Ezazul Haque
Race Ed.
Race is something that we all have. It gives us our identity in the marathon. As we grow up, we tend to have different thoughts and opinions on these different races. Having these thoughts and ideas affects the way we tend to act toward other races. Experiences like this are revealed through Richard in “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” written by Richard Wright and through my own life experiences.
In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” a very small and young African American boy named Richard is portrayed throughout the whole story as kind of a student who is taking a class on how to live under Jim Crow laws. Richard makes some mistakes and pays a price when he does. He learns a very painful lesson in the very beginning of the story. He is a young boy who lives in the black part of the town. One day he got into a fight with a group of white boys. Richard was throwing cinders at them. But all of a sudden, they threw a glass bottle at him. Richard was seriously hurt. He fell to the ground and cried for help but his friends ran away from him because of the fear of getting hit by a glass bottle. Luckily someone helped him up and took him to the nearest hospital where he got three stitches. When Richard came home he waited anxiously for his mother to come home to reassure him. To embrace him. When his mom came home he told her all about his experiences earlier in that day. His mom was outraged. “How come yuh didn’t hide?” she asked instead of asking are you okay. She gave him a horrible beating that he would remember for the rest of his life. His mom told him to not fight anyone let alone white people. He was never to talk back to white people, he was never to disrespect white people, and he was always supposed to be inferior to white people. Richard was very shocked about the fact that he was not equal to white people.
Similarly to Richard I had experienced situations that enabled me to learn about race. When I lived in Bangladesh I used to think everyone was equal. I never questioned the meaning of race because we all were Bengali. We all were from the same country. I used to believe that we all were equal in every single way possible. But when I came to America I was amazed to see all of these people from so many different races, and who had so many different views and perspectives on the world. I would still act the same way I did in Bangladesh. I was race blind. I treated everyone equally. But unlike Richard I did not learn about race the hard way. But what I did observe was that there were other people that discriminated people of different races. One day in the park my friends and me were playing at the park. We were on the swings when a white man came with his son and said to my friend “Get of the swing nigger, my son wants it.” My friend just ran out of the swing. I ran after him. When I caught up I saw that my friend was crying. I asked him what was the matter and he didn’t talk to me. I felt really sad. I later understood the meaning of the word “nigger” and felt really bad for my friend. I also wondered why in a time period like this racism was still an issue a person had to deal with. I believed that all the lives that were sacrificed, all the misery that was dealt with, all the discrimination that was lived with and all the hatred that brought so much pain to so many hearts were done to prevent racism from happening for the later generations. And I believe that we cannot just think it was all a waste because of a microscopic percentage of the population that still discriminates. I believe that in life humans come across obstacles and challenges. Humans cannot just give up on their way, they have to look back at all the people that did so much to help them get to where they stand. And they just have to have the positive mind to overcome anything that comes in their path.
Thanks to the Civil Rights Movement I have the right to live, eat, be next to, stand up with, walk with, look at, share with, talk with everyone. And it gave us a chance to be friends with everyone and anyone despite their race. And I think that is one of the best achievements of mankind in all of history. And it is an achievement that everyone can be proud of, everyone can relate to and everyone can’t live without.
Emmett Till
Murdered at 14 years old in Money, Mississippi. The spectacle surrounding Till's murder was one of the precipitating events leading to the Civil Rights Movement.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Last time
Imagine a life where hate is the norm. Picture a world where murder and violence are acceptable. Visualize death and danger. This was the way of life for Blacks in the 1950's. African-Americans were constantly and continually brutalized by whites. They had to deal with racial epithets, harsh brutality, and the constant threat of angered whites. Growing up in that day and age was extremely difficult for Black youth. They were basically robbed of their childhood because they were too busy living in a life of terror and threats to be capable of carrying on a normal life.
Many children today, and in the 1950's have had a hard time identifying who they are at a young age. One work of literature that portrays this is a children's book called Amazing Grace. Grace is a little, headstrong African-American girl whose dream is to play the lead role in her class production of Peter Pan. After trying out for the part, however, she is discouraged by many of her classmates to take the part because she is a black female trying to play the part of a white male. Having been so young and never being faced with the issue of race or gender, the incident left Grace sad and confused. She didn't see anything wrong with her trying to play Peter Pan. To her he was just a character who could easily be portrayed or represented by anyone. Race or gender had never served as a barrier for Grace before.
Her issue can relate to Black youth in the 1950's because they are growing up in an era of legal white supremacy. Their parents and those before them are used to being shut down. They are accustomed to the oppression and constant segregation. After years of "yessir" and "no sir" rolling off their tounges, they have no idea how to adapt to a new way of life. The youth of that time was confused with the way of life. How is it that the government could sit back and allow such crimes to take place? Many youths who were from other parts faced that hardship too. Fourteen year old Emmet Till moved to Mississippi from Chicago, two almost completely seperate worlds. Up North in Chicago, Blacks were actually treated humanely. Down South, however, was a whole other story. Lynchings were still rampant, and the terror group, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) had the nasty practice of bombing homes and leaving large burning crosses around. Blacks, men especially, were brutally punished for the simplest things such as forgetting to say "Yes sir" to a white man or for looking at a white woman. Emmett made the innnocent mistake of whistling to a white woman, influencing her husband and brother-in-law to brutally murder him. He was so beaten so severely, his face was practically unrecognizeable. The only way they identified his body was by the ring he wore that he inherited from his father. Although his was one of the few reported cases of violence, it was knowledge to many that there were many more victims of white supremacy.
