American Creed

In the American Creed film we hear about the lives of Condoleezza Rice, Eric Liu, and Deidre Prevett and how each values education, family, and community as part of their American creed when sharing the stories of their family histories.

In the American Creed film we hear Condoleezza Rice a Black Female American, mention her values on her education and how it is a part of her identity. In the film it includes how education was important in her family generations and that education was a way for how it helps with one's self improvement: “If you could be educated … for Black American families, education became the Holy Grail … that access to education was going to change everything” (Source A). This demonstrates how an important part of her education was helping her improve herself through hard work and dedication, despite the fact that it used to be more difficult for Black Americans to get the chance to attend school. Those who did were able to do so. They knew that it would be valuable for her and her family and help change their lives for the better in the future.

In addition we hear Eric Liu include his values on family as a part of his American Creed.In the film he talks about how his family was able to provide him a good life that was given to him as his parents who also immigrated from China to the United States. He saw the obstacles one faces and the ways he saw immigrants become citizens and found how it was moving by the kind of connection it had to his own family: “I had the good fortune to be born American” (Source F). This explains how he didn't face any challenges like others did because he mentions the nice area of where he grew up was his American Dream and that his parents were college educated and that was something not everyone can relate to because of how only certain people are given the opportunity to only achieve certain dreams of one's own.

In the American Creed film we learn about how Deidre Prevett values her community as part of her American Creed. In the film she talks about how she is living her American dream by being an educator and helping her community she is surrounded by as a principal and wanting to help provide a better future for the kids at her school as a way for serving forward. She says, “We can’t forget where we come from” (Source D). This expresses how as a community we need to remember the past and the challenges that we faced to be here now and how hard our families worked to be here to provide for us in the hardest times. This also explains how most of these children don’t have the chance of staying in one place because of parents trying to find stable places to still provide and make sure they are keeping their children safe even that some of these children don't have parents and Deidre Prevett wants to make sure that as a community at school they work and stick together and use as much time with the children at the school not knowing if they will see each other again or not.

In conclusion we hear about the different perspectives and the similar values they share such as education, family, and community of Condoleezza Rice, Eric Liu and Deidre Prevett from the film American Creed. Also the ways the values connect to their identity and communities and help explain the stories of their families and their own and the changes that can still be made in the world to better the opportunity for those in the future.