{"id":2199,"date":"2019-01-08T11:34:13","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T16:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2025-07-24T12:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T16:13:35","slug":"creating-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>n high school, <span style=\"color: #004c97;\"><strong>Julian Dowell \u201922<\/strong><\/span> wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from the cartoon show <em>The Boondocks<\/em>. Huey was the antithesis to his ignorant brother, and together they unraveled systemic societal problems under the guise of comedy. Dowell found it profound, and he decided from a young age that he wanted to be Huey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuey was a well-read 10-year-old. He was a radical. He was all about destroying systems.\u201d He continued, \u201cIt was funny as a 12-year-old to ask, \u2018Who do I want to be?\u2019 &#8230; And I wanted to be Huey. I wanted to be well read. I saw him as this young kid who knew so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The son of <span style=\"color: #004c97;\"><strong>Nichelle Kee-Dowell \u201900<\/strong><\/span> challenged himself to read books by Cornel West, Michelle Alexander, Frederick Douglass, and Huey Newton. Everything he learned gave him new perspectives. Although Dowell hates calling himself an activist, he tries to provide a platform for those who are marginalized and underrepresented.<\/p>\n<p>Being a black man is inseparable from his identity. \u201c\u2018Black man\u2019 isn\u2019t something that I can run from. And at no point did I want to run from it,\u201d Dowell said. \u201cBut it also comes with great responsibility. It comes with a lot of fear. It comes with a lot of anxiety. It comes with constantly looking at my place within society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why Dowell followed his history through the South, touching the crumbling brick walls of not just his past but the struggles and victories of his people\u2019s past.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why he listens to jazz and blues, the music of his grandparents that is his music, too.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why he cried while listening to Billie Holiday\u2019s \u201cStrange Fruit\u201d as he reached out to a piece of civil rights history on the other side of a graffitied \u201cno trespassing\u201d sign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe beauty of jazz and blues is that it\u2019s the soundtrack for an oppressed people, for a group of people who have borne so much trauma and somehow created this beautiful musical expression. They created something that the world can accept, internalize, and learn from,\u201d Dowell said. \u201cI think that ability to take pain and suffering and turn it into something beautiful is an essential component of how I choose to live my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dowell lives and sees with intention. \u201cIt\u2019s important to be observant,\u201d Dowell said when he sat down for this interview and stole glances at the list of questions about himself. He\u2019s still in the observation phase as he settles into Goucher. He wants to continue the culture of social justice and inclusivity, but he wants to ensure his efforts have the most significant impact. As Dowell knows well, everything has a compound effect.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how he got to Goucher, after all. Without the Lorna Mickle Post \u201952 Dorsey Scholar Fund, he definitely wouldn\u2019t be here, Dowell said. And the reason he was selected to be a Dorsey scholar started with his evolution as Huey. Someone saw his potential and helped him get an internship on Capitol Hill as an eighth grader, which led him to graduate-level work with the DC Public School System the summer before his senior year of high school.<\/p>\n<p>Kids in high school knew Dowell as the black radical with a pick in his Afro, the one who read all the time. Dowell had become Huey, but he\u2019s still in the process of becoming. He wants to become a consultant for Deloitte, buy some real estate, start two nonprofits, and eventually become a member of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Dowell said he has too much on the line, too many people who have paved this path for him, to waste a second of the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever I do, I want to make sure I create space for other people like me,\u201d Dowel said, \u201cbecause it\u2019s bigger than myself. &#8230; I know that I lack. I\u2019m not perfect, but it\u2019s something that I keep constant, realizing that all of this is bigger than myself and the accolades. What matters is the work and keeping the people I love at the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from The Boondocks. Huey and his brother unraveled systemic societal problems together under the guise of comedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":352,"featured_media":2462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7935],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[87521],"class_list":["post-2199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goucher-today"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Creating Space | Goucher Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from The Boondocks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman, the black revolutionary from The Boondocks. Huey and his brother unraveled systemic societal problems together under the guise of comedy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Goucher Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1067\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natalie Eastwood\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Englund\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Molly Englund\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/43155b9e9455876089c51a5a895ca8ca\"},\"headline\":\"Creating Space\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Goucher Today\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/\",\"name\":\"Creating Space | Goucher Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from The Boondocks.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1067,\"caption\":\"Julian Dowell\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/creating-space\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Creating space\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Goucher Magazine\",\"description\":\"The magazine for Goucher College&#039;s alumnae\\\/i since 1921.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Goucher College\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/G_logo.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/G_logo.gif\",\"width\":300,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Goucher College\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/43155b9e9455876089c51a5a895ca8ca\",\"name\":\"Molly Englund\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=gb58c87739d7e579ba3fa778f0f114c2b\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Molly Englund\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.goucher.edu\\\/magazine\\\/author\\\/moeng001\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Creating Space | Goucher Magazine","description":"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from The Boondocks.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Creating Space","og_description":"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman, the black revolutionary from The Boondocks. Huey and his brother unraveled systemic societal problems together under the guise of comedy.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/","og_site_name":"Goucher Magazine","article_published_time":"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1067,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Natalie Eastwood","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Molly Englund","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/"},"author":{"name":"Molly Englund","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/43155b9e9455876089c51a5a895ca8ca"},"headline":"Creating Space","datePublished":"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/"},"wordCount":686,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg","articleSection":["Goucher Today"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/","name":"Creating Space | Goucher Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-08T16:34:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-24T16:13:35+00:00","description":"In high school, Julian Dowell \u201922 wanted to be Huey Freeman\u2014the black revolutionary from The Boondocks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2019\/01\/JulianDowell-min-1.jpg","width":1600,"height":1067,"caption":"Julian Dowell"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/creating-space\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Creating space"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/","name":"Goucher Magazine","description":"The magazine for Goucher College&#039;s alumnae\/i since 1921.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Goucher College","url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2018\/02\/G_logo.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/files\/2018\/02\/G_logo.gif","width":300,"height":150,"caption":"Goucher College"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/43155b9e9455876089c51a5a895ca8ca","name":"Molly Englund","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=gb58c87739d7e579ba3fa778f0f114c2b","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e687550d6628807db9571095d4bc4be35a9498346515c6d7c5f214aa8b3b9a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Molly Englund"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/author\/moeng001\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":87521,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"natalie-eastwood","display_name":"Natalie Eastwood","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2199"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6503,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions\/6503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}