Denison University

Bost, Emily

English

Echoes of the Plague: The Black Death and the Evolution of Religious Music in Medieval Italy

Zittel, Jessica

Chen, Jason

Intersecting Inequities: How Rurality and Socioeconomic Disadvantage Amplify Cancer Disparities in Ohio

Bernstein, Naomi Edith

Teaching religious pluralism in the United States: theory, history, and American identity

Martinucci, Luke

Developing dynamic covalent networks in donor-acceptor columnar liquid crystals

Polk, Cameryn

Kunga, Tenzin

Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal 
Volume 16 Article 6 
2025 
Consultant & Writer Reflections on Representation of Blackness in 
Insecure by Issa Rae 
Cameryn Polk 
Denison University 
Tenzin Kunga 
Denison University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/prologue 
 Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Polk, Cameryn and Kunga, Tenzin (2025) "Consultant & Writer Reflections on Representation of Blackness 
in Insecure by Issa Rae," Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal: Vol. 16, Article 6. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/prologue/vol16/iss1/6 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Writing Center at Denison Digital Commons. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal by an authorized editor of Denison Digital 
Commons. For more information, please contact eresources@denison.edu. 
 
Consultation Reflections 
Cameryn Polk          Writer 
My understanding of Black representation in media has evolved as I have recognized the 
power of authentic storytelling to challenge stereotypes, affirm identity, and reclaim narratives 
often distorted or erased. This research paper was written in my First-Year Writing Workshop 
class, instructed by Dr. Sierra Austin-King. Before Denison, I was not cognizant of how to write 
at a college academic level, but this class taught me how to do so. In high school, I was used to 
writing long, drawn-out sentences that beat around the point without explicitly getting right to it. 
After taking this class, I was aware that writing did not mean who can write the most, use the 
most scholarly vocabulary, or even curate sentences that were too drawn out to sound more 
intelligent. This class taught me to get straight to the point while focusing more on creating a 
critical analysis of any text or media we had to decipher. 
For this particular paper, the prompt was up to our discretion on what aspect of Blackness 
we wanted to focus on. As a Black woman myself, the show Insecure resonated with me the 
most. I then did not view this research paper as a laborious task to finish the semester, but as an 
exciting topic I was eager to educate my audience on. In this class, I was allowed to be 
authentically Black in person and on paper, and to explore myself as the semester went on and 
especially on this paper. Regarding the consultation process, I was honored with the opportunity 
to edit my paper with Tenzin Kunga. She set the room with an abundance of warmth, making it 
easier for me to feel comfortable with taking in her feedback and advice. She started by 
explaining all of the things I did right on my paper, creating a positive atmosphere for me. She 
then went into providing feedback on how to improve my paper in a positive framework, putting 
my mind at ease and making the task easier to accomplish. 
The strengths of my overall paper were my analysis and the topic I decided was 
important to discuss. The challenges of my paper were fixing the grammatical errors, expanding 
upon my concluding paragraph rather than reiterating my thesis statement, and organizing my 
thoughts coherently. During the consultation, Tenzin was meticulous in going over every 
paragraph with deep scrutiny and highlighted all of my rights and wrongs to make me a better 
writer and to see how I can improve to make this paper even better. My consultation allowed me 
to feel content with myself and how I am as a writer overall. Although I believed my topic was 
cliché, Tenzin allowed me to see the truths and greatness in it, and how although this is my truth 
and an everyday aspect of being Black in my life, it opened doors to others outside of my 
background to indulge and enjoy the aspects I deem common within my paper. Not only did I 
find enjoyment in every area of my paper, but I also opened the minds of others to appreciate the 
culture I came from. With revision, Tenzin was astute in the advice she gave to me by enabling 
me to go back and make sentences clearer for the reader and also providing suggestions on how I 
can rework a sentence to have a more powerful meaning. 
 
 
15 
 
Consultation Reflections (continued) 
 
Tenzin Kunga              Writing Center Consultant 
Working with Cami was genuinely such a rewarding experience. As a first-year student, 
her maturity and thoughtfulness as a writer were immediately apparent- her piece was already in 
excellent shape when we met. We spent most of the consultation just walking through the 
structure and flow of the argument, making minor tweaks to clarity, word choice, and phrasing. 
What stood out to me most was her strong sense of purpose: she knew exactly what she wanted 
to say about the representation of Blackness in Insecure, and she articulated it with clarity and 
conviction. Our conversation focused on making sure that intentionality translated smoothly on 
the page.  
What I appreciated most was the collaborative tone of our session- it felt more like a 
dialogue between two writers than a top-down edit. In that way, it reminded me why I love being 
both a Prologue editor and a consultant, because this session so clearly reflected the Writing 
Center’s mission: to empower writers to own their voices, refine their ideas, and celebrate their 
unique perspectives. So thank you, Cami, for your time, and thank you, Prologue, for the 
opportunity to work with such a sharp and thoughtful writer! It was truly a joy. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16 


Consultant & Writer Reflections on Representation of \u3ci\u3eBlackness in\u3c/i\u3e Insecure \u3ci\u3eby Issa Rae\u3c/i\u3e

Ofosuhene, Justice, Jr.

Exploring the State of Homelessness in Franklin and Licking County

Cohen, Benjamin

James, Landon

Editor\u27s Note

Donnelly, Gabriel James

Start the Music Comrades: The Musical Millenarianism of the Knights of Labor

Vo, Tra Huong

Strawberry Season Settles, The Crimson Nestles

Bui, Han

Exile 
Volume 72 Number 1 Article 7 
View from Hoaglin 
Han Bui 
Denison University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/exile 
 Part of the Creative Writing Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Bui, Han () "View from Hoaglin," Exile: Vol. 72: No. 1, Article 7. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/exile/vol72/iss1/7 
This Image is brought to you for free and open access by the English at Denison Digital Commons. It has been 
accepted for inclusion in Exile by an authorized editor of Denison Digital Commons. For more information, please 
contact eresources@denison.edu. 
8 
View from Hoaglin 
Han Bui 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


View from Hoaglin