Critique of Race in America
Devin Thompson
Flannery
English 1301
23. October 2014 MAJOR PAPER In her piece for the Catholic weekly publication America, “Race in America: ‘We Would Like to Believe We Are Over the Problem,” Maryann Cusimano Love argues that racial issues are still present in America today. Love argues mostly against Delegate Hargrove’s suggestion that it is counterproductive to dwell on the past because not a soul today had anything to do with slavery. Love presents a strong argument that inequalities of the past still persist today In her article, Love argues that, though many citizens, politicians, and even the press profess that the country is far past its racial issues, they are still present in today’s society. Love begins by bringing up an interview of Delegate Frank D. Hargrove Sr., a Republican from Richmond, Virginia. In this interview, Hargrove made the statement that “blacks need to get over [slavery]” because it is “counterproductive to dwell on it” when “not a soul today had anything to do with slavery” (Love, 386 ) . Love goes on to argue against Hargrove’s views, providing many statistics, to prove that America is in fact not over the problem of racism. Throughout the article, it is obvious that Love disagrees with Hargrove’s statement and spends the majority of the article arguing why he is wrong, as well as providing her solution to the problem. Though, Love was successful in her argument against Delegate Hargrove’s comment; it was weakened because she gave multiple statistics in defense, that tended to be weak in reliability as well as being emotionally driven. Love relies on manipulative language to carry her article, which makes her writing seem shallow and poorly developed. She supports her argument with statistical evidence that backs up her claim that race is a problem. She writes that African Americans suffer a higher mortality and poverty rate than white Americans. She
Flannery
English 1301
23. October 2014 MAJOR PAPER In her piece for the Catholic weekly publication America, “Race in America: ‘We Would Like to Believe We Are Over the Problem,” Maryann Cusimano Love argues that racial issues are still present in America today. Love argues mostly against Delegate Hargrove’s suggestion that it is counterproductive to dwell on the past because not a soul today had anything to do with slavery. Love presents a strong argument that inequalities of the past still persist today In her article, Love argues that, though many citizens, politicians, and even the press profess that the country is far past its racial issues, they are still present in today’s society. Love begins by bringing up an interview of Delegate Frank D. Hargrove Sr., a Republican from Richmond, Virginia. In this interview, Hargrove made the statement that “blacks need to get over [slavery]” because it is “counterproductive to dwell on it” when “not a soul today had anything to do with slavery” (Love, 386 ) . Love goes on to argue against Hargrove’s views, providing many statistics, to prove that America is in fact not over the problem of racism. Throughout the article, it is obvious that Love disagrees with Hargrove’s statement and spends the majority of the article arguing why he is wrong, as well as providing her solution to the problem. Though, Love was successful in her argument against Delegate Hargrove’s comment; it was weakened because she gave multiple statistics in defense, that tended to be weak in reliability as well as being emotionally driven. Love relies on manipulative language to carry her article, which makes her writing seem shallow and poorly developed. She supports her argument with statistical evidence that backs up her claim that race is a problem. She writes that African Americans suffer a higher mortality and poverty rate than white Americans. She