Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Why is it so hard to be a Black person living in America? It is due to the fact that White culture has never wanted to see Blacks as equal or superior to their race. To prevent the collective success of Black folks, Whites have constructed obstacles to impede the intellectual growth of African-Americans. Therefore, in order obtain basic human rights and have their own identity, Blacks must cope with White supremacy and stereotypes on a daily basis. This is evident in the novels and stories read in this African-American Literature course. The psychological effects of being Black in America are the following. The Younger family, in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is not welcomed in an all-White neighborhood. Emmett Till, in “The

Emmett Till Murder Case” by Douglas O. Linder, is ambushed by the racist Whites. Bub, in The Street by Ann Petry, is seen valueless by working a low-paying job. Finally, Richard Wright, in his autobiography “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” is made to feel unsafe at his job. Despite the psychological effects the Black characters go through, each can overcome White racism by knowing the collective capabilities of White folks, by being educated to know when and where to exercise their rights at the appropriate time and place, or both.
The ability for Black citizens to acknowledge their rights under the Constitution is one way they can overcome Whites’ obstacles and survive in America.

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family is a group of Black people living in the south-side of Chicago. Their rights to buy a home in an all-White neighborhood in Clybourne Park are first denied when a White man from the Welcome Committee, Mr. Lindner, comes by to speak to them. He asserts, “Anybody can see that you are a nice family of folks, hardworking and honest I’m sure…people can get awfully worked up when they feel that their whole way of life and everything they’ve ever worked for is threatened” (Hansberry 117). Readers here can clearly see the racial and negative undertones from Mr. Lindner’s comments by alluding to the notion that the Younger family does not belong in the White’s neighborhood. Ironically, he is part of the Welcoming Committee but he does not welcome them into the new neighborhood because of his racist perspective. He sets up a preconceived notion that inhibits the Younger family from feeling welcomed into their new home. Mr. Linder, being a white man, showcases the act of White supremacy and enforces his White privilege by making it seem that his stereotypical assertions are valid. Stereotyping them as being a threat and a disturbance to the new neighborhood is an example of the psychological effects of being Black in America, which can allow Blacks to have a difficult time being

accepted into an all-White neighborhood. The Younger family feels a sense of discrimination and segregation but still makes the decision to move into their new home in Clybourne Park because, according to Walter Younger, “my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. We don’t want to make no trouble or nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors” (Hansberry 147). Walter is telling Mr. Lindner that his family moving symbolizes freedom because he is acknowledging the family’s rights to choose a home at an all-White neighborhood, despite the issue of racism. Nonetheless, Walter also demonstrates how his family does not fit the racial stereotype of being animals or rather, dangerous or a threat to others. This reverses the psychological effects of being Black in America due to the fact that the Younger family is a group of hard working adults who wants upward mobility and wants to achieve the American dream in owning a home, just like the Whites. As a result, the Younger family is able to overcome Mr. Lindner’s racism by expressing its rights at an opportune time and place, hence when Mr. Lindner arrived at the Younger’s residence while the family is preparing to move into their new home.
Even though the Younger family is able to express their rights at an opportune time and place, other Blacks are not lucky enough exercise their rights at an appropriate time and place, as shown in the “Emmett Till Murder Case.” In the article, the 16-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till, relocated from Illinois to Mississippi to live with his relatives. However, in 1955, he was with his cousins and friends when he saw a White woman at the store and made the attempt to speak to her: “Alone in the store with Carolyn Bryant, Till allegedly grabs her wrist and asks her for a date and tells her that he's been with white women before [testimony of Carolyn Bryant]… As she crosses the road heading to the car, Till lets out a loud ‘wolf whistle’” (Linder). Carolyn Bryant is the White woman who Emmett Till attempted to talk to. She claimed that the boy made a sexual approach towards her, which is why she reported it to her husband and his friends. A few days later, the White men went to Emmett Till’s house and took him to a ditch where they physically and mentally abused him. He was later shot and killed by this group of White men and found in the ditch the following day, just by following his human rights in interacting with others. The murder of Emmett Till was seen as justifiable to the racist Whites because a Black man speaking to a White woman was seen as highly unacceptable in America’s society. Thus, Emmett Till’s mother and those within the Black community were frightened by the death of Emmett Till because they acknowledge that there was no justice for Blacks in regards to a White on Black crime due to the fact the White men that killed Till were found not guilty. Till was unable to exercise his human rights, unlike the Younger family, because he was taken from his own will by extremists and was brutally murdered. This not only affected Till during his final moments in the ditch as he is going through a frightening situation, but also affected the whole African–American community because, with this heinous act, the message is clear: they can be killed anytime if they do not follow the racial standards of being Black –– not interacting with Whites. Coming from Chicago, in which racial tensions were far less than the South, Till was not cognizant of that racial standard. What had happened to Emmett Till forces one to ask the inevitable question: If Till never spoke to a White woman in a racist society like Mississippi and maybe if the racial standards were not intact, would he still be alive today?
Although Blacks are facing obstacles and limited survival by being denied their rights, having employment as an African-Americans can be seen as a one-way ticket to the survival and overcoming of White Supremacy in America. However, this one-way ticket all depends on the type or rank of the job established, in which will determine if the society will respect the Blacks or not. In The Street, the protagonist, Bub is an 8-year-old African-American boy who cleans shoes in the streets of Harlem for a low pay. However, Lutie, Bub’s mother, is outraged when she catches his own son cleaning shoes when she is returning home from work. Lutie perceives it in her mind: “if he’s shining shoes at eight, he will be washing windows at sixteen and running an elevator at twenty-one, and go on doing that for the rest of his life” (Petry 67). White society views Blacks as subservient and uneducated. Cleaning shoes, for example, is seen as an unskilled job because White society believes these kinds of jobs are meant for Blacks only –– low lives, inadequate, and inferior. For Lutie to see Bub, her own son, cleaning shoes makes her to think that Bub accepts the stereotypes projected on Blacks. If a Black man starts cleaning shoe at an early age, he may move from one unskilled job to the next, the difference only being the location and a slight rise in pay. As a result of Bub’s service being seen as a slave-like job, Lutie is angry at Bub for accepting it. Therefore, Lutie slaps Bub for diminishing his self-worth. This is another example of the psychological effects of being Black in America because jobs like cleaning shoes in the streets are society’s way of saying that Blacks will never have upward mobility. As a result, it is hard for Blacks to find ranked, qualifying jobs due to the stereotype of Blacks being inferior, subservient, and uneducated. Lutie helps Bub to overcome White racism by making him acknowledge the negative stereotypes White people project on Blacks in regards to working an unskilled job. With the efforts of Lutie, Bub is aware of the setback African-Americans can experience in regards to cleaning shoes for a low-pay, which allows him to terminate his shoe shining career.
However, Blacks having a job underneath the supervision of the Whites does not necessarily mean the Blacks are guaranteed to keep their job.

