Category: Between The World and Me

“The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream”. Azar Nafisi (a writer and professor of English literature) superbly captures how the pursuit of the American Dream can cause the oppression of others. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘Between the World and Me’ is a letter addressed to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori, in which Coates combines a series of personal experiences with historical developments to illustrate the cyclical assault of the black body and, overall, what it means to be of black identity in America. Coates goes on to portray white supremacy as an imperishable force that African Americans will never escape and always struggle against. In ‘Between the World and Me’, Coates utilizes the motif of the dream (Coates’ distorted idea of the American Dream) and personal anecdote to convey that those who believe that they are white and privileged in society are, in reality, oppressors because they sustain their belief through the cyclical subjugation of African Americans using violence and fear.

Coates utilizes a personal anecdote about a visit to Mrs. Mabel Jones (the mother of a victim of police brutality) to illustrate that societal oppression is inescapable despite one’s social status. In Coates’ ‘Between the World and Me’, during Coates’ visit with Mrs. Mabel Jones (the mother of Prince Jones – a victim of police brutality), he noticed that she maintained her composure incredibly well despite the recent loss of her son, however, she then comments that her son “…had means. He had a family. He was living like a human being. And one racist act took him away. And the same is true of [her]. [She] spent years developing a career, acquiring assets, engaging responsibilities. And one racist act [is] all it takes” (Coates, 145). The repetition of the phrase ‘one racist act’ evokes the fragility of the black body. Coates’ personal anecdote about his visit with Ms. Jones implies that Dr. Marble Jones was aware that her son’s social status was not enough to protect him from police brutality. Furthermore, one could say that Dr. Jones’s presentation of great self-control is tragically ironic because there was ultimately nothing she could do to shield her son from police brutality. Coates illustrates that oppression is inescapable because one’s black identity automatically makes one a target of racial oppression since one’s identity as a black American is inescapable. Ultimately, Coates elucidates that racism is a universal oppression because one’s socioeconomic status is not enough to save one from the oppressive grips of societal oppression. Moreover, while still conversing with Mrs. Jones, Coates observes a picture of Mrs. Jones’s daughter and her new husband on display, he asserts that “Dr. Jones was not optimistic. She was intensely worried about her bringing a son into America because she could not save him, she could not secure his body from the ritual violence that had claimed her son” (Coates, 144). The use of the specific diction – ‘ritual’ – connotes that racial injustice is a tradition in America. Coates demonstrates that it is practically impossible to overcome racial oppression as exemplified by Mrs. Jones, who raised her children with such luxury and access, but ‘one racist act’ still destroys it all. Additionally, it is important to note Coates’ assertion that Mrs. Jones was not optimistic because it illustrates her loss of hope for a future without oppression. Ultimately, the death of Prince Jones is living proof of Coates’ idea that oppression is inescapable, not only does it show the vanity of one’s socioeconomic status against the overwhelming force of oppression, but it also illustrates that white supremacy is an imperishable force that African Americans will never escape and always struggle against.

Furthermore, Coates’ personal anecdote about a visit to Mrs. Mabel Jones demonstrates that not only is oppression inescapable, but that the American Dream sustains itself on the cyclical and continued destruction of the black body. After asserting that Mrs. Jones was not optimistic, Coates explains that she also compared America to Rome and thought that “the glory days of [the] country had long ago passed, and even those glory days of [the] country had long ago passed, and even those glory days were sullied: they had been built on the bodies of others. And…We don’t understand that we are embracing our deaths” (Coates, 144). Mrs. Jones’s use of the diction ‘bodies’ resonates with Coates’ idea of ‘the black body’, therefore, she shares the same ideas with Coates about the destruction of the ‘black body’. Through Mrs. Jones’s assertion, Coates explains that America is in many ways similar to Rome because the United States became a strong nation based on slavery. Blacks were exploited and controlled by fear and violence to build the very foundations of the United States as a nation. Ultimately, Coates conveys to black Americans to avoid embracing the nationalism of the U.S. because by doing so they are embracing their death even further since the continued progress and sustainment of the U.S. as a nation requires the continued subjugation of black Americans. Additionally, Coates goes off-topic for a moment and compares Mrs. Jones’ facial expression to those of the pictures from the sit-ins in the 60s, he notices a resemblance and asserts that “Whatever it is, that same look [he saw] in those pictures, noble and vacuous, was the look [he] saw in Mable Jones…they betray almost no emotion” (Coates, 142). Coates’ description of Mrs. Jones’s expression as ‘vacuous’ illustrates a sense of mindlessness. Here, Coates dives into the psychological aspects of the effects of racial inequality on black Americans. He portrays Mrs. Jones’ look as being mindless to illustrate that black Americans utilize emotional detachment as a mechanism to help cope with the melancholy of racial inequality. Ultimately, Coates conveys that racial oppression causes deep psychological effects, therefore causing black Americans to affect an indifferent attitude to avoid having to experience the pain that comes along with being oppressed.

Moreover, to further illustrate how the American Dream sustains itself on the cyclical and continued destruction of the black body, Coates utilizes the motif of the dream to convey that those who believe they are white and privileged live in constant denial of reality because reality is a shame to their world, since to acknowledge reality is to acknowledge that they oppress and subjugate others to attain to sustain their dreams. Coates explains that America betrayed Mrs. Jones because “forgetting is a habit, is yet another necessary component of the Dream” and “to remember would tumble them out of the beautiful Dream and force them to live down here with us, down here in the world. I am convinced that the Dreamers, at least the Dreamers of today, would rather live white than live free” (Coates, 143). Coates juxtaposes ‘beautiful Dream’ and ‘force’ to convey the vast difference between the world of the dreamers and the world of the oppressed. Coates demonstrates that the oppressed live in reality, while those who believe they are white live in a fictional world, a delusion that blinds them from the reality of the costs of their dreams. Additionally, the idea that forgetting the oppressed in America is a ‘habit’ resonates with Coates’ previous idea that the destruction of the black body is a ‘ritual’. Furthermore, Coates evokes that to awaken the dreamers of today is to reveal that they are an empire of humans and, like all empires of humans, are built on the destruction of the body. “It is to stain their nobility, to make them vulnerable, fallible, breakable humans” (Coates, 143). Coates’ use of the diction ‘stain’ conveys impurity, which the dreamers deny having. Coates expands on the idea of human fragility by illustrating that while ‘one racist act’ reveals the fragility of the black body, reality reveals the fragility of the dreamers since they live in constant denial of it. Ultimately, Coates elucidates that dreamers (those who believe they are white) lack humanity because they deny their vulnerability as human beings by living in denial that their empire is built based on plundered and exploited bodies.