Growing up today is much less of a challenge than it was during the civil rights movement for youth as a whole, not just black, but also white. Those who supported the civil rights movement were considered traitors and sinners. Facing constant ridicule, fighting, and opression, Southern youth was forced into an age of rapid mental maturity. Due to the study of history and culture, I believe i found my culture at a young age. I had so much less racial hardships and I wasn't very exposed to many cultures. There's less discrimination in a culture where everyone is black. Childern of today have a much easier life than those who preceeded us.
Many children today, and in the 1950's have had a hard time identifying who they are at a young age. One work of literature that portrays this is a children's book called Amazing Grace. Grace is a little, headstrong African-American girl whose dream is to play the lead role in her class production of Peter Pan. After trying out for the part, however, she is discouraged by many of her classmates to take the part because she is a black female trying to play the part of a white male. Having been so young and never being faced with the issue of race or gender, the incident left Grace sad and confused. She didn't see anything wrong with her trying to play Peter Pan. To her he was just a character who could easily be portrayed or represented by anyone. Race or gender had never served as a barrier for Grace before.
Her issue can relate to Black youth in the 1950's because they are growing up in an era of legal white supremacy. Their parents and those before them are used to being shut down. They are accustomed to the oppression and constant segregation. After years of "yessir" and "no sir" rolling off their tounges, they have no idea how to adapt to a new way of life. The youth of that time was confused with the way of life. How is it that the government could sit back and allow such crimes to take place? Many youths who were from other parts faced that hardship too. Fourteen year old Emmet Till moved to Mississippi from Chicago, two almost completely seperate worlds. Up North in Chicago, Blacks were actually treated humanely. Down South, however, was a whole other story. Lynchings were still rampant, and the terror group, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) had the nasty practice of bombing homes and leaving large burning crosses around. Blacks, men especially, were brutally punished for the simplest things such as forgetting to say "Yes sir" to a white man or for looking at a white woman. Emmett made the innnocent mistake of whistling to a white woman, influencing her husband and brother-in-law to brutally murder him. He was so beaten so severely, his face was practically unrecognizeable. The only way they identified his body was by the ring he wore that he inherited from his father. Although his was one of the few reported cases of violence, it was knowledge to many that there were many more victims of white supremacy.
Growing up today is much less of a challenge than it was during the civil rights movement for youth as a whole, not just black, but also white. Those who supported the civil rights movement were considered traitors and sinners. Facing constant ridicule, fighting, and opression, Southern youth was forced into an age of rapid mental maturity. Due to the study of history and culture, I believe i found my culture at a young age. I had so much less racial hardships and I wasn't very exposed to many cultures. There's less discrimination in a culture where everyone is black. Childern of today have a much easier life than those who preceeded us.
Essay
Vanessa Davis
When I was accepted into the High School for Environmental Studies, I never expected to see so much diversity. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed. The schools which I attended previously were in my community and the people that I encountered were usually Hispanic. New York is a very diverse state as a whole, but there are certain places were you might only find a particular group of people. However, when I entered high school, I encountered people from many different backgrounds, and this is how I learned about different races. I was able to interact with people and see the cultural differences.
When I met people that came from different backgrounds, I became more aware of the world in which I live. I realized how many different countries and languages there are. I began to see things from a different perspective because I was no longer in my small community. I was out in the real world, surrounded by strangers.
My experience with a different race is similar to the Richard Wright”s in The Ethics of Living Jim Crow. The story progresses from him being a child to him becoming an adult. When Wright has to work in order to sustain himself, he works with and for Caucasians, which was new to him because he was used to being around blacks, his own race. Unlike Richard Wright, I didn't face racism but I did become more aware of my surroundings and others just as he did. The Wright was accustomed to living and interacting only with his own race. "We lived in the very heart of the local black belt. There were black churches and black preachers; there were black schools and black teachers, black grocieries and black clerks. In fact, everything was solidly black that for a long time I didn’t t think of white folks. But this could not last forever" (pg12). Wright was surprised by the way Caucasians acted and the way in which they treated him. At first he didn’t really understand that he was considered inferior and that he had to be submissive in order to be able to maintain his job and to avoid being physically hurt. The more he experienced, the more he learned about himself and about others. He learned how to respond in a certain way in order to maintain his job.
When I entered my school, I learned to approach people that came from different backgrounds. They didn’t t seem racist and didn’t display the attitude that the Caucasian from The Ethics of Living Jim Crow did. However, I still didn’t know them. Before I entered the High School for Environmental Studies, I had never really come in contact with Asian kids. When I was in classes with them it was interesting talking to them. As I got to know them better, some shared personal experiences with me and I learned more about their family lives and the things which those specific families believed in and I saw how they were different then my family. Like Richard Wright I was often astonished by the things that I learned. I know that most parents have rules which their children have to follow but I was surprised that a couple of them had parents that were very strict, and that the way in which they spoke to their parents was different then the way I spoke to my parents. It seemed as if there was more distance and more standards that had to be followed when speaking to elders in general and elders included their parents. I respect my parents, but I speak to them like I would regularly speak to people with whom I’m close. In addition, I learned more about Thailand because I have a close friend that use to live there. She often taught me small words in her language. I also learned a lot about different religions, specifically from someone that was Muslim. There are many teenagers in my school who are religious and are very involved with their church. It's interesting to learn things about other people with whom you normally would not interact unless you’re in a particular setting.
