Overcoming Racism And Diversity In Literature

For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Children's Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the delicate subject of racism in children's literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn.

Racism can be a uniting and dividing factor; whether united in hatred or united in suffering. One may believe they are justified in their actions, but that belief is biased to each person and is irrelevant to others. Hatred can unite as strongly if not more so than fighting for “good”; one’s purpose in life is unclear and because “good” is not in human nature, those blurred lines allow selfish people to rise and lead among the rest. In The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, cruelty functions as a method to amplify racism, and in order to reach the power of one, one must lose all prejudice.

Maya Angelou and Amy Tan discuss religious problems and culture differences in their literature. The authors have captured these differences by their past experiences of friends and family. Both authors come from a diverse culture, but both face the same harsh society of the American culture and beliefs. The Author's both tell about situations in their short stories of being outcasts and coming from different racial backgrounds and trying to triumph over these obstacles. Angelou and Tan both have a very unique writing ability and style in their short stories.

Having a clear understanding of who you are and how you define yourself helps fight prejudice and discrimination. Being on the fence between two very different cultures can set a person apart from other people. Two writers who share this lifestyle is Emiene Shija Wright and Judith Ortiz Cofer. Judith Ortiz Cofer is the writer of The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria which briefly in depth shares her feelings about prejudice and discrimination using her own personal experiences and conveying the message through her writing. Emiene Shija Wright is the writer of Saying Something in African which shares her experience and frustrations with discrimination and wanting to “belong” and shows her transition to the way she decides

Today, racist sororities and fraternities on college campuses have grown to be a public crisis. Recently at the University of Oklahoma, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity released a video including racial slurs and lynching of African Americans (Glionna et al.). This activity shows that there is racism among Americans even in the twenty-first century. There are many other publicized cases involving racism in American society which proves that racism is not just an issue of the past. The past contains elements of racial misconduct that can be explained by James Baldwin and Brent Staples. Baldwin, a preacher and published writer, writes “Notes of a Native Son” to emphasize his experiences and actions towards racism of a different time (50-71). Staples, a reporter and columnist who wrote “Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Spaces”, describes difficulties and stereotypes from the nation and how he suffered through, yet, another difficult time in American history (394-97). Both have a way with words in describing past racial issues. But in comparison of Baldwin and Staples, one can see that the type of racism they experience, their age and maturity, and their response to racism differ entirely by noting the different time eras of racism that each encounters.

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

Maya Angelou and Henry Louis Gates had a similar childhood. Both faced numerous challenges during the early stages of their lives such as racial discrimination and financial insecurity among others. The similarity of their childhood experiences results to a coincidence in their nature and type of writing. The authors address same issues using their life experiences. However, Maya and Louis differ on some issues and experiences as well as their writing styles. However, although they vary in a variety of ways, Maya and Gates address similar topics.

In Kindred, Octavia Butler uses characters and events to symbolize parts of larger themes of racism and white privilege in the story. Kevin is a symbol of the complicated relationship that white America has with black Americans.

In these lines from Derek Walcott’s “A Far Cry from Africa,” the speaker emphasizes the natural human tendencies to “inflict pain.” Similarly, in his poem, “Sympathy,” Paul Dunbar explores pain from the point of view of a bird being trapped in a cage. It flaps its wings and tries to escape but it cannot. The bird symbolizes an African American bound by slavery and unable to escape. On the other hand, in Claude McKay’s poem “The Harlem Dancer,” the dancer feels as if

In the passage “The Library Card,” Richard Wright describes how he started to read when he living in the South as an African American and how the books changed his attitude towards the racism. Occasionally, Wright interested in an article which was a furious denunciation of Mencken, and he wanted to know more about Mencken to figure out why the whites hated him. In order to read the book, Wright decided to borrow it from the library, but unfortunately, he did not have the library card due to the segregation. Afterwards, he borrowed the card from Mr. Falk, and got the books. Once he read the book, he was shocked by the writing style and became fascinated with it. The more he read, the more he knows about the world, and he realizes his life

Latino culture, specifically Puerto-Rican culture has changed through the course of history. Puerto Rico has witnessed a fusion of races and cultures spanning over many years, starting in 1898, after the Spanish-American war. Ultimately, Puerto Rico was annexed to the United States, the Puerto Rican people made United States citizens with limited restrictions and granted commonwealth status. The changes made during those eras did not come without consequences to the Puerto Rican culture. In "Poisoned Story", author Rosario Ferre depicts the political and economic changing norms and tensions between the social classes of the Puerto Rican's culture. In Ferre's story "Poisoned Story" several major themes are prevalent through the story:

Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou, both became genuinely successful after experiencing numerous extremely difficult experiences. Both overcome their difficult times and achieve great accomplishments. Frederick Douglass learned how to read and write, even though slaves were underprivileged of reading and writing, Douglass still learned. Maya Angelou was raped and a mute for a great amount of years, but when she did finally speak, she did have plenty to say. She explains in the documentary how she overcame her struggles and was an extremely successful actor, writer, dancer, poet and singer.

Clearly, Sandra Cisneros' writing style is one representative of a minority voice. Her amazing style allows her readers to take an active part in the minority experience. For this reason, I believe Cisneros has had a lot of influence and success in the status of minority writers, especially in the canon of what is read and taught in schools today. But, more than anything, Cisneros has shown that liberation can come through creativity and literature, and not just through geographical excursion.

The central idea of "the Father of Chinese Aviation" by Rebecca Maksel is that taking risks is worth it if the goal is important. The central idea is not explicitly stated in the text. Feng Ru's goal was to build and design aircrafts of his own. This goal was important because he wanted to help China get more prosperity, richer, and for them to be more known. To reach his goal, Feng Ru had to overcome racism. In paragraph 10, the text states, "Anti-Chinese sentiment was on the rise in "the American West". This shows that people are not liking the Chinese. I infer that these people aren't being nice and are bring racist. Another obstacle was to overcome was earthquakes. In paragraph 6, the text states, "San Francisco's massive earthquake and

As I writer, I struggle with a number of things: finding the time to write, finding the inspiration to write, stopping myself from obliterating everything I’ve written in one fell swoop of my editing marker, and so much more. But the biggest struggle I have is not so much with the writing itself but with the color of my own skin.