In conclusion, when one considers Coates’ idea that oppression is inescapable and that those who believe that they are white sustain their dreams through the oppression of black bodies, it is clear that oppression truly is universal and inescapable to an extent. Coates’ ‘Between the World and Me’ is a book not only addressed to Samori but to the general black population and oppressed groups around the world. He argues that whiteness is a belief created by those who have an innate desire for power and superiority over others. Furthermore, he distorts the idea of the American Dream by revealing that while it creates a vast opportunity for some, it plunders and exploits others, therefore, the American Dream itself necessitates the need for some to be oppressed while others prosper. ‘Between the World and Me’ is a wake-up call, a reality check for both blacks and whites, for whites who believe that they can continue to pursue more power without destroying others and the world around them, and for blacks who believe they can participate in this pursuit for more power because to participate in the dream is to advocate for the continued destruction of their bodies.

One of the biggest issues the world faces today is the magnitude of health discrepancies endured by African Americans. Healthcare should not be dependent on one’s ethnicity or economic status. Additionally, many Americans strive to achieve the American Dream. [The American Dream is a symbol of accomplishment in the American culture.] Even though many Americans perceive the healthcare system to be equal to all ethnicities, African Americans have an immense disadvantage to equal healthcare, thus causing an inferior quality of life and an infringement on the ability to achieve the American Dream.

The healthcare system has systemic disadvantages derived from racism. Wealthier people can afford healthcare; as a result, they tend to live longer due to having such accessibility. Those who aren’t able to afford it have an overall inadequate standard of living. Studies have shown that African Americans below the poverty line tend to die approximately ten to fifteen years earlier than wealthier people. A study that was recorded focused on the premature death rates of Chicagoans, “From 2000 to 2011, Chicago’s premature mortality rate was 7,720 years of potential life lost per 100,000 residents. The Latinx rate was 4,513 lost and the White was 5,698. Black Chicagoans die prematurely up to 2.4 to 3 times the rate of Whites and Latinxs.” (Pg 142, A Tale of Three Cities). Premature death entails that death most likely could have been preventable. The reason that African Americans have such high rates compared to the other races is based on social and economic conditions, leading to deprivation and differences in healthcare. Another study that was recorded under the mortality rate for infants in 2014 showed similar data, “The infant mortality rate is 14 per 1,000 more than twice the national average. 43% of the people in North Lawndale live below the poverty line-double Chicago’s overall rate.” (Pg 172 The Case For Reparation). The African Americans’ death rate is substantially larger than any other ethnicity. This is directly due to the economic and social class of many Black Americans. Ultimately, if you are not able to afford healthcare, your death rates are, as a result, significantly higher since you can not afford professional help in times of dire need. Consequently, another leading factor in high mortality rates and unequal healthcare for African Americans is the lack of pharmacies or healthy grocery stores. To stay healthy and maintain a well-balanced diet, you need some source of protein, fruits, and vegetables daily. Many Chicagoan African Americans don’t even have a grocery store within a two-mile radius from them, this is called a food desert. Food deserts are referred to as areas that are very limited to affordable nutritious foods. Individuals who grow up in a food desert have a higher risk of getting diabetes since the only food source attainable to them is mainly highly processed. In A Tale of Three Cities, the report states, “Low-income black Chicagoans were most disadvantaged among their options for balanced food choices. More specifically, their findings show that poor black folks traveled farther to any type of grocery store compared to other Chicagoans and that food deserts cluster, in a strikingly obvious fashion, in exclusively black communities.” (Pg 146 A Tale of Three Cities). This was a study done by Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group a decade ago, though it is still very relevant today. To eat healthy, you need to live in an area with a supermarket nearby. To live near a supermarket, you need a steady job. All of these factors depend on one another, if one of the pieces of the puzzle is missing, the American Dream is almost completely, as a result, unattainable…

The roots that cause the unequal medical opportunities are directly due to the integral racism subconsciously engraved within our society. Though legislation was passed guaranteeing equality to every man and woman no matter race, this concept, however, is difficult to implement. Children were taught from an early age by parents to look down upon African Americans. An individual’s family greatly impacts one’s point of view on such ideas as racism. This automatically props an unjust system. Our society has faced the challenge of creating ways to move past education, class, healthcare, and job roles and upholding these embedded issues. Ta-Nehisi Coates states, “But all our phrasing-race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy-serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth.” (Between the World and Me). Coates is conveying that racism is not subconscious or natural and that people make problems about race. This destroys any chance African Americans have to live equally. Furthermore, racial inequality is seen everywhere, especially in schools. Public schools that are funded by the government give less to the schools that are predominantly African-American. Since the children aren’t white, they care less about their education and well-being. Recently, schools in Chicago with a majority of African American students reported lead exposure in the water. Yet, schools with a majority white population have had water that was clean and purified. Lead exposure in children can lead to performing dramatically low, this racial inequality for students can destroy a brain that is still developing. Recent data has shown the poisonous lead conditions in schools in the Chicago area, “Eight predominantly black neighborhoods have percentages at two times the city average or greater: Fuller Park (2.8%), Austin (1.6%), Roseland (1.4%), and Auburn Gresham (1.4%). In contrast, predominantly white neighborhoods like North Center (0.1%) and Lincoln Park (0.1%) have lead exposure levels of near zero.” (Pg 152 A Tale of Three Cities). Since these schools are mainly African Americans, they are given less than what normal schools would be given. These kids are directly born into racial inequality. They grow up in a society where school, a place that is supposed to educate and prepare you for your plans, can be taken away because of such problems as lead poisoning. If students don’t have healthcare and are affected by this issue, they have no way of receiving affordable treatment. Ultimately, White Americans were raised with racism integrated into their upbringing. It is hard to change an individual’s viewpoint after being told the opposite all of their lives. Most children don’t even know the true definition of race; they just consume what they hear around them. Ta-Nehisi Coates expresses, “Americans believe in the reality of ‘race’ as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. The need to ascribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate, reduce, and destroy them inevitably.” (Between the World and Me). Coate’s idea is that White people and African Americans are just used as labels in society. These labels, that are given, shape your ability to receive equal benefits from our government, such as healthcare. He describes the term race not as the reality of a race but as an ‘unreality’ created by racism, which leads to the reality of the healthcare system being racist due to society’s ‘unreality’.

