Showdown And The Notes Of A Native Son

1166 Words3 Pages

Dick Gregory once said, "This isn't a revolution of black against whites; this is a revolution of right against wrong. And right has never lost." Through this he means to say whites and blacks are not at war with each other, rather, it is about what is right and what is wrong. Moreover, he says that right has never lost, meaning right has more weightage than wrong. When the country was plagued by racial tension and discrimination came into play very often, two important figures faced tremendous amount of discrimination. Thurgood Marshall who was one of the leading lawyers at that time who later became a symbol of black progress after his nomination to the Supreme Court. In the prologue to Showdown, Wil Hagood highlights the initiatives African …show more content…

Another important figure that faced the consequences of racial discrimination is James Baldwin. He was humiliated and refused to be served at a public restaurant due to his color. In response to all his suffering and humiliations he faced, he wrote a book entitled The Notes of a Native Son; which not only reveals his brutal and harsh treatments but also his father's rough experiences back in time. The prologue to Showdown by Wil Haygood and the Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin both illustrate that the injustice and unfair treatment African Americans underwent was a result of their limited rights in society. The Notes of a Native Son allows the readers to understand Baldwin's first-hand experience during this movement where he faces the consequences of racial discrimination due to the limited rights African Americans had during the 1940s. For instance, Baldwin was turned away from service at a public restaurant in New Jersey because of his color. The waiter refused to serve him and commented, "We do not serve Negros" (Baldwin). Turned away from service just because of his color had frustrated him so badly that he lost his temper, broke the mirror, and threw mugs. All of this was a result of the anger that built …show more content…

Since this took place in New Jersey, we can witness how racial discrimination not only happened in the south, but everywhere. The waiter refused to serve Baldwin based on his color. Baldwin could not get food from the restaurant which means his rights are limited in the society. His rights are so limited that he is unable to attain food at a public restaurant that any ordinary white person would be able to get it easily. Through his experience, readers can get a clear picture of how worse the conditions had gotten for the people of color. As everyone know food is a basic necessity to sustain life, and if one is not being served food due to their color let alone the fact of being hired or going to the same schools as white. All these unfair treatments African Americans underwent lowered their self-esteem and made them question their existence in the society. The society did not accept them the way they were and had limited their rights. Furthermore, Baldwin's father was a perfect example to express the extreme and intense measures of the racial discrimination towards African Americans which resulted because of his

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