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This Amazing, Troubling Book by: Toni Morrison

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This Amazing, Troubling Book by: Toni Morrison

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Toni Morrison's review of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. One major theme Morrison touched on was censorship of the book. She says, "elementary kind of censorship designed to appease adults rather than educate children... band-aid the solution" (1). She's saying that in America, adults and other authoritative figures cover up the truth of what happens in everyday lives in America, and it isn't because students are uneducated on the present issues in our country, it's because students don't have a chance to be educated on them in the first place. She also says, "The cyclical attempts to remove the novel from classrooms extend Jim's captivity on into each generation of readers" (4). Here, Morrison is referring to the impact of book on the society as a whole. She says that the attempt to censor the book, and many other issues in the world, is what has caused the racism and discrimination to continue. In other words, the censorship of racism and the truth of poor treatment towards blacks is the reason the issue continues and will continue, because people who aren't educated on the issue at hand can never fully fix it. Morrison's personal connections to the novel supports, in a different view point, that racism is still an issue in America.

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Ice Cube Schools Bill Maher on the N-Word: 'That's Our Word Now. And You Can't Have It Back.'

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Ice Cube Schools Bill Maher on the N-Word: 'That's Our Word Now. And You Can't Have It Back.'

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This article shows how people, especially white people, throw the word around without a thought, and the backlash it can have. Ice Cube, a black actor, acted very maturely against a white man who used the n-word. Ice Cube said, "It's a word that has been used against us; it's like a knife, man. And you can use it as a weapon, or you can use it as a tool. It's been used as a weapon against us by white people, and we're not gonna let that happen again by nobody..." The word has been used as a way to hurt black people for many years, and when white people today use it, it's still believed that to hurt is the motive. However, black people use too, and, according to Ice Cube, it's, "our word now. That's our word now. And you can't have it back. I know they're tryin' to get it back," in reference to white people using the word. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the use of the n-word was thrown around in description of black people , because that was just "what they were" which was degrading and inhumane. Following that, the use of the word was to hurt someone. And now, it's used by black people. In other words, black people use it to minimize the meaning of the word, because it they use it, it can't hurt them, even if white people want to use it that way, black people won't let them. This article shows that black people are still standing up to those who degrade them and racism that still exists in the United States.

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Recognition of racism growing in US, says poll. What's fueling the shift? by: Kelsey Warner Staff

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Recognition of racism growing in US, says poll. What's fueling the shift? by: Kelsey Warner Staff

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CNN conducted a poll to which resulted in more people saying racism exists than that of two years ago and even two decades ago. This poll raised that question: Is racism getting worse, or is public awareness growing? In my opinion, I feel that racism has always existed and that it's not an increase in racism, but an increase in actions regarding racism making its existence more apparent. According to the article, Ms. Aust was a participant in the poll, and she said, as a daughter and niece of police officers, "'What's not helping is the police are getting off with a slap on the wrist. ... If it was me, and I was black, and this was happening in my community, I would be furious." After reading that, I agree. I feel that the police do get away with numerous incidents of racial brutality. Also, in this article, it's brought to the readers' attention of other incidents of racial discrimination and racist actions. For example, "a white man grabbed the headscarf of a Muslim woman in a campus parking lot and made racist comments." This is just one of many stories like this that show the racism in American society, and this supports the theory that racism has moved sideways through the years.

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"White Supremacy Signs Appear on Boston College Campus"

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"White Supremacy Signs Appear on Boston College Campus"

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With signs stating, "don't apologize for being white" appearing, and a "black lives matter" poster being defaced  couple days earlier on Boston College Campus, the students felt the need to protest. This incident happening gives yet another example of the racism that still exists in the world today. One student even believes that "the administration at Boston College hasn't been doing as much as they can to support black people." Racism incidents happen everyday, sadly, which only goes to support that racism in American society has not decreased; that it has stayed the same.

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Racist Signs Appear at Boston College Ahead of Protest

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Two signs that appear to support white supremacy are causing a controversy on the campus of Boston College.

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Danez Smith and his performance using slam poetry, and with his words, impacted everyone around him and everyone that continues to listen to them. What he said was incredibly powerful, by the main idea he pointed out was that white people simply don't care about the wellbeing of blacks. He said, “I tried white people, I tried to love you all, but you spent my brothers funeral making plans for brunch talking too loud next to his bones." This was powerful because he's saying that white people don't care about the death of a black person. On another occasion, Smith says, “I left a patch of dirt in my place and many of you won’t know the difference, give it my name if it makes you feel better." Here, not only is he saying that a white man views a black man and a pile of dirt the same, he's telling the white man to call the pile of dirt by the name of the black man it's replacing. This is because it's convenient for the white person and it makes them "feel better". Which, in other words, is just saying that the lives of black people accommodate to the lives of white people, and for whites. Lastly, one more statement Smith makes, referring to white people, is “and ask ‘why does it always have to be about race?’ because you made it that way. put an asterisk next to my sister’s gorgeous face call her pretty for a black girl because black girls go missing without a whisper of where because there are no Amber Alerts for the amber skinned girls." This goes to prove that white people are hypocritical with asking why race is always involved, but they're the ones that make it that way. Also, white people see that they must label blacks separately from whites because they are "different" in the eyes of whites. According to this video, racism today still exists and there's still major separation between white people and other ethnicities, whether it is visible or not. This supports the theory that racism in America has just moved sideways.