Throughout Between the World and Me, A Tale of Three Cities, and A Case For Reparations, the discrepancies between the unequal healthcare for African Americans compared to other ethnicities highlight the discrimination within our society. These barriers to healthcare reduce an individual’s overarching knowledge of life. Therefore, the American Dream is harder to obtain for an African American.

The thing that’s wrong with the world is hate. Hate is an ugly thing from racism to homophobia to transphobia to other religions and so on. While growing up I was taught to show everyone respect and kindness I figured the world was all butterflies and rainbows you know, like everyone was just nice to each other but as I got older, I realized how cruel people were to one another. I’ve witnessed people being bullied because of how they dressed, because of their sexuality, or because of their race. In the book Between the World and Me, Coates waited till his son was old enough to understand how the world is. Coates writes him a letter and explains how the Dream everyone talks about controls society. His version of the Dream is being white and the dreamers he refers to are the people who believe themselves to be white. Throughout the book, Coates is helping his readers understand what people of color went through and this makes us think about how the color of our skin plays into the system that’s in place. He uses pathos and logos to create a strong argument about how the Dream impacted his life and those who lived inside the Dream.

America was built on the exploitation and oppression of black people rather than freedom and equality. For centuries, black people were enslaved, and they had to work in horrific conditions as service, agricultural and domestic workers. They had to do all the work the white people didn’t want to do and when they tried to escape the Fugitive Slave Acts ensured that if fining officials caught them, they could torture, mutilate, and even kill them without any legal consequences. Even when the United States had put an end to slavery black people still got the short end of the stick when it came to things like jobs or simply going to school. They would be paid less than a white man and wouldn’t be allowed in the same school as white people. Throughout time, black people did eventually get the same rights as white people but to this day they still face challenges from authorities who are white.

Coates’s example for this is when he says, “And you know now if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body.” (9) This makes me think of current times and the Black Lives Matter movement. For example, the shooting of Oscar Grant. Oscar was a 22-year-old black male who had been out celebrating New Year’s Eve when he was pulled off a train by the police, he was unarmed and was cooperating with them as well as his friends that he was with. In the video that was released, you see Oscar obeying the officers, they then dragged him from the wall and pushed his face into the floor. One of the officers pressed his knee into his neck as the second officer shot Oscar in the back and then handcuffed him instead of performing any first aid. The officer said he meant to shock him with his taser not shoot him. There are many cases similar to Oscars and the officers get away with it a majority of the time because they “feared for their life” or “they meant to grab their taser” which is complete bullshit. White officers think they have the right to do whatever and it seems like they can because it’s always their word against black people, Mexicans, etc. Not much has changed, police are still destroying black people’s bodies. This brings us back to when Coates states, “The police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body…the destroyers will rarely be held accountable. Mostly they will receive pensions” (9). Situations like Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Renisha McBride, and so many more innocent souls provoke pathos and make for a solid argument that this country isn’t as great as we think it is.

Due to such violence, Coates feared for his life as he was growing up. He had feared that he would be killed because of the color of his skin and then he feared his son would be killed by the Dreamers. Coates states, “The truth is that the police reflect America in all of its will and fear, and whatever we might make of this country’s criminal justice policy, it cannot be said that it was imposed by a repressive minority. The abuses that have followed from these policies—the sprawling carceral state, the random detention of black people, the torture of suspects—are the product of democratic will”. (78-79) As he grew up in Baltimore, he felt naked and exposed because he knew that the law didn’t protect him or anyone else of color. The police acted a certain way towards him and many others making it seem okay to be hateful towards anyone who isn’t white. As a result of this, he didn’t know how to protect himself either because no one seemed to care for people of color. So, he wants his son to learn and understand that “in America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage”. (103) He wants his son to know he has to be ready for any hate that comes his way because of the color of his skin, and he has to be careful because not many people are kind due to the way people will a higher power treats them. Take Emmett Till for example, he was a 14-year-old boy who was lynched in 1955 after he was accused of offending a white woman. The woman’s husband and half-brother then threw his body into a river that was discovered 3 days later. That September an all-white jury found the two men not guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Emmet, they then publicly admitted to the murder in 1956 with Look magazine even then they got away with his murder.

However, the Dream is different for white people. The Dream to them is their suburban homes, picnics, soccer games, etc. Since the dream is so easy for them to live, they don’t pay any mind to the others who struggle to live it as well. Instead of trying to understand their situations and treating them fairly, they make it harder for them to live. I believe white people don’t understand what other races have to go through. For example, we had a few discussions in class where two white students said they believe police officers get so much shit and that all of them are painted as bad due to things like the Oscar Grant case and others like his. I think they didn’t see where a black person was coming from when they talked about police brutality. These students don’t have to worry about being harassed because of their color. I mean a black person or a Mexican has a higher chance of being pulled over than a white person does.

The Sandford Open Policing Project collected and standardized over 200 million records of traffic stops and search data across the United States. This project data had reported officers stop and search black and Hispanic drivers based on little evidence compared to what they require to stop and search white drivers. It’s said that white drivers are more likely found with illegal things. For example, if someone is pulled over for speeding and they are black they’re 20% more likely to get a ticket instead of a warning, Hispanics are 30% more likely to be ticketed than white drivers. Black and Hispanic are twice as likely to be searched compared to someone who is white. (Colorlines) I included this because it all goes back to the whole white privilege aspect of the Dream. I’ve heard many cases of a white police officer shooting. A black driver in their car because they “feared” for their life. For example, there was a man who got pulled over and the officer asked for his I.D. and registration as the man reached for his glove department to get his papers, he was shot dead because the officer thought he was reaching for a gun and he feared for his life. This officer was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 3-year probation, but he was given credit for 17 months for pleading guilty. In the video that was shown you can see the black male trying to follow his orders, the officer’s lawyers then said it was because of his PTSD. This is completely dumb he should have been given the full 20 years because he shouldn’t have returned to work until he was fully mentally stable, due to this a man lost his life for no good reason.

Coates’s book and his version of the Dream seems to be hard for many to accept at that time. Coates says at the beginning of the book “American does not claim the banal. America believes itself exceptional, the greatest and noblest nation to ever exist…” (8) This to me is crazy to think that people believe this country is great. How can it be great when people who hold a title such as the police and president and at the point of time other white people have destroyed a large number of black bodies are never held accountable for their actions and to this day they still aren’t? White people are always given the benefit of the doubt whereas black people are seen as if they deserved everything bad that has happened to them. I see it a lot today in current times especially at work sometimes a black teen or adult comes on and has the hoodie on, and the store managers will announce “Security scan all cameras please” but when the role is reversed they say nothing and its ALWAYS their white customers stealing. An employee had even falsely accused a little black boy of coming in all the time and stealing and the managers said a vague apology to the adults the boy was with and didn’t even talk to the employee who accused a little kid. There is a double standard that plays in society and race is the one many people constantly refuse to recognize but they’ll draw attention to double standards of how a boy and girl are raised like this is so crazy you would think things would have gotten better and people would respect one another but it has only gotten worse are our president promotes hate.

