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                            Black Boy

Analytical Text-Based Essay on the End of Racism through "Black Boy" by
Richard Wright

	Around 2000 B.C., Egyptians enslaved Jews in bondage like caged
animals because they were targeted as a lesser race and thus chosen for
labor. Just 1500 years later, the Jews themselves were the culprits of
racism labeling the very association with Samaritans as a deep sin. In
1861_1865, the United States divided brother against brother in one of its
bloodiest battles of all time over black slavery.
	Racism survives not simply as an intangible historic fable but as
a real modern problem, also. In current civilization Arab Palestinians war
with Israelis to find a homeland; the Ku Klux Klan draws its biggest
membership influx in over 20 years; and in the U.S. where freedom reigns,
Americans have never to date voted a person into the president's office
who was not a white male. Denny's restaurants, Texaco gas stations, and
Avis car rental are a few of the number of national companies accused of
extolling racism in this "apartheid America." Although less subtle in the
lives of Americans then, racism also thrived in the souls of people living
during the 1920's. Even though the war on slavery was over in the battle
fields, white racists were blood thirsty lions at heart, as was
demonstrated in the book Black Boy.
	The setting of Black Boy is in the deep south of Jackson,
Mississippi where whites attempted to tame into submission blacks by hard
discipline. Such was the case for Richard in Black Boy, his autobiography.
It seemed that the more Richard gained success, the more he was hurt. In
Black Boy, Richard is abused by whites because he reminds the whites of
their lack of identity and failure to meet society's expectations.  Their
lives became bland and their world became, "bleak and  undeniable." (193)
The largeness, the coldness, and squalor of the world to the white
racists then and now are mountains of pain that the racists can not scale.
Like a motherless child, they feel lost and not cared for by a world with
all of those conditions. They lose their individuality and then their self_
esteem. Those whites took the hate and despair that they received, and
punished blacks, a weaker race, with harsh discipline. When Reynolds and
Pease ganged up on Richard, Richard did, "feel no hate for the men who
had driven [him] from the job. They were not individual men, but part of a
huge implacable, elemental design." (229) By teaming up on blacks like
Pease and Reynolds did to Richard, whites are able to unite and find power
in numbers, and in turn satisfy their human need for pride. Richard was
commanded to distinguish the separation Hand does lead to the separation
of the races, and coupled with the ego that the white man at the optical
company demonstrated about one's race results in racism. The cycle of
racism ends in the action of transferring that pain against those who had
identities. This was true for Richard's Uncle Hoskins as he, "had been
killed by whites who had long coveted his flourishing liquor
business."(63) The whites began to hate the blacks, thus delivering the
same hate to the blacks that they themselves felt they received from
society. This end hate regenerates the system by leaving the blacks with
no identities, and so they started, "transferring their hatred of
themselves to others with a black skin and fighting." (298)  Identity
plays a part in racism, but the deterioration of identity has its roots
in external strain including that of society. Richard saw the breakdown of
character by pressures in Don, a worker at the optical company whose,
"position was not much better than offhand, bantering way." (289)
Therefore the whites' identity crisis as a result of the perceived great
expectations and the individual's weakness combine to further ware away
the individual to racism.
	At early childhood, Richard remained blocked from the molding of
society, and so did not elicit a distinction between blacks and whites.
Richard described them as, "merely people like other people." (27) At
childhood, Richard found the truth_all peoples seemed somewhat equal.
Whites were humbled by the revelation that they were just normal, not the
heroes of their dreams. Whites domination over blacks was apparent in
Richard's life as he described the horrendous beating of a black woman who
did not pay her bills, and his later match with a car of white boys. The
white boys demonstrated their superiority, even telling Richard in a cocky
manner, "You're a lucky bastard, 'cause if you'd said that to some other
white man, you might've been a dead nigger now." (214) Their personal
value dropped when they found that they weren't necessarily the absolute
best at everything, since black Richard could succeed also, and so they
wanted to regain their prestige or respect for themselves that they had.
Their most readily available grounds for success was their racial
domination over others. Therefore, they must have actively participated in
racism as a need to show that they are better than others. This quality
projects into the boys' throwing the bottle at Richard. The shear fact
that others might rival whites' power depressed them. Richard's principal,
may be considered black or white, but it makes little difference as he was
obviously molded by white values. The principal goes as far as to threaten
not to allow Richard to graduate if he does not conform to the principal's
views, forcing upon Richard this aggrandizement. Even though the
knowledge remained concealed, the whites were confronted with the truth
that they were just humans+and the whole stature that they have built
around their beings. Because others matched up to whites, it forced them
to no longer totally ignore the unconscious acknowledgment of equality.
Thus racists tried to defeat others as Richard's principal did to fulfill
the expectations of excellence, and to dismiss the hurting truth of their
mediocrity. Each assemblage tried targeting one another in this social
hierarchy. But particularly aimed at were those who rose victorious and
defied statistics or standards thus being reminders of others' failure;
people who were similar to Richard's characteristics. Whites hated him
because he undermined their self_esteem as someone could be better than
they were, and in particular a black. Whites hated him because he even
proved that they were not perfect racists, and that their racism was not
foolproof. He was able to rise against submission, white power, and white
pride. He saw through the white lies, and the truth that he unveiled 
stands out as the champion that dismantles the system. Then, is society
racist?
	Society consists of its individuals, and so the people within it
can determine the answer to that question. But, society does represent the
individual. Society tries to create an identity for itself, much like the
common man. A society needs the pride that the individual needs. In order
to accumulate that pride, societies often have to be exclusive. Then, the
question emerges on how humans can change society. This is not the first
nor the last time the question will arise, although there is a general
solution reiterated in the echoes of history and in the cries of the
world's posterity. Great teachers from Jesus to Confucius have preached
the golden rule, the principle of loving thy neighbor as thyself, and it
being more blessed to give than to receive. While sounding "high" and
idealistic, these two principles have many everyday applications. An
obvious way to join the fight+Victory World Organization, or Youth Against
Racism in Europe. Many of these groups are involved simply in education in
the hope that by educating the public on the true differences of race,
comfort between the races may be accomplished thus ending racism. In
simply helping out a neighbor with his groceries, cleaning up a park, or
donating time at a local charity, racism dies. By feeling self_imposed
humility, the person gets a sense of gratification in his life. He now
knows that he has a good reason to keep going. Eventually the person will
also receive that same love from others. Therefore, a new source for
positive gratification and love is created, making racism obsolete.
	These principles have not been fully successful as people are
naturally more willing to be lethargic than active, more likely to be
followers than leaders, usually submit rather than stand up for themselves.
They need courage. The courage must come from the love within, it must be
true courage. For some, it doesn't come naturally, but with one strong
foot forward, and a heart for others, racism can be defeated and the world
can live in peace and equality.

  Word Count: 1351