Obama And Racism In Chicago
A man stands before a crowd of two million, as he looks out over a podium on the steps of the capitol building. American flags adorn his stage. This man is Barack Hussein Obama, and he is about to be the 44th president of the United States. The two cities, Chicago, and Honolulu, Obama lived in show how different kinds of racism can affect the lives of black Americans.
In Hawaii Obama attended Punahou High School where he made up a large majority of his school’s black population. In Hawaii, Obama did not experience many of the things that mainland black people felt. “We sat on the front of the proverbial bus. None of our white friends...treated us any differently than we treated each other” (Obama 82). The environment of Hawaii allowed Obama …show more content…
The neighborhood of Altgeld Gardens where Obama did most of his community help. Here Obama learned that there was a very detrimental effect that racism could have outside of the kind he had felt. The racism in Chicago divides the communities and makes the black people feel as if the could not be a part of their world and that they were just the dirty people living on the outer edge. “I don’t see kids smiling around here no more. You look at ‘em listen to ‘em...they seem worried all the time, mad about something. They got nothing they can trust” (Obama 177). These children from whom would grow adults felt as if they meant nothing to their world, and that they were at the mercy of the white man at all times. They were constantly worried about their futures. Many children carried guns for fear of their lives. It is this kind of racism that is most detrimental, the kind that squashes the hopes and dreams of young people and only teaches them of information in schools they can not relate to. The encircling serpent of White America.
Obama revealed the systemic racism in two different cities and what that did to the youth. Obama also teaches that racism has similar effects in the minds of the youth that experience racism, on one end racism puts people on edge when they feel connected which is what happened in Chicago. The other end of the spectrum it can make people feel cut out to the point where they dislike themselves. This spectrum harms everyone involved and this is why the location was important to
In Hawaii Obama attended Punahou High School where he made up a large majority of his school’s black population. In Hawaii, Obama did not experience many of the things that mainland black people felt. “We sat on the front of the proverbial bus. None of our white friends...treated us any differently than we treated each other” (Obama 82). The environment of Hawaii allowed Obama …show more content…
The neighborhood of Altgeld Gardens where Obama did most of his community help. Here Obama learned that there was a very detrimental effect that racism could have outside of the kind he had felt. The racism in Chicago divides the communities and makes the black people feel as if the could not be a part of their world and that they were just the dirty people living on the outer edge. “I don’t see kids smiling around here no more. You look at ‘em listen to ‘em...they seem worried all the time, mad about something. They got nothing they can trust” (Obama 177). These children from whom would grow adults felt as if they meant nothing to their world, and that they were at the mercy of the white man at all times. They were constantly worried about their futures. Many children carried guns for fear of their lives. It is this kind of racism that is most detrimental, the kind that squashes the hopes and dreams of young people and only teaches them of information in schools they can not relate to. The encircling serpent of White America.
Obama revealed the systemic racism in two different cities and what that did to the youth. Obama also teaches that racism has similar effects in the minds of the youth that experience racism, on one end racism puts people on edge when they feel connected which is what happened in Chicago. The other end of the spectrum it can make people feel cut out to the point where they dislike themselves. This spectrum harms everyone involved and this is why the location was important to