Andrea Lee, in her article “Altered State,” does a great job at appealing to the audience through multiple examples and anecdotes, creating an enjoyable piece to read. However, the article is not fully successful in achieving its purpose because Lee’s conclusion does not include any discussion of how her audience could change their behaviors and address the underlying problem of discrimination and prejudice against people with different skin colors. The article’s purpose is to shine a light on darker-skinned people and how they experience racism, even in a world or place where racism “no longer exists.” The audience is the general population, but it can also be specific to people who are interested in the social issues shown in the article …show more content…
There is always a distant murmur telling us that this fat life is not our birthright; always the possibility of running into the bad Catholic kids who throw bottles and shout ‘nigger’ from passing cars.” Lee begins with a nostalgic childhood activity of riding bikes to evoke a more specific memory of identity crisis and racism as a child. I think anyone can be part of her audience, including me, but more specifically people who are interested in learning about social issues and racial prejudice. Andrea Lee successfully articulates the purpose of this article, which is to expose the readers to black people in specific social and cultural settings and the persistence of racial prejudice even in progressive areas. I would describe the style of the article as a narrative that is personal and imaginative, using personal anecdotes and specific descriptions to keep the readers engaged. The tone of the article is empathetic and reflective. Lee states in the article, “Later, I’m one of the first blacks to attend a rich girls’ school in a Main Line suburb. Here, as a teenager, I learn how to drug myself with
In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”
Both memoirs—John Griffin’s Black Like Me and Dick Gregory’s Nigger—examine race marginalization as it existed in mid-twentieth century America. Griffin’s Black Like Me intimately explores the discrimination against the black community by whites to expose the “truth” of racial relations and to “bridge the gap” of communication and understanding between the two races through a “social experiment”—an assumption of alterity (Griffin 1). In Nigger, Gregory also recounts personal racial discrimination as a black man trying to survive and succeed in a discriminatory society. But unlike Griffin’s experience, Gregory’s memoir progresses from a position of repressed “Other” to a more realized, dominant identity. However, the existence of a dual persona
Ranikine’s addresses the light upon the failed judicial systems, micro aggressions, pain and agony faced by the black people, white privilege, and all the racial and institutional discrimination as well as the police brutality and injustice against the blacks; The book exposes that, even after the abolition of slavery, how the racism still existed and felt by the colored community in the form of recently emerged ‘Micro aggressions in this modern world’. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen explores the daily life situations between blacks and whites and reveals how little offensive denigrating conversations in the form of micro-aggressions were intentionally conveyed to the black people by the whites and how these racial comments fuel the frustrations and anger among the blacks. She gathered the various incidents, where the black people suffered this pain. This shows the white’s extraordinary powers to oppress the black community and the failure of the legal system Rankine also shares the horrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina experienced by the black community, where they struggled for their survival before and post the hurricane catastrophes.
In this article the author shares his experiences on racism throughout his life. As the author goes in to detail about his first encounter of racism from what he called a “well- taught baby racist” he presents an ugly setting. As children, we tend to imitate what we see and hear around us, evaluating the safe and unsafe places, people, and things. We determine and define our identities based on interactions with others. Dr. Jackson goes on to describe a time when he was in grade school which majority of the students were Caucasian seemed to be highly infatuated with the texture and tone of his skin as well as his hair.
From beginning to end the reader is bombarded with all kinds of racism and discrimination described in horrific detail by the author. His move from Virginia to Indiana opened a door to endless threats of violence and ridicule directed towards him because of his racial background. For example, Williams encountered a form of racism known as modern racism as a student at Garfield Elementary School. He was up to win an academic achievement prize, yet had no way of actually winning the award because ?The prize did not go to Negroes. Just like in Louisville, there were things and places for whites only? (Williams, 126). This form of prejudice is known as modern racism because the prejudice surfaces in a subtle, safe and socially acceptable way that is easy to rationalize.
Claudia Rankine analyzes racism to its core, bringing to surface that miniscule events are just as problematic as televised ones. Her words are beautifully brutal, striking up emotions for anyone that reads it. As readers, we are taken through a journey from past to present events of racial incidents experienced by different genders and ages. Above all, Rankine provides a strong indication that racism is far from over.
Racial stereotypes have become cliché but still hold adverse effects towards the people it targets. Both Adichie and Gay assert the idea that conventionalization still exists in present day by using personal anecdotes to describe their first encounters with racism and by describing different perspectives held against black people. Through this, both authors demonstrate how such labelling creates inequalities across races. Though one can say racism has lessened, it cannot be denied that it is still alive and still
In Brent Staples’ narrative, he asserts the fact that society has stereotypical and discriminatory views towards black males, which has caused him to experience distasteful encounters leading him to behave in a very careful and docile manner around others in public spaces. Personally I agree with Brent Staples, the misjudgment and stereotypes that are enforced on certain races has caused there to be an unnecessary disruption and uneasiness in the daily life and activities of such people. I have also found myself in situations that are similar to Brent Staples’ experiences, all of which were caused by the stigma surrounding immigrants and people of color. Author Brent Staples begins the essay by addressing an experience he had when he was younger,
Racism is not only a crime against humanity, but a daily burden that weighs down many shoulders. Racism has haunted America ever since the founding of the United States, and has eerily followed us to this very day. As an intimidating looking black man living in a country composed of mostly white people, Brent Staples is a classic victim of prejudice. The typical effect of racism on an African American man such as Staples, is a growing feeling of alienation and inferiority; the typical effect of racism on a white person is fear and a feeling of superiority. While Brent Staples could be seen as a victim of prejudice because of the discrimination he suffers, he claims that the victim and the perpetrator are both harmed in the vicious cycle that is racism. Staples employs his reader to recognize the value of his thesis through his stylistic use of anecdotes, repetition and the contrast of his characterization.
