Christine Whaley describes what she wants America to remember most about African-American history.
Christine Whaley, restorative practice program manager of the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs, wants America to remember the contributions of African-Americans during the years, and not the senseless violence and negative stereotypes that are sometimes associated with them.
Whaley does not want the constant images of faces that reflect her own race continuing to occupy the front pages of newspapers and being depicted as evil or menacing. But, rather African-Americans have rose up against adversities and are major contributors to this country.
Whaley, 61, has been with the organization Project HOME for 17 years. She spends her time at the HLCCTL teaching second grade students at the after-school program.
When she isn’t teaching, Whaley can be found assisting others in her community. She often mentors both the young and old at other nearby Project HOME sites.
“Even with the country’s background, we elected a black president,” Whaley said. “To me, that’s one of the most awesome things that has happened to this country.”
When mentioning the contributions, Whaley associates the great people who were inventors and leaders during the civil rights era who accomplished great tasks and still inspire her to this day.
“We don’t stay stagnant. We work hard and we get there,” Whaley said. “We try to figure out what else can we do in our communities to make it better, not just in our communities, but possibly the world.”
Dominique Johnson can be reached at dominique.johnson@temple.edu.
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