Racial Profiling In Richard Wright's Autobiography 'Black Boy'

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Black Boy Essay
Richard Wright’s autobiography, Black Boy, recounts Wright’s upbringing in the South. The story was set in the South, after the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement. Early on in the book Wright finds a passion for learning and reading, which leads him to read the works of H.L. Mencken, a proponent of equal rights between blacks and whites. Ultimately, this influences Wright to become a writer and to fight for his rights. However, today much has changed; the Jim Crow Laws have been outlawed, and some may say that this is the most equal America has ever been. Despite this, racial discrimination, whilst being much less prominent, is still existent. In light of this, if Wright were writing an autobiography titled …show more content…

Wright would likely have little trust in police officers because of the racial profiling he is likely to experience due to being black. This situation would be similar to how it was like in the past, as the authorities did nothing to halt racial violence in the south. From Wright’s point of view, police would seem dangerous instead of protective, since he used to be targeted by police in the south. Wright’s autobiography would talk about how Wright is pulled over more than his friends of other ethnicities, just because of his race. According to Kia Makerechi’s article, “What the Data Really Says about Police and Racial Bias,” blacks made up about 83% of the stops made by police in New York, which indicates that the authorities are racially biased against Africans Americans. This would also be a motivation for Wright to strive for more equality, just like he had done in the past. He would state that the police must have restrictions placed on them to keep them in check, so that racial profiling would not be a problem anymore. When new laws are finally instituted to protect minorities from profiling, Wright would be able to rejoice, and be proud that the government is finally doing something to better the lives of blacks and other

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