Incident Analysis : Incident By Nathasha Trethwey

Ever since the humans have been separated into different ethnic groups racism has existed on Earth. The idea of racism has existed since the beginning of time but today racism is not as prominent as it once was but it still lives. Racism is kept alive through microaggressions or the eununciating of an offensive and racist comment. During the Great Depression, racism was in its prime, Harper Lee’s renown novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, brings the ideology of racism to light. Throughout the novel, Lee delivers a powerful message on the topic of racism which is the white community’s racist mindsets about black people has caused colored people to be unjustly tried in court, be dehumanized, and receive unnecessary hostility constantly by the white

“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.

Cullen is hopeful to get to a place where people of different races will be able to look at others without prejudice and discrimination. However, the poem “Incident” is of a less positive tone. She expresses her experience in a shocked manner, saying, a boy stuck his “tongue out and, called, [her] ‘Nigger’,” (Cullen 8). She was so shocked that “From May until December; .../… of all the things that happened... /… that’s all [she could remember” in Baltimore (Cullen 10-12). At the young age that she was at, it is surprising and upsetting to her to be discriminated against for no reason.

Why do we hate? Why do we lie? Why do we forget? Three questions provide a strong explanation of how African Americans were treated, whether it was the use of verbal or physical abuse. These questions also describes how African Americans were implied into education. Authors wrote many issues regarding the ignorance and abolishment of slavery in more of a “Whites” perspective to teach the American society what they want to hear and not what actually happened. And further more, forgotten sources. Some want to forget was has happened over the course of our time, some want to hide the truth of how this has affected society and the race around us. Three documents were discussed with hidden facts and deep recognition of what is the truth behind

. . but specifics [to him] didn’t matter because the victims were now symbols of injustice: a NAACP cause” (78). Especially given the long-past, over-60-years-old nature of the lynching, Wexler’s goal, and therefore also her writing, must more profound, and compelling, than this, and therefore she, unlike White, is interested in the specifics: “Roger and Dorothy Malcolm, and George and Mae Murray [the lynching victims] . . . I have tried to bring them to life” (266). Wexler succeeds in that, rather than merely mentioning these victims in the context of the lynching, she includes detailed biographies of each, as well as of their relations, and describes their actions long before and immediately leading up to the lynching, in an attempt to give the reader a better understanding of and greater empathy for them.

To engage a large audience, Staples appeals to readers with his use to two different points of views throughout the essay: societal views and black views. Staples tries to connect with the readers by giving examples of unconscious thoughts that run through the minds of most people when in the same situation as the “white women.” In his opening sentence, Staples calls the women a “victim.” In her own eyes, she herself was “victim” due to the influence of generalized stereotypes presented in our culture. She becomes quick to judge based on Staples appearance: his skin tone. Because of his color, his every action becomes nothing but threats and anxiety on the women. “She casted a back worried glance. To her, the youngish black- broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a

Both racism and violence are large themes of not just, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space, but also of America during the mid-1900’s. Unfortunately, there still exists the same themes in today’s world even though the population is becoming increasingly more educated. Hate and discrimination are taught evils, not innate ones, and in order to prevent the need for stories such as Brent Staples’ to be told, society as a whole must band together to eliminate the occurrence of such a destructive, devastating

Unlike DiAngelo’s White Privilege essay, a group of religious authorities under the umbrella of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. wrote a response letter to Dr. Reverend King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” First quoting a portion of Dr. King’s letter then responding to the quote, the group takes a Biblical stance on the racial issues that continue to preside in modern day American culture. Beginning the essay, the group differentiates between merely acting upon the symptoms of racism. “... (a) superficial kind of social analysis…” and discovering and fixing the root of the racial. By investigating the racial issues at hand and striving towards Dr. King’s dream of a community of equal opportunities for all races, then the conversation of racial inequality can begin. Realizing that fostering a multiracial community centered around radical love that forsakes “safety of our social order,” we, as the Christian body need to develop a society that eliminates the social prejudices currently penetrate into every aspect of

McGuire writes about the rape of twenty four year old Recy Taylor in 1944. Recy was on her way home from the rock Hill Holiness Church in Abbeville, Alabama when her nightmare started. Seven white men that