Growing up in America as a minority, especially black, is not what most people think it is. Ta-nehisi Coates wrote Between the World and Me, as a letter to his son about growing up black in America. The main point of this memoir is to expose the illusion that America is this free, happy-go-lucky place where racism no longer exists; which is why I support this book being a campus read for an historical black university. In the book Coates talks about how he lived in constant fear because of things like police brutality, talks about how people fear those who don’t look like them, and the way you have to carry yourself as a person of color to protect your body, which are thing we need to know as a black community to survive.
The above-mentioned essays are: Nihilism in Black America, The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning, The Crisis of Black Leadership, Demystifying the Black Conservatism, Beyond Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity, On Black-Jewish Relations, Black Sexuality: The Taboo Subject, Malcolm X and Black Rage. My analysis of these essays, and therefore the book itself, revealed that the racism of the past, through the 1990s (during the writing of the book) still persists up until today. This book is considered a classic because of its insightfulness on key aspects of race in general, and blacks in particular.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Many people in the United States society believe that people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities are now on an even playing field. People with this belief support their logic with the argument that since equal rights for people of color and women have been required by law for some time now, we are all inherently as equal as claimed in the Declaration of Independence. Many believe that race is no longer an issue, a viewpoint frequently referred to as color-blindness. National polling data indicated that a majority of whites now believe discrimination against racial minorities no longer exists. (Gallagher, 96) Color-blindness allows a white person to define himself or herself as politically and racially tolerant and then proclaim their adherence to a belief system that does not see or judge individuals by the “color of their skin.” (Gallagher, 98) Many Caucasians in particular are of the opinion that because they listen to hip-hop or cheer for their favorite black, professional sports player that they are not racist. Still others believe that because they have a black president, we see black people in the commercial of products we consume, or enjoy television shows with black people that they are actually acknowledging race. In order to examine and dismantle this series of misconceptions, we will turn to the work of various scholars of social justice and privilege, including Peggy McIntosh, Patricia Hinchey and Johnathon Kozol as well as the story of Patricia J Williams. Through a careful examination of these works with the support of some key statistics, it is the goal of this paper to demonstrate the existence of a privileged and unprivileged America, despite the color-blindness many may profess to have integrated into their p...
Bonilla-Silva alludes to this new style of racism as, "color- blind racism." During the Civil Rights Era and different past time periods, bigotry was portrayed by ruthless physical, verbal, and passionate battering of minority races through activities, for example, Jim Crows Laws and other heartless acts. However, unlike violent-forms of racism that were practiced years ago, this new-age “color-blind racism” incorporates subtle, institutional, and apparently nonracial practices (Bonilla- Silva). Keeping in mind the end goal to counter this new type of racism in the public eye, Bonilla-Silva discloses how regular citizens need to wind up effectively included in the battle against partially blind prejudice. Through this understanding of the content, I will attempt to support what it intends to be a hostile to extremist in today 's reality and Bonilla-Silva 's call for social development, alongside the obligations and good commitments that are fused with both. Bonilla-Silva proposes that a noteworthy change, from non-racists to against racists, needs to occur all together for visually challenged bigotry to lessen in the public eye. Bonilla-Silva wants us to understand that being a hostile to supremacist starts with comprehension the institutional way of racial matters and tolerating this stand includes assuming liability for your unwilling interest in these practices (Bonilla- Silva). Case in point, numerous white Americans increase extraordinary benefits with respect to instruction, openings for work, social connections, and the sky is the limit from there. While these benefits absolutely impact whites, they likewise help to fortify the racial hindrance that exists in the United States today. In Bonilla-Silva 's eyes, if the white society does not recognize the shrouded benefits that they get, and society keeps on
However, color-blindness is not the answer and may even be detrimental to the desired result. People need to be aware of how racial interactions affect all races, and be wiling to participate in open and honest discussions. This hiding of feelings and over compensating with color-blindness is not helping anyone to move past racist thoughts and behaviors. This idea that backstage racism should be accepted is absurd, and causes irreparable damages. “The “fun” for young Whites in a private backstage has real and serious consequences that ratify and perpetuate old racist stereotypes, contributing to and maintain contemporary racial hierarchies (as evident in higher education, health care, the legal system, housing, etc.) that Whites have the privilege to ignore” (Pg. 206). These backstage behaviors make it apparent that racism is not dying out “with Gram-pa,” as one student alluded to in their journal. Racism is still very prevalent, but Whites now participate in racist conversations behind closed
Racism can take on many forms that plague the brain with irrationality that affects an individual’s thoughts and actions. Racism can be a physical form, through an external action, or can branch off into unethical thoughts. This is more known to be a discriminative thought, judging a person based on impressions. This social problem can also be ignored by the oblivious persons of the crowd. Many individuals speak out about how racial tension is long gone and forever forgotten ever since the first African-American was elected to be president in 2008, but this can be evidently proven false. Racial tension is still here to target the minorities in the forms of affirmative action and Ferguson conflicts.