Analytical Text-Based Essay on the End of Racism through "Black
Boy" by Richard Wright
Around 2000 B.C., Egyptians enslaved Jews in bondage like
caged animals because they were targeted as a lesser race and
thus chosen for labor. Just 1500 years later, the Jews themselves
were the culprits of racism labeling the very association with
Samaritans as a deep sin. In 1861_1865, the United States
divided brother against brother in one of its bloodiest battles
of all time over black slavery.
Racism survives not simply as an intangible historic fable
but as a real modern problem, also. In current civilization Arab
Palestinians war with Israelis to find a homeland; the Ku Klux
Klan draws its biggest membership influx in over 20 years;
and in the U.S. where freedom reigns, Americans have never to
date voted a person into the president's office who was not a
white male. Denny's restaurants, Texaco gas stations, and Avis
car rental are a few of the number of national companies accused
of extolling racism in this "apartheid America." Although less
subtle in the lives of Americans then, racism also thrived in the
souls of people living during the 1920's. Even though the war on
slavery was over in the battle fields, white racists were blood
thirsty lions at heart, as was demonstrated in the book Black Boy.
The setting of Black Boy is in the deep south of Jackson,
Mississippi where whites attempted to tame into submission blacks
by hard discipline. Such was the case for Richard in Black Boy,
his autobiography. It seemed that the more Richard gained
success, the more he was hurt. In Black Boy, Richard is abused by
whites because he reminds the whites of their lack of identity
and failure to meet society's expectations. Their lives became
bland and their world became, "bleak and undeniable." (193) The
largeness, the coldness, and squalor of the world to the white
racists then and now are mountains of pain that the racists can
not scale. Like a motherless child, they feel lost and not cared
for by a world with all of those conditions. They lose their
individuality and then their self_esteem. Those whites took the
hate and despair that they received, and punished blacks, a
weaker race, with harsh discipline. When Reynolds and Pease
ganged up on Richard, Richard did, "feel no hate for the men who
had driven [him] from the job. They were not individual men, but
part of a huge implacable, elemental design." (229) By teaming up
on blacks like Pease and Reynolds did to Richard, whites are able
to unite and find power in numbers, and in turn satisfy their
human need for pride. Richard was commanded to distinguish the
separation Hand does lead to the separation of the races, and
coupled with the ego that the white man at the optical company
demonstrated about one's race results in racism. The cycle of
racism ends in the action of transferring that pain against those
who had identities. This was true for Richard's Uncle Hoskins as
he, "had been killed by whites who had long coveted his
flourishing liquor business."(63) The whites began to hate the
blacks, thus delivering the same hate to the blacks that they
themselves felt they received from society. This end hate
regenerates the system by leaving the blacks with no identities,
and so they started, "transferring their hatred of themselves to
others with a black skin and fighting." (298) Identity plays
a part in racism, but the deterioration of identity has its roots
in external strain including that of society. Richard saw the
breakdown of character by pressures in Don, a worker at the
optical company whose, "position was not much better than
offhand, bantering way." (289) Therefore the whites' identity
crisis as a result of the perceived great expectations and the
individual's weakness combine to further ware away the individual to racism.
At early childhood, Richard remained blocked from the
molding of society, and so did not elicit a distinction between
blacks and whites. Richard described them as, "merely people like
other people." (27) At childhood, Richard found the truth_all
peoples seemed somewhat equal. Whites were humbled by the
revelation that they were just normal, not the heroes of their
dreams. Whites domination over blacks was apparent in Richard's
life as he described the horrendous beating of a black woman who
did not pay her bills, and his later match with a car of white
boys. The white boys demonstrated their superiority, even telling
Richard in a cocky manner, "You're a lucky bastard, 'cause if
you'd said that to some other white man, you might've been a dead
nigger now." (214) Their personal value dropped when they found
that they weren't necessarily the absolute best at everything,
since black Richard could succeed also, and so they wanted to
regain their prestige or respect for themselves that they had.
Their most readily available grounds for success was their racial
domination over others. Therefore, they must have actively
participated in racism as a need to show that they are better
than others. This quality projects into the boys' throwing the
bottle at Richard. The shear fact that others might rival whites'
power depressed them. Richard's principal, may be considered
black or white, but it makes little difference as he was
obviously molded by white values. The principal goes as far as to
threaten not to allow Richard to graduate if he does not conform
to the principal's views, forcing upon Richard this
aggrandizement. Even though the knowledge remained concealed, the
whites were confronted with the truth that they were just
humans+and the whole stature that they have built around their
beings. Because others matched up to whites, it forced them to no
longer totally ignore the unconscious acknowledgment of equality.
Thus racists tried to defeat others as Richard's principal did to
fulfill the expectations of excellence, and to dismiss the
hurting truth of their mediocrity. Each assemblage tried
targeting one another in this social hierarchy. But particularly
aimed at were those who rose victorious and defied statistics or
standards thus being reminders of others' failure; people who
were similar to Richard's characteristics. Whites hated him
because he undermined their self_esteem as someone could be
better than they were, and in particular a black. Whites hated
him because he even proved that they were not perfect racists,
and that their racism was not foolproof. He was able to rise
against submission, white power, and white pride. He saw through
the white lies, and the truth that he unveiled stands out as the
champion that dismantles the system. Then, is society racist?
Society consists of its individuals, and so the people
within it can determine the answer to that question. But, society
does represent the individual. Society tries to create an
identity for itself, much like the common man. A society needs
the pride that the individual needs. In order to accumulate that
pride, societies often have to be exclusive. Then, the question
emerges on how humans can change society. This is not the first
nor the last time the question will arise, although there is a
general solution reiterated in the echoes of history and in the
cries of the world's posterity. Great teachers from Jesus to
Confucius have preached the golden rule, the principle of loving
thy neighbor as thyself, and it being more blessed to give than
to receive. While sounding "high" and idealistic, these two
principles have many everyday applications. An obvious way to
join the fight+Victory World Organization, or Youth Against
Racism in Europe. Many of these groups are involved simply in
education in the hope that by educating the public on the true
differences of race, comfort between the races may be
accomplished thus ending racism. In simply helping out a neighbor
with his groceries, cleaning up a park, or donating time at a
local charity, racism dies. By feeling self_imposed humility, the
person gets a sense of gratification in his life. He now knows
that he has a good reason to keep going. Eventually the person
will also receive that same love from others. Therefore, a new
source for positive gratification and love is created, making racism obsolete.
These principles have not been fully successful as people
are naturally more willing to be lethargic than active, more
likely to be followers than leaders, usually submit rather than
stand up for themselves. They need courage. The courage must
come from the love within, it must be true courage. For some, it
doesn't come naturally, but with one strong foot forward, and a
heart for others, racism can be defeated and the world can live
in peace and equality.