The Role Of Racial Inequality In African American Literature

Why is it so hard to be a Black person living in America? It is an idea that the Whites do not want to see the Blacks as equal or superior. To prevent such thing from happening, Whites set up obstacles that stand in the way of Blacks ever reaching their full potential. Therefore, Blacks must go through White supremacy and stereotyping on the daily basis in order to survive. This is evident in the novels and stories read in African American Literature course. First, in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Younger family is denied their rights of freedom when the Welcome Committee does not want them to move into their new home in the White neighborhood. Second, in The Emmett Till Murder Case by Douglas O. Linder, Emmett Till is killed when he attempts to talk to a White
Third, in The Street by Ann Petry, Lutie’s son, Bub, is offered a servant-type labor of work as he cleans White’s shoes in the streets of Harlem for a low-pay. Finally, in The Ethnics of Living Jim Crow by Richard Wright, the Black narrator ends up losing his job when he forgets to properly address the white man as “sir.” Each main character are Black and go through psychological trauma based on the obstacles set up by the Whites. In cases like the Younger family and Lutie and the son, upward mobility is difficult because they are Black wanting to achieve the American Dream. On the other hand, in cases like Emmett Till and the Black narrator, talking is a crime which leads to devastating consequences. The Younger family, Emmett Till, Lutie, and the Black narrator all go through psychological effects of being Black. However, survival is the greatest resistance for Blacks in order to overcome the Whites’ obstacles