I Am Not Your Negro Analysis

In the documentary “I am not Your Negro” directed by Raoul Peck, the most memorable moment for me is the section focuses on integration at American public school. It is difficult for me to believe that many people march on the street only because an African American girl is going to school with the white kids, and I feel really angry and shocked when people are saying things like “when a negro child walk into the school, all decent parents should take their white children out of the broken school”, or “God can forgive adultery, but he is angry about integration ”. Even though those comments and events can have a huge impact on social discrimination and hurt to African American, they are real things that happened in the American history, and
In the past, there were direct discrimination toward African Americans such as police brutality and racial stereotype about African Americans. Policemen stopped the marching violently when they knew that those African Americans are protesting the rights they always deserve. People produced songs with lyrics like “if you are white, you are fine; if you are black, go back, go back”, and they published cartoons that had African Americans been drew in an ugly and terrifying way. Those are the dues African Americans have to pay, and they suffered all these terrible acts of the white people in order to survive in the United States. This film uses the unavoidable facts about the discriminations African Americans suffered to emphasize the big ideas that African Americans have done a lot of effort to gain their freedom should always be memorable by the people of the world. Nobody should ever deny African Americans’ suffering because those are part of the U.S
The purpose of juxtaposing old footage with more contemporary footage is actually to emphasize the second big idea I have mentioned. The director wants the audiences to realize that we can still see the violence and discrimination in the current society. There were people holding posters like “Negros don’t you want to be white” in the past, and there are police brutality toward African Americans now. Juxtaposition allows the audiences to realize the similarity of the current time and the past. The United States is still prospering while the African Americans are suffering. I agree with the message that has been conveyed through the juxtaposition, but I have to admit that discrimination toward African Americans is much better now than the past. Also, I understand the fact that it will take a lot of time for any countries to achieve a hundred percent racial equality, especially for such a diverse country like the United States. It is always difficult to accept people who are different with us, and it’s a big progress already for African Americans to gain the freedom they have