Between the World and Me is a real eye-opener and I got to see the real truth and got to see what has happened in that time. The way Coates uses connotative and denotative language helps illustrate and make his points clear for his readers. His use of words makes for a very strong argument that in our society we aren’t divided because of our bank account but by the color of our skin. During the time of the book Coates says the poor as well as the rich had belonged to the upper class and being part of the upper class meant they were all respected and treated as equals because they were white.

Due to these two divisions, the black body was broken continuously because they were taught had no meaning whereas a white person always had meaning. This is something that needs to change and for this change to happen people of higher power like our president and police officers need to treat everyone with respect. This hate has gone on for too long and it’s sad to think it might never come to an end. Some people fear for their life as well as their children because of all the hate, things were supposed to be better as time passed but it seems like things only got worse.

America was built on the exploitation and oppression of black people rather than freedom and equality. Though is true and many were hurt and killed because of this this does not have to be the result. We the people have to use our voice and fight for what we want and that is change. We cannot erase our past and rewrite our history though we try so hard to forget all the pain we’ve gone through to get the same rights and respect as white Americans we can fight hard to change our fate, so we don’t suffer the same fate those before us have.

Works Cited

1. Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Text Publishing Company, 2015.
2. Bulwa, Demian, and Rachel Swan. “10 Years since Oscar Grant’s Death: What Happened at Fruitvale Station?” SFChronicle.com, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec. 2018,
3. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/10-years-since-Oscar-Grant-s-death-What-13489585.php.
4. https://youtu.be/Q2LDw5l_yMI
5. Saxon, Shani. “New Report Analyzes Racial Bias in Police Traffic Stops.” Colorlines, 29 Mar. 2019, https://www.colorlines.com/articles/new-report-analyzes-racial-bias-police-traffic-stops.
6. Associated Press. “Ex-State Trooper Who Shot Unarmed Black Man Reaching for Wallet Gets 3 Years in Prison.” WCIV, WCIV, 15 Aug. 2017, https://abcnews4.com/news/crime-news/ex-state-trooper-who-shot-unarmed-black-man-reaching-for-wallet-gets-3-years-in-prison.

“The Coddling of the American Mind” written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt is an essay examining the rise of speech restrictions on college campuses, the demand for trigger warnings, and the policing of microaggressions. This book ties in with the theme of where one comes from and their core values affect their chance of getting certain jobs and learning in the classroom. The text states, “By some campus guidelines, it is a microaggression to ask an Asian American or Latino American ‘Where were you born?,’ because this implies that he or she is not a real American.”(Lukianoff and Haidt 263) This quote can be related to how different people with different identities are treated in the classroom. They can be singled out negatively or receive special treatment, for example, the previous quote. The definition of ‘microaggression’ has become distorted during this time. People believe anything to be a microaggression. Asking someone where they’re from for example is not, whatsoever, aggressive. The oversensitivity of some has created a culture where it is hard to say anything nowadays without being perceived as offensive. This is one perspective of how we can see personal identity playing a role in the college classroom.

An essay written by Coates titled “Between the World and Me” is based on Coates’s experience growing up as a black youth in Baltimore. He considers the complex connections between the streets, schools, prisons, and religions. The immense effect that race has in life is shown through the following quote, “60 percent of all young black men who drop out of school will go to jail. This should disgrace the country.”(Coates 93) This fact should not be. We have to ask the question of why are they dropping out in the first place and why are they ending up in jail. Do they not have enough support around them or from their community? Are they not receiving the same opportunities? Among racial and ethnic groups, African Americans have the highest poverty rate, 27.4 percent, followed by Hispanics at 26.6 percent and whites at 9.9 percent. This creates a cycle that many can’t seem to escape. Kids who come from low-income areas are 2.5 times more likely to drop out than middle-income kids. Unlike kids from wealthier families, for whom school is usually the primary focus, poorer students must focus on other responsibilities. School becomes secondary, if it’s a priority at all. The majority are lower income, not necessarily living in poverty, but come from struggling families. Many are kids of color. A study shows that ‘Young men who grow up in homes without fathers are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families…those boys whose fathers were absent from the household had double the odds of being incarcerated — even when other factors such as race, income, parent education, and urban residence were held constant.’ (Harper C, McLanahan SS.2004.) This cycle needs to be broken. Another reason the dropout rate is so high is because of the reason, “No one cared if I attended or not.” As a student in high school, you usually don’t see the bigger picture or think about how school actually can benefit you. If one does not have a support system, they don’t have anyone to help them make important decisions. Leading education theories suggest the experience of going to school could be greatly improved if teachers and principals took a more personalized approach. If kids felt like their specific problems were being heard and their interests explored, the school would no longer feel like the boring and irrelevant institution many see it as today. I agree with this, a lot of the time I felt as if my teachers did not care if I succeeded or not. This is another perspective of how personal identity affects life in the classroom.

One’s identity has a major influence on how one perceives others, their self-esteem, and self-confidence. The personal strengths people develop as well as their degree of resilience when facing difficulties, may strongly influence their identity or be the result of their identity. The choices and priorities students embrace are to some extent a reflection of the factors making up their racial/ethnic identity. In my experience, one’s identity has an immense effect on educational opportunities. In the past, I have experienced better treatment just because I am a female. For example, I had two teachers in high school who only allowed females to use the bathroom during class. I understand their reasoning behind doing this, but I also think that it is extremely unfair. I also understand that doing this is not as serious compared to most situations, but it is still a form of gender-affecting education. Some more serious events have occurred where a group of students would get in trouble for using tobacco products in the bathroom. There have been multiple instances where the one darker student in the group received a more severe punishment for whatever reason. The school may have had its reasons behind this, but this occurring more than once makes it suspicious. Physical identity can also affect careers. Of around 3,000 people surveyed by Salary, 76% of respondents feel tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview. And more than one-third-39% of those surveyed believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers. Even though tattoos and piercings are quite popular, according to these facts, they are still associated with having low character and being uneducated. One’s personal identity and upbringing can affect how we perceive others’ physical identity and what they represent.