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Sherman Alexie used this short story to tell about education of an Indian for every grade level from first to twelfth. The two most important quotes were, first, "In the third grade, though, I stood alone in the corner, faced the wall, and waited for the punishment to end. I’m still waiting." This quote impacts the story, because since he wrote this as an adult, and he says he's still waiting for his punishment to be over, it is implying that in the world today racism is still occurring and discrimination too. The second important quote was, "That was Randy, my soon-to-be first and best friend, who taught me the most valuable lesson about living in the white world: Always throw the first punch." This is very bold to say, such that he refers to this as a "white world", which is flat out saying that white is believed superior and people of all ethnicities are not equals. This supports the beliefs that racism in America still exists and has moved sideways.

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FIRST GRADE / My hair was too short and my U.S. Government glasses were horn-rimmed, ugly, and all that first winter in school, the other Indian boys chased me from one corner of

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Steven Taylor uses his poem as a way to comment on how racism hasn't changed, but the image of it has. For example, he says, "Those men who once wore hoods and robes,
Today wear shirts and ties" (3-4). He's supporting the thesis that racism has moved sideways, or plateaued. This poem also shares ideas that racism is in the press, in politics, schools, banks, courthouses, and more. Another way Taylor makes it evident that racism hasn't changed is by saying, "Black folks convinced that all is well
have certainly been fooled" (15-16), which is implying that the world isn't changing, and neither is racism. In other words, this poem is another way of supporting the belief that racism has moved sideways, if anything at all.

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The racist cloaks his loathing thoughts
behind deceiving eyes
Those men who once wore hoods and robes
Today wear shirts and ties

Their methods changed but yet and still,
Their mission is the same
Today they lynch with politics,
the racist's favorite game

Divide and conquer is their plan
to keep minorities
From seeing that the forest lies
just shortly past the trees

Racism lurks within the press,
courthouses, banks and schools
Black folks convinced that all is well
have certainly been fooled

A racist underground exists,
a chilling fact indeed
They seek to kill, steal and destroy,
We can't let them succeed

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THE LAST REMNANT OF SANITY BIDS YOU ADIEU

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Racism Today Poem by Steven Taylor - Poem Hunter

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The racist cloaks his loathing thoughts behind deceiving eyesThose men who once wore hoods and robes Today wear shirts and ties Their methods changed but yet and still, Their mission is the sameToday they lynch with politics, the racist's favorite game Divide and conquer is their plan to keep minoritiesFrom seeing that the forest lies just shortly past the trees Racism lurks within the press, courthouses, banks and schoolsBlack folks convinced that all is well have certainly been fooled A racist underground exists, a chilling fact indeedThey seek to kill, steal and destroy, We can't let them succeed

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The N-Word: An Interactive Project to Explore A Singular Word

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The N-Word: An Interactive Project to Explore A Singular Word

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In this interactive experiment, I watched two videos. In the first video, it featured two men named Byron and Erik. In the second video, two men of color, discussed the same topic. Tehran said that we, the people, are the reason it’s separated. For example, we say “that white kid” instead of just “that kid”. He also said, “white is just American, but black is African-American. Now we’re adding a hyphen, now we’re separating what type of American this person is, but now our generation is just simply saying white, black, whatever. It’s very common for us. We’re not seeing color the same.” After seeing these two different videos and opinions, It was clear to me the different attitudes towards the n-word exist. For example, older generations see the n-word as something that should never be said and used only when intentionally trying to hurt someone. However, younger people experiencing our generation see the world as it is. Using this source, it displays that the view on race in America has plateaued, and that the world is still separated, but that our generation uses the word differently.

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Explore perspectives.
Select three to see a custom video.

Start your own conversation

Add a question or use one of the submitted questions to start a conversation with your social network. (Note: The n-word has not been filtered from submissions.)

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n-word; donte stallworth; neal brennan; dave chappelle show; nfl; national football leagues bans nword; nfl bans the nword; nigger; nigga; nigger vs nigga; kkk; ku klux klan; jay z; oprah;

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The n-word: An interactive project exploring a singular word

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After the National Football League made the controversial decision to ban the n-word on the field this year, a team of Washington Post journalists explored the history of the word, its evolution and its place in American vernacular today.

