Martha Bireda, Ph.D.

In her life, Martha Bireda has been a a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. Today, Bireda is claiming the description as a person of the global majority.

In this installment of "Reflections of a Colored Girl," Bireda explored how education has been used for and against African American students. And how it lead to her career as an educational consultant.

In 1988, the Reverand Jesse Jackson began a movement to change the designation of “Black” to “African American” to symbolize the Black American’s historical connection to the continent. The designation and use of “African American” was the first-time blacks in the United States had been acknowledged as Americans.But what does it mean to be American?

Following the Detroit Riots in the late 1960s, an outraged college student revisits the essay she wrote in high school.

The Black Power Movement promoted racial pride, self-respect and the acknowledgement of the beauty and dynamism of our culture. Most pronounced to me, as a former colored girl, was our definition of beauty: “Black is beautiful.” Our afros were the rage.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. Cultural deprivation is a sociological theory that asserts that ethnic and social groups possess inferior values, norms, skills, and knowledge which place them at a disadvantage in the larger society.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl, growing up to become Negro in college.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. There was never a question that Bireda would attention college, at least according to her community.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. Education wasn't just for the classroom. Training at home taught some empowering lessons.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. Education was essential for her family, but attending the best school in the region forced Bireda to ride the bus from Punta Gorda to Sarasota.