Racism in America within A Raisin in the Sun - Essay Example

?Tai Tiet Nathan Jones English 1B July 8th, Racism in America related to the book “A Raisin in the Sun” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Thomas Jefferson (2011) made this statement in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was written. However, we should also know that Jefferson owned several black slaves at that time, so he was probably not the most impartial observer. Thomas Jefferson failed to mention this fact in his speech possibly because slave matters were such sensitive issues during those times. America created the Declaration of Independence in order to gain their freedom from the British, but what Jefferson was referring to had a subtle hint behind it—at that time this freedom could only be truly experience and admired by white men. The black slaves who worked on white men’s farms were treated as items of property and were not thought of as human because of the very fact that they were black. This racism was hidden under the surface and lasted for many years—even after the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, freed slaves from their white masters. However, this feeling of racism continued on until Martin Luther King Jr. led African-Americans to fight for their rights through the Civil Rights Movement. The reasons for the formation of this movement are shown in Lorraine Hansberry’s book “A Raisin in the Sun” (1994). In this book, the author details a story that shows how an African-American family struggles with the issues of racism in and around the time of World War II. The racism suffered by this family caused this predominantly poor family, which in total comprised of three generations, to gradually become worse off than they previously were. Their jobs only provided enough money to give them a place to sleep and nothing more. This can be highlighted by the fact that the youngest child was sleeping in the living room, the college daughter had to share a room with her mom, and even their whole family had to share the bathroom with other family members because there was only one throughout the entire house. However, the family had a dream that they would one day live in a house that would have enough space for everyone to live comfortably. The reality is that this dream was not only shared by them; every other black family at that time held onto this same dream. The matriarch of the family, Mama, commented that their ancestors had slaved away so hard for this country during the five previous generations, but they have not received anything from this country that can be considered fair and just. One of the most significant moments in the history of black people in the United States was the American Civil War. The underlying reason why the American Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865 was to free black slaves and give them their freedom. This was what the Abraham Lincoln said; however, the real reason for the war taking place had more to do with the economy. The Southern states contained a great number of black laborers who worked on farms—this had helped their economy experience huge amounts of growth over a long period of time. On the other hand, the lack of slaves in the Northern states had caused their economy to grow at a snail’s pace. This economic imbalance within the United States had started to come to the boil, but only became key economic issue when Mr. Abraham Lincoln proposed a law to set slaves free. As was expected, the Southern states did not take too kindly to this thought, so war occured and it became known as one of the most violent wars of the 19th century. Once the war had ended, the Northern states reaffirmed their belief to make it legal to free all slaves; however, the South fought against these anticipated laws very aggressively. As such, the war didn’t really accomplish everything that it set out to—African-Americans were still not afforded the rights of other citizens. White people continued to look down on them because they were black. The overall result was that black people were not treated any better than they were before the war. Through the American Civil War, we can see that how important the issue of labor was for the U.S. economy at that time, but the issue would not be solved until the next century through the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. The racism shown by the white community against black people wasn’t mentioned much in the book, even though in reality in was a common occurrence. The truth is that the majority of people who lived through those times knew how horrible it was even if they would not be the first to admit to it. In those days, all the laws that were made served white peoples’ interests and had no concern for those of another skin color. For example, some states formed laws to not allow black people to enter some public places such as cinemas and buses. Many of these places only permitted white people and refused to accept black people from entering into them. As a result of all this, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and theaters had to contain separate bathrooms for the two different ethnic groups. Furthermore, there were signs on buses to prevent people from certain skin colors sitting in defined areas. The end result was that black and white people had to sit in separate areas. More specifically, black people had to remain in their seats at the back of the bus (“Jim Crow laws”). This unfair treatment of black people led to the famous incident of 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man. After this, Parks became the symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. This movement helped Martin Luther King Jr. fight for his people and give them the real freedom that they were supposed to get way back in 1865. Discussing these issues helps us understand the reason why Mr. Lindner, in A Raisin in the Sun, went to the Younger family and offered to pay for them to move out of the Clybourne Park community. The problem was that the majority of this community was made up of white people and, as such, didn’t want a black family to be living in their neighborhood. Another reason for this is that these white people didn’t want their fellow white friends to know that they were living in the same road as some black people. The logic behind these downright racist views was that they thought that the value of their houses would decrease if someone happened to find out that a black family was also part of the neighborhood. This is a great example of the typical white stereotype of black neighborhoods—everyone is poor, uneducated, and out to get them. Another example of how racism played a significant role during those times is shown in the context of Beneatha and Mama. This showed that even an educated college girl could easily see that God was made for white men only (Hansberry 51). In another book, “The Color of Water,” written by James McBride, the son asked his mother a question about the color of God. He asked why God looked like a white man in the pictures he saw at school if he himself was not white (James McBride). This innocence of