My name is Devin Terrell Jones. Currently a Senior at the illustrious Howard University majoring in Journalism and minoring in African-American Studies.

A 21-year-old black boy from New Orleans, LA raised in a single parent household. I was meant to be in jail serving a life sentence at eighteen or dead at the age of twenty-one. As a young black male, I am expected to be a “thug” or “gangster”. This of course is a common misconception that people have. Stereotyped to be “that” person, the person standing outside on the corner selling drugs or causing trouble for the community.
To this day my all time favorite television show is A Different World. This show aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. I wasn’t even born yet but the show left a lasting impact. Mainstream media often portrays African-American youth, especially black men and boys, as criminals, crime victims and predators.

These stereotypes, according to social justice advocates, can create a racially charged atmosphere that results in violence such as the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin. Regardless of whether they believe in them or not, most people in U.S. society are well aware of the many stereotypes and images surrounding black males. The perception of African-Americans and other people of color as inferior to whites are rooted in the nation’s legacy of racial hierarchy, a system of stratification based on belief that skin color makes whites superior.
This show portrayed positive images such as HBCUs and young, black, and educated students pursuing their education. One character in particular resonated with me amongst the others, Dwayne Wayne. Wayne was a mathematics major at the fictional Hillman College. A native of Brooklyn he came from a lower middle class family sort of like mine.

Dwayne Wayne wasn’t the coolest or the best with the ladies but he was funny, smart, and likable. Never in my life did I connect with someone on television show so much. He wasn’t a thug or a gangster. He was smart, conscious, a gentlemen and someone with clear goals. Dwayne Wayne made it cool to be a nerd with his crazy flipped-up glasses and his wild fashion choices the represented the time.

I consider Dwayne Wayne a role model because he was one of my earliest inspirations to want to attend college. Wayne impacted me by showing me that to succeed in this world education and determination is needed. I recall the episode “The Cat’s in the Cradle” from season 5 when he and his friend Ron had to battle racism up-close by confronting a racist who defaced their car at a sports game. “It doesn’t matter how many degrees I get all you people see is color, your grandfather was an immigrant, your American. My grandfather was born here, and you people still look at me as just another ni**er.” This quote is true to this day in more ways than one. I have to be twice as good to be better than my white counterparts and Dwayne Wayne’s character showed me I could make that happen.