In order to illustrate the connection between the character of the citizenry, as inspired by their habits and sentiments, and a republic, Easton dissects the logic of racial prejudice— how it is created and maintained. Though he opens his third chapter, On theNnature of the Prejudice of the White Population of the United States, with the claim, “Malignant prejudice is a principle which calls into action the worst passions of the human heart,” he contradicts this claim in the following sentence when he states, “There are some cases, however, in which the exercise of prejudice is perfectly harmless” (Easton 35). He continues, “It [prejudice] never possesses any vitiating qualities, except when it is exercised by one who has done, or intends to do, another injury” (Easton 36). According to Easton, prejudice, in itself, is not innately harmful. Rather, it can only be injurious when its motivators attribute malicious intentions to it. Resultantly, Easton suggests that the wicked qualities of the citizenry perpetuate the malignant nature that is typically associated with prejudice. To support this, he alludes to the injury inflicted upon black Americans—explicitly in the form of laws that enforce the enslavement of southern blacks and subliminally in the form of the normalized attitudes of subordination attributed to northern blacks— that evokes their racial

Throughout history there has long been discrepancies when it comes to acts of justice. Often many individuals who participate are seen as villainous criminals, instead of heroes. It can be inferred that as history progresses we come to see that certain events and individuals actually helped set a precedent for justice. In other words, people’s opinions of past events change with time. This can often be seen with events surrounding slavery and the Civil War. While the 19th and 21st century opinions of Nat Turner differ, ultimately the heroic pros outweigh the villainous cons because he set an example for civil rights, showcasing the need for freedom and the cruel system in place.

Both Paul Rusesabagina’s An Ordinary Man and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail use appeals to pathos and ethos to instill their ideas of racial equality. Rusesabagina and King strengthen their works through use of emotion and integrity as a means of literary persuasion. “The central concern of rhetoric has always been method and manner: how to discover the most effective way to express a thought in a given situation, and how to alter its expression to suit different situations.” (McQuarrie and Mick 424) King’s letter discusses his approach in dealing with the racial segregation experienced by African Americans in the United States. Misplaced hatred and prejudice fuel King’s desire to rationally present his personal experiences, religious service, and logic arguments for desegregation. In contrast, Rusesabagina focuses on simplifying and clarifying his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Past experiences, desires to protect human lives, and ethics drove Rusesabagina to tell his account of the genocide. King and Rusesabagina’s choice to confront racial adversary through their words and actions undoubtedly introduced change to the lives of many oppressed people.

Prejudice, the chain of hatred and ignorance, has haunted our history at every step. In the twenty-first century prejudice and its destruction can be viewed in many forms of modern literature. Two of the most famous and rejoiced literatures that examine the theme of prejudice are Harper Lee’s realist fiction novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Martin Luther King’s heart warming speech ‘I Have a Dream’. Both texts explore the theme of prejudice of white Americans on the Blacks in the racially tense times of the early twentieth century. Unlike Harper Lee, Martin Luther King goes a step further to persuade the audience that there is prejudice present and we should be motivated to stop this evil from blossoming in our world.

At times there are opposing forces preventing one from achieving the good life, causing some of the greatest things in life to be fought for. This statement is supported by Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham jail. In Mandela’s life, the strict apartheid laws of his country prevented him and many others from living freely and similarly, Dr. King crusaded against racial segregation. When oppressors refused to negotiate, compromise, and in one instance, even refused to follow federal law, both men were forced to conduct acts of civil disobedience or better said, disregard discriminatory laws which led to the cost of imprisonment and to be an object of derision. For Dr. King, he explained to his critics that in order to gain freedom, it was important to fight for it even if equality isn’t “illegal”. Dr. King then relates how Hitler’s mass extermination

Hatred and disdain is the deep embedded seed that is planted in American soil, especially, in the American South towards Black’s. This seed of hatred towards Black’s is being cultivated to superciliously think that Black’s are inferior to their counterparts. The fruits of labor that is produced from this tree are bitter, distasteful and poisonous to the development of equality of the human race, especially, towards Black’s. This births forth the mentality to always fear Black’s and that Black’s are subjects that need to be submitted to subjugation in order to achieve civility of the human race. Thus, the latter mentioned develops into a deadly perception that is growing like consuming fire; in addition, this deadly perception is not only thought but also being instilled and engraved in humanity. Consequently, this is why equality for Black’s shall always be a challenge to achieve because this deadly perception infiltrates our cognitive process and morality to be colorblind. Even though we are all members of ONE human race Blacks shall never be equal to white counterparts who microscopically stigmatized Black’s through racial cultural lens and racial profiling. This paper shall implores the true legitimization of the Black Experience in the American South via objectivity and factual truths dating back from day of arrival to present. In addition, to portray the brutality and inequality that still exists.