As the students continued to file in, I became more and more aware of my discomfort and anticipation to see another female, or an African-American, or better yet, an African-American female like myself. With the exception of a handful of women, only two of whom were Black, I found myself standing in front of a class composed predominately of white males.

Read articles written by Ashan R. Hampton for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas on John Bush, Geleve Grice, and The Mosaic Templars. Also see articles where her work has been cited by other authors.

Ashan had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. Surgeon General, for this feature. This article appears in the 2019 Annual Edition of the "Bridge" magazine published by the Arkansas Minority Health Commission. See page 23.

"With the continued support of voters in the 29th District, Fredrick J. Love is serving his fifth term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Since taking office in 2011, he has energized the Southwest Little Rock area with his focus on community access to health and medical care." See page 32.

The General Educational Development exam provides a high school diploma equivalency credential to adult learners. The 2014 GED test is more academically rigorous than the previous 2002 version. In addition to basic skills, the new exam measures college readiness for success in higher education and the workplace.

The American Psychological Association, or APA, format is the preferred writing style for the social sciences at colleges and universities. “The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association” outlines requirements for writing, typing and arranging papers. Professors notoriously reduce essay grades for incorrect APA format.

​In efforts to increase diversity within the nation's public school system, several educational institutions, corporations and private donors are earmarking funds specifically for minority educators. Because of the dearth of black male teachers in classrooms across the country, institutions of higher education and state agencies are seeking ways to attract more black men to the teaching profession.

The essay is a critical component of the General Educational Development or GED exam, since it accounts for 35 percent of the total language score. On a grading scale of one to four, a two is required to pass the writing section. 

The General Educational Development or GED essay exam favors open-ended questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” response. Most essay topics prod you to use one of six rhetorical writing styles to properly address the prompt: narration, description, process, compare and contrast, cause and effect, or persuasion, also called argument.

A process essay explains how to perform a particular task (directional) or how something functions (operational). Directional processes are performed in a series of sequential steps, such as changing a flat tire.

Argument essays require you to take a position on debatable issues. Your position on the issue is your thesis. 

The narrative essay involves telling a story from beginning to end in chronological order. The writer is encouraged to creatively recount an episode from personal experience using descriptive language and clear organizational strategies associated with good storytelling.