Black in america blog

The documentary Black in America gave me an interesting perspective on the issue of how race is dealt with in America. Although we have made good progress from the time of slavery, things are still not quite equal in this country. Before watching this video, not only had I never been a minority, but also I have also rarely been exposed to anyone in a situation of oppression or someone who has been stereotyped. In the past, because of the school system I have been in, I have had little experience interacting with racial minorities and hearing their side of issues. This video gave me more insight to how black men feel like the system works against them and that they are bound to go to jail. Overwhelming statistics support this idea, with one third of all black men eventually having a criminal record. African Americans for many years have suffered social injustices that they never deserved. And the vast majority of African Americans battle against these injustices to succeed in their lives. However, this is not always the case. As shown by the documentary, a great percentage of African Americans fall into a life of crack dealing, jail time, and a lack of responsibility as a father of children. There are always those who fought against this and did everything they could to stay out of this situation, but there is no question that there are plenty of them that don’t. I find it hard to feel sympathy for those people that resign themselves to failure. Everyone has disadvantages. Some people are born with less money than others. Some people are disabled, either physically or mentally. Some people have little or no support from their parents and other family members. The ability to persevere and overcome great obstacles is a measure of a great person. Are all races treated equally? No. But some things can’t ever be changed. You can’t change a racist person’s attitude towards another culture unless they truly want to change, which is rarely the case. If a policeman is more likely to arrest you than another person because you’re skin color, gender, religion, etc., you have every right to complain. But the more important thing is to not let it affect you to the point where you become a statistic like so many other black men in this era. Am I saying that black men should just shut up and take it? No. I definitely agree that something should be done to further break racial barriers between African-Americans and the rest of America. But my point is that some people think that when odds are against them, they just give up and don’t attempt to fight at all. These are the type of people that I have no desire to help. America was founded upon a spirit of striving to be the best version of yourself. Working with what you have to be as good as you can be is the American way, and I think that is the best way to combat any discrimination against you. Once again, I am not saying that black men give up easier than white men or that black men are lazy and lawbreakers. What I am trying to say is that you can’t blame all your troubles on race to avert blaming the one who really deserves it, you.

blog for last days of summer

Brian Gramman
In Last Days of Summer, the story of Joey Margolis and his friend Charlie Banks is told through an epistolary style. We find out about the two characters and their friends and family through letters between the two, press clippings of Charlie’s baseball games, Joey’s report cards, and other media. This creates a whole different feel from other books that I have read because of the indirect access to the information presented. The usual format of a book would give me the information through a narrator telling me a straight story through his perspective. That’s what makes this book so special is the delivery of the information. I feel like I’m eavesdropping on Charlie and Joey’s conversations, almost like a Facebook creeper. This has drawn me deeper into the story and has made me read deeper into what each character is discussing in their letters. For example, in every report card Joey receives, we can find out a lot of information about several characters. We find out what Joey is like at school, we find out how Mrs. Hicks, Joey’s teacher, feels about her most troublesome pupil, and we find out a lot about Joey’s mom and aunt and that they are a lot like him. For each report card response, they make a snarky comment about how his grades are good and not to worry about his issues with obedience. This series of events would have taken much longer to explain using the standard format of book writing and it would have been a much less effective message. Another example of letters communicating a more effective message is the letter that Steven Early, the Press Secretary of the White House. The way Early talks to Joey, wishing his mother and aunt well, proves that he and Joey have had quite a bit of previous communication in the same manner of Joey giving advice to FDR on pressing current events issues. This sheds light on the interest in current affairs that Joey ahs without going into a long drawn-out story that is a strong possibility in any other format of a book. Because of this special style of writing, my understanding of these characters has been enhanced dramatically as well as my interest in the rest of the novel. The huge amount of dialogue in this book draws the reader in more than a straight explanation of what is going on, and thus pushes more readers to finish the entire book and find out what happens at the end. This makes this book a perfect read for high schools looking to show their students the advantages of reading and writing books in multiple styles.