People from similar races usually stay together because it is more comfortable to speak to someone who understands you completely, that understands your background, and with whom you may feel comfortable saying certain things because you know that you will be understood. However, we have to be prepared for the reality in which we live in. In order to understand others and their beliefs we have to communicate with them. The Richard Wright’s interaction with another race wasn’t positive, but he had to deal with real everyday issues like everyone else. He slowly learned his way around things. He found very small ways to make his situation a little bit better. Even though he wasn’t allowed to take out library books because of the color of his skin, he still found ways to educate himself and to maintain his dignity. My experience was similar to Richard Wright in that I had to step out in the real world and learn how to communicate with others. It was easier for me then it was for Richard Wright because the people that I spoke to responded in a friendly manner. They were new to the school and were having similar experiences as me. We were all together in school receiving the same education and at the same time learning about each other.
In The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, I saw how Richard Wright only understood the lessons his mother taught him about segregation and racism when he experienced it for himself. "I had learned my Jim Crow lessons so thoroughly that I kept the hotel job till I left Jackson for Memphis." (pg 27) When Wright worked in Memphis, he often felt shame and embarrassment. But in hindsight, he realized that he accomplished many things in a society that had and continued to discriminate against him in many ways. He had to overcome many obstacles, but every obstacle he overcame only made him stronger and more tolerant. He mentions how he had to exercise a great deal of ingenuity to stay out of trouble. He learned how to lie, steal and to do many other things in order to be able to survive of his life. Racism was something that Wright understood as he went through different stages in his life. When I applied to the school I am in now I didn't realize the change it was going to be and I didn’t really recognize the significance of that change in my life.
When I was accepted into the High School for Environmental Studies, I never expected to see so much diversity. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed. The schools which I attended previously were in my community and the people that I encountered were usually Hispanic. New York is a very diverse state as a whole, but there are certain places were you might only find a particular group of people. However, when I entered high school, I encountered people from many different backgrounds, and this is how I learned about different races. I was able to interact with people and see the cultural differences.
When I met people that came from different backgrounds, I became more aware of the world in which I live. I realized how many different countries and languages there are. I began to see things from a different perspective because I was no longer in my small community. I was out in the real world, surrounded by strangers.
My experience with a different race is similar to the Richard Wright”s in The Ethics of Living Jim Crow. The story progresses from him being a child to him becoming an adult. When Wright has to work in order to sustain himself, he works with and for Caucasians, which was new to him because he was used to being around blacks, his own race. Unlike Richard Wright, I didn't face racism but I did become more aware of my surroundings and others just as he did. The Wright was accustomed to living and interacting only with his own race. "We lived in the very heart of the local black belt. There were black churches and black preachers; there were black schools and black teachers, black grocieries and black clerks. In fact, everything was solidly black that for a long time I didn’t t think of white folks. But this could not last forever" (pg12). Wright was surprised by the way Caucasians acted and the way in which they treated him. At first he didn’t really understand that he was considered inferior and that he had to be submissive in order to be able to maintain his job and to avoid being physically hurt. The more he experienced, the more he learned about himself and about others. He learned how to respond in a certain way in order to maintain his job.
When I entered my school, I learned to approach people that came from different backgrounds. They didn’t t seem racist and didn’t display the attitude that the Caucasian from The Ethics of Living Jim Crow did. However, I still didn’t know them. Before I entered the High School for Environmental Studies, I had never really come in contact with Asian kids. When I was in classes with them it was interesting talking to them. As I got to know them better, some shared personal experiences with me and I learned more about their family lives and the things which those specific families believed in and I saw how they were different then my family. Like Richard Wright I was often astonished by the things that I learned. I know that most parents have rules which their children have to follow but I was surprised that a couple of them had parents that were very strict, and that the way in which they spoke to their parents was different then the way I spoke to my parents. It seemed as if there was more distance and more standards that had to be followed when speaking to elders in general and elders included their parents. I respect my parents, but I speak to them like I would regularly speak to people with whom I’m close. In addition, I learned more about Thailand because I have a close friend that use to live there. She often taught me small words in her language. I also learned a lot about different religions, specifically from someone that was Muslim. There are many teenagers in my school who are religious and are very involved with their church. It's interesting to learn things about other people with whom you normally would not interact unless you’re in a particular setting.
People from similar races usually stay together because it is more comfortable to speak to someone who understands you completely, that understands your background, and with whom you may feel comfortable saying certain things because you know that you will be understood. However, we have to be prepared for the reality in which we live in. In order to understand others and their beliefs we have to communicate with them. The Richard Wright’s interaction with another race wasn’t positive, but he had to deal with real everyday issues like everyone else. He slowly learned his way around things. He found very small ways to make his situation a little bit better. Even though he wasn’t allowed to take out library books because of the color of his skin, he still found ways to educate himself and to maintain his dignity. My experience was similar to Richard Wright in that I had to step out in the real world and learn how to communicate with others. It was easier for me then it was for Richard Wright because the people that I spoke to responded in a friendly manner. They were new to the school and were having similar experiences as me. We were all together in school receiving the same education and at the same time learning about each other.