children was used by the author to show how racist America was at that time. As it turns out, even God is used by humans in order to work for their stupid purposes. Furthermore, going a little bit further to another country outside of America, during World War II, Adolf Hitler used the term God many times in his speeches to create belief and passion in the Nazi troops. Also, he used this figure to instill fearlessness to kill other races, specifically the Jews, and destroy other countries without hesitation. However, just as the character named Mama in “A Raisin in the Sun” and the character known as Ruth in “The Color of Water,” they both truly know that God doesn’t have color; he is the “color of water.” Belief in God makes people stronger in their daily lives. This is true even for uneducated people, because if they come to church every week, listen to the message spoken, and do what they believe is right, then they will still have a blessed and fruitful life. Life can be particularly hard sometimes because not everything goes smooth as we hope it to be; however, having a belief in God can help us to get back up when we go through inevitable failures. This continual belief in a higher being helps us to rebound faster, and to carry out with our lives without being fearful of failing once more. All religions have one thing in common—to lead people to do good deeds, they teach people how to do good things, and show people how to have the best life possible. Furthermore, in the book The Color of Water, the author talks about an organization known as the KKK, which means Ku Klux Klan (“Ku Klux Klan”). This name comes from Greek; however, it has a different meaning from the original word. Nowadays, the word means someone who is racist against people of other cultures and colors and also tries to prove that white people are superior to all other races. Their goal is to create a group of hardcore white nationalists who are against immigrants entering into their local communities. Members of this group can be made up of anyone and each member is encouraged to wear a white suit and a mask in order to hide their identity. During the time of WWII and just after, this group used a variety of methods to terrorize African-Americans, although other races were targeted too. Their actions were mostly carried out at night because it was easier to get away with these unlawful actions. At that time, everyone knew about them (African-Americans feared them), but nobody reported any crimes that took place and the government had no incentive to do anything about it. The judicial system was so biased that the sentences delivered to white aggressors carrying out these crimes were so light that this caused even more people to participate in them. For example, in 1868, Bedford Forrest made the declaration in an interview that he needed just five days to recruit forty thousand members for his group to oppose black people carrying out militia attacks. From this, we can see how difficult it was to live in white communities at that time. The stress derived from the African-American people was not only about money and their social class, but also the fear of being attacked at any moment haunted them wherever they went. Nowadays, after the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement, a new world has been created within the United States of America. African-Americans are given preferential treatment in public places such as at school and at work. Many people disagree with this and think they should be judged on merit alone. Although, one positive outcome of this is that they are now better protected in terms of issues of lawsuits. Furthermore, Barrack Obama becoming the 44th President of United States has given African-Americans a sense that all their struggles have finally paid off and that their dreams have come true. It has taken 143 years for this dream to be realized. This dream was birthed when members of the KKK hunted down 200 black Republicans in Louisiana only a few short weeks before the Presidential election of 1868. This was a significant event in the history of racism against African-Americans in the United States of America. The dream of Mama from the book has finally come true in real life. This was also the dream of the author of the book, Lorraine Hansberry, and whose hard work has finally paid off. The little tree that Mama loved may need to grow up to be a giant following what the current President of the United States said: “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America” (“Obama”). Furthermore, this play has become a very interesting subject for other directors to use in their productions. Throughout time, the movies of this story have gotten better and better with the use of modern technology. The first movie that was produced back in 1961 caught the attention of so many people because of their interest in the subject. Just recently, in 2008, there has been a new movie that has just come out, except this time the movie is in color. This film was directed by Kenny Leon and has also received the same reception from movie audiences as the first film did all those years ago. The history of racism in the United States is pretty much a limitless topic, and always caught the attention of audiences no matter the era (Lee). In conclusion, the history of this country has provided endless stories about racism for many writers to put pen to paper with. Also, the adaptations of the numerous films have been great hits with audiences. As its result, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” was a big hit with those communities at that time and helped start the Civil Rights Movement in America. This in turn led to allowing black Americans experience freedom just as it was promised to them at the end of 1865. Furthermore, this thriving economy that we have today would not survive without the hard work carried out by African-Americans and their ancestors. These people had to work so hard for the entire duration of their lives, and for the sake of the nation too. Nowadays, African-Americans have better lives and receive more respect from white people in America than ever before. Above all, Americans are generally proud of what they have done and are currently are doing for their country. Works cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. 1st ed. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc., 1994. Print. Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence. National Archives, 2011. Web. 9 July 2011. < http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html> “Jim Crow Laws.” Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 9 July 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws> “Ku Klux Klan.” Wikipedia.com. Wikepedia, n.d. Web. 9 July 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_klux_klan> Lee, Felicia. “Deferred Dreams That Resonate Across Decades.” New York Times, 17 Feb. 2008. Web. 11 Jul 2011. McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother. 1st ed. New York: New York Times, 1998. Print. Obama, Barrack. “Change Has Come to America.” Hyde Park, Chicago, IL. 4 Nov. 2008. Election Night Victory Speech. Read More