In my American Lit class, I read the Novel I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings. Racism was a huge problem and it was really noticeable. I personally would hate having to grow up in an environment like that. The vibes everyone had weren’t always positive but most of the time they were. While reading this, I realized that the whole book was basically about growing up in a prejudice environment and the outcome of everything, growing up without parents and the tragic life of being a black girl in a white womens world.
The racism and racial profiling that happens in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is similar to what is happening in our community today. Trayvon Martin was killed because he looked suspicious and was profiled. Police killed at least 102 blacks. In the book the police looking for black men for messing with a white girl they had to hide uncle in the ben with potatoes over him. (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed/)
I chose this topic because that’s what the book is mostly about, and because while reading it I realized that the issue of racism hasn’t really changed over these years and blacks still get racially profiled. I was racially profiled in the 6th grade. I remember one time me and a former white student got sent to the office for the same exact reason, well I’m the one who got suspended and the other student didn’t get suspended. Once I got suspended the first time it was literally a repeating thing after that every time I got sent to the office I got suspended or in iss. I felt like it was because I was black that’s what I always thought.
Anybody that felt like they were being attack or harassed because of their skin color should be able to connect to my letter. Our president Donald Trump is handling sending immigrants back across the border in a very inappropriate way, yeah you can send them back but why did he have to make them feel like they were less than him, underneath him? I don’t get it. Its immature and unsophisticated, but maybe that’s just me. That should explain why they had a huge protest because its offensive and unprofessional. Skin color, Race, Gender, and sexuality shouldn’t ever have to be an issue or even a problem because we are who we are and nobody’s thoughts or opinions should change that.
The purpose of this letter was because I wanted to confront the issue about racism. You have to stay true to yourself and who you really are deep inside. Cant nobody change anything about you that you can’t change about yourself. Once you start embracing and get confident cant anything or anyone get in the way of it. Black is beautiful.