In The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, I saw how Richard Wright only understood the lessons his mother taught him about segregation and racism when he experienced it for himself. "I had learned my Jim Crow lessons so thoroughly that I kept the hotel job till I left Jackson for Memphis." (pg 27) When Wright worked in Memphis, he often felt shame and embarrassment. But in hindsight, he realized that he accomplished many things in a society that had and continued to discriminate against him in many ways. He had to overcome many obstacles, but every obstacle he overcame only made him stronger and more tolerant. He mentions how he had to exercise a great deal of ingenuity to stay out of trouble. He learned how to lie, steal and to do many other things in order to be able to survive of his life. Racism was something that Wright understood as he went through different stages in his life. When I applied to the school I am in now I didn't realize the change it was going to be and I didn’t really recognize the significance of that change in my life.
Race Does Not Limit Your Destination(Final Essay Draft)
Has it ever occurred to you that race has anything to do with the way we limit ourselves to certain things in life? Do you think that race has a big impact on your life and what you become? I’ve always happened to think that because of my race there would be a limit to what I could do but I never put myself down because I thought this way. The summer after I turned sixteen I got admitted to attend Choate Rosemary Hall, a very prestigious boarding school in Wallingford, CT. Stereotypically enough I thought that only people who belonged to the white race were privileged enough to attend a school like this because they are seen as superior in America and they are said to be very wealthy. In fact this is what scared me the most to be the one person out of the few to be on scholarship and to be of a middle class income around these people so different from me.
My experience at Choate Rosemary Hall enabled me to learn how unimportant race really is and that we as minorities of color tend to limit ourselves too much because of what we are. I’m not of white descent and my family is not wealthy at all. They just happened to have enough income to live a decent life. Yet there I was sitting in the same place of someone that from way back in history has been said to be superior and better than any other race. This is where I began to realize that your race does not affect where you go and what you do in life.
This is why it really disturbed me when in Richard Wright’s story, ”The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” a white man expresses himself in such a way that was really disrespectful towards a young black man that was working in the same work environment. When the boy tried to get help from this guy because he was new at the job this man responded, “Nigger, you think you’re white, don’t you?” How do you say this to someone who is clearly as capable as you are just because he is of a different ethnicity? How are you too black to do something? It was just an irrational response, which shows how ignorant some people can be, specifically during the Jim Crow Era. How do you define capability by color or race? I never understood that. What you’re able to do is something that has nothing to do with your race; it has to do more with your skills, motivation, and the qualities you have to offer.
Wright’s experience in this story is very similar to my experience at Choate Rosemary Hall. My way of thinking is all in my personal mentality but this boy was forced to live in this mentality; this was reality to him. He was forced to live by rules that encouraged people to think a certain way about the black and white populations. The Jim Crow laws of segregation created differences between these two races and therefore created this idea that blacks were better than whites. No one at that time looked at the qualities that these black people had to offer. They were instead denied their human rights as citizens of the United States of America just based on their skin color.
Today, living in the 21st century, we don’t have to face these difficulties as far as segregation laws are considered. But the reality is we still feel inferior. I created the thought that because of my race I wouldn’t be permitted to enter anywhere the standards were too high. Both the main character of this story and I were put in a situation were we felt scared of the reality we had to face while feeling proud of showing every person of color that it’s possible to do what seems unattainable.
We minorities have a fear of working to our fullest potential because we think we’re going to be deceived or turned down by the white race. It’s scary how, until this day, this remains our automatic response to everything that seems out of our circle of life. We tend to limit what we can do and question our capability because we are always so focused on how others see our race. Race does not limit our destination; we do. Humans were not created of different colors to be categorized as failures or superior in life. We need to get over this ignorance and show the world that we can be as successful as every white person in this world.
My experience at Choate Rosemary Hall enabled me to learn how unimportant race really is and that we as minorities of color tend to limit ourselves too much because of what we are. I’m not of white descent and my family is not wealthy at all. They just happened to have enough income to live a decent life. Yet there I was sitting in the same place of someone that from way back in history has been said to be superior and better than any other race. This is where I began to realize that your race does not affect where you go and what you do in life.
This is why it really disturbed me when in Richard Wright’s story, ”The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” a white man expresses himself in such a way that was really disrespectful towards a young black man that was working in the same work environment. When the boy tried to get help from this guy because he was new at the job this man responded, “Nigger, you think you’re white, don’t you?” How do you say this to someone who is clearly as capable as you are just because he is of a different ethnicity? How are you too black to do something? It was just an irrational response, which shows how ignorant some people can be, specifically during the Jim Crow Era. How do you define capability by color or race? I never understood that. What you’re able to do is something that has nothing to do with your race; it has to do more with your skills, motivation, and the qualities you have to offer.
Wright’s experience in this story is very similar to my experience at Choate Rosemary Hall. My way of thinking is all in my personal mentality but this boy was forced to live in this mentality; this was reality to him. He was forced to live by rules that encouraged people to think a certain way about the black and white populations. The Jim Crow laws of segregation created differences between these two races and therefore created this idea that blacks were better than whites. No one at that time looked at the qualities that these black people had to offer. They were instead denied their human rights as citizens of the United States of America just based on their skin color.
Today, living in the 21st century, we don’t have to face these difficulties as far as segregation laws are considered. But the reality is we still feel inferior. I created the thought that because of my race I wouldn’t be permitted to enter anywhere the standards were too high. Both the main character of this story and I were put in a situation were we felt scared of the reality we had to face while feeling proud of showing every person of color that it’s possible to do what seems unattainable.
