How does the environment that people are raised in affect how they deal with injustice? Jason Reynolds’ novel All American Boys describes the story of Rashad, an African American teenager who is wrongfully accused of robbing a convenience store and then brutally attacked by a Caucasian police officer who acts out of an irrational fear of the young man. This incident acts as a blatant example of police brutality and racial profiling, unfairly punishing Rashad for no reason other than the color of his skin. His father blames Rashad for the incident and believes that it occured due his lack of obedience, while his brother blames the racist police officer who acted discriminatory towards Rashad. This divide between Rashad’s father and brother …show more content…
reflects the difference in the way that different generations view their society and place in the world. Rashad’s father’s response to this incident is a reflection of the strategies used by African Americans during his time, as the only way for them to survive was to fully cooperate with their oppressors.
Any resistance would be met with extreme violence and persecution, as demonstrated the brutal lynchings of African Americans throughout the country. According to the NAACP between 1882 and 1968 there were 3,446 lynchings of African Americans in the United States. These attacks were intended to keep the African American population obedient to their Caucasian rulers by keeping them fearful. This fear is what pushes Rashad’s father to behave with such complacency and teach his sons to “Never fight back. Never talk back. Keep your hands up. Keep your mouth shut. Just do what they ask you to do, and you’ll be fine” (p. 50). This attitude of obedience even percisted after his own son was attacked, as instead of showing rage towards the police officer Rashad’s father questions Rashad about the way he presented himself asking “Were your pants sagging” (p. 49). This attitude reflects Rashad’s father’s belief that as African Americans he and his family have no power and should work within the system to avoid abuse. This fear-based complacent attitude is reflected in the way that Rashad’s father reacts to his son being attacked by the police officer, and is a remnant of the way his generation survived in a hostile
environment. Rashad’s older brother, Spoony’s reaction to the attack is the complete opposite to that of his father. He is enraged by this blatant discrimination and seeks justice for his little brother. His rebellious nature is largely a reflection of the progression of racial equality in the United States. The greater freedom and equality granted to American Americans during his time led to a greater feeling of belonging to society as a whole. This led Spoony’s generation to begin the fight for full equality for African Americans, since as integrated members of American society they feel that they deserve to be treated the same as everybody else. Their greater freedom also eroded the fear based complacency seen within previous generations, as Spoony’s generation faced much less violence than their parents who were kept living in fear. Spoony displays these sentiments when he angrily remarks “I’m so sick of them treating us like we animals. Like we America’s disobedient dogs” (p. 52) after seeing Rashad in the hospital after being attacked. Spoony’s generation’s rebellious nature is also observed in the way that they dress and present themselves. Despite Spoony’s professional father saying “Why can’t you get a haircut? Why can’t you dress like a respectable adult?” (p. 52) he intentionally rejects societal norms and has “maybe eight or nine locs sprouting from his head like antennae” (p. 51). He also wears clothes “two (or three or four) sizes too big” (p. 51). The rebelliousness of Spoony and the rest of his generation demonstrates how the progression of change in a society can drastically change how its members act and deal with conflict. The different realities of Rashad’s father and his older brother are clearly seen in how they react to Rashad being attacked, this demonstrates a generational difference between the two men and how their two generations view themselves and their society.
At the beginning of the book, Coates wrote about how growing up in a community that was hostile against African Americans was like. “The streets transform every ordinary day into a series of trick questions, and every incorrect answer risks a beat-down, a shooting, or a pregnancy. No one survives unscathed. And yet the heat that springs from the constant danger, from a lifestyle of near-death experience, is thrilling.” Coates was always “on guard” as a kid, for he feared that if he spoke or even have the slightest chance of expressing the feeling of dissatisfaction both the streets and the police will seek trouble. There were too many examples at that time that showed Coates physical harm
Justice is among the most significant moral and political concepts. The word originates from the Latin jus, meaning “right or law”. All throughout history, injustice has been an issue each individual has experienced during his or her daily life. Even today we are still experiencing riots and protests from African-Americans in order to attain justice. In Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith, readers see an example of injustice through the Rodney King case and the shooting of Latasha Harlins. Rodney-King and Latasha Harlins experienced racial injustice, which can be described as the denial of rights based on an individual’s race or racial background. Both two victims were mistreated for the color of their skin and were stripped
King reminds the reader that racial injustices engulf the community by stating, “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the united states. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatments in the courts. There have been many bombings of Negro homes and Churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are hard, brutal facts.”
