Racism Similarities and Differences In Two Essays

In the two essays, â€Å"Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space† by Brent Staples and â€Å"I’m Not Racist But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  by Neil Bissoondath, there are both differences and similarities. The two authors differ in their opinion on the causes of racism and life experiences involving racism, but are similar in regards to the use of stereotypes in the world In Brent Staples’ opinion, causes of racism are derived from fear and the insufficient knowledge that a person might have about another that may cause them to be racist. In his piece, he writes, â€Å"Another time I was on assignment for a local paper and killing time before an interview. I entered a jewellery store on the city’s affluent Near North Side. The proprietor excused†¦show more content†¦In this case, the mover was prejudging all Chinese people to generalize that they cannot drive properly because of the shape of their eyes. The action of prejudgi ng someone based on their outer appearance is damaging and creates racism between different people, cultures and countries. In Brent Staples’ life, he has had many life experiences dealing with racism and has experienced racism first hand. Relaying these personal experiences is what he chose to write about in his essay. A life experience that Brent Staples shared is, â€Å"My first victim was a woman - white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties. I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighbourhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago†¦. She cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into he pockets of a bulky military jacket-seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street.† (StaplesShow MoreRelatedThemes and Characters of Coffee for the Road by Alex la Guma, The Green Leaves by Grace Ogot and See me in me Benz and Ting by Hazel D. Campbell826 Words   |  4 Pagesfocus in this essay. This essay will centre around three stories, Coffee for the Road by Alex la Guma, The Green Leaves by Grace Ogot and See me in me Benz and Ting by Hazel D. Campbell. I will also make sure to focus and explore characterisation and setting and furthermore whilst analysing a fiction piece, to take into account the background of the writer. After comparing the short stories it has become clear that they all share numerous similarities and few differencesRead MoreBooker T Dubois Compare And Contrast Essay1110 Words   |  5 PagesCompromise vs. Conflict The stark differences between Booker T Washington and W.E.B. DuBois and their approaches to racism Do you believe that slow and steady wins the race, or that when talking about civil rights the sooner the better? Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two very influential people who fought for the rights of African Americans in the late 1880’s to early 1900’s. Although both men were fighting for the same thing, their views on how to approach equality and their personalRead MoreMinorities Affected By Civil And Equal Rights965 Words   |  4 PagesA-Changin† is a lyrical poem written by Bob Dylan. â€Å"The Fear of Losing a Culture’ is an auto-biographical essay written by Richard Rodriguez. Both of these literary works have a shared theme of change and social conflict. However, both works were written at different times in history. There are similarities as well as differences between the two works. The shared theme of change for these two works is the change that is taking place in America concerning black Americans and civil rights in â€Å"The TimesRead MorePleasantville s Insight Of Reality900 Words   |  4 PagesPleasantville’s Insight of Reality Pleasantville takes place during the 1990s in which the two main characters David and Jennifer get sucked into the 1950s sitcom Pleasantville. The movie has many deep themes however, one major theme was the similarities between the treatment of the â€Å"colored† in Pleasantville and minority groups such as blacks in America during the 50s and 60s. There are two more groups that also had similar treatments to that of the† colored† in Pleasantville and the real worldRead MorePolitical Leadership And Its Effects On African Americans1393 Words   |  6 PagesAmerica. The two political leaders advocated for the provision of human rights to the black people and to the end of oppression, mistreatment and discrimination in America. Booker T. was born in the early 1850s, he later becomes a political activist in fighting for the human right. Additionally, W.E.B Du Bois, was born on 1860s, Dubois was later a well-known, American activist, and a pan-Africanist. However, the two leaders ways of calling for their grievances, was faced with the differences between theirRead MoreTraditional Practices And Other Cultural Beliefs1748 Words   |  7 Pagesto play a key role in ruining people’s dreams. Raised in a society that sticks to its traditions means that one has to fight the battle of cultural norms and requirements of the modern society. Patricia Cardosa brings out issues of family values, racism and social expectations of women in the film ‘Real Women have Curves’. In the film, women are required by society or their families to fulfill specific family values against their wish. On the other hand, Villanueva raises similar issues in his autoethnographyRead MoreLEQ1206 Words   |  5 Pagesopposed to humans. Discrimination and racism were all too prevalent with the development of slavery and led to brutal treatment of many Africans. Slaves were beaten, sometimes without a reason. They were denied rights such as property, voting, a nd education. They were viewed as complete property of the landowners and their children were not even exempt from living the life of a slave. The development of the Atlantic slave trade system led to a growth of racism in the South and this problem will continueRead MoreHarlem And The Harlem Renaissance1430 Words   |  6 Pagesfaced. Although, racism and pain of oppression brought many Blacks to Harlem, it was clear that once they were there the black experiences was different for each individual. This could be seem especially in the expression the art, the messages that they wanted to convey, the feelings that they had about this issues that affected them. No two artiest, writers or poets were the same, but instead when looking at their work we see what the reality of being black was to them. In this essay, I will compareRead MoreComparison on the Movie and the Book To Kill a Mockingbird Essay847 Words   |  4 PagesAs most everyone knows, there are differences between a book and it’s movie adaptation. This is applicable to the book and it’s movie counterpart To Kill a Mockingbird, as well. But aside from the differences, there are also similarities between these two. The similarities are quite apparent, the movie plot mainly follows the basic plot that the book took, leaving the viewer’s with a sense of accomplishment, as this is sometimes not achieved in the highest degree. Scout still has a brother, JemRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1540 Words   |  7 Pagessays, â€Å"He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? (24-26). When they finally have a baby, they notice that the child is showing marks that he is a mix of two races. The husband blames the wife because of her unknown past and sends her and the baby away for good. Later, as he is cleaning out their old stuff, he finds a letter that says, in fact, he is the one of mixed race and not her. The husband then realizes