Analysis of Richard

Throughout the book Black Boy, Richard has done a good job of voicing his opinion when he sees something he doesn't like. One example being when his female friend was slapped on the butt by a white man who was walking by. But in one incident, Richard gives in to something that he did not want to do initially and that's what makes me upset.

One day Richard is told by his White boss that a black boy named Harrison that works across the street doesn't like Richard and is waiting for Richard with a knife. Richard doesn't believe this nonsense and confronts Harrison about it to find out that Harrison's White boss told him the exact same thing about Richard. Both the boys know that their bosses' stories are lies and continue to act as if they were real.

One day, they find out that their bosses want them to fight each other and Richard is reluctant at first. Initially Richard didn't want to fight because dogs fight and he didn't want to give anyone a reason to view him as a dog. But when Harrison tells him that their bosses already view them as dogs because they are both Black, and that he and Richard would make five dollars, he agrees to fight Harrison just to please both of their bosses.

I believe that this act degraded Richard that much more because that let his boss and all the other White viewers of the fight that he viewed himself as a dog. I believe that it's one thing for someone to view yourself as a dog for no reason and that it's another thing to give someone a reason to view yourself as a dog.

On Being a Mexican American

In On Being a Mexican American, Joe Mendoza tried to forget his past and upbringings as a Mexican by becoming anglicized. The act of becoming anglicized means to accept the English culture and language. He states that when he was anglicized, he felt “accepted”. I do not agree that this is what America or being an American is about. I believe that Joe Mendoza really wanted to appear and believe he was American because of the way he was treated, both as an adult and a child, as a Mexican. He states that once he joined the U.S. Army, he was “completely removed from Mexican culture” and that he had “arrived”. America is known for being a huge melting pot or a salad bowl as others like to call it. America is the home to thousands upon thousands of immigrants and legal citizens with different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. If everyone became anglicized like Joe Mendoza, America would not be what it is today. Being an American is about embracing who you are and where you come from and in this essay, Mendoza wants to disregard his Mexican upbringing.

King Still King?

According to Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary, a king is "one whose position is hereditary and who rules for life". Dr. King stood for equality for all nationalities and although that may not have been carried out in the 60's it is now. I believe Dr. King is still King because his words, his speeches, and his way of nonviolent protests are still present today.

In "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", he states that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I believe he means that if you let injustice occur once, it will happen again, and soon it will be an accepted idea and will be continuosly practiced like a bad habit. Many people believe that he should have waited for a better time to have his protests. When he delayed his plans once, people advised him to do the same multiple times. Finally he had to learn that you can't please anyone and that "justice too long delayed is justice denied". Injustice is no longer tolerated by anyone.

An example of this was the Jena Six. Nooses were hung the day after some African- American students sat underneath a tree that white students often sat under. No one whould allow this example of unjustice to happen. This shows how Dr. King's example of standing up for your rights are alive today.

His nonviolent protests were admired by many. Many people wondered how someone who was mistreated by whites did not hate them physically, but instead loved them. He chose nonviolent protests because he felt that "nonviolence demands that the means we use are as pure as the ends we seek." I think he knew that if they burned down houses, and started riots to reach their demands, many people would have only seen them as angry black people causing a riot, instead of their brothers and sisters standing up for what they believe is right. If Dr. King, and other civil rights activists caused a riot, they would have been jailed and they would not have been people admired today. I also believe that he did not want to stoop to the white man's level because fighting fire with fire does not put out the fire. Fighting fire with water does.

A clear and evident reason on why I believe Dr. King is still king because every generation on Americans learn about him and Rosa Parks. I learned about them in third grade, my kids will, their kids will and so on. His name is etched in history books across America and his birthday is a national holiday. So if you ask me, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is still and will forever be king!

This Sacred Soil Response

In this essay, a Native American compares and contrasts natives like him and The White/Red Man. In one part of his essay, he asks "How then can we be brothers".

He says that the White Man's God has written their religion in stone whereas his "religion" are traditions passed down from his ancestors. When he says this, I believe he is trying to say that his religion is better than the white man's religion because it was written in stone so that they "could not forget" it. Instead, his religion is better because no one forced his people to remember it; they chose to remember and continue practicing their ancestors' traditions.

He also says the white man's "God makes [them] stronger every day.” He also compares how their God protects them like "a father leads his infant son". He believes that the white man's God "hates" him and his people because white men continue to fill the land whereas his people "are ebbing away".

I believe that he has been wondering why his people are mistreated when they honor their God and care for their deceased family members. I believe he feels as if the White man is not grateful of his heritage (the fact that their religion had to be written down so they won't forget it) but they get rewarded. Sometimes life can seem this way. Sometimes I feel as if people do not deserve certain things that they get, but there are two sides to every story.