Southern Horror s: Lynch Law in All Its Phases by Ida B. Wells took me on a journey through our nations violent past. This book voices how strong the practice of lynching is sewn into the fabric of America and expresses the elevated severity of this issue; she also includes pages of graphic stories detailing lynching in the South. Wells examined the many cases of lynching based on “rape of white women” and concluded that rape was just an excuse to shadow white’s real reasons for this type of execution. It was black’s economic progress that threatened white’s ideas about black inferiority. In the South Reconstruction laws often conflicted with real Southern racism. Before I give it to you straight, let me take you on a journey through Ida’s
People in America are not all seen as equal, and this is especially true when it comes to people of color. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The continuous racial targeting of people of color and the privileging of whites, along with the misinformation about race passed along from one generation to the next and reinforced through the media, has imbued people of all races with a distorted sense of personal and group identity” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that people of color are often targeted in a negative way, which shows that racism and discrimination is something that can be passed down or learned from the media. Today, there are people who still think minorities are inferior based on the color of their skin. “Theories and Constructs of Race” also mentions how from an early age, minorities become the target for racism, blame, and overall hatred. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The myth of racial inferiority and superiority has been upheld not only by physical violence and discriminatory policies but also by the psychological violence conveyed through stereotyping and racist messaging” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that minorities are constantly targeted both physically and psychologically, which shows that inequality is a “monster” due to the damage it causes to individuals on multiple levels. Racism can also lead to internalized racism, which causes individuals to adapt a self-deprecating attitude and engage in self-destructive behavior. Furthermore, hate, racism, and discrimination often result from people not understanding that not everyone is offered the same opportunities due to the lack of
Stereotypes within our society have shaped the way we perceive each other. Throughout the book Punished by Victor Rios, a lot of stereotypes were not only reinforced but also used against a lot of the boys. A lot of the boys presented throughout the book had never actually committed a crime but they were treated as if they had. These boys were constantly labeled and categorized, like folders into a filling cabinet or a bin. Sure Oakland, California had a lot of gang-infested areas but that does not mean everyone in that area is part of a gang or is committing a crime. Thus, this book really demonstrates how one can be perceived or labeled as a criminal due to his or her surroundings and how these stereotypes can destroy one’s chance of freedom.
In the summer of 1955, Mamie Till, Emmett Till’s mother, kissed her only son goodbye as he boarded a train to Mississippi and left to visit his family. She constantly reminded the youth of the unavoidable racism in the state and the vast differences between Chicago and Mississippi. Mamie Till feared for her son’s safety as he was not aware of how to act towards the unforgiving white population, and if a black person went against the orders of a white person, it could lead to the beating, or in some cases, even death, of the black man. In the south, the authorities would often turn their heads once an African American was beaten or murdered. (Contemporary Black Biography)
In The Talk Canedy explains that she needs to teach her son how to act around the police. Things such as police brutality happen a lot more tech African American then it does to white people. A lot of white people tend to not understand the problems that African-American, Hispanics, Asians, and more go through on a daily basis. Learning from the Nicole Chung’s personal essay I was able to learn racism isn’t always clear. There are different forms of racism such as casual racism that people endorsed on an everyday basis that wait people might not even notice they are saying. This is just one great example of things that an African American man would need to learn that a white man wouldn’t. Not in all cases but frequently when you think of African-Americans you think of property. Although this is not a fair assumption this has a lot of the fact on life experiences. People with low social class and low income don’t forget to do things that people with high income get to do. This causes different races to have different life experiences. Another example can be college, certain races push college more heavily than others. Some families finally important in working straight out of high school well there’s find important in a college education. Depending on your race could depend on if you go to
As presented in many fictional text such as Kindred, Wild Seed and The Appropropriation of a Culture “control” or “power” can be deemed the underlying influence to the concept of oppression and unjust treatment of others due to their race or social status. These fictional texts graphically detail the experiences of African Americans and how they came together as a community when facing the inevitable both in slavery and during the Jim Crow era. There are many other texts that describe the improper regulation of control and what can happen when one race or group has too much. One novel entitled Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of a wife who was sentenced to prison after shooting her husband in self-defense after he had contracted rabies and turned violent. Another novel entitled Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor details racism in America during the Great Depression (Goodreads) Despite the slavery era and modern day being two different periods of time, there are still some unresolved issues and situations in which revolve around the idea of racism and oppression. However, unlike back in the day African Americans are able to learn about their heritage and ancestors as well as receive an education so that they may acquired the knowledge necessary to diminish the destruction caused by oppression and dilute the poisonous effects of
