~ Gavin ~
Gavin is 24 years old, his experience growing up in school is where he learned the importance of mental health. He often saw his peers feel the pressure of needing to obtain high grades, due to expectations of parents/guardians. He eventually put the connection together on how these situations affected the mental health of his peers and friends close to him. The duction was that whenever these friends or peers could not meet those quotas or get a specific grade although trying their hardest he’d see the mental breakdown of those close friends and peers. They’d result in depression or affect their confidence, some even going as far as insulting themselves and devaluing their level of competence. His school was predominantly black so in particular he saw how this affected people of color. In the long run, seeing that it affected their confidence, taught them that their grades define them as well as how far they can go in life. Gavin disagreed with these thoughts and had a more different and positive ideology. He felt the exact opposite. He believed that grades don't determine a person's ability to go far in life and he often suggested outlets to those depressed friends/peers and aimed to inspire them to think differently and break those shackles. From there on out Gavin has been an advocate for mental health awareness in the black community.
~Isaiah ~
Isaiah is a 21 yr old who learned of the effects of socialization in the black community through the stories of loved ones.
~Wayne~
My Name is Wayne March, I am proudly black but throughout my life, I have undoubtedly been the victim of racism and colorism at some level. Black persons, more specifically black persons in Tech are undoubtedly the minority. At times, rejections or failures seem synonymous with our skin color. There has to be a safe space for persons of color to talk about feelings,FeelinScape. A place where persons of color can receive unconditional unbiased support from each other as well as push each other whenever we sense our skin color becoming an obstacle.