All in all, personal identity plays a huge role in educational and career opportunities. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly judging other people based on how they look, their gender, and so on. Using the information from “Coddling of the American Mind” and “Between the World and Me,” we can see the role personal identity plays in and outside of the classroom. Further research needs to be done on why it plays such an immense role in career opportunities and the stigma attached to physical identities.

Slavery is the social practice in which someone has property rights over another person, who is consequently called a slave. For a long time, slaves were considered a product. Prices changed according to physical conditions, professional skills, sex, age, etc. The only aspect that did not change was their color; they were all black. In present times, this topic is one of the most discussed by the population. Due to the need to bring awareness, messages, and lessons are being delivered during the whole year through diverse ways of communication. While both Between The World and Me and MHATB portray the reality of races in America, Ta-Nehisi Coates uses two literary devices while Athol Fugard uses two of the protagonists to represent inequality as a legacy of slavery.

First of all, In Between the World and Me, the author makes sure to use imagery and irony while repeating the word “slavery” six times and giving impactful examples throughout the article. Both literary devices are characterized as a vehicle that Athol Fugard found to convey the profound truth about slavery and how it has developed over the decades. Choosing as the scenario, a world-affirming passion for freedom, Fugard uses a woman being enslaved by members of society. This portrayal, initially, evokes a feeling of indignation due to its irony. The

community should be asking itself why it does not accomplish what it claims to be its principles. As he continues to describe, he expands his example with a flowchart of slavery, including the mother, father, and daughter of the woman used as an example. Her past was full of slavery, and her future will not have a different path. These ways of transmitting the message help the readers understand how veiled society is about racism and its roots. Racism is precisely what encompasses the entire context of this article. The father is concerned about the inequality that haunts black people, and he has a desire to warn his daughter about this.

Moreover, it would be extremely ignorant to affirm that the white people alive in the present days are guilty of the slavery that occurred in the past. However, it is undeniable that these same people have advantages because they are white, considered the supremacy color. In MHATB, the occurrence of white privilege is indirectly exposed to the readers/viewers. Hally, the white, intelligent, and rich boy, son of the establishment owner, is a contrast to Sam, the South African worker, who, in his turn, is black and poor. Together, they are a symbolic representation of hierarchy and racism. The racial tension between the characters is evident since the beginning of the play with the given roles they have. Not to mention that the context of the period in which the game was written influences the perception of the piece. In 1950, the racial segregation in South America was real; the population was divided into four groups: black, white, colored, and Indian. Following all the aspects visible, all this systematic and institutionalized racism is undoubtedly the result of slavery and its roots.

Furthermore, coming back to the story itself, analyzing Hally’s and Sam’s positions, it is clear that the credit for being successful should go to Hally’s father, because, working, he conquered his establishment. However, it is inevitable to remember that the conditions for white

and black people differ entirely. Sam, as smart as he is, must have had primary education or even learned everything himself. On the other hand, his boss probably had a higher quality of education, which explains why he is successful. This is the reality of white and black people in a spectrum that includes the whole world. This spectrum is the consequence of slavery, meaning that along with these last-mentioned criteria of education, many other elements were removed from what is considered black rights.

To conclude, the exploration of the two texts through the presented lenses is significant because we have to recognize some of the effects that slavery had and still has on the world. Everything is not always as superficial and straightforward as it seems; many aspects are more in-depth and need greater comprehension. Texts like In Between the World and Me and MHATB are examples of how this topic can be explored through different methods and perspectives. Furthermore, slavery is an issue that still occurs behind the scenes and affects millions of people around the world. It has never been entirely eradicated. Lastly, inequality as the legacy of slavery is a compelling problem that needs to be dealt with; by analyzing how it is inserted in texts that sometimes go unnoticed by the population’s perception. The best way to fight something is by knowing it in my heart.

One of the biggest issues the world faces today is the magnitude of health discrepancies endured by African Americans. Healthcare should not be dependent on one’s ethnicity or economic status. Additionally, many Americans strive to achieve the American Dream. [The American Dream is a symbol of accomplishment in the American culture.] Even though many Americans perceive the healthcare system to be equal to all ethnicities, African Americans have an immense disadvantage to equal healthcare, thus causing an inferior quality of life and an infringement on the ability to achieve the American Dream.

The healthcare system has systemic disadvantages derived from racism. Wealthier people can afford healthcare; as a result, they tend to live longer due to having such accessibility. Those who aren’t able to afford it have an overall inadequate standard of living. Studies have shown that African Americans below the poverty line tend to die approximately ten to fifteen years earlier than wealthier people. A study that was recorded focused on the premature death rates of Chicagoans, “From 2000 to 2011, Chicago’s premature mortality rate was 7,720 years of potential life lost per 100,000 residents. The Latinx rate was 4,513 lost and the White was 5,698. Black Chicagoans die prematurely up to 2.4 to 3 times the rate of Whites and Latinxs.” (Pg 142, A Tale of Three Cities). Premature death entails that death most likely could have been preventable. The reason that African Americans have such high rates compared to the other races is based on social and economic conditions, leading to deprivation and differences in healthcare. Another study that was recorded under the mortality rate for infants in 2014 showed similar data, “The infant mortality rate is 14 per 1,000 more than twice the national average. 43% of the people in North Lawndale live below the poverty line-double Chicago’s overall rate.” (Pg 172 The Case For Reparation). The African Americans’ death rate is substantially larger than any other ethnicity. This is directly due to the economic and social class of many Black Americans. Ultimately, if you are not able to afford healthcare, your death rates are, as a result, significantly higher since you can not afford professional help in times of dire need. Consequently, another leading factor in high mortality rates and unequal healthcare for African Americans is the lack of pharmacies or healthy grocery stores. To stay healthy and maintain a well-balanced diet, you need some source of protein, fruits, and vegetables daily. Many Chicagoan African Americans don’t even have a grocery store within a two-mile radius from them, this is called a food desert. Food deserts are referred to as areas that are very limited to affordable nutritious foods. Individuals who grow up in a food desert have a higher risk of getting diabetes since the only food source attainable to them is mainly highly processed. In A Tale of Three Cities, the report states, “Low-income black Chicagoans were most disadvantaged among their options for balanced food choices. More specifically, their findings show that poor black folks traveled farther to any type of grocery store compared to other Chicagoans and that food deserts cluster, in a strikingly obvious fashion, in exclusively black communities.” (Pg 146 A Tale of Three Cities). This was a study done by Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group a decade ago, though it is still very relevant today. To eat healthy, you need to live in an area with a supermarket nearby. To live near a supermarket, you need a steady job. All of these factors depend on one another, if one of the pieces of the puzzle is missing, the American Dream is almost completely, as a result, unattainable…