We minorities have a fear of working to our fullest potential because we think we’re going to be deceived or turned down by the white race. It’s scary how, until this day, this remains our automatic response to everything that seems out of our circle of life. We tend to limit what we can do and question our capability because we are always so focused on how others see our race. Race does not limit our destination; we do. Humans were not created of different colors to be categorized as failures or superior in life. We need to get over this ignorance and show the world that we can be as successful as every white person in this world.
EZ's Esssay
Race is something that we all have. It gives us our identity in the marathon. As we grow up, we tend to have different thoughts and opinions on these different races. Having these thoughts and ideas affects the way we tend to act toward other races. Experiences like this are revealed through Richard in “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” written by Richard Wright and through my own life experiences.
In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” a very small and young African American boy named Richard is portrayed throughout the whole story as kind of a student who is taking a class on how to live under Jim Crow laws. Richard makes some mistakes and pays a price when he does. He learns a very painful lesson in the very beginning of the story. He is a young boy who lives in the black part of the town. One day he got into a fight with a group of white boys. Richard was throwing cinders at them. But all of a sudden, they threw a glass bottle at him. Richard was seriously hurt. He fell to the ground and cried for help but his friends ran away from him because of the fear of getting hit by a glass bottle. Luckily someone helped him up and took him to the nearest hospital where he got three stitches. When Richard came home he waited anxiously for his mother to come home to reassure him. To embrace him. When his mom came home he told her all about his experiences earlier in that day. His mom was outraged. “How come yuh didn’t hide?” she asked instead of asking are you okay. She gave him a horrible beating that he would remember for the rest of his life. His mom told him to not fight anyone let alone white people. He was never to talk back to white people, he was never to disrespect white people, he was always supposed to be inferior to black people. Richard was very shocked about the fact that he was not equal to white people.
Similarly to Richard I had experienced situations that enabled me to learn about race. Up until I was in Bangladesh to the age of 9 I used to think everyone was equal. I never questioned the meaning of race because we all were Bengali. We all were from the same country. I used to believe that we all were equal in every single way possible. But when I came to America I was just amazed to see all of these people from so many different races that had so many different views and perspectives on the world. I would still act the same way I did in Bangladesh. I was race blind. I treated everyone equally. But unlike Richard I did not learn about race the hard way. I did not get physical experience to learn about race.
And that is I think due to the civil rights movement. It gave me the ability to live, eat, be next to, stand up with, walk with, look at, share with, talk with everyone. And it gave us a chance to be friends with everyone and anyone despite their race. And I think that is one of the best achievements of mankind in all of history.
In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” a very small and young African American boy named Richard is portrayed throughout the whole story as kind of a student who is taking a class on how to live under Jim Crow laws. Richard makes some mistakes and pays a price when he does. He learns a very painful lesson in the very beginning of the story. He is a young boy who lives in the black part of the town. One day he got into a fight with a group of white boys. Richard was throwing cinders at them. But all of a sudden, they threw a glass bottle at him. Richard was seriously hurt. He fell to the ground and cried for help but his friends ran away from him because of the fear of getting hit by a glass bottle. Luckily someone helped him up and took him to the nearest hospital where he got three stitches. When Richard came home he waited anxiously for his mother to come home to reassure him. To embrace him. When his mom came home he told her all about his experiences earlier in that day. His mom was outraged. “How come yuh didn’t hide?” she asked instead of asking are you okay. She gave him a horrible beating that he would remember for the rest of his life. His mom told him to not fight anyone let alone white people. He was never to talk back to white people, he was never to disrespect white people, he was always supposed to be inferior to black people. Richard was very shocked about the fact that he was not equal to white people.
Similarly to Richard I had experienced situations that enabled me to learn about race. Up until I was in Bangladesh to the age of 9 I used to think everyone was equal. I never questioned the meaning of race because we all were Bengali. We all were from the same country. I used to believe that we all were equal in every single way possible. But when I came to America I was just amazed to see all of these people from so many different races that had so many different views and perspectives on the world. I would still act the same way I did in Bangladesh. I was race blind. I treated everyone equally. But unlike Richard I did not learn about race the hard way. I did not get physical experience to learn about race.
And that is I think due to the civil rights movement. It gave me the ability to live, eat, be next to, stand up with, walk with, look at, share with, talk with everyone. And it gave us a chance to be friends with everyone and anyone despite their race. And I think that is one of the best achievements of mankind in all of history.
The Grace of Youth
Imagine a life where hate is the norm. Picture a world where murder and violence are acceptable. Visualize death and danger. This was the way of life for Blacks in the 1950's. African-Americans were constantly and continually brutalized by whites. They had to deal with racial epithets, harsh brutality, and the constant threat of angered whites. Growing up in that day and age was extremely difficult for Black youth. They were basically robbed of their childhood because they were too busy living in a life of terror and threats to be capable of carrying on a normal life.
Many children today, and in the 1950's have had a hard time identifying who they are at a young age. One work of literature that portrays this is a children's book called Amazing Grace. Grace is a little, headstrong African-American girl whose dream is to play the lead role in her class production of Peter Pan. After trying out for the part, however, she is discouraged by many of her classmates to take the part because she is a black female trying to play the part of a white male. Having been so young and never being faced with the issue of race or gender, the incident left Grace sad and confused. She didn't see anything wrong with her trying to play Peter Pan. To her he was just a character who could easily be portrayed or represented by anyone. Race or gender had never served as a barrier for Grace before.