In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” Richard Wright is a factory worker who is unable to learn how to operate machinery from his white supervisors because they are against him learning new things. From Wright’s perspective, “thinking they had forgotten that I was to learn something about the mechanics of grinding lenses, I asked Morrie one day to tell me about the work. He grew red. ‘Whut yuh tryin’ t’ do, nigger, git smart?’ he said. ‘But, Mr. Pease, the boss said…’” (Wright 1413). For Morrie to deny Wright’s rights to education and opportunity shows that Morrie refuses to allow Blacks to be smart. In fact, this directly connects into the days of institutionalized slavery, in which slave masters would prohibit their slaves to learn, because they fear that they can use their newfound intelligence in overpowering them, thus escaping for their freedom. The obstacles of White supremacy and stereotyping that Morrie sets up for Wright indeed works because, one day, Wright accidently forgets to address Morrie as “Sir.” Therefore, Morrie threatens Wright and then fires him despite being one of the hard working men in the factory. “‘I heard yuh call ‘im Pease! ‘N’ if yuh say yuh didn’t, yuh’re callin’ me a lie, see?’ He waved the steel bar threateningly. They gave me a minute to get out of the factory. I was warned not to show up again...”

(Wright 1413-1414). It is a built-in systematic culture in society for Blacks to address Whites as “Sir” or “Madam” especially living in the south while underneath the supervision of the Whites. For Blacks to refuse or forget this manner provokes violence from Whites. This is thus another example of the psychological effects of being Black in America, showing how African-Americans are made to feel unsafe in their jobs due to White supremacy and stereotypes. Richard Wright accidently forgets to address one of his White supervisors as “Sir.” Yet, he is lucky to overcome Whites’ racism because he could have been beaten up or killed just for attempting to exercise his rights, like Emmet Till.
As demonstrated through the novels and stories in this African-American Literature course, it is evident that being Black in America is challenging. Blacks have to go through White supremacy and stereotyping, as well as obstacles set up by the racist Whites on a daily basis. If the Younger family was not educated enough to exercise their rights appropriately, they might have followed Mr. Lindner’s command and never moved into their new home in the White neighborhood. If Emmett Till knew not to talk to a White woman in an unjust society, he would have still been alive. If Bub was educated enough to know about societal norms and racism, he would have never accepted the job of cleaning shoes in the streets of Harlem for a low pay in the first place. Finally, if Richard Wright knew that his White supervisors were capable of tormenting or killing him, he would have been extra cautious and never forget to address them as “Sir.” In cases like the Younger family and Lutie and Bub, upward mobility is difficult because they are Black people who want to achieve the American Dream but are denied that chance by the Whites. On the other hand, in cases like Emmett Till and Richard Wright, talking is a crime because it leads to undesirable consequences. All Blacks go through psychological events of being Black in America. Unfortunately, not all Blacks survive the obstacles and hardships in America because they are overwhelmed and are defeated by the majority of the White population. However, Blacks knowing what the Whites are capable of doing and being educated to know when and where to exercise his or her rights at an appropriate time and place are the greatest resistance to Whites’ unjust norms. These are the greatest tools to knock down the White society’s obstacles because, for Blacks, knowledge is power.