The roots that cause the unequal medical opportunities are directly due to the integral racism subconsciously engraved within our society. Though legislation was passed guaranteeing equality to every man and woman no matter race, this concept, however, is difficult to implement. Children were taught from an early age by parents to look down upon African Americans. An individual’s family greatly impacts one’s point of view on such ideas as racism. This automatically props an unjust system. Our society has faced the challenge of creating ways to move past education, class, healthcare, and job roles and upholding these embedded issues. Ta-Nehisi Coates states, “But all our phrasing-race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy-serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth.” (Between the World and Me). Coates is conveying that racism is not subconscious or natural and that people make problems about race. This destroys any chance African Americans have to live equally. Furthermore, racial inequality is seen everywhere, especially in schools. Public schools that are funded by the government give less to the schools that are predominantly African-American. Since the children aren’t white, they care less about their education and well-being. Recently, schools in Chicago with a majority of African American students reported lead exposure in the water. Yet, schools with a majority white population have had water that was clean and purified. Lead exposure in children can lead to performing dramatically low, this racial inequality for students can destroy a brain that is still developing. Recent data has shown the poisonous lead conditions in schools in the Chicago area, “Eight predominantly black neighborhoods have percentages at two times the city average or greater: Fuller Park (2.8%), Austin (1.6%), Roseland (1.4%), and Auburn Gresham (1.4%). In contrast, predominantly white neighborhoods like North Center (0.1%) and Lincoln Park (0.1%) have lead exposure levels of near zero.” (Pg 152 A Tale of Three Cities). Since these schools are mainly African Americans, they are given less than what normal schools would be given. These kids are directly born into racial inequality. They grow up in a society where school, a place that is supposed to educate and prepare you for your plans, can be taken away because of such problems as lead poisoning. If students don’t have healthcare and are affected by this issue, they have no way of receiving affordable treatment. Ultimately, White Americans were raised with racism integrated into their upbringing. It is hard to change an individual’s viewpoint after being told the opposite all of their lives. Most children don’t even know the true definition of race; they just consume what they hear around them. Ta-Nehisi Coates expresses, “Americans believe in the reality of ‘race’ as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. The need to ascribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate, reduce, and destroy them inevitably.” (Between the World and Me). Coate’s idea is that White people and African Americans are just used as labels in society. These labels, that are given, shape your ability to receive equal benefits from our government, such as healthcare. He describes the term race not as the reality of a race but as an ‘unreality’ created by racism, which leads to the reality of the healthcare system being racist due to society’s ‘unreality’.

Throughout Between the World and Me, A Tale of Three Cities, and A Case For Reparations, the discrepancies between the unequal healthcare for African Americans compared to other ethnicities highlight the discrimination within our society. These barriers to healthcare reduce an individual’s overarching knowledge of life. Therefore, the American Dream is harder to obtain for an African American.

The thing that’s wrong with the world is hate. Hate is an ugly thing from racism to homophobia to transphobia to other religions and so on. While growing up I was taught to show everyone respect and kindness I figured the world was all butterflies and rainbows you know, like everyone was just nice to each other but as I got older, I realized how cruel people were to one another. I’ve witnessed people being bullied because of how they dressed, because of their sexuality, or because of their race. In the book Between the World and Me, Coates waited till his son was old enough to understand how the world is. Coates writes him a letter and explains how the Dream everyone talks about controls society. His version of the Dream is being white and the dreamers he refers to are the people who believe themselves to be white. Throughout the book, Coates is helping his readers understand what people of color went through and this makes us think about how the color of our skin plays into the system that’s in place. He uses pathos and logos to create a strong argument about how the Dream impacted his life and those who lived inside the Dream.

America was built on the exploitation and oppression of black people rather than freedom and equality. For centuries, black people were enslaved, and they had to work in horrific conditions as service, agricultural and domestic workers. They had to do all the work the white people didn’t want to do and when they tried to escape the Fugitive Slave Acts ensured that if fining officials caught them, they could torture, mutilate, and even kill them without any legal consequences. Even when the United States had put an end to slavery black people still got the short end of the stick when it came to things like jobs or simply going to school. They would be paid less than a white man and wouldn’t be allowed in the same school as white people. Throughout time, black people did eventually get the same rights as white people but to this day they still face challenges from authorities who are white.

Coates’s example for this is when he says, “And you know now if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body.” (9) This makes me think of current times and the Black Lives Matter movement. For example, the shooting of Oscar Grant. Oscar was a 22-year-old black male who had been out celebrating New Year’s Eve when he was pulled off a train by the police, he was unarmed and was cooperating with them as well as his friends that he was with. In the video that was released, you see Oscar obeying the officers, they then dragged him from the wall and pushed his face into the floor. One of the officers pressed his knee into his neck as the second officer shot Oscar in the back and then handcuffed him instead of performing any first aid. The officer said he meant to shock him with his taser not shoot him. There are many cases similar to Oscars and the officers get away with it a majority of the time because they “feared for their life” or “they meant to grab their taser” which is complete bullshit. White officers think they have the right to do whatever and it seems like they can because it’s always their word against black people, Mexicans, etc. Not much has changed, police are still destroying black people’s bodies. This brings us back to when Coates states, “The police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body…the destroyers will rarely be held accountable. Mostly they will receive pensions” (9). Situations like Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Renisha McBride, and so many more innocent souls provoke pathos and make for a solid argument that this country isn’t as great as we think it is.

Due to such violence, Coates feared for his life as he was growing up. He had feared that he would be killed because of the color of his skin and then he feared his son would be killed by the Dreamers. Coates states, “The truth is that the police reflect America in all of its will and fear, and whatever we might make of this country’s criminal justice policy, it cannot be said that it was imposed by a repressive minority. The abuses that have followed from these policies—the sprawling carceral state, the random detention of black people, the torture of suspects—are the product of democratic will”. (78-79) As he grew up in Baltimore, he felt naked and exposed because he knew that the law didn’t protect him or anyone else of color. The police acted a certain way towards him and many others making it seem okay to be hateful towards anyone who isn’t white. As a result of this, he didn’t know how to protect himself either because no one seemed to care for people of color. So, he wants his son to learn and understand that “in America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage”. (103) He wants his son to know he has to be ready for any hate that comes his way because of the color of his skin, and he has to be careful because not many people are kind due to the way people will a higher power treats them. Take Emmett Till for example, he was a 14-year-old boy who was lynched in 1955 after he was accused of offending a white woman. The woman’s husband and half-brother then threw his body into a river that was discovered 3 days later. That September an all-white jury found the two men not guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Emmet, they then publicly admitted to the murder in 1956 with Look magazine even then they got away with his murder.