Her issue can relate to Black youth in the 1950's because they are growing up in an era of legal white supremacy. Their parents and those before them are used to being shut down. They are accustomed to the oppression and constant segregation. After years of "yessir" and "no sir" rolling off their tounges, they have no idea how to adapt to a new way of life. The youth of that time was confused with the way of life. How is it that the government could sit back and allow such crimes to take place? Many youths who were from other parts faced that hardship too. Fourteen year old Emmet Till moved to Mississippi from Chicago, two almost completely seperate worlds. Up North in Chicago, Blacks were actually treated humanely. Down South, however, was a whole other story. Lynchings were still rampant, and the terror group, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) had the nasty practice of bombing homes and leaving large burning crosses around. Blacks, men especially, were brutally punished for the simplest things such as forgetting to say "Yes sir" to a white man or for looking at a white woman. Emmett made the innnocent mistake of whistling to a white woman, influencing her husband and brother-in-law to brutally murder him. He was so beaten so severely, his face was practically unrecognizeable. The only way they identified his body was by the ring he wore that he inherited from his father. Although his was one of the few reported cases of violence, it was knowledge to many that there were many more victims of white supremacy.
Growing up today is much less of a challenge than it was during the civil rights movement for youth as a whole, not just black, but also white. Those who supported the civil rights movement were considered traitors and sinners. Facing constant ridicule, fighting, and opression, Southern youth was forced into an age of rapid mental maturity. Due to the study of history
Many children today, and in the 1950's have had a hard time identifying who they are at a young age. One work of literature that portrays this is a children's book called Amazing Grace. Grace is a little, headstrong African-American girl whose dream is to play the lead role in her class production of Peter Pan. After trying out for the part, however, she is discouraged by many of her classmates to take the part because she is a black female trying to play the part of a white male. Having been so young and never being faced with the issue of race or gender, the incident left Grace sad and confused. She didn't see anything wrong with her trying to play Peter Pan. To her he was just a character who could easily be portrayed or represented by anyone. Race or gender had never served as a barrier for Grace before.
Her issue can relate to Black youth in the 1950's because they are growing up in an era of legal white supremacy. Their parents and those before them are used to being shut down. They are accustomed to the oppression and constant segregation. After years of "yessir" and "no sir" rolling off their tounges, they have no idea how to adapt to a new way of life. The youth of that time was confused with the way of life. How is it that the government could sit back and allow such crimes to take place? Many youths who were from other parts faced that hardship too. Fourteen year old Emmet Till moved to Mississippi from Chicago, two almost completely seperate worlds. Up North in Chicago, Blacks were actually treated humanely. Down South, however, was a whole other story. Lynchings were still rampant, and the terror group, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) had the nasty practice of bombing homes and leaving large burning crosses around. Blacks, men especially, were brutally punished for the simplest things such as forgetting to say "Yes sir" to a white man or for looking at a white woman. Emmett made the innnocent mistake of whistling to a white woman, influencing her husband and brother-in-law to brutally murder him. He was so beaten so severely, his face was practically unrecognizeable. The only way they identified his body was by the ring he wore that he inherited from his father. Although his was one of the few reported cases of violence, it was knowledge to many that there were many more victims of white supremacy.
Growing up today is much less of a challenge than it was during the civil rights movement for youth as a whole, not just black, but also white. Those who supported the civil rights movement were considered traitors and sinners. Facing constant ridicule, fighting, and opression, Southern youth was forced into an age of rapid mental maturity. Due to the study of history
essay draft...
In a time where Jim Crow was the law and whites have the power to get away with murder, racism is something that is both taught and experienced first hand by children both black and white. No matter what the race of a child is, in America especially, and in other countries, children become aware of their identity and ethnicity. Some feel that racial profiling comes from a nonstop recycling of old customs and practices that live on dormant in the back of the mind. People chose to ignore signs of racism and try to forget the hardships of past civil rights activists and live on. However children of all colors are able to identify and respond to racism at a young age and even question the experiences they’ve had.
In River East Elementary school there were about ninety five percent of black and Hispanic children attending. I lived in Harlem my entire life and when I had to leave my school a year early to attend middle school in the sixth grade, I was very upset. My first day of class was one I will never forget. I was afraid of the new school and being around the different kids. I remember that there were no more than about four black kids in the classroom with me. It bothered me to see for the first time that people looked at me differently because of the way that I talked and the things I wore to school. Some of the students thought it was cool but others gave me funny looks and made me feel almost un accepted. That was one of the first times I experienced any kind of racism and social disorder.
Because I was young and put in an element that I was very unfamiliar with, I decided to join a group of girls who were more like me and those who I could identify with more so. It was not until my third year at Manhattan East Middle School that I had finally learned how to participate and interact with students with unfamiliar cultures. By the time I was ready to go to high school I was used to being one of the only black girls around in many situations. When in high school I was put in a very similar environment, where the classes were mixed but there was still a very small amount of black students in the same classes with me, By this time people had grown so used to being comfortable with stereotypes that they felt it necessary to ask questions that they thought were funny.
There is a new idea housed by urban youths that a black student who speaks correct English talks white and an illiterate slang speaker “talks black.” I never paid any attention to this idea but when asked why I do not “talk black” I simply replied by saying, “I do not know much about color languages, I speak purple myself but orange is my native tongue.” Being educated in situations like this one helped me to face the reality of what people realistically think of black people. It also causes people to stop and think about what they have said just like the situation that occurred in The Sky is Gray where the young black man in the story chooses to question the people of the Jim Crow times by saying to a woman “Don’t you believe the wind is pink?” and later when the woman said “ And what color is the grass, honey?” the boy replied “Grass? Grass is black.” However many young people both now in the twenty first century and then in the Jim Crow age, were unable to stand up against the norm or understand the significance of the racism they encounter.
Children are taught many things by their parents but it is the actual experiences that they have that mold them into adults and set the standards for what they chose to pass on to their children. Although the important lessons learned by our parents at a young age stick with us when we grow older, children like Richard from The Ethics of Living Jim Crow have to have many encounters with racial profiling and discrimination in order to grasp the concept of social order and acceptance. His first thoughts as a child were “It was alright to throw cinders. The greatest harm a cinder could do was leaving a bruise. But broken bottles were dangerous; they left you cut, bleeding, and helpless.” After about nine life lessons on living Jim Crow and a situation were a white man on an elevator he says, “I evaded having to acknowledge his service, and in spite of adverse circumstances, salvaged a slender shred of personal pride”, helped Richard
The young Richard like myself was unable to identify the seriousness of what he had done. When his mother punished him it was his first lesson in understanding that he had to watch everything that he did very carefully to survive. I too was unable to recognize the difference between myself and the majority of the students in the middle school and what it was that made me fear being like them. When Richard grew older and had more scary encounters with the white men telling him he was “lucky” to have gotten away with minor things, he was forced to learn how to function in his society even if it meant pretending to be happy and turning the other cheek when there was trouble.
Even though it is up to adults to make sure that children know what they need to know to survive. It is ultimately up to the child to experience certain things and then apply the lessons learned form past mistakes. Eventually children can teach themselves how to function in societies where every thing is not necessarily fair or equal, whether they live in our day or in the 1950’s.
In River East Elementary school there were about ninety five percent of black and Hispanic children attending. I lived in Harlem my entire life and when I had to leave my school a year early to attend middle school in the sixth grade, I was very upset. My first day of class was one I will never forget. I was afraid of the new school and being around the different kids. I remember that there were no more than about four black kids in the classroom with me. It bothered me to see for the first time that people looked at me differently because of the way that I talked and the things I wore to school. Some of the students thought it was cool but others gave me funny looks and made me feel almost un accepted. That was one of the first times I experienced any kind of racism and social disorder.
Because I was young and put in an element that I was very unfamiliar with, I decided to join a group of girls who were more like me and those who I could identify with more so. It was not until my third year at Manhattan East Middle School that I had finally learned how to participate and interact with students with unfamiliar cultures. By the time I was ready to go to high school I was used to being one of the only black girls around in many situations. When in high school I was put in a very similar environment, where the classes were mixed but there was still a very small amount of black students in the same classes with me, By this time people had grown so used to being comfortable with stereotypes that they felt it necessary to ask questions that they thought were funny.
There is a new idea housed by urban youths that a black student who speaks correct English talks white and an illiterate slang speaker “talks black.” I never paid any attention to this idea but when asked why I do not “talk black” I simply replied by saying, “I do not know much about color languages, I speak purple myself but orange is my native tongue.” Being educated in situations like this one helped me to face the reality of what people realistically think of black people. It also causes people to stop and think about what they have said just like the situation that occurred in The Sky is Gray where the young black man in the story chooses to question the people of the Jim Crow times by saying to a woman “Don’t you believe the wind is pink?” and later when the woman said “ And what color is the grass, honey?” the boy replied “Grass? Grass is black.” However many young people both now in the twenty first century and then in the Jim Crow age, were unable to stand up against the norm or understand the significance of the racism they encounter.
Children are taught many things by their parents but it is the actual experiences that they have that mold them into adults and set the standards for what they chose to pass on to their children. Although the important lessons learned by our parents at a young age stick with us when we grow older, children like Richard from The Ethics of Living Jim Crow have to have many encounters with racial profiling and discrimination in order to grasp the concept of social order and acceptance. His first thoughts as a child were “It was alright to throw cinders. The greatest harm a cinder could do was leaving a bruise. But broken bottles were dangerous; they left you cut, bleeding, and helpless.” After about nine life lessons on living Jim Crow and a situation were a white man on an elevator he says, “I evaded having to acknowledge his service, and in spite of adverse circumstances, salvaged a slender shred of personal pride”, helped Richard
The young Richard like myself was unable to identify the seriousness of what he had done. When his mother punished him it was his first lesson in understanding that he had to watch everything that he did very carefully to survive. I too was unable to recognize the difference between myself and the majority of the students in the middle school and what it was that made me fear being like them. When Richard grew older and had more scary encounters with the white men telling him he was “lucky” to have gotten away with minor things, he was forced to learn how to function in his society even if it meant pretending to be happy and turning the other cheek when there was trouble.
Even though it is up to adults to make sure that children know what they need to know to survive. It is ultimately up to the child to experience certain things and then apply the lessons learned form past mistakes. Eventually children can teach themselves how to function in societies where every thing is not necessarily fair or equal, whether they live in our day or in the 1950’s.
essay
John Gutierrez
Being born and raised in New York, you notice the positive and negative of society. This became apparent when I read, “ The Sky is Gray” because there are certain times where I can relate to James. I was the first-born child of my mother, and it was hard times for her. This opened my eyes because it remained me of the scene to where James was hungry, but his mother had no money to give. As a whole we should learn from others experience because it can better adapt us to an environment that we are presently in or about to face.
My mother was a strong worker who wanted the best for me. As ones body meets a certain age, there is little that we can do, so this forced her to stay home and raise me with little money on the table. The situation got more complex because of my baby sister, and that met more mouths to feed. Since I was growing up, I wanted thing that I saw others have that I did not. All that pressure sunk my mother because she had to deal with my needs, my sister, family in the Dominican Republic, and herself. Even though she faced all of this at one time, she had time and money for me. She gave me all she could and had food on the table with a roof over our heads. All she told me was, “Get an education because I want you to live a better life.” With aid from all over, it told me that she was very sociable with everyone because of all the people who would call her or come if her were sick or hurt.
As time years go by, I learn to mature to the situation that is face, not only by my mother, but my family. Soon I am going to college, and I know I have to put my part in it and I know that my mother will give her support for me. Still I cannot stop to think about how I acted when I was younger because it would not reflect the person I am today. Back then I would ask my mother for money so I could eat Mc Donald or some pizza when I see that she cooked food for me. This is something I know would never help my mother because she would loss money both on the food she cooked and the money for me to go eat outside. Nonetheless she gave me the money, yet I did not feel guilty because I got what I wanted. It was because of her kindness and generosity that in September of 2006 when she was hospitalized, I was the one who sent her, I was the one who stayed that night, and I was the one who visited her each day to see her expression. That was when I had to grow up and watch myself and maintain myself with the money she gave me. With that little money she gave me, it opened my eyes because this was how we really lived.
In “The Sky is Gray”, James is a boy that had a toothache. Even though the mother had barely any money, she took him to the dentist. When he got to the dentist, it was full, and it was a colored dentist. As time went on, James never got his tooth checked and he was cold and hungry. Knowing that there was little money that his mother had, he stayed quiet. Even though they passed through several food stores, mostly whites, he never said a thing.
If you were to compare James to me, you will see a difference. However you need to understand the difference in the times. James was around the 1950’s and 1960’s, and my time period is the early 2000’s. Therefore the difference can be seen because James faced segregation and poverty, while I just faced poverty. Segregation is the one difference, but it is the major gap between James and me. As a result James was more mature at a young age because of all the treatment he and his mother received. Personally I never went through what colored people went through, so to be mature at that time was a must if you were to survive. Now I can see that we must not focus on ourselves because whatever we do can and will affect other we love.
Being born and raised in New York, you notice the positive and negative of society. This became apparent when I read, “ The Sky is Gray” because there are certain times where I can relate to James. I was the first-born child of my mother, and it was hard times for her. This opened my eyes because it remained me of the scene to where James was hungry, but his mother had no money to give. As a whole we should learn from others experience because it can better adapt us to an environment that we are presently in or about to face.
My mother was a strong worker who wanted the best for me. As ones body meets a certain age, there is little that we can do, so this forced her to stay home and raise me with little money on the table. The situation got more complex because of my baby sister, and that met more mouths to feed. Since I was growing up, I wanted thing that I saw others have that I did not. All that pressure sunk my mother because she had to deal with my needs, my sister, family in the Dominican Republic, and herself. Even though she faced all of this at one time, she had time and money for me. She gave me all she could and had food on the table with a roof over our heads. All she told me was, “Get an education because I want you to live a better life.” With aid from all over, it told me that she was very sociable with everyone because of all the people who would call her or come if her were sick or hurt.
As time years go by, I learn to mature to the situation that is face, not only by my mother, but my family. Soon I am going to college, and I know I have to put my part in it and I know that my mother will give her support for me. Still I cannot stop to think about how I acted when I was younger because it would not reflect the person I am today. Back then I would ask my mother for money so I could eat Mc Donald or some pizza when I see that she cooked food for me. This is something I know would never help my mother because she would loss money both on the food she cooked and the money for me to go eat outside. Nonetheless she gave me the money, yet I did not feel guilty because I got what I wanted. It was because of her kindness and generosity that in September of 2006 when she was hospitalized, I was the one who sent her, I was the one who stayed that night, and I was the one who visited her each day to see her expression. That was when I had to grow up and watch myself and maintain myself with the money she gave me. With that little money she gave me, it opened my eyes because this was how we really lived.
In “The Sky is Gray”, James is a boy that had a toothache. Even though the mother had barely any money, she took him to the dentist. When he got to the dentist, it was full, and it was a colored dentist. As time went on, James never got his tooth checked and he was cold and hungry. Knowing that there was little money that his mother had, he stayed quiet. Even though they passed through several food stores, mostly whites, he never said a thing.
If you were to compare James to me, you will see a difference. However you need to understand the difference in the times. James was around the 1950’s and 1960’s, and my time period is the early 2000’s. Therefore the difference can be seen because James faced segregation and poverty, while I just faced poverty. Segregation is the one difference, but it is the major gap between James and me. As a result James was more mature at a young age because of all the treatment he and his mother received. Personally I never went through what colored people went through, so to be mature at that time was a must if you were to survive. Now I can see that we must not focus on ourselves because whatever we do can and will affect other we love.
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