how these racially traumatic encounters can cause more harm to their collective psyches and presence in calling these experiences out and still not being offered support.