Black Boys Play The Classics: A Comparative Essay

1161 Words3 Pages

In Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” and Toi Derricotte’s “Black Boys Play the Classics,” there’s a clear display of the interactions between race and social status that displays the significance of the experiences and ambitions of non-white individuals who must deal with the prejudices and misconceptions deeply-rooted in our society. Minorities, specifically in the U.S., often face marginalization and find themselves within the fringes of society—facing systemic barriers and intolerance that limit their opportunities & resources for participation in more social, political, occupational, and economic domains. Through lucid descriptions and moving narratives, these poems illuminate the complicated consequences of societal perceptions and prejudices on …show more content…

Together, these pieces offer interesting perspectives to examine the complexities of identity, acceptance, and resistance within a dominant, conformist culture. Often, non-white and particularly bicultural people tend to be perceived as other or different. This is especially true because of our predominantly hierarchical, white American society that alienates these minority groups. We often see this in the workplace, in schools, and various everyday social settings, with biases in hiring and promotional aspects, microaggressions, and overt discrimination. In Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien”, the author presents her experiences of struggling to navigate between two cultures: “...viewed by Mexicans as aliens, their eyes say, “You may speak Spanish but you’re not like me”). Despite Mora being fluent in both English and Spanish, she’s viewed as an outcast by both Mexicans—and likely other Spanish-speaking groups—and Americans (who speak English) because she is bicultural and bilingual. She does not “fit” in either category, meanwhile in reality she should feel a sense of belonging in each

Open Document