However, the Dream is different for white people. The Dream to them is their suburban homes, picnics, soccer games, etc. Since the dream is so easy for them to live, they don’t pay any mind to the others who struggle to live it as well. Instead of trying to understand their situations and treating them fairly, they make it harder for them to live. I believe white people don’t understand what other races have to go through. For example, we had a few discussions in class where two white students said they believe police officers get so much shit and that all of them are painted as bad due to things like the Oscar Grant case and others like his. I think they didn’t see where a black person was coming from when they talked about police brutality. These students don’t have to worry about being harassed because of their color. I mean a black person or a Mexican has a higher chance of being pulled over than a white person does.

The Sandford Open Policing Project collected and standardized over 200 million records of traffic stops and search data across the United States. This project data had reported officers stop and search black and Hispanic drivers based on little evidence compared to what they require to stop and search white drivers. It’s said that white drivers are more likely found with illegal things. For example, if someone is pulled over for speeding and they are black they’re 20% more likely to get a ticket instead of a warning, Hispanics are 30% more likely to be ticketed than white drivers. Black and Hispanic are twice as likely to be searched compared to someone who is white. (Colorlines) I included this because it all goes back to the whole white privilege aspect of the Dream. I’ve heard many cases of a white police officer shooting. A black driver in their car because they “feared” for their life. For example, there was a man who got pulled over and the officer asked for his I.D. and registration as the man reached for his glove department to get his papers, he was shot dead because the officer thought he was reaching for a gun and he feared for his life. This officer was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 3-year probation, but he was given credit for 17 months for pleading guilty. In the video that was shown you can see the black male trying to follow his orders, the officer’s lawyers then said it was because of his PTSD. This is completely dumb he should have been given the full 20 years because he shouldn’t have returned to work until he was fully mentally stable, due to this a man lost his life for no good reason.

Coates’s book and his version of the Dream seems to be hard for many to accept at that time. Coates says at the beginning of the book “American does not claim the banal. America believes itself exceptional, the greatest and noblest nation to ever exist…” (8) This to me is crazy to think that people believe this country is great. How can it be great when people who hold a title such as the police and president and at the point of time other white people have destroyed a large number of black bodies are never held accountable for their actions and to this day they still aren’t? White people are always given the benefit of the doubt whereas black people are seen as if they deserved everything bad that has happened to them. I see it a lot today in current times especially at work sometimes a black teen or adult comes on and has the hoodie on, and the store managers will announce “Security scan all cameras please” but when the role is reversed they say nothing and its ALWAYS their white customers stealing. An employee had even falsely accused a little black boy of coming in all the time and stealing and the managers said a vague apology to the adults the boy was with and didn’t even talk to the employee who accused a little kid. There is a double standard that plays in society and race is the one many people constantly refuse to recognize but they’ll draw attention to double standards of how a boy and girl are raised like this is so crazy you would think things would have gotten better and people would respect one another but it has only gotten worse are our president promotes hate.

Between the World and Me is a real eye-opener and I got to see the real truth and got to see what has happened in that time. The way Coates uses connotative and denotative language helps illustrate and make his points clear for his readers. His use of words makes for a very strong argument that in our society we aren’t divided because of our bank account but by the color of our skin. During the time of the book Coates says the poor as well as the rich had belonged to the upper class and being part of the upper class meant they were all respected and treated as equals because they were white.

Due to these two divisions, the black body was broken continuously because they were taught had no meaning whereas a white person always had meaning. This is something that needs to change and for this change to happen people of higher power like our president and police officers need to treat everyone with respect. This hate has gone on for too long and it’s sad to think it might never come to an end. Some people fear for their life as well as their children because of all the hate, things were supposed to be better as time passed but it seems like things only got worse.

America was built on the exploitation and oppression of black people rather than freedom and equality. Though is true and many were hurt and killed because of this this does not have to be the result. We the people have to use our voice and fight for what we want and that is change. We cannot erase our past and rewrite our history though we try so hard to forget all the pain we’ve gone through to get the same rights and respect as white Americans we can fight hard to change our fate, so we don’t suffer the same fate those before us have.

Works Cited

1. Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Text Publishing Company, 2015.
2. Bulwa, Demian, and Rachel Swan. “10 Years since Oscar Grant’s Death: What Happened at Fruitvale Station?” SFChronicle.com, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec. 2018,
3. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/10-years-since-Oscar-Grant-s-death-What-13489585.php.
4. https://youtu.be/Q2LDw5l_yMI
5. Saxon, Shani. “New Report Analyzes Racial Bias in Police Traffic Stops.” Colorlines, 29 Mar. 2019, https://www.colorlines.com/articles/new-report-analyzes-racial-bias-police-traffic-stops.
6. Associated Press. “Ex-State Trooper Who Shot Unarmed Black Man Reaching for Wallet Gets 3 Years in Prison.” WCIV, WCIV, 15 Aug. 2017, https://abcnews4.com/news/crime-news/ex-state-trooper-who-shot-unarmed-black-man-reaching-for-wallet-gets-3-years-in-prison.

“The Coddling of the American Mind” written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt is an essay examining the rise of speech restrictions on college campuses, the demand for trigger warnings, and the policing of microaggressions. This book ties in with the theme of where one comes from and their core values affect their chance of getting certain jobs and learning in the classroom. The text states, “By some campus guidelines, it is a microaggression to ask an Asian American or Latino American ‘Where were you born?,’ because this implies that he or she is not a real American.”(Lukianoff and Haidt 263) This quote can be related to how different people with different identities are treated in the classroom. They can be singled out negatively or receive special treatment, for example, the previous quote. The definition of ‘microaggression’ has become distorted during this time. People believe anything to be a microaggression. Asking someone where they’re from for example is not, whatsoever, aggressive. The oversensitivity of some has created a culture where it is hard to say anything nowadays without being perceived as offensive. This is one perspective of how we can see personal identity playing a role in the college classroom.