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"Most Americans Think Their Own Group Faces Discrimination"

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"Most Americans Think Their Own Group Faces Discrimination"

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According to this article, the author polled whites, blacks, Native Americans, LGBTQ adults, Asian-Americans, and Latinos. After discovering that discrimination is still existing today from the treatment of blacks by police officers, to the treatment in the doctor's office. This research leads to the belief that race and freedom have moved neither backwards nor forwards, and has plateaued. I see this because these results, "provide insight into the historically high levels of discrimination blacks have faced since arriving in America," thus it can't be described as getting better or getting worse. Similar in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it was the common knowledge that blacks, no matter if they were free, would be considered a slave or accused of Runaways, or even just believed to be the cause of trouble, which, according to this article, is apparent that people still treat them the same, but in a slightly different way.

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Majorities in many ethnic, identity and racial groups in America believe that discrimination exists against their own group, across many areas of people's daily lives, according to a poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The poll asked a wide range of questions about where Americans experience discrimination - from the workplace to the doctor's office - and people's perception of it. The groups polled include whites, blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ adults.

White Americans are among those who feel their group is discriminated against, with 55 percent saying discrimination exists against whites in the U.S. today.

These results are part of a large national statistically representative survey of 3,453 adults from Jan. 26 to Apr. 9.

We will be releasing the full results of the poll over the next several weeks, starting Tuesday with results from the survey of African-Americans. We will highlight and analyze the particular acts of discrimination that each group experiences.

The African-American results, in 802 adults, provide insight into the historically high levels of discrimination blacks have faced since arriving in America. These experiences happen across a broad range of situations: interacting with police; applying for jobs or seeking promotions; trying to rent an apartment or buy a home; or going to a doctor or health clinic.

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The findings on African-Americans have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The perceptions of discrimination are not primarily based in actions by institutions, as some might expect. "Most African-Americans believe that discrimination is due to the attitudes of individuals that they interact with," says Robert Blendon, the poll's director and professor of policy and political analysis at the Harvard Chan School. "A smaller share believes it's actually government or institutional policies."

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Fear of discrimination, possibly triggered by past encounters, plays out in different ways. We found that this fear significantly influences people's decisions whether to seek medical care, to call the police when in need, and even whether to drive or attend social events. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of African-Americans polled said they have personally experienced racial discrimination when going to the doctor or a health clinic, with 22 percent avoiding care out of fear of discrimination.

"If someone is avoiding seeking medical care out of fear of discrimination, they're at risk of going undiagnosed for serious conditions," says Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "We know that repeated stress from discrimination and racism can actually make some of those conditions more likely in the first place and shorten lives."

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And repeated stress comes from many kinds of discrimination and the fear it engenders. Numerous studies have shown that African-Americans are more likely to be stopped by police compared with other racial groups. In the poll, 60 percent of people told us that they or a family member have been unfairly stopped or mistreated by police because they are black.

That has consequences for them personally and across society - 31 percent of poll respondents say fear of discrimination has led them to avoid calling the police when in need. And 61 percent say police are more likely to use force on a person who is African-American than on a white person in the same situation.

Where people live can make a big difference, too. Our survey found that 64 percent of blacks live in non-majority-black areas. For these people, perceptions of local discrimination, opportunity, police and government and community environment were generally better when compared with majority-black areas, sometimes by wide margins.

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Our poll found substantial numbers of African-Americans who say they have been slurred or have been the target of insensitive or offensive comments or negative assumptions. A story later in our series will explore the split by income and gender in the chart below.

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Persistently higher premature death rates in blacks compared with whites was one of the issues that inspired this poll and series. The most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that gap at 16 percent, even though it has narrowed since 1999, when death rates for blacks from all causes were 33 percent higher than whites.

Many factors play into the gap, including a considerable drop in crime rates involving African-Americans over that period and improved access to medical care for many people. What we're trying to explore with our "You, Me and Them" series and poll is how the stress-inducing experiences of discrimination in everyday life affect health.

"Over 200 black people die prematurely every single day in America, in part because of racism in society," says David Williams, a professor of public health at the Harvard Chan School who has pioneered work in the field of racial disparities in health care. "This poll helps us see where we need to take action to address the problem."

The poll was conducted in the first quarter of 2017. A final report discussing major highlights from the series will be released in December.

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Poll: Most Americans Think Their Own Group Faces Discrimination

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Majorities in many ethnic, identity and racial groups in America believe that discrimination exists against their own group, across many areas of people's daily lives, according to a poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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This poem is about a girl who meets this woman in dire need of help, and they are instantly connected by their shared language.All people waiting for this delayed flight were bonding because of one batch of cookies and some apple juice, and where, "not a single person in that gate seemed apprehensive about any other person." The author said that, "this is the world I want to live in. The shared world," referring to the bond and happiness all those people shared that day. At the end of the poem, however, she says, "this can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost." This shows her faith in the world and the people that everyone can treat each other like this, however it also shows the truth that this doesn't exist and thus supporting that race and freedom haven't moved, and it has stayed the same or, in other words, moved sideways. In my opinion, I feel that many people believe that they WANT the world to be how it was in that airport, however it's not a matter of what people want, but more of what people are willing to change. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck subconsciously wished that Jim wasn't treated the way he was, and that people saw the type of man Jim was: a good man.

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User account The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets.