Analysis Of The Book ' Crayons '

During a time where African American literature was fueled with racial segregation and pride in ones race during the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston offers a different and controversial approach with her literary work “How it feels to be colored me”.(13) In the works Hurston uses several colloquialisms, anecdotes, imagery and figurative expression to invite the reader on an adventure filled with pleasure. The poem takes the reader from the beginning of the Hurston’s childhood back in Eatonville, Florida into adulthood in Orlando, Florida. Hurston proves that overcoming racism can be accomplished by uniting the public and ignoring the visual difference in a person’s outer appearance. Hurston’s strength, individuality and resilience scream

Black people still call America their home, even though they are consistently discriminated against. Consistently hated on because of how they look like. Black people have been viewed as trouble, suspicious, no good, and will never be anything respectable (Goldberg 2). When young black children cannot be protected from this everyday, so they adapted to this way of life and was to never believe otherwise. Racism and discrimination limit not only black people, but everyone of color. People of color believe they will never be like a white man because of all the advantages a white man has. However, people like Benjamin Banneker, Kenneth Clark, and Toni Morrison are showing their skin color does not relate to their success or intelligence (Goldberg 3). These people are showing how even with all the injustice in America, they were still able to be successful. It is not about what the color of one’s skin is, it is about the mindset and perspective of each

The black race has faced many hardships throughout American history. The harsh treatment is apparent through the brutal slavery era, the Civil Rights movement, or even now where sparks of racial separation emerge in urbanized areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. Black Americans must do something to defend their right as an equal American. “I Am Not Your Negro” argues that the black race will not thrive unless society stands up against the conventional racism that still appears in modern America. “The Other Wes Moore” argues an inspiring message that proves success is a product of one’s choices instead of one’s environment or expectations.

The air was thick with moisture as I made my way down the stairs of the small propeller plane. A young girl, no older than myself, with rich brown curls stood at my side when I reached the bottom, and even though we didn’t know each other, we knew we were headed to the same place. The Piney Woods School, located in Piney Woods, Mississippi. It is a large remote, all-black boarding school, surrounded by lush greenery that stretched for miles, and accompanied by one long highway cutting straight past the entrance. I vibrated with anticipation and curiosity as we made our way towards this new experience. An experience that would not only educate me, but also change my views on what it means to be ME and what it feels like to be Black, in a Black community.

Zora Neale Hurston is unequivocally open about her race and identity in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” As Hurston shares her life story, the reader is exposed to Hurston’s self-realization journey about how she “became colored.” Hurston utilizes her autobiographical short story as a vehicle to describe the “very day she became colored.” Race is particularly vital in Zora Neale Hurston’s essay, “How it Feels to Be Colored Me” as she deals with the social construct of race, racism, and sustaining one’s cultural identity.

The memoir “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, was first published in 1928, and recounts the situation of racial discrimination and prejudice at the time in the United States. The author was born into an all-black community, but was later sent to a boarding school in Jacksonville, where she experienced “race” for the first time. Hurston not only informs the reader how she managed to stay true to herself and her race, but also inspires the reader to abandon any form of racism in their life. Especially by including Humor, Imagery, and Metaphors, the author makes her message very clear: Everyone is equal.

Cross’ book Shades of black: diversity in African-American identity (1991) depicts a perceived metamorphous of black identity through five stages of development—his ideologies are now termed as the Nigrescence theory. In simple terms, this philosophy refers to the process of becoming Black. It also demonstrates daily struggles that the black community may have in developing a healthy personal identity. Over the years, many authors attempt to define what the word black means. Eventually, many came to begin using the politically acceptable term widely applied today to regard black people; that word is known as Negroes. As different historical events occurred, one being the black power revolution on the 1970’s the experience called for a fresh definition of the term negro. Blacks or Africans in America began to be more conscious of their identity and more aware of the differences separating them. This is the experience that Cross (1971) illustrates and is primarily referenced in his five-stage progress including: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion/emersion, internalization, and internalization-commitment. This book highlights some very vital topics relating to mental health, which has been carefully disregarded by other researchers. Nonetheless, it has strong affiliations to the black experience and can positively explain a more normal psychological behavior through logical and very thought provoking

black man fights against, constantly trying to identify himself. At the same time, black men have found approaches to detach from this narrow minded image that society has created for them including; sports, education and family. The black male struggles to gain his own identity because there is already a firm image created for them that the white man visualizes the black male and the expectations of the black male. However, it isn’t just the society that plays a role in the development of the black males identity, there is also the consideration of how black males are brought up or raised in their current lifestyle situations. For example, athletes,

In the autobiography of Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates explains how the education system shackled him, instead of empowering him to liberate his soul and mind. It wasn’t until he was enrolled in Howard University, where he found comfort in an educational system. Before attending Howard University, Coates was blinded by society’s view of the “black body”, and what it was capable of accomplishing. The limitations and lack of support on their side, bounded African Americans and made them feel insecure. The discrimination African Americans faced in their daily lives was no different in an educational environment.

Everyone wants to be accepted by their peers, especially if there are key differences between them. That acceptance can only be achieved in one of two ways; either the person has to change for their peers or their peers have to change for that person. Since James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is set in a tumultuous time of racism, the Ex-Colored Man only has one option and that is to change himself. However, Johnson’s novel forces the reader to question if changing who you are will actually make you happier.

Coates not only writes about the feeling of not knowing your identity as a black person, but also finding it amongst other black people at Howard University. Coates shed light on many different aspects of contemporary

Over the last several weeks we have completed many assigned readings, watched several movies in class and had many class discussions. I have enjoyed all the assignments so far and I feel that I have learned a lot from the time I wrote my first journal. In particular, The Color of Fear and Tatum’s description of white identity development models in Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? have really caused me to stop and reflect and have had an impact on me.

During the mid-1990s my community was bursting with Black individualism. I could find it down the road at Melba’s old record shop playing the music of my generation. Sister Doreen Christian book store taught me the morals and traditions I would carry on to adulthood. The musty old smell of Black Owned Bookstore that housed the stories of my ancestors enlightened me. Growing up around this Black individualism with molded a pro Black young mind.

In this short story Bebe Campbell explained her life of hardship of life with parents and school the the racist remarks the unjust with her mother getting a scholarship there are so much expected of her. That the life of being colored is harder than it seems

The book Daytripper has a great storyline for reader to discover, it was written and drawn collaboratively by brothers Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon, and they have produced a masterpiece. Their story of Bràs de Oliva Domingos, in each chapter issues to enjoy every single moment in life which nowadays people have forgotten how colorful life is; the book reflects how people play different roles in their life, emotion of particular time, and the purpose of life. The answers are all in the book, as Bràs told through glimpses of pivotal moments in his life, is beautiful and colorful in every single moment.