An essay written by Coates titled “Between the World and Me” is based on Coates’s experience growing up as a black youth in Baltimore. He considers the complex connections between the streets, schools, prisons, and religions. The immense effect that race has in life is shown through the following quote, “60 percent of all young black men who drop out of school will go to jail. This should disgrace the country.”(Coates 93) This fact should not be. We have to ask the question of why are they dropping out in the first place and why are they ending up in jail. Do they not have enough support around them or from their community? Are they not receiving the same opportunities? Among racial and ethnic groups, African Americans have the highest poverty rate, 27.4 percent, followed by Hispanics at 26.6 percent and whites at 9.9 percent. This creates a cycle that many can’t seem to escape. Kids who come from low-income areas are 2.5 times more likely to drop out than middle-income kids. Unlike kids from wealthier families, for whom school is usually the primary focus, poorer students must focus on other responsibilities. School becomes secondary, if it’s a priority at all. The majority are lower income, not necessarily living in poverty, but come from struggling families. Many are kids of color. A study shows that ‘Young men who grow up in homes without fathers are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families…those boys whose fathers were absent from the household had double the odds of being incarcerated — even when other factors such as race, income, parent education, and urban residence were held constant.’ (Harper C, McLanahan SS.2004.) This cycle needs to be broken. Another reason the dropout rate is so high is because of the reason, “No one cared if I attended or not.” As a student in high school, you usually don’t see the bigger picture or think about how school actually can benefit you. If one does not have a support system, they don’t have anyone to help them make important decisions. Leading education theories suggest the experience of going to school could be greatly improved if teachers and principals took a more personalized approach. If kids felt like their specific problems were being heard and their interests explored, the school would no longer feel like the boring and irrelevant institution many see it as today. I agree with this, a lot of the time I felt as if my teachers did not care if I succeeded or not. This is another perspective of how personal identity affects life in the classroom.

One’s identity has a major influence on how one perceives others, their self-esteem, and self-confidence. The personal strengths people develop as well as their degree of resilience when facing difficulties, may strongly influence their identity or be the result of their identity. The choices and priorities students embrace are to some extent a reflection of the factors making up their racial/ethnic identity. In my experience, one’s identity has an immense effect on educational opportunities. In the past, I have experienced better treatment just because I am a female. For example, I had two teachers in high school who only allowed females to use the bathroom during class. I understand their reasoning behind doing this, but I also think that it is extremely unfair. I also understand that doing this is not as serious compared to most situations, but it is still a form of gender-affecting education. Some more serious events have occurred where a group of students would get in trouble for using tobacco products in the bathroom. There have been multiple instances where the one darker student in the group received a more severe punishment for whatever reason. The school may have had its reasons behind this, but this occurring more than once makes it suspicious. Physical identity can also affect careers. Of around 3,000 people surveyed by Salary, 76% of respondents feel tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview. And more than one-third-39% of those surveyed believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers. Even though tattoos and piercings are quite popular, according to these facts, they are still associated with having low character and being uneducated. One’s personal identity and upbringing can affect how we perceive others’ physical identity and what they represent.

All in all, personal identity plays a huge role in educational and career opportunities. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly judging other people based on how they look, their gender, and so on. Using the information from “Coddling of the American Mind” and “Between the World and Me,” we can see the role personal identity plays in and outside of the classroom. Further research needs to be done on why it plays such an immense role in career opportunities and the stigma attached to physical identities.

Slavery is the social practice in which someone has property rights over another person, who is consequently called a slave. For a long time, slaves were considered a product. Prices changed according to physical conditions, professional skills, sex, age, etc. The only aspect that did not change was their color; they were all black. In present times, this topic is one of the most discussed by the population. Due to the need to bring awareness, messages, and lessons are being delivered during the whole year through diverse ways of communication. While both Between The World and Me and MHATB portray the reality of races in America, Ta-Nehisi Coates uses two literary devices while Athol Fugard uses two of the protagonists to represent inequality as a legacy of slavery.

First of all, In Between the World and Me, the author makes sure to use imagery and irony while repeating the word “slavery” six times and giving impactful examples throughout the article. Both literary devices are characterized as a vehicle that Athol Fugard found to convey the profound truth about slavery and how it has developed over the decades. Choosing as the scenario, a world-affirming passion for freedom, Fugard uses a woman being enslaved by members of society. This portrayal, initially, evokes a feeling of indignation due to its irony. The

community should be asking itself why it does not accomplish what it claims to be its principles. As he continues to describe, he expands his example with a flowchart of slavery, including the mother, father, and daughter of the woman used as an example. Her past was full of slavery, and her future will not have a different path. These ways of transmitting the message help the readers understand how veiled society is about racism and its roots. Racism is precisely what encompasses the entire context of this article. The father is concerned about the inequality that haunts black people, and he has a desire to warn his daughter about this.

Moreover, it would be extremely ignorant to affirm that the white people alive in the present days are guilty of the slavery that occurred in the past. However, it is undeniable that these same people have advantages because they are white, considered the supremacy color. In MHATB, the occurrence of white privilege is indirectly exposed to the readers/viewers. Hally, the white, intelligent, and rich boy, son of the establishment owner, is a contrast to Sam, the South African worker, who, in his turn, is black and poor. Together, they are a symbolic representation of hierarchy and racism. The racial tension between the characters is evident since the beginning of the play with the given roles they have. Not to mention that the context of the period in which the game was written influences the perception of the piece. In 1950, the racial segregation in South America was real; the population was divided into four groups: black, white, colored, and Indian. Following all the aspects visible, all this systematic and institutionalized racism is undoubtedly the result of slavery and its roots.

Furthermore, coming back to the story itself, analyzing Hally’s and Sam’s positions, it is clear that the credit for being successful should go to Hally’s father, because, working, he conquered his establishment. However, it is inevitable to remember that the conditions for white

and black people differ entirely. Sam, as smart as he is, must have had primary education or even learned everything himself. On the other hand, his boss probably had a higher quality of education, which explains why he is successful. This is the reality of white and black people in a spectrum that includes the whole world. This spectrum is the consequence of slavery, meaning that along with these last-mentioned criteria of education, many other elements were removed from what is considered black rights.

To conclude, the exploration of the two texts through the presented lenses is significant because we have to recognize some of the effects that slavery had and still has on the world. Everything is not always as superficial and straightforward as it seems; many aspects are more in-depth and need greater comprehension. Texts like In Between the World and Me and MHATB are examples of how this topic can be explored through different methods and perspectives. Furthermore, slavery is an issue that still occurs behind the scenes and affects millions of people around the world. It has never been entirely eradicated. Lastly, inequality as the legacy of slavery is a compelling problem that needs to be dealt with; by analyzing how it is inserted in texts that sometimes go unnoticed by the population’s perception. The best way to fight something is by knowing it in my heart.