King’s critics wrote that he was “unwise and untimely” in his pursuit of direct action and that he ought to have ‘waited’ for change, King explains that “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’”. This short statement hits home especially when followed up with a lengthy paragraph detailing injustices done towards African Americans, including lynching and drowning. In his descriptions King uses familial terms such as ‘mother’ and ‘father’, which are words that typically elicit an emotional response from an audience, to picture ones family in such terrible situations would surely drive home the idea that the African American community cannot ‘wait’ anymore for a freedom that will probably never be given to them
The narrator is not the only black male in the story to have experience the racism with the white men. The narrator tries to get away from the racism but struggles to, he come across multiple African Americans that attempt to do the same thing. All of these provide an idea to the correct way to be black in America and it also demonstrates how blacks should act. It is said that anyone who doesn’t follow these correct ways are betraying the race. In the beginning of the story, the narrator’s grandfather says that the only way to make racism become extinct that African Americans should be overly nice to whites. The Exhorter named Ras had different beliefs of the blacks rising up to the whites and take power from the whites. Even though these thoughts come from the black community to take the freedom from the whites, the stories reveals that the are just as dangerous as the whites being racist. The narrator has such a hard time throughout the whole story exploring his identity. While doing so, it demonstrates how so many blacks are betraying their race because the have such a hard time dealing with it. In the end of the story once the battle was over the boys are brought to get their payment. That is when the narrator is able to present his speech to everyone. He was completely beat up and bruised and blood coming from his mouth and nose when he begins his speech. All the other men are laughing and yelling at him,
Part of the aftermath of the lynching in the South was the psychological consequences of the rabbles involved. The entire culture of African Americans is marked by lynching because the root reason why white mobs lynched Southern African Americans was skin pigmentation. This means the blacks were lynched based on ignorant intolerance; however, the supposed basis for the white southerners’ hatred is internalized by every black person in their skin color. In the words of Lee H. Butler, Jr., “Unlike a single traumatic event that has been experienced by one person, lynching is a trauma that has marked an entire culture and several generations because it spanned more than eight decades.” Specifically, realizing the psychological effects of lynching on African Americans and those African Americans who have had family members lynched is important.
Mistrust between the police and black community in Chicago only lent violence as an answer to their problems, leading to a violent riot. James Baldwin, an essayist working for true civil rights for African-Americans, gives first-hand accounts of how black people were mistreated, and conveys how racial tensions built up antagonism in his essays “Notes of a Native Son,” and “Down at the Cross.” In the mid and late 1910’s, a mass movement of African-Americans from the South to cities in the North took place.... ... middle of paper ... ... 2004 http://www.uic.edu/orgs/kbc/ganghistory/Industrial%20Era/Riotbegins.html.
...dation and violence, including lynching, were an ever-present danger. Northern African Americans were not unaffected and suffered the same widespread discrimination and school and residential segregation.
Much like the adage, prevention is better than cure many African American parents hoped to prevent an incident in which their child would be disciplined by America. In this attempt the parents would make certain that their child is disciplined beforehand. The method used was physical discipline, a lower wrong than the discipline of America. While reminiscing of the first time his father disciplined him physically, Coates recalls that “Maybe that saved [him]. Maybe it didn’t” (16). As a child one cannot fully grasp the gravity and pain of a parent beating their child. It is only once Coates becomes a parent himself that he understood the complexities of being a parent of a child of color. Coates articulates, “Now I personally understood my father and the old mantra— ‘Either I can beat you or the police.’ I understood it all… Black people love their children with a kind of obsession. You are all we have and you come to us endangered” (82). Coates, now an adult understood both the love and fear in which his father had when beating him. Additionally, Coates, from his experiences in his childhood understood the growing up as an African American male in America is dangerous and unforgiving. Police brutality is the strong arm in which America uses to discipline young African American teen who fail to comply with their requests. Cooper makes note of this use of brutality by America when she discusses the death of Michael Brown at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson. Cooper